Truck advice (again!)

DirtyDog

DirtyDog

Captain Leisure
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Nov 10, 2005
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Eugene, Oregon
I haven't had a truck and camper for a while and after spending this weekend in a tent..... I'm about to break down. With truck prices so ow, it may be time to take the plunge.

I'm wanting a 3/4 ton diesel. I've always owned Fords but the Ford 6 liter diesel is notoriously bad (I know some of you have had good experiences with that engine but I'm not going to roll the dice with that one). That leaves me with Dodge and Chevy as choices. The Chevy's are rated well all around from what I have seen. The Turbo Cummins engine seems to get a lot of praise but outside of that I know nothing about Dodge.

Any suggestions?
 
For what it is worth. I am a former Chevy guy that is now a Dodge convert. At least when it comes to 2500/3500 Diesel trucks. I have been very happy w/ my Dodge. It is probably the best vehicle I have ever owned (knocking on wood). The big pluses for me were a HD manual transmission, the Cummins of course, and the ride height vs. the Chevy trucks. I had the ride height I needed for mild offroading and Jeep recovery from the factory with no need to lift the truck... just put larger tires on. The solid front axle was also a plus for me. After I used the truck for a few years offroad I decided I wanted to go faster.... :) Thus the Lorenz suspension. It made a night and day difference in the unloaded ride. I'm still working on retuning the suspension for the added weight of the camper.

Kyle
 
Hi DD.
Like Kyle I also have a Ram 2500 with a CTD. After a number of Toyotas I decided to go with a a full sized truck. I've done nothing to mine but drive it. The truck doesn't know the campers back there and I agree with Kyle that this is probably the best vehicle I've ever owned and at 65 I have had a few. I know The Fisherman and others love their Fords but Ford after months of litigation bought back my step daughter's, brother in law's and very close friend's. They all have Rams now. Their Fords were 06 and 07. On all their Fords the fuel mileage was quite a bit less than the Dodge. Of course it is a V8 and the Dodge is a 6.

After 30 years of driving big equipment I decided I needed a break and went with an auto tranny. And I'm old! I enjoy not shifting.

I looked at the Chevy .75 ton and loved the ride but as Kyle said the ride height was not much higher than a 2wd truck. The Chevy clearly had the smoothest ride of the trucks I drove. I loved my T 100 but I felt it lacked the power I wanted and the mileage I was getting with the camper on it was less than 14 mpg and you couldn't use the OD in the mountains. The Dodge got 17.5 mpg out of the box and not much less than that with the camper on and at 65mph I've gotten as high as 22 with it. I'm not sure but as I recall the sweet spot is right at 1700 RPM (Kyle would know). That is about 65 mph. If you can stand people being pissed of at you for going the speed limit you will get good mileage. Here in AZ with a 75 mph limit people haven't figured it out yet that fuel is 25 to 40% higher now. But the difference just 5 mph makes is dramatic. It has so much power its hard to keep your foot out of it and Dodge is giving a fuel incentive now.
Good Luck.
 
Tough call. I will only comment on the Dodge since that is what I own. I've found the solid front axle handles very well and would not let that be a concern. One of the pluses of the Club Cab configuration I really like is not having to open the front door to access the read door. This makes loading gear, people and groceries a snap. I feel having a pillar on the side adds to the sound dampening and the side impact protection. There is no cab rattle when I go over rail road tracts like I had in another company issued truck with the extended cab, but no pillar design.

If I was in the market for a new Dodge 2500 I would pay the extra money and get the 3500. From what I've read the only difference is in the factory overload springs on the 3500. I'm talking single rear wheel here. Since these springs will only come into play with a heavy load the ride quality should not be effected. And having the extra payload capacity can come in handy if you decide to go with a heavier camper or tow a trailer. In for a penny in for a pound. And a year after you buy the truck you will have forgotten the higher price but will have the higher payload. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Mike

P.S. Love that Cummins engine.
 
I owned a 2001 Dodge 4x4 1500 and a 2002 2wd 1500. Loved 'em both. The 4x4 wasn't enough truck for my needs.

I don't like Chevy's IFS: too many bushings to wear out, more effort to keep aligned--in my opinion--than the solid axle Dodge or Ford.

What I don't like about Dodge is the central axle disconnect in the 4x4 system. I prefer locking hubs. (I replaced the OEM vacuum actuator in my 4x4 with a cable unit when the OEM unit went bad. I didn't like the cable much better, vibrations ran up the wire and made the cab noisier. Everything is a compromise.)

Last year I bought a new F350. Should have ordered it, but I bought it off the lot. I'm happy with it. I have friends who've had 6.0PSDs for awhile. They've had good luck, so far. I understand the Ford injectors will not last as long as the Dodge.

I'm happy with the Ford. I'd buy another. But I'd buy another Dodge, too.
 
Another vote for the Dodge.
I special ordered a '96 with the manual trans and Cummins. It ran fine for the 11 years I had it. I had guys here bidding on it when I sold.
 
Another Dodge Guy

I'll add my two cents for Dodge. As my sig says, I have a 3/4 ton diesel 4x4.
My son has one, and my brother-in-law also has one. My Bro-in-law had a Ford and they had to buy it back under the lemon law. The suspension doesn't know the Grandby is on the back, although it being there costs me about 2mpg. I really don't care much for the interior of the Dodge, looks cheap, but seems to hold up well. Too many good points for the interior to make much difference.

Great trucks..I'd buy another in a heart-beat.
 
As far as the locking hubs on the dodge, aftermarket are available now. Too pricey for me though.

I don't think anyone is kidding when they say expect a million miles of the cummins. Certainly the interior of the dodge could use some improvement.

Would I buy the Dodge again? Probably with a long bed but definitely yes.
 
Just a clarification too... someone else already touched on it, but the new AAM axles don't have central disconnect, the older trucks w/ the Dana axles did. The new ones are spinning all the time as equipped from the factory, but the aftermarket has developed manual hubs for them. There has been some discussion on the TDR, but I'm not sure how much mileage people have gained by doing the conversion. There might be a valid financial case with the cost of fuel now to pay for the conversion if one drives enough.

Kyle

Look out! You haven't even bought a truck yet and we're already modding it for you!
 
You didn't say whether you were looking for new or used. If you're going to buy new, a couple of things people have mentioned here have changed. The 6.0L power stroke has been replaced by a twin turbo 6.4L which has not had the problems that the 6.0L had. The Dodge Cummins has been increased from 5.9L to a 6.7L. More power, but the people I know who have them say the fuel economy has gone in the toilet compared to the 5.9L.

What would I buy? I would have a very difficult time choosing one of the three. I think I would be happy with any of them.

JP
 
Kyle,
I changed my old T 100 over to manual hubs. Of course it was IFS but I figured the CV joints would last longer if I did and it just looked cooler. After seeing mine the local Oxnard Toyota dealer started offering the mod as a accessory. The service manager felt the cost was out weighed by the longer life of the joints and boots. I wonder if I would have gotten even worse mileage if I didn't make the change? It was pretty easy with the Warn kit I got from 4 Wheel Parts.

I always felt if I were out in the middle of nowhere and got a failure it would be great to be able to lock out the wheels manually. I guess it wouldn't be a problem with a live axle but manual hubs would be nice. Have you researched the cost and source for the Dodge conversion? We could have a party.
 
*(^*&! If I'd of known I could get a Dodge w/ locking hubs....!

Buy the Dodge w/ a manual transmission.
 
I found this with a google search. It says it was out of an old issue of 4 Wheel Magazine.

Manual Hubs

Approximate Gains: 2 to 4 mpg

Works on: Gas- and diesel-powered Dodge Ram and Ford Super Duty pickups

What is it: Dodge and Ford Free-Spin Hub Conversion Manual-locking hubs reduce wear and increase fuel economy by preventing parts from rotating constantly in two-wheel drive. Designed specifically to remove a weak link in popular Dodge Ram and Ford Super Duty 4x4 trucks, Dynatrac's Free-Spin heavy-duty hub conversion kits replace the factory unit bearings with fixed spindles for superior strength and improved fuel economy. The complete kit includes inexpensive, serviceable Timken bearings, chromoly spindles, cast nodular wheel hubs, Warn Premium manual locking hubs, and massive 1.50-inch-diameter, 35-spline outer stub shafts. We like these kits because they are made in the U.S.A. and reduce wear on frontend parts, while increasing economy at the same time. Trade off: you have to deal with locking hubs.

An extra 2 to 4 mpg I think I'd take the trade off. Now where do we find this thing? ? What axle do I have? How much is it?
 
I did a quick dealership tour today at lunch. Ford is back on the list now that they aren't using the 6.0 diesel. I know that the new diesel doesn't have much of a history yet but it has to be better than the 6.0 and I sure like the exterior and interior styling, and the drive quality of the Ford. These are big trucks though - ride much higher than the Dodge or Chevys stock - which doesn't bode well for fuel economy.

Dodge - a little better priced than the Ford but pretty sparse inside! Still on the list but I need to drive one.

Chevy - seems to have the worst ground clearance of the three. Gonna have to test drive.
 
From what those who own them have told me you are looking at sub 15 mpg with the for V8 diesel.

The '08 engine is made by international the word is the '09 wont be a Navistar but is derived from a diesel engine used by Land Rover in Europe and will be manufactured in Mexico.

There's a dealer in Texas (Tommy Vaughn I believe) offering 19 grand off sticker. Apparently their are tons on his lot and they aren't selling.
 
Dodge Gas vs. Chevy Diesel

I still have my '99 Dodge 1500 gas powered truck with 122K miles and besides the water pump going at 75K miles and recently the rear limited slip differential is starting to lock up on pavement while 3K miles short of a scheduled oil change, I haven't had any problems. I think Dodge's are very well built.

Because I couldn't afford new, I looked around for a long time before I found a great deal on my Chevy 2500 Duramax (it helps to have a friend who is friends with a dealer from whom he bought 6 trucks in the previous 18 months). As was previously mentioned, the steering components are weak, but for about $200 I got everything I needed from Cognito to fix it. The only other draw back of the Chevy is the weight of the front end, coupled with the IFS, causes the front end to bottom out easily while going over bumpy terrain, which means I have to go real slow over the real rough stuff. I'm thinking about getting a set of Firestone Ride-Rite airbag/shock absorbers to address that (about $500 for parts). The frame rails are a little lower than the Dodge, but that hasn't proven to be a problem yet.

On the plus side, I have been able to get any one of the wheels about 2 feet higher than the others and keep all 4 on the ground. The Duramax engine, Allison transmission and G80 rear locking differential (it mechanically locks when going below 25 MPH and there is a 100 RPM difference between the 2 axle shafts) are fantastic and it's road manners are great. I'm real happy with the Chevy, but I'm sure I would have been just as happy with another Dodge. FWIW, I get about 20 MPG at 65 MPH without the camper and about 18 MPG with the camper. Around town and off highway is another manner, but it's proportional to the MPG drop on any other truck I've had. But, I don't have the Diesel Particulate Filter that is on newer trucks and I hear that costs some MPG while it is in the "regeneration" state.
 
I have the Ford 06 diesel and no problems yet. I talked to a friend who works at the dealer ship and his take was most problem occur before 10000 miles on the trucks he saw I have 19000 miles :eek: and no problems yet. I think most of the bugs were worked out by 06 on the diesel and that was his take also. They sell a lot trucks are people going to have problems you bet they are but with my lucky rabbits foot in the glove box I think I have good one;)
 
I don't remember the cost off hand, but I remember it being pretty pricey when it first came out... If people are really seeing that improvement in mileage it might be more easily justified now. Something else that can justify the cost would be if you have the unit bearing go bad on the front axle, you could upgrade to the aftermarket setup. I remember the unit bearing being a pretty pricey unit, so there could be some cost offset by the oem part cost vs. aftermarket stuff.

The Dodge's use the AAM 9.25 in the front I believe... On a side note, I believe the eaton "locking" diff in the GMs and Dodges are identical or almost identical. Both axles are made by AAM now.
 
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