Need help choosing diesel truck

[jday]

Hello everyone. In the next 8 months to a year I'll be in the market for a new truck. I'd like to get some opinions on my options, and although I'm posting this on forums devoted to a specific truck, I would like everyone to be as unbiased as possible. So here we go.

Some basic requirements are that each truck is a four wheel drive crew cab short bed and it must be a diesel. I should be getting the truck in 2010 so anything from probably 2008 and up will be fine.

Ford F-250/350 6.4L/(6.7L?) Powerstroke
Dodge Ram 2500/3500 6.7L Cummins
Chevy/GMC 2500HD 6.6L LMM Duramax

These trucks will be driven quite a bit on the highway and will see a fair amount of off-road usage. I don't tow too incredibly much but I do enough that my 6L gasser I have now kinda sucks. Being a diesel, the truck I get will get tuners/programmers and other stuff to add horsepower (all emissions junk will also be removed). And it will probably see the race track a time or ten. I also plan on lifting the truck eventually to run either 35”s or 37”s.

If everyone would just help me make this decision I'd really appreciate that.



Just from some research and from riding in/driving these trucks here are some strengths and weaknesses I've discovered.

Ford: Seems to be a really nice truck with the nicest (IMO) interior of all three. 6.4 seems to be a great engine and can be made really fast pretty easily and the transmission seems to hold up well.

Dodge: Cummins. Need I say more? Yeah I guess so. Least appealing interior and the transmission seems to be relatively weak for the horsepower(EDIT: I guess the trans (68rfe right?) is about equal to the other transmissions and will still need upgrades with more horsepower). Really like this truck though. Like the Cummins, not necessarily the dodge.

Chevy/GMC: Great engine and transmission. Obviously GM is doing something right considering the 6.6 Duramax has been used since 2000 (vs. Ford having a 7.3, 6.0, 6.4, and soon a 6.7). Nice interior and really like the body design. Really the only weak point I know of is the front drivetrain. Like I said, it will be used off road and most likely be lifted and IFS concerns me quite a bit. I've seen what happens when an LMM pulls too hard in 4wd (Friend snapped Cvs and tie rods).

[V8Strokin]

I would stay clear of the Chevy/GM heavy duties if you plan on going off road. IFS does not belong on a heavy duty truck. As for the Ford and the Dodge, Im am pretty sure that they are rated at the same hp and tq (350/650). From what I have heard the new 6-speed auto in the dodges are doing pretty well, there just arent many upgrades for them on the market yet. If you were going to be towing a lot I would probably have to advice on going with the Cummins but for medium towing, highway use, and some off-roading I think an 08 an up F-250 would suit you the best. Like you said they have the nicest interior and there are guys pushing 500hp with just deletes and a programmer on the 6.4s with stock transmissions and the new 6.4s

[jday]

Yep the IFS is really the only thing i have against GM. It seems like the ford 6.4 is the easiest to get fast though with just a straight pipe and a spartan tuner. My dads always driven fords and currently has an 08 F350 4x4 lariat. I love it except for the V10...

[peobryant]

Honestly, at this point in the game, they'll all do what you want, and they'll do it very well. The new Dodge trannies are holding up very well, so that should no longer be a topic of discussion. The Chevy IFS isn't the most desireable for offroad, but a lot of gys do it, and the majority have no problems with it.

The best advice I can give you is go out and test drive all three and see which one YOU like the best. As I said before, they will all do what you want them to, so go and get the truck you want to drive every day, whether it be a Chevy, Ford or Dodge.

[ema]

Originally Posted by jday

Hello everyone. In the next 8 months to a year I'll be in the market for a new truck. I'd like to get some opinions on my options, and although I'm posting this on forums devoted to a specific truck, I would like everyone to be as unbiased as possible. So here we go.

Some basic requirements are that each truck is a four wheel drive crew cab short bed and it must be a diesel. I should be getting the truck in 2010 so anything from probably 2008 and up will be fine.

Ford F-250/350 6.4L/(6.7L?) Powerstroke
Dodge Ram 2500/3500 6.7L Cummins
Chevy/GMC 2500HD 6.6L LMM Duramax

These trucks will be driven quite a bit on the highway and will see a fair amount of off-road usage. I don't tow too incredibly much but I do enough that my 6L gasser I have now kinda sucks. Being a diesel, the truck I get will get tuners/programmers and other stuff to add horsepower (all emissions junk will also be removed). And it will probably see the race track a time or ten. I also plan on lifting the truck eventually to run either 35”s or 37”s.

If everyone would just help me make this decision I'd really appreciate that.



Just from some research and from riding in/driving these trucks here are some strengths and weaknesses I've discovered.

Ford: Seems to be a really nice truck with the nicest (IMO) interior of all three. 6.4 seems to be a great engine and can be made really fast pretty easily and the transmission seems to hold up well.

Dodge: Cummins. Need I say more? Yeah I guess so. Least appealing interior and the transmission seems to be relatively weak for the horsepower(EDIT: I guess the trans (68rfe right?) is about equal to the other transmissions and will still need upgrades with more horsepower). Really like this truck though. Like the Cummins, not necessarily the dodge.

Chevy/GMC: Great engine and transmission. Obviously GM is doing something right considering the 6.6 Duramax has been used since 2000 (vs. Ford having a 7.3, 6.0, 6.4, and soon a 6.7). Nice interior and really like the body design. Really the only weak point I know of is the front drivetrain. Like I said, it will be used off road and most likely be lifted and IFS concerns me quite a bit. I've seen what happens when an LMM pulls too hard in 4wd (Friend snapped Cvs and tie rods).

either chevy or ford will do for me

[jday]

I really appreciate all the input, but after posting this on cumminsforum.com, dieselplace.com, and powerstroke.org, I've realized what I suspected from the start: all 3 trucks are well made vehicles, and each will suit me fine. Like I said, I'm a little worried about the GM's IFS but with 35s and nothing too extreme I think I'll be just fine. I'm pretty sure it will come down to test driving each vehicle and just deciding on my own which I like best.

[picknick15]

from what I hear of the new up and killing 6.7 in the new ford I would go with that I mean just look at the interior of that thing ive seen less comfort in mercades and bmws. plust the new 6 speed will realy inprove mpg and after all the failures from international eng I think ford is banking on this for the f series future. in other words they are not going to let it fail. as far as the dodge the truck itself is nothing compaired to ford. I tow alot and plow alot to with the dodge I was always replacing the front end components, and when i traded it in for my FORD the dealer ended up having to replace the front and backend in it again thats after only 2 years and 40,000 miles. as far as gm in my opinion they are a good all around truck but if you look at the company all around they are failing and im not to sure how much longer they are going to be around. This means that there truck is probably not going to get a whole lot of R&D this could be a bad thing or it could be a good thing its up to you to decide. in my opinion id wait for the new 6.7 and see what it will do and if all is good get one. Thats what im planing on doing if I can hold out and not get a 6.4 by then.

[dukcaln]

I am a dodge fan too, but the 08 6.4 is proving to be a bad a$$ truck

[Ratatattat]

Now a cummins in a Ford...

The 6.4 is good, but the math is hard to beat - 6.4=8 cyl / 5 main bearings
6.7 (cummins) = 6 cyl / 7 main bearings....

Still.... can't beat the way the is built...