Ford F650... Will it do the job?

Yes it will but not very well. Much better options out there

 

If you're not trying to be rolling in the dough then go drive for someone. Dispatching, driving, loading cars without damage, accounting and maintaining equipment sucks and you should want to make six figures at least.

I'm sure you "have an opportunity" to buy one cheap. There's a lot of people who would love for you to take an international prostar with a maxxforce engine off their hands as well but you would nearly be guaranteed to go under lol

 

It would depend on the trailer you're going to pull. A four car wedge would be no problem. I've never heard of a Cummins or Allison in a ford. Me personally, an F650 is not what I would buy to haul cars, unless it's priced way below market value.

 

I have a Ford F-650 with an international engine. Paid $5,000 for it with 72k miles.

I love that truck, but it is definitely weak and slow. If it is fully loaded, and has a 10k trailer behind, it has great trouble maintaining 60 mph on a highway on the slightest incline.

It does however have a great cab heater, very nice in winter to be able to undress and drive in comfort.

Overall, I could not care less about fast speeds and it is ok with me. But I can see how some people demand to go at the fastest speed possible and it would not be the right truck for them.

You also need to oil the frame so that it would not rust out.

 

It is going to depend on what you expect from your truck and where you plan on running. We have two Chevy 6500 flatbeds in our fleet with small Cat motors @285 hp, 6 speeds. They have held up well, one had over 800k on it before the motor blew, and is still used every day with a replacement motor. They only haul two cars at a time, we use them for the inop units and residential pickup/delivery and they run about 300 miles a day, 5 days a week. Not all that quick but reliable and good fuel economy at 10 mpg.

We also have a KW T330 with the Cummins ISC @300 hp and an Allison 3000 series auto. It is a 4 car carrier, gross weight about 40k when fully loaded and has 600k on it without any major problems. This truck does about 400 miles a day, mostly highway, and gets 8,5 mpg.

We run mostly upstate New York and northeast Pennsylvania, no really big mountains but we do have some good hills, 65 mph speed limits and cold winters. I would not recommend using our 6500s to pull a 3/4 wedge, wouldn't be very comfortable nor the best possible combination for maneuverability or braking.

The performance of your F-650 will depend on the horsepower and torque rating of that specific Cummins engine, and the rear gear ratio. I am dealing with this now with my latest addition to the fleet, a 2000 Mack Vision single axle tractor. It has a decent size engine, 427 hp at 1350 ft lb torque, but with the 3.70 rear ratio it is very slow on take off, which does not work well for me doing mostly pickup and delivery work. If I was doing long haul it would be fine, but I make 6-10 stops a day in small to mid-size cities in upstate New York, so it really sucks in traffic.

All that said, depending on what type of car hauling you are planning on doing will determine if your planned truck will work or if you will hate it. If you are going to go with something the size of a F-650 you might as well go with a single axle tractor. It will hold up much better than the F-650 in the long run and offer you the chance to upgrade your trailer to a 6/7 high mount if you decide to later on. Meaning, short haul or local work the 650 should be fine, long runs with layovers you will wish you had the air ride single axle tractor.

 

I completely agree with what was said here. If you plan on running it within 250 mile radius and not doing any long hauls it'll be fine. (Your back will appreciate it.) If it's local work then it's also a good option. However, if you plan on running long haul with it, it'll grow old real fast. It will struggle to maintain a decent speed when you hit some proper hills/mountains. The ride will suck and it won't keep the speed limit easily. The main question is how cheap is it, how old is it, how many miles, etc. If it's cheap enough, then it may be worth it as a stepping stone to get money flowing and some contacts established. If it's not cheap enough, I vote a single axle if you plan on staying out for long periods of time. If you plan on being home every night or every other night, then it's not bad.

 

Yup I agree running very local is the only time a medium duty would be ok.