Is that what a 97 gets in northern Illinois?

I know several guys looking for K2500 with a hand shaker. Make for a great plow truck and towing rig for occasional use . Probably a 5.7 (350) motor.

I am hoping it has the 350 in it. I wanted it for using pick up. I have a well abused 1500 and always wished it was a 2500. I hauled a ton of coal at a time on it 5-8 times a year for years. Water for the garden. I haul water for the garden, 425 gallons at a time. That 3400lbs plus the poly tank. It was a good PU but, it is shot. I think the 2500 will work better then the 1500 did for what I do with it. With the low miles it should last the rest of my time I am hoping. You don't see many pick ups that old with that low of mileage here, much less with a 5 speed manual.

What did it cost ya?

ADC too much. $9100

Around here that's probably a $5k truck. Might get $4k, you might be able to push for $6k. I bought a 1992 Dodge power ram 150 4x4 last night for $1,700. It runs and drives and is actually in really good shape, it needs new wiring ran under the bed for the tail lights, and it needs bumpers front and rear

If you get a good one, it's worth that. Heck, I gave $8k 4 years ago for mine with near 200K miles on it. It was a California truck with zero rust though.

AK Timber Tramp How many miles? This one has 58,440.
ADC we don't get the rust that some places do. They don't use salt on the roads.

87,000

Kelly Blue Book approx $5000.

I know how a NoDak truck compares to the States East of the big river. It don’t !

I believe the 350 in the 2500 made about -10 HP then those in the 1500. But they have more torque !

Could be the 7.4 as they dropped them in 2500 Burbs during that time period.

Either way I am jealous ! I drive a 93 4.3 V6 with the 5 speed for my bouncing around truck. First I taught my grandkids how to shift a dirt bike. The transition to a truck with a hand shaker was easy for them !

Sounds like a great truck, nice and simple.

If its a retired FD truck, there could be a lot of engine hours (idle time). That could have caused a substantial carbon buildup in the top end. A good old fashioned "carbon blast" of water or a top engine clean solvent through the vacuum system would help clean things out and bring back some lost performance.

Also, at that age, and with the load of equipment the truck likely had, the body mounts and bushings could be shot (hard, worn out, etc.). Replacing those would make it ride like a new (97 new) truck again.

The old Fire trucks being premium money, I wanted this one bad but couldn't pay anywhere near that price. I was hoping it would go for around $5,000, shows how out of touch I was.

https://www.jeffmartinauctioneers.c...8c3pcb39822-single-axle-grass-fire-truck

Online auctions put an end to good deals at auctions for most items

Glad MJM bought it. And yes, I was a bit high...lol... but around here there are a lot of old trucks with 4x4 that are classics/vintage/collectors and go for that and higher.
Go to Volo Car museums and scroll around. I love those old trucks!

Good post , very true.

Mileage is only part of determination of a vehicles wear and tear. Sitting a lot and idle time are things to be considered. Suspension parts tend to go with age.


A friend of mine found a 17,000 mile 15 year old truck for a a good deal. He ended up replacing all the front suspension and rear springs before the truck hit 30,000 miles.

I made it over and got the Chev 2500. I drove over with my wife and her drive the car back and follow me incase I had problems. I do not own a cell phone, and won't. So if she was behind me she would see me stop if I had problems. It was just under 250 mile one way. The PU started right up and ran great to the house. It has never had a plow on it, but had something bolted in the box. There are small bolt holes in the box and box rail. I would say 1/4" looking at them. I could turn the steering wheel loose at 70-80 mph and it just goes down the road. Every thing works other then the light bar a siren. The wires were cut at the switches. My grandson says to hook them back up for him to play with and that he would like it more if it was a flatbed dolly. He is 10 years old.

Sounds like a great truck. Probably a box of sorts in the bed.

I picked it up from the fire chief that has drove it since it was new. He said one of the main reasons they were selling it was the new guys can drive a manual transmission. So far I am pleased. Manual transmission, manual locks and windows. Cloth seat and no carpet. It is geared lower then I thought it would be. It should be a puller.

Might have a pretty "tall" rear axle in it also. What kind of rpm's was it turning at 60 or 65mph?