New farm truck

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Ky cowboy

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So my old dodge was stolen and totaled the other day so now I'm doing my least favorite thing truck shopping.

My last few trucks have been Cummings and ive had great luck from them, but I really don't pull heavy loads enough to justify the extra expense I think.

So ive been looking at 3/4 ton gassers mainly dodge and Chevy. Does anyone have any advise on either of these trucks. I found a 08 dodge with 97kmoles for $18k that looked good And a 14 dodge with the 6.4 for $24k it had 94k miles.

This truck will also be my daily driver and I have 3 kids under 5 so it has to be crew cab 4x4. I dont care if its carpet or vinyl floor or crank Windows. Fuel mileage is a big factor but I don't care to sacrifice some mpg for hp
 
I love my GMC 3/4 ton. It has the 6.0 Vortec. I bought it at 1 year old with 11K miles on it. I use it as a daily driver back and forth to work, then hook it up to the 8X28 gooseneck stock trailer to haul my bulls nearly every weekend. I get 18mpg on the highway with no trailer. Hooked up it is closer to 15mpg. I love that it has enough snort to get the job done with the trailer, but is economical for daily driving too. I just rolled over 67K miles, and it has only gone through one set of back tires and a set of front break pads. Aside from that, literally everything has been routine maintenance. My mother has the same truck, and has had a similar experience.
 
Boot Jack Bulls":2br6sxyl said:
I love my GMC 3/4 ton. It has the 6.0 Vortec. I bought it at 1 year old with 11K miles on it. I use it as a daily driver back and forth to work, then hook it up to the 8X28 gooseneck stock trailer to haul my bulls nearly every weekend. I get 18mpg on the highway with no trailer. Hooked up it is closer to 15mpg. I love that it has enough snort to get the job done with the trailer, but is economical for daily driving too. I just rolled over 67K miles, and it has only gone through one set of back tires and a set of front break pads. Aside from that, literally everything has been routine maintenance. My mother has the same truck, and has had a similar experience.
what year is it, I know the older ones are a fuel hog... But they got the power and a great eng...
 
ALACOWMAN":1p87t4i8 said:
Boot Jack Bulls":1p87t4i8 said:
I love my GMC 3/4 ton. It has the 6.0 Vortec. I bought it at 1 year old with 11K miles on it. I use it as a daily driver back and forth to work, then hook it up to the 8X28 gooseneck stock trailer to haul my bulls nearly every weekend. I get 18mpg on the highway with no trailer. Hooked up it is closer to 15mpg. I love that it has enough snort to get the job done with the trailer, but is economical for daily driving too. I just rolled over 67K miles, and it has only gone through one set of back tires and a set of front break pads. Aside from that, literally everything has been routine maintenance. My mother has the same truck, and has had a similar experience.
what year is it, I know the older ones are a fuel hog... But they got the power and a great eng...
Mine is a 2012, my mom's is a 2014. Both are economical on fuel (in my opinion) and from what I have heard, the 6.0 Vortec is a great, long- lasting engine. In fact, my mechanic (truck needs to be service by one for warranty) is a huge Dodge fan, but even he swears by the Vortec.
 
My sons is a 06...I drove it to town a month ago..was passing another car on a mountain.. Pushed the throttle and it scared the crap outa me,with the power that thing has...I know they've got better on fuel milage the last few years...
 
ALACOWMAN":3syv2itj said:
My sons is a 06...I drove it to town a month ago..was passing another car on a mountain.. Pushed the throttle and it scared the crap outa me,with the power that thing has...I know they've got better on fuel milage the last few years...

My mom's is a Z71 with the high speed rear end and if you aren't careful, it will shred the tires! Mine is the standard HD, but it still growls as needed. I like knowing they have a little snot in reserve just in case....
 
jedstivers":2e1p514d said:
They very best will be a Chevy with a 8.1 and a Allision.
Hard to find though.
Around here, anything with an Allision tranny will be more expensive....because people (including myself) like them. Wish GM would put the Allision in its 3/4 tons... :cry2:
 
Boot Jack Bulls":6q3a7s4c said:
jedstivers":6q3a7s4c said:
They very best will be a Chevy with a 8.1 and a Allision.
Hard to find though.
Around here, anything with an Allision tranny will be more expensive....because people (including myself) like them. Wish GM would put the Allision in its 3/4 tons... :cry2:
They did put them in 3/4's.
You could get a 3/4, 8.1 with a Allision.
Noe I said those were the best I meant as far as gas burners.
I still like Diesle for me but that wasn't the op's question.
 
jedstivers":2cj4bzeb said:
Boot Jack Bulls":2cj4bzeb said:
jedstivers":2cj4bzeb said:
They very best will be a Chevy with a 8.1 and a Allision.
Hard to find though.
Around here, anything with an Allision tranny will be more expensive....because people (including myself) like them. Wish GM would put the Allision in its 3/4 tons... :cry2:
They did put them in 3/4's.
You could get a 3/4, 8.1 with a Allision.
Noe I said those were the best I meant as far as gas burners.
I still like Diesle for me but that wasn't the op's question.
Gottcha!
 
ALACOWMAN":1woigxh6 said:
jedstivers":1woigxh6 said:
They very best will be a Chevy with a 8.1 and a Allision.
Hard to find though.
good eng...bad timing..the Duramax put em on the back burner..
Sure did.
I'd still like to find one in good shape to buy to keep on the farm.
I love my Duramax's but don't want a long term relationship with any particular one.
 
The power and durability from a Vortec motor, beats any gas burners the other car companies have come up with.

Will be a sad day when GM puts the final nail in the Vortec coffin, for the hopes of better "emissions, and fuel economy."
 
Boot Jack Bulls":13wkty1m said:
jedstivers":13wkty1m said:
They very best will be a Chevy with a 8.1 and a Allision.
Hard to find though.
Around here, anything with an Allision tranny will be more expensive....because people (including myself) like them. Wish GM would put the Allision in its 3/4 tons... :cry2:
never seen a better transmission than that Allison, if we had to depend on those to make a living repair wise, would have starved to death..it was bullet proof..
 
Boot Jack Bulls":2h34s2fn said:
I love my GMC 3/4 ton. It has the 6.0 Vortec. I bought it at 1 year old with 11K miles on it. I use it as a daily driver back and forth to work, then hook it up to the 8X28 gooseneck stock trailer to haul my bulls nearly every weekend. I get 18mpg on the highway with no trailer. Hooked up it is closer to 15mpg. I love that it has enough snort to get the job done with the trailer, but is economical for daily driving too. I just rolled over 67K miles, and it has only gone through one set of back tires and a set of front break pads. Aside from that, literally everything has been routine maintenance. My mother has the same truck, and has had a similar experience.

I just barely get that out of my half ton ram hemi. Put a trailer behind it and you can forget about it. I got 8 pulling my 26ft camper. I got 10 when I pulled a ten ft 2 horse with about 1000 Lbs. of hay in it home from Oklahoma.
 
Last two farm trucks we've bought have been Dodges, strictly for the Cummins engine and straight drive transmission. From my experience, there's no other reasons to buy a Dodge than those two. Wonderful engine, p*ss poor shipping crate.
 
Boot Jack Bulls":267byb57 said:
I love my GMC 3/4 ton. It has the 6.0 Vortec. I bought it at 1 year old with 11K miles on it. I use it as a daily driver back and forth to work, then hook it up to the 8X28 gooseneck stock trailer to haul my bulls nearly every weekend. I get 18mpg on the highway with no trailer. Hooked up it is closer to 15mpg. I love that it has enough snort to get the job done with the trailer, but is economical for daily driving too. I just rolled over 67K miles, and it has only gone through one set of back tires and a set of front break pads. Aside from that, literally everything has been routine maintenance. My mother has the same truck, and has had a similar experience.

I would agree with that statement but it 100% opposite with the 5.3. The ones built with AFM (active fuel management or something like that). Our company has done nothing but scrap trucks and replace motors in them. 2011-2015 seem to be the worst years. I'm a Chevy man and even I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Just got my company truck back after a new motor at 215k. Used to get half a mil out of the 5.3's no problem
 
Seen a dodge truck going through town,with a bent brush guard in the bed..looked to be a ranch hand..center bar bent right in the middle.. The truck had no damage to the front...and I thought about you..if I see him stopped somewhere gonna casually ask where he got it...usually mind my own bidness, but I hate a thief...
 
BigBear":3fs91t7l said:
Boot Jack Bulls":3fs91t7l said:
I love my GMC 3/4 ton. It has the 6.0 Vortec. I bought it at 1 year old with 11K miles on it. I use it as a daily driver back and forth to work, then hook it up to the 8X28 gooseneck stock trailer to haul my bulls nearly every weekend. I get 18mpg on the highway with no trailer. Hooked up it is closer to 15mpg. I love that it has enough snort to get the job done with the trailer, but is economical for daily driving too. I just rolled over 67K miles, and it has only gone through one set of back tires and a set of front break pads. Aside from that, literally everything has been routine maintenance. My mother has the same truck, and has had a similar experience.

I would agree with that statement but it 100% opposite with the 5.3. The ones built with AFM (active fuel management or something like that). Our company has done nothing but scrap trucks and replace motors in them. 2011-2015 seem to be the worst years. I'm a Chevy man and even I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Just got my company truck back after a new motor at 215k. Used to get half a mil out of the 5.3's no problem
Those ecotech3 motors with afm and aluminum block are throw away motors. Half will be fine for the long haul, the other half will be sitting in a scrap yard before 200k.
Look for a iron block, they don't have afm.
 

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