Sport Chassis vs Dually 4×4 Pickup

Compare the cost of owning a Sport Chassis vs. a dually 4×4 pickup.

If you’ve been wondering which is a better value: a Sport Chassis Truck or a Dually, you will find the following information helpful.  This is an analysis of the cost of ownership over a 5 year period for a Sport Chassis Truck vs. a Dually – either the Ford F350 or F450.

 

First, lets base the monthly payments on a loan at 6.99% (there are lower cost loans out there, and of course your credit score determines your actual percentage rate, but for the following comparison, this is the rate we’ll use.)  With Sport Chassis, your payments would work out to 180 months at $1100/month, and the Dually payments would be 72 months at $835 for the F350 or $1100 for the F450.  The monthly payments alone do not give you a very good picture of the actual value of these different vehicles.  Let’s factor in some other key elements.

 

Fuel costs are key in determining the actual value of your vehicle.  A lower monthly payment may be off set by higher fuel prices, which actually is the case when comparing a Sport Chassis truck to a Dually.  The average yearly mileage for your truck, either the Sport Chassis or the Dually, is about 18,000 miles.  The average mpg for a Sport Chassis is 10-13 mpg (towing and empty), while the average mph for a Dually (F350, 3500, F450, 4500) is 7-9 mpg (towing and empty).  There is an average difference of 4 mpg, and over a year’s worth of miles, that averages about $278 per month more to drive a Dually than to drive a Sport Chassis.  So just based on fuel costs, the Sport Chassis is close to $300 less per month compared to the Dually F450, and the Sport Chassis costs the same per month to drive as the lower monthly payment option of the F350.

 

What about depreciation or loss of equity on a Dually vs. a Sport Chassis?  Based on the industry average, a Dually truck is traded every 2.5 years at a loss of $18,000 to $20,000, based on mileage and overall condition of the vehicle.  Over a 5 year period, that amounts to $36,000 to $40,000.  On the other hand, a Sport Chassis averages 5 years before being traded and the average loss due to normal wear and tear, mileage, etc., is only $15,000 to $20,000 for that 5 year period of ownership. If you then compare the equity loss between these vehicles, the Sport Chassis has only lost half of what the Dually has lost in value in actual dollars. 

 

At the end of five years, your Sport Chassis truck has cost less for fuel, retained more of its resale value and is an over-all better deal for your pocket book.  It may look like it is costing you more on paper, but when you factor in the mpg savings, and the trade value at the end of 5 years, there is no question that you get more for your hard earned dollars with a Sport Chassis truck.