Thewhip,

I'm not sure why your looking at a 1/2-ton truck. Are you going to be towing anything? I ask because a lot of the guys who have bought the Dodge with the manual tranny have done so for that purpose. I will never buy another manual tranny equipped vehicle (unless it's a sports car) because I'm older and lazy now and I don't want to do it in traffic.

If your going to use it as a truck and not just a car then I would think hard about a 3/4-ton truck. The F250 is a completely different truck from the F150, which may or may not be a plus to you. The Ram 2500 is different from the 1500 where it needs to be... frame, suspension, axels, brakes, etc but the body and interior are the same. What that means is that it can be had for something like $2K more than the 1/2-ton with the 5.7L Hemi engine.

Exiled.. the Cummings makes more power than the Powerstroke but Dodge's 4-speed tranny doesn't help it. So I can see why you could say that F250 tows better than the Ram 2500 but it doesn't come close to the Duramax/Allision. The new Dodge will have a 6-speed auto btw.

 

I did'nt say the powerstroker made more power than anything. i said you could'nt beat it. i'm talking the whole package. i raise cattle and i'm at the sale barn twice a week. look in the lot and you see 3 f250's to 1 2500. you'll see a couple 350's and a 3500 every once in a while. i told to the guys and the flat out say the ford just does it better. i work at a grain elavator we have a feed department. we sale bulk feed and grain. you bet there is a lot more fords coming in than the others. yea again these farms say the fords do it better. heres guys trying to make a living can drive what ever they want and depends on what they drive to make their living and they drive fords. my friend that says alot in my book.
but the whole focus of my post though was directed toward the hemi. i've yet to find a hemi to out pull my 5.4 i just dont see it out pulling the V10 unless the driver is out to lunch.

 

I'm not trying to start a war, but what people drive depends on large part on what the dealer situation is. If you have a good Ford dealer and a crappy (or no) Chevy dealer, you are going to see more Fords.

Also, I live about 5 miles from the GM plant that builds Tahoes and Suburbans. Around me, I see a lot more Tahoes than Expeditions. And more GMs than Ford or DCX. That tells me people like GMs better than Ford (at least around here). Not really a bid surprise. It doesn't mean that the GM is better than Ford. It's just a regional preference.

According to Chevy, GM went from a 2% market share for diesel pickups pre-D'Max to a 33% share now. Those number may not be entirely accurate, but I don't think that anyone will argue that GM isn't selling more D'Max pickups than it did 6.5 diesels. In the meantime, Ford is decreasing production at KTP.

Not trying to say "Nah, Nah, Nah". Just trying to be a realist. I don't tow over about 10,000-11,000 lbs., so any of these diesels will pull my load just fine and dandy.

 

No i dont take it as such that your Nahing. THat makes alot of since, and probally a good way of looking at things if your on the out looking in. The thing here is i'm on the inside looking out. What i mean is i'm not going around see a bunch of fords and then having the opinion that fords got to be better. i'm talking to the guys that are driving the trucks, working the trucks, and getting an opinion from the playing field from the players. Not a one has mentioned a dealer. They use the Ford cause of its results.
Now i believe all the pick-ups will pull pretty much what we hook up to them. thats my opinion. I think we all agree there is more involved in towing than just horse power and torque. sure the drivetrain is real inportant, but there is still another 3000lbs of steel {give or take a few 100lbs} surrounding the drivetrain that is responisble for handling, turning,etc,etc. It is my opinion and alot of others opinion that Ford builds a better product. Now of course Chevy and Dodge has a good following.

 

The F250 may be a better product. That's why I'm here now trying to figure that out. I know it's a better looking product at least on the outside.

The problem here is how we define "better" as opposed to different. You can be competetion and still be a little different. Think PC vs. Mac. I remember my parents arguing a long, long time ago about cars. My dad wanted a Mercedes and my mom wanted a Caddy. We're talking early 1980's here for reference. They argued which one was better. The problem there was she defined "better" by a less firm ride. She perceived a wallowing ride as smoother and therefore better quality. He liked the handling of the MB and the perceived quality of everything such as how solid the doors shut, how quiet it was, the steering feedback, etc. He couldn't conceive how my mother thought the Caddy was a better vehicle.

I think the ford is probably a better tow vehicle overall. I think the Dodge is probably a better off-road vehicle overall. I think the F250 King Ranch is maybe more comfortable but the Dodge is easier to drive every day. Then there comes quality. This is where most of these threads go... subjective experiences influenced by preferences for one make over the other. IMO, Ford has had the better reputation for quality trucks and since the market is slow to accept changes to this status quo they perceive it today and buy accordingly. It may or may not be the better quality vehicle any longer.

I think what the F250 has going for it in the towing realm is it's sheer size. It handles weight well. The Dodge is a little lighter I believe and should feel the weight more. As a daily driver that also handle anything I throw at it the Dodge is definitely easier to drive. I say this mainly because it's a little shorter and has a much tighter turning radius which helps trying to squeeze in parking spots.

Just because more people bought a certain item doesn't mean it's a better item and it certainly doens't mean it's a better item for my needs. Ford, DCX, and GM trucks would pull what I need to without breaking a sweat. It's how it does everything else that I have to factor in also.

I planned all along to by an 05' F150. But then I couldn't get the color combo I wanted in the Lariat package that I wanted, then I couldn't get the options in the FX4, then I test drove a Ram, then a brand new F150 with a vibration problem, then the Ram again, and another F150, and again and again. In the end, the Ram was what I wanted. Will it outpull your F150? I don't know, and really don't care. The two days a week I pull my boat to the lake it does fine for a half-ton, and goes like hell (for a truck) the other five days.

 

I am one to argue build quality an Ford has it over the rest. Thats my opinion an mineonly. I got the chance to look at all trucks during a farm show near me an make comparison. I looked at the Dodge the interior an exterior. The undercarriage. Chassis. I was not to impressed with the seats in the Dodge. They looked very cheap in my book. It looked like after you got out an in the truck a few times they would fall apart. The materials used in the dash definitly were cheap looking. The doors felt pretty light when you shut them. Just didnt have that solid feeling a Ford does. Went over to the GM tent looked at there trucks. The superduty has it over GMs trucks as far as interior room is concerned. I am a pretty good size guy so I definitly noticed the difference right away. The seats were very comfortable though an definitly better quality then Dodge. Went over to thje Ford lot. You just had to be more impressed with the Ford truck quality through an through no question about it. It just shown through pretty easily. I wish I could have put these trucks side by side to really get down to the nittiy gritty.
Went over an was talking to this kid that told me. Yup got 300,000 miles on my superduty. I asked what year it was. He said it was a 99 superduty. Only a Ford could do thathe said. his truck was used an abused an the only problem was replaced the ball joints in the front end. Thats it. Pulled heavy loads day in an dayout with it. He was a staunch believer that Ford by far had the best truck. This is my opinion an mine only so take it for what its worth.

 

wahoo, i dont think that numbers sold speak for the quilty alone but they can't be over looked either. But as i've said time and again these guys plain as day said they drive a ford because its better. i agree with them and 150ford i think ford built the better product. it might not be the fastest. hooked up to a computer it might not make the highest horses or twistest the highest torque, but it holds it's own. It's funny to me that all of the competition's goal is to be better than Ford.

 

Well, this is a loaded question. Ford, Chev, Dodge.
Were I live, just about every work truck and RV being towed is a Ford. That being said The chev trucks have the best interior and goodies. IMO Chev trucks makes a great city truck. Dodge have the best engine, the Cummings but the auto trans is the weak link. Ford does not have the fancy interior with all of the bells and whistles but if you want a truck that built to work, the Ford will do. The best truck that could be built would be a Ford truck with the Cummings engine and the chev allision trans.
Of course this is my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

Their are a lot of preferences. For me, the only spot that GM loses to ford is in overall cab space and the towing mirrors. I prefer GM for the rest. Engine reliabilty, hp, tq, programing hp, comfort, towing ease. Edmunds.com had a pretty good review.

Some people will always go down with a sinking ship. GM, Ford, Dodge, Honda, Harley, John Deere, among others have their fans until the day they die. For example my neighbor bought a new deere combine 2000. That thing was the biggest POS ever built. Some days it would start, some days it wouldn't. John Deere racked up a $15000-20,000 bill on this combine trying to fix it over the last 5 years. Guess what, he bought another new deere rotory this year to replace the other POS. But if you ask him, he will tell you how great his Deere tractor or planter is. LOL He won't tell you unless you specifically ask about the combine.