bf250- I thank you for your dedication and years of military service, America at large is in your debt and there are still those of us out there that feel guilty that we have not served. You are a true Patriot, and I commend you.

I am leaning hard in the Ford direction, and by new body I meant 05+. It seems to be hit or miss with the 6.0; my Dad drives a 2wd 04 f350 auto daily to work, and with the air compressor, welder, acetylene torch, 50 gallon auxiliary tank and $100k worth of tools in/on the utility body, it STILL accelerates the same way it did when it was empty. Braking on the other hand, will quickly remind you that the truck is loaded. Another buddy of mine drives the 05 2500 with the Cummins (2wd auto) 43k miles and he is already complaining about slipping tranny, wishing he had gotten the six speed. I am not sure which tranny they use on the 1500 with the Hemi's, but my neighbor got an 04 single cab hemi auto, beat the hell out of it, and had tranny slip at 13k miles...I had to witness it myself to believe it. My buddy with the Cummins tells me that he has gotten 25 mpg driving 55mph to work and back...this sounds like high grade BS to me but can I get a second opinion? I know the torque advantages of having an inline motor...Jeep straight six will take that rig most anywhere, so I would think that the Cummins would have that same attributes.