Help me pick my next truck (Diesel)

Which diesel truck is better

  • Ford Powerstroke

    Votes: 70 53.4%
  • Dodge Cummins

    Votes: 42 32.1%
  • Chevrolet Duramax

    Votes: 19 14.5%

  • Total voters
    131
  • Poll closed .

rwboring

Member
Established Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
929
Location
mishawaka
yeah but the GM has so many bells and whistles crap always breaks on them... i had a family member buy a new 2500HD in the last 9 months and its been to the shop over 5 times... the "option" for trailer breaks wont work for any of his trailers (owns a farm) so he had to put an aftermarket one on it also... then anything under 65psi air pressure throws the low pressure light... when you have a farm in the hills and gravel road you usually would like to lower the pressure (unless hauling) but you cant without the damn light coming on non-stop... they are trying to make them to much like a car... if you want a truck get a Dodge... if you want a diesel caddy then get the GM but expect stuff to break... i dont know of ONE friend (i know i dont have that many) that has a GM newer then 05 and hasn't had their check engine light come on... and im talking about 7 off the top of my head....
 

ford_racer

King of SVTP
Established Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
13,745
Location
Bozeman, MT
If it counts for anything, the only problems my friend has had with his truck are:

Stock clutch - Not rated for use with a chip and 35s. Replaced with Soutbend setup.

Southbend clutch - Not rated for use with injectors, turbo, 2 chips and 35s. Replaced with sled pulling clutch.

Stock tranny - Not rated for 4wd launches against Vipers utilizing above parts. Rebuilt.
 

boostdacr

Removed by Admin.
Established Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2004
Messages
2,878
Location
Virginia
The one thing i dont like about the dodge's are the interior, the new interior i think looks too cheap (not saying the fords are any better - atleast the 06 models).

Also if you get the dodge, the new 6.7 has some emission crap on it, not sure how well that would perform compaired to the 5.9.
 

earl lee

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2003
Messages
1,197
Location
GA
Far as diesel engines goes, cummins are the best.

However, with cummins being only in Dodge's turns some people off.

With this being a ford site im sure most will say the powerchoke er I mean powerstroke.

If I had to rate them it would cummins, duramax, then powerstroke. Ford has the worst diesel in my opinion.
 

matab14

pop up and do less....
Established Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2006
Messages
1,701
Location
So. IL
Lots of rumors that the new Diesel Ford is coming out with will indeed be a cummings....Dont know if they are tru but have read several places that it could happen.
 

bleedingfordblu

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
4,227
Location
Leesburg VA
i like the powerstroke just cause its a ford but i think the cummins is the best out there. they're all comin out with new motors so we'll see whats up then
 

AKPony

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
210
Location
Indiana
I love my 2004 with the 5.9. My dad has the GM and he loves it but it is way to car like for me. Also mine feels like its got more power. The weak parts of the Dodge is the auto tranny. But if you have it built the trucks are bullet proof. IMO
 

NPen

New Member
Established Member
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
50
Location
Portland, OR
There are soo many variables it just depends on what your exact needs are. Are you buying a new truck or looking used? Auto or stick? Will you be lifting it or staying stock ride height? Will you be modding the motor, if so how much? All these could change what truck you might be looking for.

IMO ford makes the best package & most durable pickup, and dodge has the best motor. Chevy has nice interior and a good motor in the durmax, but who really wants independent front suspension on a heavy duty pickup? Not me.

If your open to all brands my choices would be:

Late 99-2003 Ford 7.3L powerstroke
05-07 Ford 6.0 powerstroke
04.5-06 Dodge 5.9 cummins
02-07 Chevy 6.6 duramax


What do I own? A 7.3l powerstroke, and whenever i hear the stupid "i'd rather be cummin than strokin" i reply back, "while your cummin, i'm still strokin"
 

Cobra Jet 429

Hot Rod Lincoln
Established Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Messages
2,070
Location
Palmer, Ma
Take dodge out first....
great cummins engine...
that's it... everything else SUCKS.

Ford or Chevy?
If you want a stick shift go ford
If you want a nice interior go either way

Breakdown:
Ford
F-350
6.4 v8
twin turbo
350 hp
650 lbft
18,070lbs towing
4220lbs payload


Chevy
2500HD
6.6 v8
turbo
365hp
660 lbft
16,500 towing (with 5th wheel)
5,307lbs payload

Be warned, payload and towing numbers varry with cab size, engine, and gearing.
IE: an F-450 configured right will pull 24,000 lbs no problem...
 

AKPony

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
210
Location
Indiana
What's the weak part(s) of the Dodge transmission?

If you’re leaving it stock I haven’t heard of many if any problems. If you start adding power mods I believe the torque converter is the weak link. I would still be willing to put my 3500 Dodge up against any other similarly equipped brand for towing and mileage.
 

331power

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
967
Location
Arlington, Texas
Well I have worked on all of the 3 trucks since we have our own shop and do lots of work for different fleets/ companies. The Ford has the best interior and looks the nicest, but there is a price to pay. You get an unreliable, expensive and difficult to work on engine, specifically with regard to the 6.0 motors. As far as the new 6.4 liters I would not trust them, either.

The GM has an Isuzu designed V8, which uses sadly, GM electonics/sensors to run/control the engine. And as far as GM and electronics goes in can be a nightmare. Isuzu does make good diesels, and probably the only good product they make, apart from all of their other garbage, sadly though they are best in inline-diesel engines, and the Durakrap is NO inline!

Lastly we have the Dodge, by far the best Engine of the three! Trans is pretty good unless you start to go crazy on th power, and also have a good differential. Easier to work on/service compared to the others by far in my book. Hell you can fit on either side of the Cummins engine, but you can hardly stick your hand on either side of the Ford or GM. The only downside to the Dodge and others have already stated in the interior, which is behind quite a bit compared to the super duty's. Although let me say, that if you get a Laramie model, they are quite nice, not as COOL as the Ford, but not as bad as you might think. So stick with the 05 and up Dodge's. I personally dont like the 6.7 very much since they have ruined the Cummins simplicity by adding emmissions related junk.
Also you can get very good gas mileage if you go with an Auto/2WD Dodge.

So if you dont mind taking a risk with the Ford and shelling out a good amount of cash for service and repairs, go with Ford. But if you want a proven, decent Cruiser, hauler, work truck go with the Dodge.
 

Niks97cobra

Ready to Go!
Established Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
3,073
Location
Savannah, Ga
If your buying new, it has a warranty. Question is, which has the fewest problems, best mileage and the best warranty. All three will probably tow whatever you need.
 
Last edited:

shhak

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Messages
2,648
Location
Iron City, TN
I like the cummins motors, but I HATE Dodge. We bought a new 3500 dually in 98. The damn computer went out 3 times in the first 7,000 miles. Then the trans went out twice in the next 4,000 miles. Dodge told us they couldn't find anything wrong and there was nothing we could do to fix it....But we did.....we traded it for a new powerstroke. We've put 100's of thousands of miles on some powerstrokes and we weren't exactly babying them. We ran them like mad men. And they took a lickin and kept on tickin...
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top