3/4 or 1 ton Pickup?

Looking at '99 to '03 Ford with V-10. Extended cab, no crew please. Had people tell me that it costs more to license a 1 ton. Makes sense cause the GVRW is higher. How much more expensive do you think? Insurance just a bit higher too? Truck will sit most of the time (not my daily driver) and will haul a GN livestock trailer full of beef and the occasional flatbed with hay or tractors. Just wondering if the extra capacity a 1 ton offers is worth the extra operating costs if any. Thank you for your thoughts.

Go with the 1 ton heavier all around.Jim

Makes no difference here in New York. When I register a truck, I choose the weight I want it registered for and pay for it. I can register a 1/2 ton Blazer at 20,000 lbs. if I want. They'll take the money at the DMV office.

I can also resister a 1 ton very light - but if I get checked along the road with more weight then I'm registered for, I'm in trouble. And if I get caught with more weight then the truck's sticker say's it can carry - regardless of registration - I'm also in trouble.

Besides all that, some "1 ton" trucks have the same running gear, brakes, and springs as "3/4" ton trucks when ordered with the right options.

As LJD said, in most jurisdictions you just pay for total tonnage you'll need for your heaviest configuration. Put it all on the truck, so you can tow whatever trailer you want without worrying about whether you have enough tonnage. Easy enough to check with your dept. of licensing to see how it works in your state.

I've had both, and pretty much stick with one tons now. They just seem better able to handle the job. And I'm a diesel fan, but maybe not so much anymore, as the price of gas here is down to $3.35, and diesel is still hanging around 4 bucks.

My 1 ton is basically the same as the 3/4 except stiffer springs, little higher off the ground and larger brakes. I'v heard that the frame is the same as the 3/4 ton. Cab and bed are definatly the same. I think in the day - my pickup is really old - you could order the upgrades on the 3/4 ton so it was essentually a 1 ton.

This is for a single rear tire on each side not dual rear tires.

From my perspective stopping is the most important consideration and recomend you go with the 1 ton.

Makes no difference as to the truck, as the others said the weight you register for dictates the cost. As to the truck, I have a 98 Chev 3/4 with a 454 vortec, friend of mine has a 99 Ford 1 ton with 7.3 diesel. We haul cattle and hay together and I can pull right there with him. I get about 10mpg he gets about 12.

Highway diesel here in central New York is $4.30. Gas is $3.49. I just got 500 gallons of off-road farm diesel and it was $3.49. Next year, farm diesel will be the ultra-low sulfur and be higher.

That being said, my 92 Dodge W250 diesel can go 100 files for $22 in fuel. My 88 Chevy gas 3/4 ton truck uses $30 in gas to go the same 100 miles.

But with new stuff? I don't know what a new gas 3/4 truck can get for mileage. Guess I don't have to worry about since I'll never, ever - buy a new truck that costs more then a house with a few acres of land.

I should've mentioned I'm in Minnesota. Guy I work with keeps telling me about these "Y" plates that are required on 1 ton trucks...but not 3/4 regardless of what you want to be licensed for. Know anything about that?

The cost and licenseing issue probably varies from one state to another. I have just dealt with this issue on my 3 pickups (2 are 1 ton models and 1 is a 3/4 ton). Here in Minnesota, the license for the 250 series costs the same as a car plate. Thus for a 10 year old truck, that comes to about $40/yr. For a 1 ton that is 10 years old, the minimum fee is $90 + service fees (total close to $100). But for a "farm truck" licensed in the minimum weight class of 12,000#, the annual cost is $27 (total about $35). The farm truck plate means certain restrictions as to how the truck is used and how far it can go from the home place.

So my 02 F350 which I also pull my RV trailer with is registered with a C plate (about $100/yr). My 88 Dodge W350 is registered as a farm truck (about $35/yr), and my 86 Dodge W250 plow and firewood truck is registered with a car plate (about $40/yr).

I found a 128(?) pg pdf document with all the vehicle tax rates for MN on the MN DOT site. It doesn't make much logical sense, but if you want to license the vehicle, you gotta pay for some kind of license. The annual fees can approach $3000 for some vehicles. Most new vehicles are in the $500 to $800 / year cost.

And then there is sales tax on the sale price of the vehicle every time it is sold (approx 7.5%)(varies with how many stadiums we are paying for, and what county the truck is going to be kept in). However....I did find something interesting... a law that makes the sales tax on any 10 YO vehicle which has been sold for less than $3000, only a flat $10. Now that is high is you are buying a $100 winter beater to drive out on the ice for ice fishing, but it becomes a bargain for any vehicle 10 YO or older that is bought for $200 to $2999.

Find your state's DOT website and search out what applies to you.

Paul in MN

When in doubt, go with the higher capacity.

I've said this on this forum before. When I was a GM salesman, the most consistent mistake I saw pickup buyers make was underestimating the capacity they needed.

Of course, the buyer would just think the salesman was trying to upgrade them to make more money, and then when the pickup wasn't up to the job, they blamed the pickup.

While you can get things like dual wheels on the one ton, a basic 3/4 ton and a basic 1 ton are not much different. The frame of a one tone has weights welded to it, assuring that the weight of the truck will allow it to waive the EPA reporting requirements. Almost 10 years ago I registered a Ford F250 in Buffalo, New York. The weight indicated by the VIN on the title was the weight it was registered for, though 10 years is a while, and things could have changed. I didn't get the option to register it as being a one ton, however. For the most part, however, a basic 3/4 ton truck should usually be capable of hauling what a basic one ton is. Obviously, if the one ton in question has a 460 and the F250 has a 300, the one tone will be able to haul much more, but you could bet the same engine in both one ton and 3/4 ton, usually.

I've read through the Minnesota DMV paperwork.
It says the Y-plates are available for any truck as thus:

ALL GROSS WEIGHT TRUCKS EXCEPT THOSE REGISTERED IN THE FARM OR COMMERCIAL ZONE CLASS

TRAILERS AND TRUCKS REGISTERED ON A GROSS WEIGHT BASIS MUST BE REGISTERED AT A MINIMUM OF 1.25 TIMES THE EMPTY WEIGHT.

FOR TRUCKS REGISTERED AT 78,000 OR HIGHER, MUST DECLARE THE NUMBER OF AXLES ON THE FRONT OF THIS APPLICATION NEXT TO THE OWNER’S SIGNATURE

If you are going 2 WD I'd go with a one ton dually. If you are going 4WD and will actually use it I'd go 3/4 or 1 ton with SWRA.

In TN is doesnt cost any more to insure a ton vs. 3/4 ton. I've had several of both and currently have a ton. If you are just going to haul stuff every now and then I would probably look at a 3.4 unless you find a good deal on a ton. Lately I have seen more deals on ton trucks. Just all depends on what you want. I really like a flatbed dually because I don't have to worry about hitting the top of the bed with a gooseneck.

I was trying to purchase a new 3/4 ton truck a few years ago, and beefing it up with options. The dealer said All these options you want are standard on the 1 ton why don't you just buy the one ton. He was right and I did.

$27 a year where did you licence it Hatti??

I have a 99 Chevy 3/4 ton with 454 and my cousin has a 2000 Chevy 1 ton clasic with 454. For the most part they are identical except the springs are a little heavier on his. With a trailer on mine will sag a little lower than his. If your going to use it for trailering and hauling i'd go ahead with the ton truck though. Peace of mind may expensive but regret is far more expensive.

I have a 99 F250 4x4 with the V10 that I pull a 32' horse trailer with. Like your's will be, it gets limited use. Expect 8 mpg pulling and at the best 12 not pulling. I like my truck though and it has lots of power and handles the load fine. Doesn't squat it and it feels stable on the road. License cost is the same as a 1 ton in my state.

Nope, farm plate license fee for farm use truck up to 12,000# in the State of MN. This is the full annual fee, not one quarter. We can license commercial trucks and farm trucks by the quarter year. It does make sense for the higher license fees of the 3 or 4 axle grain trucks used only during harvest. My son only licenses his grain trucks for one or 2 quarters, depending on when harvest begins. The bigger truck is GVWed at 53,000#, but he has crossed the scales at the elevator heavy.

Paul in MN

I have all three 12 34 and 1 ton trucks, the lic. fees are the same in KY. but the insurance on the 1 ton is just over half of the 12 ton, the 34 falls about in thr middle. I have since discovered tht a 1 or 1 12 ton flatbed is even cheaper! Thinking about putting a flatbed on the old ladys van!

Before you buy the V10, you might want to research that engine. The early model V10's had problems with spark plugs blowing out, due to there being too few threads in the spark plug holes, a design mistake that was corrected in later engines.

Unless it is really cheap, I would try to find a turbodiesel. Good luck!