Id go with a Used F250. best bang for the buck. plus you can chip them and do some minimal mods for better fuel efficiency in the low to mid 20's range highway.

 

I would say a 7.3 with the IC, I think its the 97- to early 03's. Stay with a single wheel 350 or 250. That will tow a 30ft trailer with no problems.

 

How many times have you been to the track? I see way too many people putting the cart before the horse... meaning they want to go buy/build a track car and get the whole truck/trailer etc. etc. beacause they think that's what they need to do to go do HPDEs.

In reality... you need to go spend that money on seat time and driving schools... once you're doing 4-6 events a year and know you're hooked you can migrate in a different direction.

Trucks/trailer etc. add to the expense and you have to pay taxes on all of that crap. Now if you're an experienced track guy then nevermind my comments but I've never really seen you post about it at all.

There's 2 ways to do HPDE... keep your car mostly stock and get some good stickey street tires and a good brake pad and go have fun.

or

Go all out w/ a race car, trailer, truck, etc. etc. etc. There really isn't much in between. Figure out what you want to get out of it and have fun.

 

I think he is talking about drag racing

 

I would go with a powerstroke or a cummins....since the dont put Detroit's or Cats in passneger trucks

 

Typically people don't call drag cars "track" cars.

 

Since he said VMP I would assume drag racing

 

Well, I'm the people that does.

I'll be towing the car there frequently. I've gotten in a lot of trouble on the street and have decided the track is a better place also a lot more fun.

 

Nevermind then... if you mean a drag car then by all means get a truck/trailer/1/4-mile smasher.

 

If you are going to move any weight (10K+), stay away from the PS with automatics. I've had 95, 99, and 01 duallys that I tried to take care of (fluid/filter changes every 25k miles) and still had to put multiple trannys in each of them while I owned them. Otherwise, they were all great trucks.

Is this going to double as daily driver? How often are you going to be pulling a trailer? How much weight are you pulling? How far are you pulling it? Those are the questions that you need to ask before you pull the trigger on a diesel truck.

You need to weigh the maintenance and inconveniences of a big diesel vs a gas burner to see if it suits your needs. The maintenance costs of a diesel may make it worthwhile for you to start out with a gas truck with a lighter trailer, then move to a bigger rig when you get more involved.

FWIW, I moved to an 05 F150 SCrew when I no longer needed the bigger trucks. I occasionally pull my Mustang on an open trailer, and I have a 8k lb 32' travel trailer that I try to pull about once per month. This truck handles both with ease, though I haven't taken the travel trailer through the mountains yet.