It is time to let go of my 1995 F350 of 17 years and get into a new truck.
I have looked at the new F350 and the Dodge 2500/3500 mega cab. My last three trucks (1980, 1985, 1995) have been fords and they all required little maintenance. Therefore I am leaning towards Ford, but I did like the mega cab with the fold down seats. Just don't know much about Dodge trucks. Any comments would be appreciated! Thank you.

 

I've been a Ford fan all of my driving life. That said, I drove a 2012 Dodge 3500 crew cab longbed our fire department just bought. I've never ridden in a vehicle that rode worse than that. It's an SLT with the Cummins and the auto. My truck is MUCH smoother than that Dodge. Aside from that, they're nice trucks.....not much bad I can say about them but this one rides like it has no springs or shocks. Honestly it feels like the axles are bolted to the frame.

 

Interesting, John. I had the exact opposite reaction when I test drove a 2011 Crew Cab Ram 2500 with the Cummins engine. I thought it was a much nicer riding truck than the Ford, but in the end the capability difference made the extra cost for the Ford worth the money.

The Cummins engine was great back in the day before emissions control, but in recent years reliability has slipped just like the rest of the heavy duty pickups. Right now I believe Consumer Reports rates the Ram/CTD as having worse reliability than a Powerstroke Ford. And then of course you have to consider the 50 HP less that the Ram makes compared to the new 6.7L PSD.

But then again, you came to a Ford site and asked what we prefer. What sort of responses do you think you'll get?

 

personaly i cant stand the looks of the mega cab..

the trucks length is 3/4's cab with a box that looks tiny..

while there is ample room back there i feel most of it is wasted. unless your hauling around a NBA basketball team of 7' people all the time maybe.

the crewcab ford SD is think is the perfect size. lots of room for just about any size body and the truck looks good with either box length.

FTIW i think the Tundra megacab looks equaly stupid. for the same reasons..

as far as quality goes i find the dodge truck looks very cheap inside. right down to the exposed hardware to attach the trim panels.. the entire auto industry has figured out how to make flush mounted trim panels that dont squeak.. not sure why Dodge decided to go back 40 years in auto design and use exposed screwheads..

keep in mind this is a Ford site, so your pretty much gunna get 100% of opinions that say to buy a Ford.

 

Ford is the only one still available with manual locking hubs. Enough for me.

 

Of course, Ford is also the only one to still have problems with ESOF.

 

What are the problems with the ESOF?

 

Welcome to FTE.

The problem with the ESOF system is, most people don't know how to keep this system maintained. You can't go for years not using this system and expect it to work when you turn the switch.

My truck is over 11 years old and every time I turn the switch to 4x4, it goes into 4x4.

 

My experience with my last two trucks;

vacuum switch
leaking lines
leaking hub seals
seazed hubs

About all I like about ESOF is the ability for my wife to go into 4x4 easily.

 

But, somehow the Dodge and Chevy systems work.

 

Because they don't have lockout hubs, thus the front axle is spinning all the time. The primary problems with the ESOF in my experience is hub related.(seal in hub) The Dodge and GM systems are not trouble free either.

 

none as long as you use it occasionally.
I put mine in 4x4 at least once a month, pretty simple maintenance if you ask me.

As far as dodge trucks go.... they suck. Cummins is a great motor but everything else completely blows. For instance i was climbing into my buddies 1500 and using the oh **** handle to get in, well didnt turn out so good. The handle broke right off and i almost fell backwards. I looked at the handle and it snaps in with little plastic tabs like a dash..... Ford on the other hand uses real bolts to hold their handles in... One simple reason i drive a ford

 

Thanks for the input. I expected some Ram bashing and I appreciate your honest opinions on a few of the Ford problems. I did drive the Ram and found it to ride a little rough so now I am off to the Ford dealer for a test drive (I saved the best for last). If that works out I am going to ask for opinions on what options to shoot for and what to avoid. Thanks again.

 

get the full manual 4WD ( ESOF delete option)

having manual lockout hubs and an actualy 4WD shift lever is worth paying extra for if you ask me.. ford doesnt charge for it. in fact i think you save money going this way.

 

Most of this forum members base their purchase decisions on cosmetics, not economy.
90+ % of commercial haulers on West Coast drive Dodge.