I learned how to buy the right truck by; you guessed it, by buying the wrong one a few times!  Since my first trucks were used, I mean previously enjoyed, I had no idea of what the manufacture's gross vehicle weight rating or warranty requirements where all about.  I hauled 3000 pounds in my ½ ton, 5000 pounds in my ¾ ton, and 10,000 pounds in my one ton. OOPs, that was probably a little too much. That could explain why so many u-joints, clutches and brakes.

  It's hard to recommend which truck without knowing what you are going to use it for. Half ton s are generally used for the light work, loaded occasionally. Heavy duty three quarter ton s and one ton s can be loaded all the time just like their cousins the 18-wheeler. The heavy-duty ¾ and 1 ton s use to only ride nice when they were loaded. They have come a long way, baby! Now they all ride like cars. In the big cites people use them as cars.
When I first came to Denver I was amazed to see 5-year-old pickups with no scratches in the beds. My pickups didn't last the first day without a scratch. After you drop the first salt block and the first big round bale, the bed just doesn't look the same.

  Two-ton trucks were like tractors. They lasted forever. When I was a kid driving a grain truck during harvest, we used to race to town to get a good place in line at the elevator, so we could get back to the combines before the other truck was full of wheat. Now that I'm mature , I think back to flying down the road with 300 bushels of wheat at 70 miles an hour in trucks that were usually 20 to 30 years old, being used only a couple of weeks out of the year. I know we checked to see if the lights worked before harvest, but I don t remember checking the brake pads. Oh well the combines lasted another year and so did I. When I started pulling large gooseneck trailers with the two-ton trucks instead of ¾ and 1-ton pickups, I spent less time in the parts store and more time hauling hay.