New truck?

[Benny Mckheean]

I am looking to purchase a new diesel truck and would like to know some opinions on what to purchase.I want a 3/4 ton long bed truck and am leaning toward a Chevy diesel with a Allision transmission I will consider a Dodge or Ford also but would like to hear from those that have one as far as the pro's and con's. Thanks Benny

[Mike Monnier]

I absolutely love my Duramax. I have the six speed manual instead of the Allison in my truck. I need to buy more or bigger engines because I don't own anything that makes the truck work! The only real knock I hear against the Dodge is the automatic transmission. The current generation 48RE model is far better than its predecessors, but it's still only a four speed. A fifth gear would really make the Dodge shine with the hummin Cummins. As for the Ford, I'll push my Chevy before I'll take a chance on a new Powerstroke. A couple of websites to give you more info than you'll ever want on the GM and Dodge trucks:

http://www.dieselplace.com for the Duramax, and
http://www.dieseltruckresource.com for the Dodge/Cummins truck

Drive each brand and pick the model that suits your tastes/needs best. Good luck on your purchase.

[PsRumors]

Well, I like the Dodge for the engine, the Fords for their styling and the Chevrolets for their ride. I drive a Dodge.

The major drawback with the Dodge is lack of room in the back seat. I have a 3500 SRW shortbed 4X4 with 4:10s and 35 inch tires and get 18 MPG around town and 20 on the road. I do have the 6 speed though. Same truck with auto is what my brother has and he is consistently 2mpg lower.

The Chevrolets are nice, I think they have all their engine problems worked out. The early Duramax had some issues. The Allison is nice but NOT what it is touted to be. If you run at the limits of the capacity often the trans will not hold up, but neither will the Dodges. However the Fords Torq-Shift is doing its thing.

The Fords, stay away from them or buy the longest warranty you can get your hands on. My brother's company has had 4 or 5 buy backs, 3 lemons and continue to have problems. They are converting their fleet to Dodge once the HD comes out. They will be using the 6 speed. I read somewhere that Ford will loose more money on the 6.0 liter Powerstroke than the profit they make from all other vehicles.

It all depends on what you are going to do with the truck. If you want a Diesel but could make do with a half ton and need leg room in the back seat I'd have to say go with the Chevy, this is from a Dodge owner. If you want an all out work truck that will carry anything get the Dodge with the 6 speed. I have weighed in at over 25,000 GVWR and have seen guys well into the 30s. They work.

My 2 cents.

Below is a picture of the rods from each of the engines.

[Benny Mckheean]

I forgot to mention that I am going to use the truck to pull a 4500 lb camper with a golf cart in the bed of the truck.I found one I like yesterday it is a Chevy Silver Metalaic with bench seat in front and back with a 360 hp engine and a six speed auto Allision tranny.I also will use the truck to pull a 16 ft trailer with some engines going to shows. The OTD price is 35,456.00. Thanks for all the replies Benny

[PsRumors]

Cool Benny. I have a friend that just bought a Duramax with the Allison. It is 2500 & 4x4. It is a work truck package, vinyl floor but cloth seats. He had the power goodies (windows, locks, cruise) added and was out the door for less than $31k which I think is an awesome deal.

Good luck

[Tanner Remillard]

My dad bought a Ford 350 diesel in '99 with a 6 speed, and he does'nt have anything to complain about it. It has plenty of power, and we have used every bit of it. I dont know about the brand new vehicles. I think every truck has its good and bad points. I am a Ford fan myself, but thats just because I have a '78 and have been driving it since I was 16. Im 23 now, and I just love it. But its 28 years old now and things have changed alot since then. I have seriously been considering putting a Cummins 6 in it with dana 70's in the future as I cant see spending 40,000+ to buy a brand new big truck when I have a good one already. I just want a smaller one for commuting, and use my '78 for hauling. If I put the Cummins in it with the drivetrain to handle it, I think it would be worth it. Plus keep the old look with the 78 body.

[PsRumors]

Originally Posted by Tanner Remillard

My dad bought a Ford 350 diesel in '99 with a 6 speed, and he does'nt have anything to complain about it. It has plenty of power, and we have used every bit of it. I dont know about the brand new vehicles. I think every truck has its good and bad points. I am a Ford fan myself, but thats just because I have a '78 and have been driving it since I was 16. Im 23 now, and I just love it. But its 28 years old now and things have changed alot since then. I have seriously been considering putting a Cummins 6 in it with dana 70's in the future as I cant see spending 40,000+ to buy a brand new big truck when I have a good one already. I just want a smaller one for commuting, and use my '78 for hauling. If I put the Cummins in it with the drivetrain to handle it, I think it would be worth it. Plus keep the old look with the 78 body.

That would be an AWESOME truck Tanner. I say go for it. Would love to be in a position to do that. You are right about the 7.3 PS, they are great trucks. In case I wasn't clear Ford is having problems with the 6.0.

If you do the cummins swap get you a 12 valve and you will have one rocking truck.

[Mike Monnier]

Originally Posted by PsRumors

That would be an AWESOME truck Tanner. I say go for it. Would love to be in a position to do that. You are right about the 7.3 PS, they are great trucks. In case I wasn't clear Ford is having problems with the 6.0.

If you do the cummins swap get you a 12 valve and you will have one rocking truck.

You may have to box the frame to handle the torque of the Cummins, but that would be an awesome engine hauler! A buddy from college restored a F250 about that vintage with a 351 under the hood. It was a sweet truck, but nothing compared to a diesel powered monster. A diesel would definitately be advantageous with the heavy iron you have.

[Tanner Remillard]

Yeah, I would plan on doing that. Boxing the frame would be smart to do. Mine has a 351 too, and its a good engine, but its pretty much gutless when it comes to doing anything that invloves towing. Thats where the Cummins would come in good. A friend of mine put one in a '72 Chevy, and it really turns heads. People dont expect to hear a diesel exhaust coming from an older truck.

[Tom Winland]

I'll add my 2 cents here

I just bought a new Ford F250 6.0L deisel 4X4 long bed with crew cab with all the goodies. At 3,000 miles it left me stranded 500 miles away from home and had to rent a car to get home. Took them 2 weeks to fix it which it was an injector that went out. Drove back out to pick up the truck and made it 1.1 miles from the dealer and another injector went out so had to stay get a room and wait a day for it to be fixed not to mention the 2 days of work I had to take off to go after it. Ford did not offer me a rental car either time and I had to go to a Chevy dealer to rent a car. They scratched the front quarter panel working under the hood (which they deny). I've called Ford every other day for 2 months now and everytime they say that a manager or someone with authority will get back to me in a day or so and I've yet to get a call back even with all they complaining I've done. I've got over $1000 out of my pocket due to that truck for rental car, over night stays, fuel running back and forth, etc, etc.

Don't buy a Ford, they suck, and that's coming from someone who has always owned Fords and has bought a new truch about every 2 years but that will change when it comes time to buy another truck. Oh yeah my truck stickered at $47,000

If ya can't tell, I'm a very pissed off Ford customer

Tom Winland
Ohio

[Howard Weaver]

Tom
It seems to me that all three of the big ones have good and maybe some not so good points. You have to decied which is best for your lifestyle. The really big thing to me is customer relations. Which it looks like Ford is really dropping the ball on. I have a friend who also has a new Ford diesel and he is having trouble getting satisfaction from them. They even lost the keys, he now has a $.99 hardware store key and they lost the original owners manual and can't seem to find a replacement. Not big things or are they?
I bought a new Dodge 2500 diesel in febuary and so far i'm happy. Good luck!
Howard

[Randy Johnston]

i've always been a die hard ford fan. but in june i bought my first new truck, a 2006 megacab 2500 dodge with the cummins and 6-speed. with all the toys, its a great drive train, but when they put the sun roof in at the factory they cut the hole an 1/8" to big so every time it rains it fills the truck with water. after 4week of the truck in out of the shop, chrysler is buying the truck back and getting me another one without the sun roof. but other than the leak its a great truck, i just hope the new one lasts as long as my old ford diesels have.

[Ken Majeski]

Well.... I have an Old 12 valve (96 4 WD) Goat... (Actually I have a 94 also) I just got back from Crosby N Dakota. 1400 Miles round trip. Got 15.7 MPG hand calculated with a 2000 pound cabover Kamper.

No worries about Injectors, Computers, Overheating or anything else for that matter. And I will tell you if you go out there you better have something that runs as it's pretty far in between things...

Only problem I might have had is when I cranked it up at 5:45 Sunday morning to come back to Wisconsin... I kinda expected Buckshot to hit me as I Idled as Quietly as Possible out of the camping area.... Yes they are Noisey.... But they just Keep Ratteling...

Good used 12 valves are easy to find and Many find their way into Other vehicles...

[Nick]

Well I was going to go out and buy a brand new 1 ton diesel truck until I did some research. The Dmax sure has heaps of power but seems like it spends a lot of time at the stealership for repairs. The Ford was nice but I know a tech at our local dealer and he flat out said do not buy a 6.0! They seem like a crap shoot, some have no trouble while others have one problem after another. That leaves Dodge as the only "reliable" diesel truck you can buy new - and then only because of the Cummins. This isn't a plug for Dodge, I don't own one, just my observations after nearly a year of looking at trucks. Although it will be interesting to see how the new model diesel International and Cummins engines will perform.

And since I didn't like the idea of blowing $40K I went and bought a used one. Found a like new 97 F-350XLT crew cab 4x4 with the 7.3 powerstroke with under 40000 miles for half the price of a new one. There are lots of mid-late 90's trucks out there with low miles and reasonably priced. If you can find one, seriously consider a Cummins conversion. I love my 7.3 PSD but if it ever goes a 12V Cummins will go in its place. Ford makes it Cummins shakes it!

[Farquhar]

I'vve got an '02 D-max, extented cab short bed. Its got about 120,000 on it, and the only problem I've had was when a light in the shft indicator went out-- had 3rd & reverse. cost $221 to fix-- it was about 10,000 out of warranty when it happened.
I average between 17-19 mpg driving around here--4wd some-- pulling some etc. Seems as the fuel prices go up, the mpg comes down.
On the road, I got 23 mpg this spring on a trip to Mo.
Going to Wauseon, I got about 11.8 average from here, to there & back. Theres a lot of hills, & mtns twixt her & there. I was pulling a 33 ft 5th wheel. and 3 folks in it, plus a load of apple firewood for campfires etc.
I've been happy with it so far. I know others that have had trouble with them, also with Dodge & Ford.
I like the Cummins too, just don't like the Dodge truck. Its a personal preference. I feel you are Okay with Chev, or Dodge, in a new truck, and the 7.3 Pstroke is ok too. My bro-in-law has a transmission shop, and he loves the older autos in the cummins-- makes him a good livin, and he says hes had several of the new ford 5spd autos in too.
I managed to get mine at over $9,000 off the sticker, so it was the best deal I found, when I needed a truck.

[Colin Rush]

I do not know from personal experience, as I drive an International pickup but what I was told by friends that are really into diesels is that the reason the Ford Powerstroke trucks are having problems is that Ford did not listen to what the engine designer suggested. International designed the engine, and also designed the engine management system, which included the injection system. Ford felt that it was too expensive, so they offered the engines with a Ford-designed engine management and injection system. International told them that the engine was designed as a complete system, but Ford felt they could do better, and therein lies the problem.

I am sure there are other websites out there that discuss this, but I do not run in those circles to be able to provide the links.

[Benny Mckheean]

After reading all the replies here I found a Diesel Truck forum that has tons of info about diesel trucks.I went yesterday and picked up my new 2006 Chevy 2500 Duramax 360 hp with the Allision tranny 6 speed auto long bed crew cab with all the options.It does not even sound like a diesel super quiet outside and in with a super smooth ride this should pull my camper with the golf cart in the bed of the truck very easy plus my engine trailer.Here is a link to the forum and I would strongly advise anyone who is buying a truck to look at it. Happy Camper Benny http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/index.php

[Ken Majeski]

Well... Benny... I Certainly wish you Good Luck with your New Truck... BUT I have been reading the Deiselplace site for well over 2 years now....

The track record of the Duramax does not impress me nor does GM's Total disregard for the Overheating issues of the 2004.5 and 2005 (LLY) trucks. Granted the new ones might be better but haven't been out long enough to establish any real track record.

The older ones are having more and more head gasket problems.... The aluminum heads are Fine by themselves but where the problem comes in is when you put them on a cast iron block. They did come out with a updated gasket but...????

As far as problems the 6.0 Ford/IHC and the D-Max seem to be about egual if you read the forums for a while... Yes there people out there that Love their 6.0...

I have friends that would wear Chevy Underware and many of them don't have too much good to say about the D-Max...

[David Scott]

I own a 2500 hd chevy 04 crew cab shortbed duramax with the allison as do several of my friends just turned 50,000 miles have pulled up to leagal limit of 24,000 pounds on a regular bassis never had a problem. AS far as the Dodge goes yes I like the engine although they can't keep a trany of any kind behind it maby they should ask IH for there 7 or 9 speeds out of a full sized tractor seems to work well with the cummins. and as far as PsRumors goes better whatch the scales when you get to the midwest pick-ups are only leagal to 24,000 pounds and the fines for being over are not cheap. I have a friend that has an older Ford 7.2 I think is the engine it's great. A strong puller with good fuel milage. As for buying new as I did though expect the milage to be low for a while mine is just getting into the upper teens got to get it broken in. I think that they all have there pro's and con's I bought mine because as a trucker for 25 years I have grown to trust the allison trany it hasn't let me down yet and as for leg room the chevy has them all beat. At the end though it your choise.

David

[Benny Mckheean]

After reading all the replies on here and the Diesel Forum I took ownership last Wednesday of a 2006 2500 HD Crew Cab Duramax, Long bed ,360 HP with a Allision Tranny 6 speed auto Silver Birch in color with medium gray leather interior with 60-40 front seat with fold down console.I have a grand total of 260 miles on it with 140 miles on it when I purchased it.I love the power and ride that it has if it will hold up in the future.I wanted the extened warrenty but for $1,900.00 I passed. The engine has a 5 year 60,000 mile warranty on top of the 3 year 36,000 bumber to bumper warranty.I am a happy camper and engine hauler now. Thanks ALL for the replies