Truck Brand

[Jdwest]

Just curious to know everyone's favorite diesel truck brand and why (besides the usual bias).

 

[lavacarancher]

2004 GMC 3/4t Duramax. Now has almost 300K miles. Replaced brake pads once and two sets of tires. That's it, nothing else.

 

[wbvs58]

1994 Isuzu FSR, carries a 6 tonne load has 450,000km on it. I could jump in it tomorrow and do a 4000km trip to pick up cattle or equiptment. Very comfortable to drive. The Japanese were certainly very good at copying something but improving it taking it to the next level. The Chinese are also good at copying but usually take things backwards especially when it comes to reliability.

Ken

 

[True Grit Farms]

RAM 3500 4x4, it's the best truck out there right now IMO. I'm driving a 06 LBZ Duramax 4x4 3500 and it's no where near the truck the RAM is. Had to replace the Injectors, front hubs, all new steering parts including the pump and u-joints in the Duramax so far. We're on our second 3500 RAM and haven't had either one in the shop yet. The fact is every vehicle that's built to pull has an in - line engine in it. I'm a Ford truck person, but I owned a 04, Ford 6.0 diesel and that cured me on Fords, for a while.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Here's a picture of one of my old my fish trucks. Comfortable to drive not at all to me. But nothing can compare to an Isuzu npr, it's 25 years old and still going strong.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Cummins. Hard to beat a 6 cylinder diesel. Right now they come in a Ram. If they came in a Toyota, Ford, or Chevy, then that's what I would want.

 

[AdamsCreek]

Cummins. Hard to beat a 6 cylinder diesel. Right now they come in a Ram. If they came in a Toyota, Ford, or Chevy, then that's what I would want.

Switched from a 7.3 to a 6.7 cummins last year. Not crazy about having to buy a dodge but i doubt I'll buy anything without a 6 cylinder cummins in the future.

 

[Jdwest]

Cummins. Hard to beat a 6 cylinder diesel. Right now they come in a Ram. If they came in a Toyota, Ford, or Chevy, then that's what I would want.

Switched from a 7.3 to a 6.7 cummins last year. Not crazy about having to buy a dodge but i doubt I'll buy anything without a 6 cylinder cummins in the future.

From what I've heard, that truck should last you a long time.

 

[midTN_Brangusman]

2011 F250 4x4 King Ranch, so far I am very pleased with the 6.7.

 

[AdamsCreek]

Cummins. Hard to beat a 6 cylinder diesel. Right now they come in a Ram. If they came in a Toyota, Ford, or Chevy, then that's what I would want.

Switched from a 7.3 to a 6.7 cummins last year. Not crazy about having to buy a dodge but i doubt I'll buy anything without a 6 cylinder cummins in the future.

From what I've heard, that truck should last you a long time.

I hope so. It ain't def equipped and I deleted all the emissions. The transmission is all I worry about.

 

[SoILcattle]

Duramax for me, have owned power stroke and cummins.

Recently sold a 2003 Duramax with 180k replaced both front hubs

Currently have a 08 with 87k 0 problems

 

[ranchertx]

Got a 2001 Ram 2500 with 398,700 miles and runs like new.

Also have a 14 Ram 3500 and it is a really tough truck.

I guess I like Ram. I like the 17 Ford Super Duties but, their issues with catastrophic injector pump failure have me scared off.

 

[ClinchValley]

I currently am destroying a Ford 3/4 2x4 w a 5.4. Has 240k and runs like a top. Very reliable. But just too slow for me as i cross a small mountain or two daily…loaded it gets old! Have a "6 OH" sitting in the driveway. Had to go through it in depth around 100k ago. It's been sitting in the driveway since last ThanksGiving. It's about time to fix it and send it on its way. Only going to be the third HPOP in the last 100k miles. Have replaced 13 injectors. Has air dog. I replace filters religiously. Has a built trans. Truck is great when it is running correctly. But it's always something. Right now it will not start unless the engine is at ambient temp. Something about insufficient fuel pressure for ignition. I am just tired of it. Time to cash out on it.

Friends have plenty of good things to say about Duramax and Cummins.

No more PSD for me. Thinking seriously about a Cummins/6SPD. Dodge used to feel like a super cheap truck IMO. It appears they have addressed this to some degree. How about the new Nissan Cummins coming out?

I think Ford has lost their marbles. 7.3's are too expensive for their miles and still have their issues.

 

[Ca2le]

I agree. I've seen good reviews on Cummins and Duramax too. But when it comes to truck brand, will the price matter? Durability? Maintenance costs? Choosing a truck is usually done by preference. What's important is to look at the features of the truck. Will it be going to be reliable if you'd use it as a work truck? There are also truck parts and accessories you can install in the truck to increase its functionality.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

All Dodge/Ram with Cummins around here. Newest one is a 5500 with the Aisin automatic and is rated to tow something like 30,000lbs, which is 10,000 more than the 6 speed. One of them is an 03 with 300,000+ miles and has needed injectors for a few years. Somehow, it still fires up every morning and makes the trip.
We buy them because we can afford them, and we intend to use them. We never got that kind of reliability out of Ford or Chevy diesels.

 

[Brute 23]

I agree. I've seen good reviews on Cummins and Duramax too. But when it comes to truck brand, will the price matter? Durability? Maintenance costs? Choosing a truck is usually done by preference. What's important is to look at the features of the truck. Will it be going to be reliable if you'd use it as a work truck? There are also truck parts and accessories you can install in the truck to increase its functionality.

That is what people leave out. There are a lot of factors for those of us that depend on a vehicle to make money.

The people that work for us that run fleet vehicle all say Duramax. They are the cheapest to operate per mile and do what all the others do. Even the guy at the oil change place told me the other day. Stay with the Duramax, it's the cheapest to work on.

Look up the resale on the big 3. It's Chevy, then Ford, then Dodge. Im looking at trading my 15 Duramax for a 17 and they are offering me 37K for my 15 with 115K miles.

If you pull up the hp and torque numbers on a 2017s Ford and Chevy are kneck and kneck. Dodge is trailing significantly.

I've owned a Dodge and now the Chevy. You will not sucker me in to that deal twice. There is a reason the Dodge's are thousands of dollars cheaper and can be bought a dime a dozen on the used market.

 

[Nesikep]

Looking at numbers only doesn't give you a picture of how it really pulls though.. Yes, they might all have similar numbers, but the V8's make the power and torque at a higher RPM.. The torque at 1200 RPM probably is still won by an I6 style engine.

I've had the misfortune of working on some fords.. it's a MISERY to do anything to them, and while I've never worked on a duramax, I can't see how they would be all that much better.
Work on an I6 and you'll forever hate a V8 when you have to do anything to it (Old gassers exempt). Turbo replacement is about a half hour job on a 12V or early 24V cummins... it's *nearly* a cab-off job on a ford if one of the studs breaks.

the vast majority of people who pull something with their trucks around here are Dodge people... Chevys and Fords get big lift kits and low profile mud tires with chrome rims.. Proof of that is that Ford and Chev don't even offer a manual transmission anymore!

http://www.tfltruck.com/2016/09/gm-publ ... as-reveal/

The Duramax cannot claim the highest torque, but it does beat the Ford by 5 hp and the Ram by 10 lb-ft of torque. How will Ram respond to this? Will Ford counter with another power boost? We will have to wait to find out.

This is exactly how marketing works.. 5 ft lbs, or 0.5% difference in torque, you'll NEVER feel that.. 10 hp or 2% in power, you'll never feel that either.. far more important are how smooth these power and torque curves are.. do they fall on their face above or below it? Do they start in the winter?

Just for comparison, here's my dyno sheet from my truck, '94 dodge 12V 6 speed.. fuel pressure sucked, I'm sure I'll get more when I fix that...


I built my truck from the ground up to be what I wanted, from the engine, transmission, gears, hubs, steering, brakes, paint, deck, and bumper.. Best part of it is if something does blow up.. lets say an engine, I can have another one tomorrow, and it won't break the bank

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

Resale value? Anyone try to buy an old 12 valve or common rail Cummins lately?

 

[True Grit Farms]

Resale value? Anyone try to buy an old 12 valve or common rail Cummins lately?

Yes, and the 04-08 are ridiculous priced. A Duramax sucks to work on I have one, and all the parts are higher. Brute is talking out his but.

 

[Brute 23]

Dodge guys claim to fame is always.... but my 12 valve and my 5.9... thats great if we could all go back in our time machines and buy vehicles. :lol:

GM has consistently produced a solid diesel truck for 17 years.... no huge by backs like Dodge or the 6.0 disaster Ford had. Right now the Dodge is out dated and behind the curve of Ford and Chevy with the 2017 trucks.

Like a guy that works for us said... "Dodges are for people who are going to destroy the truck because its a dodge and its going to be destroyed in a year or two any ways. They are cheap. You throw it away an get another for them to destroy." He and his supervisors all drive Fords or Chevrolets. The roustabout crews all drive Dodges.

Buy a dodge... it has zero effect on me... but look at the price they cost compared to the other 2 brand new and look the used marked and see how many are sitting there. Common sense should tell you if they are so great why are there so many on the used market and why are they so cheap to buy. Maybe there is a correlation there? ;-)