Hi all, I am considering purchase of a diesel truck to replace my current gas truck. I want to daily drive it, so no more than 6 inch lift on 35's, and plan on doing occasional pulling of a boat or dirtbikes. I am skeptical of both the LBZ and the LLY Dmax, and I do not like Inferior Front Suspension. I have narrowed it down to the 2003-2005 Dodge Ram 2500 or a new PSD...I like the 6.0 liter but I think its a little out of my budget at this time and if I have to wait to buy I am just going to go ahead and wait for the 6.4 liter. I plan on doing some modding (programmer, ball bearing turbo, big exhaust etc) and I would like to know what will be the most reliable truck out of the two. I have seen many a dodge auto trans go to hell in a handbag at a very low miles but have heard many great things about the cummins. Either truck will be an xtra cab 4x4, auto trans. Fuel Mileage is a BIG concern, however if I can have stump pulling torque and HP levels I can justify horrid mileage. Any thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated. I thank-you all in advance for your time and help.

 

Well I've got a friend, and he's got an uncle who knows a guy that had a brother who drove a 2003 Dodge. Well one day he was driving down the road and the truck just fell apart around him, he was left sitting on the bench seat in the middle of the road holding the steering wheel. You probably won't believe this, but the Cummins was still running. It was pretty funny until a semi ran him over, so if you don't want to die get a Ford.

All kidding aside, drive them both see which you like better, then get it. Dodge and Ford are both good trucks.

Tim

 

I would recommend the ford. The cummins is a great motor and even the 48re dodge tranny is great but the ford is just that much better. All of the bugs are worked out of the 6.0 and everyone i know loves them. Both the dodge and ford pretty much ride the same on road but the second you get off youll notice a huge difference. The dodge will bounce you around like crazy whereas the ford will be smoother. Ford seats are going to be more comfortable. On top of that the truck has more room due to its size, thus it is safer. With as much steel that goes into them they are built like rocks. Now to chip them and to do aftermarket i would probably suggest the cummins. It is not bullet proof like everyone thinks it is but it might not cause as many problems, but i wouldnt recommend doing anything to the motor of either of them because if you do and somehthing goes wrong you are goin to have a big ol bill because warranty wont cover it. So overall i would recommend the ford. Plus, they are so popular that if you had to you could sale it you could easily whereas the dodge would be a little harder. Just whatever you do dont buy a chevy. Dont waste your money on that crap.

 

both engines will last forever. but the ford will still be driving around 30 years from now, while the dodge will have been sitting in the junk yard for the past 10 years due to the truck falling off of the engine.

 

Yeah the 6.0 is a great engine (production run of just 4 years and the biggest lemon since the chevy 350 diesl). All the problems are fixed - not! There are still a ton of issues with the 2005 and 2006 6.0s. Don't belive me? go spend some time at the Dieselstop.com.

The Cummins is inferior? - old tech - simple and clean under the hood. Holds huge power enhancements without blowing.

Yes the Dodge has problems - but the new auto is not one of them. The Dodge Cummins manual six speed is probaly the best towing truck out there.
If you want the fastest truck it is the Chevy duramax but you have to deal with the low clearance and weak front end.

 

Sero, frankly your post doesn't make any sense. You want fuel mileage and a current production diesel that you intend to mod- it ain't happenin'. You can get more HP/ Torque with the mods but in order to get the power you gotta burn the fuel. Considering that you aren't going to "use" the truck except to drive around in, it isn't very smart to buy one. But if you want to join in on the "I'm tough because I drive a diesel and therefore I'm a man" syndrome, you have a lot of issues to think about. The 6.0 has a dismal record for reliabilty but the tranny is good if you can stand the noise from the engine compartment but then again......For the Dodge, in its factory form the transmission will hold up just fine. Especially since yours will never see any work so the tranny isn't an issue. The Dodge will be far, far quiter inside so if stereo is a factor for you....... The Dodge will have issues with the lift pump at around 80-100,000 miles. Replacement isn't cheap but if you replace it with a Cummins pump instead of a Dodge you'll only do it once. In the field where these types of units are used as intended- work trucks, the Cummins will live far longer than the PSD. The body of the Dodges has a tendency to start falling apart in the second 100,000 miles of service but then again, the PSD isn't known to make it that far without major issues of some kind, and please note, this is for commercial trucks, not the parking lot slugs that most folks use them for. If you actually intend to use it off road, I would avoid the front end heavy diesels regardless of brand. An FX4 F-150 will go places an F-350 diesel can't even dream about. As an example for ya, my stepdad lives in sand country. There has yet to be any diesel truck with 4 tires ever make it across his fields. My 74 F-100s do it regularly as does his 1965 Chevy Apache and both of those trucks are 2 wheel drive. It sounds like you want the look but have no clue what your getting into. Might want to rethink your options and get something a lot more reasonable like an FX4. Your wallet will thank you.

 

i disagree, owning a diesel is the best thing if a person intends on keeping it for a long time, i wish my 1995 f350 had a psd instead of a 460, the resale would have been much better with 166k miles on it. but i never had to touch that 460!

no where in any manual or anywhere in the world does it state a diesel is used only for trucks pullng a trailer.

fx4? four rancho shocks and a skid plate allows someone to go anywhere now...wow!! anyways, the extra few hundred lbs doesn't matter much in most situations where a newer non-heavily modded truck will go. my 1995 f350 had a 460, but it also had a custom bumper and a 12k lb winch up front, guarentee all together the front wieghing as much as a psd, i never had a problem off-roading (except trying to go where jeeps go) and that includes the sand dunes also. there is alot more to factor in an off-road truck than just the engine.

but i do agree about what he wants, SERO-if you want mileage but want to mod, wrong, it ain't going to happen, plus these new trucks make plenty of power, if you really just want to spend money on mods, just get an older 7.3.

i wouldn't call the chevy inferior, i hate the looks and the ifs, but i have yet run into anyone that had a problem with it, its not like your going to be heavily off-roading a 40k dollar truck anyways.

cummins, great proven engine, psd, great but not yet proven, or should i say, hasn't gotten the reputation the 7.3 got, and it probably never will unfortuntly.

as far as trannies goes, if your not doing anything than mall crawling, no need to worry, even my e4od on my 1995 lasted till 122k miles, and that was hot rodding and off-roading and everything with 35 inch swampers also.

i say just test drive the two and see what to you feels best, you can't go wrong with either one, and try the chevy also if you don't mind the looks.

FLASH- i hope i don't sound insulting, no insult intended.

 

Thanks for the input guys, but frankly I dont need a truck or any other posession for that matter to prove anything to anyone, least especially on a forum. I have 1976 F-150 that is my purpose built 4x4 that I wish to tow with this truck, and out here in California, regular gas prices have surpassed diesel prices many times, and biodiesel is starting to become more available in the metro areas, so therefore one could infer that it would be more cost effective to drive a diesel truck, even though I am not doing heavy towing on a regular basis. I would like to tow my f150 out of state to visit some trails and diesel trucks just hold more fuel and can carry more weight farther. When my buddy returns from active duty in Iraq in '08, I will be loading his 76 CJ7 onto the trailer with my ford and off we will go, and I dont know of any gas truck that will tow both of those vehicles. Furthermore, I have seen single digit mileage on gas tow rigs with relatively light trailers and bikes, and am not interested in the slightest. I would consider an aftermarket ball bearing turbo, 4 inch exhaust and a programmer light modding and considering the power that the truck already makes, it should be fine for my duration of ownership. I do intend to keep this truck for quite a long time. I am a big fan of the 7.3, but I do like the newer bodies. I will most likely be buying pre owned, so warranty will not be an issue.

 

the 7.3's were available up until early model year 2003, so you can get a 7.3 with the new style.

i love my 2004 psd, its a great truck after 44k miles on it, i bought it used in nov 2005 as a present to myself for 9 years of military service.

i use mine for a daily driver and as a vacation cruiser, nothing better than being out in arizona and just having the ability to turn off the highway on the dirt road to explore.

you made the point i was trying to make about the diesel, deisel fuel is cheaper here than gas, and after my cross country trip in may, it is either cheaper or just a few cents more than gas in most places.

as i said before, all 3 make good trucks, just some parts of them people are more concerned about than others, me, i am an all around looks and performance guy, plus my 1995 f350 did me good for 7 years 166k miles, so i went with ford again. dodge would be my second choice and chevy a distant third.

 

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.

 

Quote:I will be loading his 76 CJ7 onto the trailer with my ford and off we will go, and I dont know of any gas truck that will tow both of those vehicles.


yeah the jeep and f150 should be aroung 8K pounds no gasser could come close to dragging THAT kind of wieght!

 

Yep, when I hook my new travel trailor up (dry weight of 7300lbs/wet of nearly 9000lbs) to my V10 and then proceed to hook my boat to the travel trailor (about another 2500lbs) the V10 won't even move it...............................give me a freakin break. I cann't beleive the things that people say some days; heck I'm grossing just about 19k lbs and although I'm not in the mountains I can accelerate up 1 mile long 6-8% graded hills and can maintain 70mph even with 3.73 gears and larger than stock tires!! Yes, my mileage is only around 8 when towing that load, but for the whopping 6,500 miles per year (3000 towing some type of trailor or another) I am as happy as can be.

 

Its not true that modding trucks puts fuel milage in the hole either. Yes if you have a modded truck and run the crap out of it, it will get worse milage, but if you drive normal..ie. keep your foot out of it, it will do fine, my 95 dodge has close to 550/600 horse and it will still get 18 in town and screwing off and as high as 22 on the interstate, all that with an auto tranny too.....

 

Yeah I think 600 HP would be adequate for a daily driver...FarmboyAC are you 4WD or 2WD?

 

couple things you might want to know. the '08 models are likely to be non-mod friendly and and the '04's had differant brakes than the new trucks, much improved.


i believe you could get 550 HP out of a 6.0 if done right.



the other trucks are junk compared to the superduty.