jkwilson
Well-known member
Just thinking out loud and prowling for opinions here. I currently have a Chevy 1/2 ton extended cab short bed and it's time to start looking for something with lower mileage. I also have a 16ft bumper pull stock trailer that I'd like to upgrade as well.
My initial thought was to go with a longbed F250 for the added capacity, better usability with a gooseneck and my local Ford dealer's service department is head and shoulders better than anybody else in the area at working you in when you are in a hurry and doing good work. I don't owe anything to Ford, Chevy, Dodge or Toyota, so I buy what makes sense at the time.
I only use my stock trailer to haul an animal to the vet or AI tech, swapping a bull with somebody, taking a couple of cull cows to the sale barn, kids 4H calves here and there a few times a year and the occasional breeding cattle auction. When I need several animals hauled, I hire a neighbor who is well equipped to do it, charges a fair price and I don't miss work or strain my truck.
As much as I'd like to go out and buy a new Super Duty Diesel and a new 24 or 30' aluminum gooseneck, I'm not going to spend that kind of money for a capacity I don't need 99% of the time. It's a rare day I need more truck or trailer than I've got, but I would like to have the handling of a gooseneck on the road.
So...I'm starting to think more about going with another shortbed 1/2 ton pickup and hunting for a used aluminum 16' gooseneck with a tapered nose. There's a big chunk of change to be saved staying with a 1/2 ton and a shortbed is easier to find on a dealer's lot used and easier to handle in a parking lot.
I know everybody's situation is different, but does it make sense to go that route?
My initial thought was to go with a longbed F250 for the added capacity, better usability with a gooseneck and my local Ford dealer's service department is head and shoulders better than anybody else in the area at working you in when you are in a hurry and doing good work. I don't owe anything to Ford, Chevy, Dodge or Toyota, so I buy what makes sense at the time.
I only use my stock trailer to haul an animal to the vet or AI tech, swapping a bull with somebody, taking a couple of cull cows to the sale barn, kids 4H calves here and there a few times a year and the occasional breeding cattle auction. When I need several animals hauled, I hire a neighbor who is well equipped to do it, charges a fair price and I don't miss work or strain my truck.
As much as I'd like to go out and buy a new Super Duty Diesel and a new 24 or 30' aluminum gooseneck, I'm not going to spend that kind of money for a capacity I don't need 99% of the time. It's a rare day I need more truck or trailer than I've got, but I would like to have the handling of a gooseneck on the road.
So...I'm starting to think more about going with another shortbed 1/2 ton pickup and hunting for a used aluminum 16' gooseneck with a tapered nose. There's a big chunk of change to be saved staying with a 1/2 ton and a shortbed is easier to find on a dealer's lot used and easier to handle in a parking lot.
I know everybody's situation is different, but does it make sense to go that route?