My Dad recently traded in his 02 7.3 for an 04 Chevy duramax crew cab 4x4. My truck is an 04 crew cab lariat 4x4. We put the trucks side by side and did a little comparison for fun.
Some things we noticed:

Ford sat a few inches higher. Ground clearance at rear Diff was a couple of inches better in Ford.

Interior room appeared better in Ford especially with the 60/40 split front Bench since his had the console.
Rear seating appeared better in Ford.

Engine compartment seemed better for accesibility in the Chevy. You could actually get to a few things better.

Engine was quieter in the Duramax.

Body styling appeared to favor the Ford ( both our opinions)

The Chevy had a huge aluminum drive shaft with no carrier bearing. Not sure if that matters.

I did not like the CV joint set up in the Chevy's front 4x4 axle.
The tubular A-arms looked like something more suited for a half ton or other light application. The bottom A- arm looked like it was supported by a large polyurethane bump stop. However, the Chevy's do drive nice and smooth on the road. Not sure how well they would hold up off road if those CV boots rubbed in a rut. Seems like they would be easily torn or create a maintenance issue.

Electronics on the message center appeared more advanced with the Chevy.

Chevy has cable and lines running outside the frame rail to the rear of the truck which appears to be asking for problems in the bush.

Tires and wheels look too small on Chevy - easily corrected with after market.

His GVWR was 9400 lbs. MY Ford was 8800. I have the camper package. My Front axle ratio was 500 lbs heavier than his. Not sure why his GVWR was better.

Just some interesting comparisons.

Victor23

 

And the acceleration and towing comparison will be in Issue 2 of the magaazine ?

 

.....moved.....

 

Whats the deal with your Dad. Time for him to trade back to a 2005 Ford. When he drives that Chevy for awhile hell appreciate the Ford all the more. Hes going to miss all the interior room. Ive know a couple of guys around here who traded off there Ford for a duramax but there back in Fords again. When he rides around in your truck hes really going to miss his old one. So what made him buy a Duramax? You guys better not race your trucks cause your going to eat him alive. Hey man tell your Dad Good Luck with the Chevy cause hes going to need it. JK You definitly have the best looking truck. Chevies front end is hideous compared to the Ford. When Im over to your place Im ridin with you I cant stand cramped quarters which in the Chevy youll have. Your crewcab is making his look pretty small.

 

I'm sure we all already know the outcome of that.

 

Good comparison. 1 thing I'd like to point out is that overall the Chev has more clearence measure the front axle. You'll find the Chevy sets 2" higher.

 

OK in the everyday REAL world how does that help the masses, not the few that go off-roading...but the masses

 

In the same way that the original poster suggesting that the ford had more clearence in the back.

 

Well said Jeb.

The point I was trying to make is your only as high off the ground as the lowest point on your vehicle. I thought it was a good overall comparison. I would venture to say that most people that have 4x4's take'em off road at 1 point or another. I'd consider that 'masses' enough.

 

Seems like the truck that has stiffer springs in the rear would sit higher. May have something to do with the difference in payload and trailer weight displacement.

 

I think if you did a pole, not in FTE but out in the world, you find less than you might think that never take a 4x4 off road....again not FTE these guys here do that..................it is why they are here....

 

Your 880lb GVWR Ford is a 3/4t F250.

Your old man's 9400lb GVWR Chevy sounds like it's a 2500HD, which is generally considered to be a SRW 1 ton class pickup. GM's frames on the 2500HD/3500 is heavier than their regular 2500s.

If you look at the GVWR on GM's regular 3/4t 2500s, you'll see the rating on those is 8600lbs which puts them in the same class as an F250. Fords GVWR on SWR F350s is about 9700 which puts them in the same class as GM's 2500HD.

I can't stand the way GM's late-model pickups ride so low. The chassis & drivetrain components clearance is pitiful for any kind of work that requires you to tool around offroad or even on rutted dirt/gravel roads.

A man in a newer GMC Sierra 1500 actually asked me at a gas station what size lift I have on my F250! I told him "none, it came that way off the lot!". I have 285/75 tires which makes it sit about 1/2" higher & I don't have running boards of nerf bars which makes it look a little bit lifted I guess.

 

Not exactly...

If you drive over a log or a small incline the wheels/tires carry the lowest points (differentials/axles) of the truck with them so in alot of these situations those low clearance points ain't an issue.

It's what happens when the front axle rolls off the log or clears the incline that the low frame and crossmembers come into play. A 4x4 Superduty is superior in situations like those. I had an 01 Silverado Z71 that used to bottom out it's frame and t-case skid regularly driving out of a shallow creek bed on my property. The F250 doesn't. If you read the literature GM listed the Silverado 1500's clearance as slightly higher than the F250s!! Go figure.

My opinion-this issue isn't even worth arguing-the clearance properties of Ford's SD's are just superior in 80% of the offroad situations I encounter.

GM's have an advantage with the IFS when you might need to straddle something like a stump or large rock but you still have to worry about the rear axle/diff hitting it. Big deal.

Another thing with IFS is it gets compressed under cargo load and loses clearance. This doesn't happen with a SFA. Imagine a farmer who has to carry 2500lbs of bagged feed over rough ground or rutted roads. The front-end clearance advantage of IFS dissapears if the load is heavy enough.

 

That is exactly what I was going to post. The low slung frame on a chevy will give way more problems than a couple inches in between the front wheels. Especially on these long trucks.

Corey

 

You just validated my point.