prenger745
New member
- 11
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- Location
- Ottawa, KS
Hello (again),
I started looking at getting a 5 ton about a year ago. And for this reason and that, I never pulled the trigger. Now, I need help convincing my better-half that this would be a good buy for us. I have a few general questions and comments on my situation and wanted to hear everyone's opinions.
Let me start with a few things about myself.
1) I am not a mechanic. However, I ENJOY fixing my own vehicles. I have experience with, what I would call, general repair. Replace alternator, starter, water-pump, master-cylinder, etc. Nothing too difficult. That does't mean I wouldn't embrace a challenge. I feel semi-comfortable with a challenge because my neighbor is a retired mechanic of 30 years and would probably bail me out in a disaster.
2) I think I have above average trouble-shooting skills whether with a vehicle, computer, HVAC etc.
3) I see this as a mixture of a hobby and "real-life". By that I mean, I would love to drive it to work daily. I have a 5 mile commute each way so I think this is feasible. Correct me if I am wrong. I have also been told by my 10 year-old son that I WILL be picking him up from school in it, from time to time. That is a 15 mile drive.
A few questions:
1) How reliable are these things? I know this is relative to the condition it starts in but in my mind these things were built to withstand anything thrown at it.
2) Regarding condition, what would one expect to spend on a decent one? I have seen ones on CL that say excellent running condition for around 5-8K
3) How difficult are they to work on? Again, in my mind these would have been built to be serviceable in the field. Maybe I am way off?
4) I don't want to BOB it or anything but I would love for it to be able to pull a camper. Is this something that would be relatively easy? ** This is my best argument for getting one. She wants a full-size camper. Not a behemoth but not a pop-up either. Right now, we have a pop-up because our mini-van can tow it. We generally camp 30 miles from here but at times might like to stretch it to a few lakes 60 miles from here.
Any other thoughts, gotchas, concerns voice would be appreciated.
Danno
I started looking at getting a 5 ton about a year ago. And for this reason and that, I never pulled the trigger. Now, I need help convincing my better-half that this would be a good buy for us. I have a few general questions and comments on my situation and wanted to hear everyone's opinions.
Let me start with a few things about myself.
1) I am not a mechanic. However, I ENJOY fixing my own vehicles. I have experience with, what I would call, general repair. Replace alternator, starter, water-pump, master-cylinder, etc. Nothing too difficult. That does't mean I wouldn't embrace a challenge. I feel semi-comfortable with a challenge because my neighbor is a retired mechanic of 30 years and would probably bail me out in a disaster.
2) I think I have above average trouble-shooting skills whether with a vehicle, computer, HVAC etc.
3) I see this as a mixture of a hobby and "real-life". By that I mean, I would love to drive it to work daily. I have a 5 mile commute each way so I think this is feasible. Correct me if I am wrong. I have also been told by my 10 year-old son that I WILL be picking him up from school in it, from time to time. That is a 15 mile drive.
A few questions:
1) How reliable are these things? I know this is relative to the condition it starts in but in my mind these things were built to withstand anything thrown at it.
2) Regarding condition, what would one expect to spend on a decent one? I have seen ones on CL that say excellent running condition for around 5-8K
3) How difficult are they to work on? Again, in my mind these would have been built to be serviceable in the field. Maybe I am way off?
4) I don't want to BOB it or anything but I would love for it to be able to pull a camper. Is this something that would be relatively easy? ** This is my best argument for getting one. She wants a full-size camper. Not a behemoth but not a pop-up either. Right now, we have a pop-up because our mini-van can tow it. We generally camp 30 miles from here but at times might like to stretch it to a few lakes 60 miles from here.
Any other thoughts, gotchas, concerns voice would be appreciated.
Danno