Hey guys, Im in the market for a new(used) truck to replace my current DD(rusty subaru). I need the capacity of a 3/4 ton, because i want to be able to use a deck and haul two sleds in the winter time. I want to go with a diesel as big gas trucks suck(literally). The motors in the ford are horrible for reliabilty, and ive never really been a chevy guy. So Ive been looking around for a late 04 to an early 07 2500 or 3500 Quad cab 4X4 with the 5.9 cummins. I want to stay away from the newer 6.7 for modification reasons. I know that the front end of these trucks are notorious for being hard on ball joints and bearings, but does anyone have any other expierences with these trucks? I need something that is going to be fairly reliable, as im going to be doing alot of traveling in the coming year. Opinions needed. Jay Ps: dont worry, im keeping the Stang
My next door neighbor has I believe a 2002 Dodge diesel pickup (2500 maybe?) that has the utility box on it. He's an operating engineer and tows heavy equipment with it, no problem. AFAIK, he hasn't had any problems with it. He only uses it for work, but that's every day Monday-Friday. I could give him a holler tomorrow and see if he has any complaints, if you want?
I'm pretty sure the ford 7.2L is fine, its the 6.1 liter diesel that has the notorious head gasket problems. If you are serious about towing, its more a function of suspension, breaks, and gearing then it is about power. Any big v8 will be able to tow what you're talking about. My 2001 F150 XLT, with a 5.4L (260hp, 350trq), has towed two Polaris 600cc sleds, chainsaws and supporting equipment, and camping gear for two guys for trail maintenance trips with no problems. I do have electric breaks installed, but the towing package, gearing, and off-road package are all stock. U-Haul can sell you the electric break module for like 60 bucks if I recall. You're also up in Canada where cold weather is not very friendly to diesels. Just throwing it out there. I wouldn't trust a dodge truck if my life depended on it. We had a civil contractor up at a job in Upstate New York who bought a shiny fleet of Dodge 2500s (gas, not diesel) and he spent more time wrenching on those then the trenching equipment he was running! Adam
Huge fan. They were having transmission and front end issues. The best truck out there is a GMC, but they are a little bit more $$$. I do a lot of construction in Upstate New York. The terrain is rocky, there is snow, mud, and salt everywhere, and after doing that for 3 winters my next truck will be a GMC after seeing Dodges, and to a lesser extent, Fords, give up the ghost. Hardly anyone uses Diesels excepting the 1 ton and larger rigs towing serious heavy equipment. Block heaters for Diesels are required equipment. For whats its worth, my friend's boss just picked up a 2008 F150 with 6 miles on it for $27K... sticker price was $60K!!! Great time to buy a big diesel. Adam
Get the Dodge try to get a 04-06 model diesel trucks those are the good ones My friend just got a 04 quad cab 4x4 this weekend and its pretty awesome
i have some bad news for you, GMC is nothing but over priced ****. I paid in full for a supposed heavy duty turbo diesel 6 liter GMC truck for my painting business and the transmission didn't even last to 28K. not only did second gear go it took the whole tranny with it. yeah it was under warrenty and got a whole new tranny sent from GMC and guess what reverse didn't even last 3 months on a brand new tranny. I'm not mocking the engine which i think is great, but don't put a great engine backed by a garbage transmission and put a 40K price tag on it. and Dodge as of late has been real bad with the build quailty. I have an 07 dakota yeah i know not heavy duty truck, but i think it will be the only dodge i will ever buy, never again. i have no experience with ford trucks as of now, but it looks like my last resort when it comes time to buy another truck. they build truck like diapers today, use it , throw it away and buy a new one. but the new diapers are very expensive. and then they have the balls to use like a rock, built ram tough and what ever ford uses. i wish there was a foreign car maker that would step up, cause i hate throwing away my hard earn money to trucks that are american made piece of crap. ok i'm done /rant
My dad has a 98 5.9 Cummins 3/4 ton with close to 300,000 miles on it and the only problem has been normal wear and tear. The only real problem with it is the tranny is just now starting to go. I know Dodge trannies are a little weak, but heck, that could be your first mod. Get on Cumminsforum.com and ask around about what trans to upgrade to and find a good shop around you to talk to. The weakest part of the tranny is actually the torque converter from what the experts have told me. They said get a billet torque converter from a reputable shop and that'll keep your tranny happy for a long time. I know Suncoast makes a good one and a good shop you could call just to talk to (cuz it's in Ga) is Jeff Garmon. He's the diesel god around here... As far as the front end, I don't know a whole lot about the 4x4 front geometry, but even if it needs ball joints every few years, that's not too bad or I'm sure somebody makes a fix for it now I swear by Dodges. Yeah the trannies are a little weak, but the truck will last you well into 500,000 miles if you take care of it. I know of a guy that has 2.5 million miles on his 98 and all it's needed is maintenance, a tranny, and a rebuilt injection pump. Less than $8,000 in maintenance ain't bad for 2.5 million miles!
I dont plan on towing much, maybe an open 4 place trailer once in a while which a regular 1/2ton has no problem with, I plan on Hauling a sled deck, which a 1/2 ton truck can not do safely. Example: As far as the cold weather starting, im not overly worried. I have to keep all of my gas vehicles plugged in when it gets extreme anyways, and from what ive read, Cummins start pretty good in the cold weather. I know the dodge auto trannies arent the best, especially if the power is upped via a tuner, or if towing extreme loads, but i wouldnt be against a 6spd either.
Keep in mind that gasoline will stay liquid until something like -120°F, whereas diesel will gel somewhere around 15 or 20°F. It's not really the block you have to worry about keeping warm, but the fuel itself. During the winter, it's not uncommon for diesel fleet owners to keep them running around the clock, just so the fuel doesn't gel and immobilize the fleet.
If you aren't worried about towing, than a Diesel probably isn't worth the money IMHO. I don't like Dodge's or GMs. I've had bad experiences with both. Dodge's do tend to have torque converter issues, but if you are getting a Diesel, it's mainly to get that extra towing edge, so what's the point of having an automatic. That's totally counter productive. Honestly I think you are better off getting a 3/4 ton Ford with a gas engine, with a Triton V8 or V10. If you aren't towing a lot of weight, or towing often, the auto is fine. The diesel is going to cost more money in maintenance, and the fuel savings is negligible in comparison. If you have your heart set on a diesel, save up the extra cash to get the Ford. Kurt
I am by NO means a fan of dodge/chrysler stuff. I have a bit of a soft spot for Jeeps that have more to do with JEEP than dodge but for the most part...I am not a fan at all (does not include the late 60's early 70's stuff, or the turbo K cars). That said I would love to get a mech. inj. cummins powered 4x4 ext cab 3/4-1ton with a NV tranny. The only other dodge I would own that was made in the last 20yrs would be a viper gts. If your not going to use the truck for towing save the money and buy a 1/2 ton or "mini".
You could also get on dodgeforum.com and ask around. I own a 01 Ram 2500 gasser. I love it. Even though its had a few issues. I am in the process of rebuilding the engine. I hope to have a badass truck when its all said and done. As mentioned Dodges have known certain problems. I'm not sure if the diesels have all the same problems as the gassers or not. I kinda doubt it cause the engines are different. I think you would be happy with a Ram
Not a fan of heavy duty ford trucks at all, my dad has a 99ford f350 work truck with the 7.3powerstroke, and it rides like a spruce bench, and the new 6.0l diesels are junk. I am not brand loyal in any way shape or form, but i know what to stay away from, and a heavy duty gas truck is one of them. Before i had my stang i had an 87jeep YJ, and man was that thing awsome, roof an doors off for the summer was the best. All i did was pull the carpet and pop the drain plugs in the floor, and put garbage bags on the seats when it rained, total chick magnet at the beach. Also, the reasoning for the 3/4ton and up, is for the bed capacity, as seen in the pictures above^^^ Thanks for the opions guys, but i think im still set on the Dodge, Although it all depends on an new job oppertunity. Im going to a skills assesment camp for Saskpower, which is the provincial power company for Saskatchewan. From what i understand, i was one of 60 guys chosen out of 2000 applicants to go to this camp to become a Powerline Man apprentice. The kicker is that there is only 23 apprentice spots, and some of the Saskpower guys ive talked to say this camp is insanely intense. I go next week and am pretty nervous, I went climbing poles today with a family friend that is a Journeyman Lineman with Saskpower and it gave me a good insight into what to expect. Here is a good outline vid of the camp, if anyone is interested trainingvid-1
Nice man, good luck. After college I was an apprentice lineman for some months, but as soon as my college loans kicked in I realized I had to go straight into engineering as I just couldn't swing the payments on that salary and hope to move out of my parents house. I worked for a small municipal company though, and there was little-to-no-overtime unless you had 10 years in. Lineman make a ton of cash but they earn every cent of it. I currently work in the power industry, doing a lot of wind and some other misc. design jobs in transmission and distribution. If you have any technical questions shoot me a PM and I will see what I can do. Remember its all about safety, and always hang your grounds! Adam
The cummins 5.9 is an excellent engine, but i only know one person (and i live in the boondocks) that has a dodge truck without any transmission issues, diesel or gas. I don't think you can find a better all around 2500 than a late-model 7.3 Ford...absolutely bulletproof in my experience. I'd highly recommend the six speed manual in a diesel of any brand over the automatics. I've driven several 200k+ 6 speed PSD's and all felt like new. Automatics tend to wear faster when pulling/hauling. just my $.02
Just wandered into this one, but this is pretty much spot-on for what I was going to recommend. Here's my feedback (got a lot to say on this one, so hang on): 1) Had a 98 24v cummins dually 4x4 in AK. Loved it, drove it up here in AK. Bulletproof truck (had the manual), got great mileage, would pull a barn down. Realized I wasn't saving as much as I thought in total operating cost because fuel filter changes, higher cost oil changes, etc. Still loved my cummins though. 2) My dad has driven cummins diesels since they were first introduced in the early 90s. Still anecdotal, but he's pulled HUGE loads alongside friends using Ford PowerStrokes of various vintages. Lower CI Dodges always outperformed (and were more reliable than) the Fords. (As an aside, I don't know of many people who routinely use their diesels for heavy hauling that drive Chevies). 3) Fast-forward to 2003-I needed a new truck, was dead-set on buying a new Dodge diesel. Sat down and did a total cost of ownership calculation, figuring increased purchase price of a diesel engine over gas, fuel economy savings, increased maintenance cost, and (at that time) fuel cost savings, as diesel was cheaper than gas then. Figured I'd need to drive my truck over 110k miles to reach the break-even point over a gas engine. Wound up not buying any truck for a while, but during that time, a few related and noteworthy things happened: a) Diesel fuel changed: Current motor fuel is 15 ppm sulfur content, mandated by clean air act effective 2007. Previously was 2000 ppm. Changes in refining have driven the cost of diesel to significantly higher than gasoline (where it will stay for the foreseeable future). b) Changes in chemical properties of the new diesel result in a 10% reduction in energy produced from it's combustion. In other words, it now takes approx 10% more fuel to create the same amount of energy. So your mileage went down. Manufacturers are also having issues with the design changes to the engines built to run the new diesel. (not a lot of science out yet on the impacts of the new diesel in older diesel engines, but there's got to be some impact, most likely in increased engine wear). So, point 3 winds up with some big strikes in my book AGAINST the diesel engine. In 2005 I needed a new tow rig to replace my 3/4t Suburban. I pull a 4-place enclosed snowmachine trailer that doubles for my car hauler. Didn't like the chebbie, but bought it when I did because the price was right. Went shopping for an Excursion. Wound up finding a heck of a deal on a V10 gas model, but really wanted a diesel, cuz I really liked diesels, they can pull more, their more manly...But not manly enough to make me pony up $6k more for the same truck. Bought the gas. Since that time I've put about 60k miles on my Excursion, including one roundtrip from Seattle to Billings, MT for a Christmas snowmachine vacation, 3 one-way trips on the Alaska Highway from Seattle to Anchorage (two hauling my trailer, the last one with my 67, my compressor, toolbox, blast cabinet, and jam-packed full of mustang parts, well over my 10k gvw rating on my trailer axles). Verdict: This thing pulls like a champ. Yeah, I only get 9-11 mpg towing, but I don't drive like a grandma either. Without a trailer, I get 13 around town, 16-17 on pure highway. Oh, yeah, and gas engines work waaayyy better in the cold than diesels. If you want more detailed proof/info, PM me. The last few model years, Dodge hasn't built as good of truck as what they were building 10 years ago, IMHO. A friend with a construction company owns a couple, and he isn't that happy with them, especially when he compares them to the ones he owned 10 years ago. Fit and finish is poor. Tranny and front end problems are common. I've never been a fan of the PowerStroke either, in either configuration. Ford seemed to be constantly tuning the crap out of their bigger-cube V8 to try to compete with Cummins' smaller displacement I6, and they seemed to fail a lot because of it. I'm sure I opened a blast furnace worth of flaming. but I say it from the perspective of a former die-hard Cummins guy. My advice, based up by some fact and experience--buy a V10 gas (I suggest the Ford). It'll haul your sled deck easily, you'll have a lower total cost of ownership (purchase price, fuel bills, maintenance expense), and you'll have what has been a reliable drivetrain/truck for me. My two dollars worth.
just to throw in my opinion. You cant beat the 7.3 ford powerstroke, its bullet proof.... ive seen one with a million miles, ran great
Dodge is the way to go as far as 3/4 ton and up diesel trucks. They've always had stronger running gear (minus the automatic trans) than Ford and GM. Plus the Cummins is truly the best light duty diesel engine available. There's a reason so many people have swapped their vehicles over to the 5.9L Cummins. I have two Dodge pick-ups, a '90 and '94 that have 235,000 and 250,000 miles. The only issue has been the weak Getrag 5-speed that was put in the early trucks, however it has towed 32,000lbs on so many occasions it's hard to believe the transmission didn't just drop from the truck. I used to be a Ford truck guy, but they just don't compare to the durability of the Dodges.
