One deciding factor for me is what I see on the highway construction sites...Fords. Here in the northeast probably close to 90% of the trucks I see being used by construction companies, landscapers, etc are Fords, usually SD's. That's a good enough testimonial for me.

Rip

 

Amen to all the blue ovals at the construction sites. It was well stated in a recent Ford ad: ...they say there are other trucks, but I don't belive em. Just go by any construction site and look at all the shiny blue ovals.

 

Well im going to have to go with rip and paul im in the northeast too and they are correct, at a min. 90% of construction vehicles are fords and also the pickups that carry 5-6 car trailers are also all fords, where are you guys in the northeast? up here north of albany NY. god i love fords

-Jacksland

 

I'm about 25 miles nw of Boston. Near the MA/NH border...just waiting on the warm weather so I can start towing my camper every weekend.

Rip

 

I like Fords (own one) never owned Chevy. But, this talk of the upper load limit is not useful unless you look at the long term. You can put a lot more weight in either than they are designed to carry, but will you do it safely and not do any damage to your truck? I once put just over 2100 pounds of bricks in a '72 PINTO (I'll never do anything that stupid again!) and I don't think anyone will say Pintos are better than a Chevy 1/2 ton pickup! The rated payload of the Pinto was 430 pounds, including driver.

 

I'd have to disagree about the Ford's on construction sight, everywhere I have ben I have seen the brands split equally. How old are the trucks on these construction sights, because it wasn't untill recently that Chevy started makeing a respectable pick-up, which explains why someone might tell you that a Chevrolet or Dodge frame would need strengthened, back then Chevy wasn't a heavy duty truck. I don't really like the PSD when compared to the Duramax, anyone can design a 7.3L engine and watch it out pull smaller engines in competitors, but it is a real challenge when a smaller engine matches and exceeds the bigger engine. Just looking at the rateings alone, they both have equal torque but the D-max has higher HP. I'm not trying to say the PSD is a horrible engine, but obvously it is possible to get a lot more power from that displacement. I have ben to numerouse sights Ford and Chevy websites, every month I pick up every light truck magazine I can find, I have never yet read an article where a PSD has smoked a D-max. So, who would like to say that when a brand new Ford and brand new Chevy challenge each other, there will be a very, very little difference?

Logan

 

I live in nebraska where the temp varies quite a bit in a short period of time so I see alot of road repair work. I see quite a few more fords than dodges or chevys as state vehicles. Also not only for the road crew vehicles but the pickups that the workers themselves drive seem to be mostly ford. I work at a manufacturing plant and of the 4 pickups we have, 3 are ford and one is dodge. Everyone moans when they have to drive the dodge.

 

Scratched 95,

I would love to see a picture of your pinto with 2100 pounds of bricks loaded in it. My dad owned 6 or 7 of those cars, including one green 1972 station wagon that leaked gas fumes into the rear of the passenger compartment. I was afraid to ride in that car.

Hotrodpinto

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-Apr-01 AT 06:48 PM (EST)[/font][p]That is very nice to now, I'd moan if I had to drive a new Dodge also, but that doesn't really prove how Ford is better than Chevrolet. The simple fact is no matter how you look at it, a new Chevy is just as good (ok, there was only one lower number) if not better than a new Ford. Rateings don't really mean much of anything, but there is no way that the rateings are very far off. For instnace if Ford and Chevrolet both desgin the exact same truck that can haul/pull no more than 1 ton, then Ford wont it for 1/2 a ton because chevy rated it for 3/4 ton, they probbably would both rate it just barely below 1 ton. I don't really like the way it sounds, but apparently Chevrolet is in my own opinnion exactly equal if not better than Ford, and I won't dought that in a few years Chevrolet will be better than Ford. But that doesn't mean Ford will all of a sudden be a POS brand of pick-up. What I'm trying to get across is that simply because the tow rateings for a Chevy were lower doen't mean they are a POS brand, I would highly recommend that you look into the rateings before you say what a Chevrolet(or any other brand) is capable of. I have heard stories of pick-ups going bad in under 2 months, most of them I don't believe, and they are not all Chevrolets going bad, I've heard of a good share of Fords going bad in very short time periods.

I forgot to mention I was just told by a plow dealer that thier freshly broken in brand new F-350 superduty(with all imaginable fancy add ons) sieved up on it's first plow run, I could tell that was a lie. What is my point? If you go to a place with a fleet of Ford vehicles, you can only expect to hear bad remarks about Chevrol/Dodge.

Logan

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-Apr-01 AT 08:15 PM (EST)[/font][p]well of course, any brand can build a lemon. FOrds do it, chevys do it, dodges do it. It happens. I dont go by the numbers, ever. The only thing I put faith in is what I see in practice.

Anyway...I NEVER said Ford was better than chevy, rather I said Ford was better than dodge. In fact I like the new chevy pickups a lot more than the new fords as far as body styles go but thats just me. I havent worked with the two enough to compare them mechanically. Ive heard good things about both (and bad).

Also...I think all the new model trucks are worthless (dont jump on me for my own opinion). They may have a couple more miles to the gallon but they are full of plastic and complicated electronics that after a few years of hard use will be destroyed. Can you imagine trying to rebuild/restore a 2001 model truck 20 or 30 years from now? It wont happen. The frames and boxes may be able to handle all sorts ow weight but have you seen some of these say '95 model trucks after being used as a work truck? The interior is shot. I dont like plastic!

andrew

78 ford bronco 4x4

 

someone earlier said they had an 85 suburban that needed only 2 engines and 2 transmission??? ONLY?!?!? That doesnt make chevy look too good.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-Apr-01 AT 08:34 PM (EST)[/font][p]I posted the '85 suburban. That isn't too bad when you consider the kind of load that it was in, a daily drive in a big city(IE: stop, go, stop, go.....) which frequently pulled quite heavy trailers(IE: the little 305 it had was being used as a 350) and when you make an average of I think 3-4 1000 mile non-stop trips each year, I think the engines lasted pretty good. However any company can make lemons(just like why it went through 3 transmissions) and the first engine could easily have ben a lemon. But, I still must say by personally knowing it's histroy that it lasted exceptionally well.

Logan

 

John, It is amazing how well an F250 rides when loaded. I have road with full pallets of portland cement or stucco in the back of mine. It rides like luxury vehicle. I normally put a full pallet of drywall dunage in the bed as counter weight when I plow snow. She runs through anything with all the weight between the load in the back and the plow up front and you don't even feel the bumps. Lol. Jake.

Jakegypsum // Ford flet, soup to nuts.

 

Jake, yeah, it rides like a lincoln!!! drives away with out so much as a groan I did 60 all the way home with the load on it I don't know how much weight was there but they couldn't believe I picked up the roof in one load with a pickup all of that with 156,000 miles on original engine and trans pretty sweet huh? and it gets better milage than a chevy too. John

 

John How many squares of shingles did you have on the truck. I haven't messed with shingles in 12-15 years, but back then a square of regular fiberglass shingles would weigh 240 lbs. Some are thicker and heavier now.

John
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