since neals ram thread got a bunch of us talking i figured id put up my actual numbers on the 450 after a full year of running loads. 2018 F-450 Lariat, 6.7 Powerstroke, 4x4, dually, 96k on it when i bought it, one owner fleet. found it on mainstreetmotortx.com last fall when i finally admitted my 350 was a little light for the equipment i was moving out of the arklatex.
asked the corsicana lot for the maintenance history and they had it, the truck had been a pipeline fleet trade with real service records. paid a diesel shop near tyler to look it over before i bought, and the only thing they flagged was the rear tires were about half worn and it was due a fuel filter. neither one was a deal breaker on a truck that priced out ten grand under the ford stores near me.
ran it hard all year moving skid steers, mini excavators and pipe. here is what it actually cost me to keep a used 450 earning, for anybody trying to budget a hotshot rig.
| Fuel (44k loaded miles, ~11.5 mpg) | $14,900 |
| Two oil changes + fuel filters, done myself | $420 |
| Rear tires (knew going in, priced accordingly) | $1,760 |
| Front brakes at 128k | $540 |
| Trans service (no record, did it early) | $390 |
| Commercial insurance (annual) | $6,300 |
that is the honest year. nothing broke that was not a wear item, and the one to one comparison against a new 450 payment plus the depreciation makes buying a clean used one off the corsicana lot an easy call for me. i put every dollar of that spread into my own pocket instead of a bank.