Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Customz


There is a lot more to ground clearance than getting stuck. Have you ever punctured a fuel tank? Cracked a transfer case? Tweaked a driveshaft or dented the exhaust? None of the above. Neither have I, but others have.

Ever heard of approach/departure/and breakover angles? Yes Do you know what they mean?

I chose the ford for power, reliability, crew cab size, dana 60, appearance, reputation and personal preference. I don't agree with power or reliablity (ex:6.0) You are certainly entitled to your opinion.

My truck operates in an open pit hard rock copper mine and I have largely different needs than you. Guess which trucks have the least downtime and operating cost? The Ford SD 4x4. They are also less expensive and admittedly not as cushy. BTW If I was looking to go off roading regularly, I wouldn't own own a CCLB, nor would I own a diesel due to the weight esp in the mud. Has it occurred to you that I may have a CREW with me in my CREW CAB? Have you ever hauled two pallets of materials in a SB? Have you ever been in a situation where you don't have enough power? For example passing on freeway, climbing steep grades, or pulling a 15k lb diesel pump out of the sand? Gas is good, but diesel takes the cake in stock form (IMO). Sure jeeps are the optimal offroad vehicle but they won't do any of the afdorementioned tasks with ease like the PSD SD. I wonder why the military uses hummers if they are so big and heavy? Capability perhaps? Flexibility maybe?

I also hope you aren't referring to the Gov-lock G80. I exploded one of those in a 2000 and when it fails the truck won't move...when ford's LS wears out it simply becomes an open diff. You broke one, so that makes them all bad. I have seen tons of unlimited slip diffs.The G80 is notorious and you know it. And that was a 1/2 ton, I can't believe they put that POS behind the almighty LBZ. Point being that all LS will fail, but when they fail will I still be able to drive the vehicle? Or will I lose one tire's traction that I need so badly to put the power to pavement?

So fyi, I tow with a little more than 325 and could really care less about your exposed framerails. So do I. I very rarely shift from overdrive with a 29.5' Jayco fiver not including the truck weight of 8600 pounds.The ONE-UPPER, what a joke. All that means is that you are straining the transmission by keeping it in overdrive. Congratulations, it will fail faster doing a job that was better suited for 3rd or 4th gear. A 6.0L gasser chevy could tow in OD on the flats...


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Any of the trannies will Limp with enough hp addded. But stock the allison won't limp the trans no matter what. Believe me the LBZ is getting hp to the ground unless you care to prove otherwise. But after added 425rwhp, it will limp it, I promise. Try that with a torqueshift, and look for the same results, plus possible engine problems. That allison (I will not dispute allison's reputation, but they are not the end all of diesel transmissions the torqueshift is a darn good tranny as well. CAT, sony, ferarri, etc are all good products per se, but it does not mean they are perfect and do not fail) is far better than anything on the market esp the 6 speed. Tap up, tap down and traction control.

What is wrong with cranking torsion bars, it is cheap and have proved to have no reliablity issue with doing it. Mickey Mouse, tire wear, stiff ride, decreased suspension life, alignment problems, lame

As far as I know, the torsion bars remain on the GM900 series unless you can prove the coil springs???????????????

Moldman "The truck is about 3 years away from being worth jack." Well as soon as the new PSD is out, what will your 6.0 be worth, considering I have seen 05's 350's 4x4 CCLB DRW with 40k sell for $20K around here. So how is that for resale, considering what duramax's bring here in NW Ohio.

This discussion is simply an exercise in futility. The Ford SD controls the weight better when towing. It feels like a tow truck, the chevy HD is a car with big tires. Comfy inside with lots of creature features and options but ugly as sin. NANANANANANA I can't believe I wasted 5 minutes of my life on this flake.

 

Yes I know what approach and departure angles are. I own an ATV. I couldn't put anything in a short bed after putting in an 100 gallion diesel tank and a tool box.

If the G80 was nortorious, then how come I have yet to see a locker fail in any dmax in the truck pulls. I have never seen a duramax loose a rear end yet, and I have only heard of a half of dozen stock aluminum drive shafts bending even at 500+ hp. The only gripe on the entire GM "drive train" / front end is the tierod ends/rods being weak.

As long as it is aligned, after it is done, it is fine with tire wear, and the gm will still ride better than the ford or dodge, not to mention it is 10 times better then ford twin I beam tire wear problems. That seems like the pot calling the kettle black.

Not to mention that the ford controls the weight better when towing.


BTW GM's have a transmission temperature gauge that works really well, if you watch it, you can plainly see if the transmission is being worked, but most of the time the added hp is taken in stride, and the tranny knows when to shift. I am a flatlander, but it has seen hills, don't kid yourself. And the new 6 speed is the only proven one on the market, which leaves it in a class of itself even IF the torqueshift is every bit as good as the old 5 speed allison.

 

Duramaximizer, I'm still waiting for the info on the "dirt cheap" 6.0 trucks. My brother is seriously looking right now. Was that just a fabrication on your part? My question is serious, I'm not trying to bait you here, he is looking at a 1995 Chevy diesel dually crew cab 4X4 with 50 k miles. The truck is in showroom condition. He has the money for a brand new Ford but can't justify in his mind spending 40k to tow a 5k trailer a few times per year. He tells me there are almost no Fords available in his area, new or used, they are in big demand. Hmmmmm.............................

 

So basically we are saying that all three trucks are pretty good and get the best price and be happy? Personally I think all autos are junk and I would rather have a six speed manual which chevy doesn't offer. I made that mistake once but I won't make it again

 

These are all opinions and we are just gonna have to agree to disagree. I prefer the firm rock-solid ride of a ford than the plush-limosine like ride of the chevy. I've driven both, owned both and prefer the ford. The firm ride is comfortable to me and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.


So it all comes down to personal preference and I think resale for the big three is about the same % wise. Chevy is higher than ford/dodge cuz the trucks are more expensive. They are all just depreciating hunks of rusting metal when you get right down to it.

 

Well if you haven't driven an '05 or '06, even a '07 now then you have missed the fact that the front coil springs have made a huge impact on the ride. Firm and smooth . . . IMO!

 

Back to the original topic. My Dec 2002 built 6.0 Lariat CC short bed, I recently traded in I recieved $32,126 for. It had a 4" lift and 35" tires guages exhaust and 37,000 miles on it. I paid 39,500 for it new. I bought my new truck for 500 over Invoice.... So if you take care of your trucks you will be treated fair when you trade.

 

Still waiting for the info on the dirt cheap no good used 6.0s ................................I guess I'm going to just keep on waiting..................

 

Come to NW Ohio, the go through our auto auction regularly. Montpelier Auto Auction, I think they have a website if you search. I have been laid up as I was in an ATV accident saturday evening due to my own stupidity, and have had doctors appointments to attend as well as a knee to ice.

 

So what is the best I could find for a 06 CC (four door) daully 4x4 or any brand.

 

I haven't seen any 06's except wrecks. Some of those are even priced ugly.

 

Yeah, I just bought a 38' fifth wheel and just want the best truck for the job and I'm a little scared my 04 F250 PSD will not cut it. I beefed it up with air bags and heavy tires but I guess I will just wait and see. I'm confident in the power, just the drivetrain and suspension more than anything.

 

Is your '04 a dually? If so, you won't find more capacity in Dodge or Chevy, but you probably already know that. A Friend of mine has an '04 PSD 4x4 Auto SRW and pulls a 34' Alpinelite -- he's weighed his at the scales and is close to max GCWR. He also lives in some serious hills and does a lot of trips in the mountains and has no problems -- he's at over 40K miles, most of it towing btw.

Besides the capacity difference between Ford and the other two, you'll find a huge value difference between Ford and Chevy in their 1 ton offerings (SRW or DRW). My '05 Dmax 3500 was the highest line package they had and it had almost identical MSRPs to my '07 Ford, yet there are just a ton of features I got on the Ford, that frankly, Chevy still doesn't offer. Things like you only could get steel wheels in the Chevy (and only 16s), no option for factory running boards or nerf bars, no adjustable pedals, no integrated brake controller (a biggee if you tow large like you do), no rear anti-sway bar, no power rear slider, even my side windows in the ext. cab didn't open. And where did GM come up with those ugly clearance lights?

As far as the Dmax and Ally are concerned: I think both are stought enough, but they didn't work near as seamlessly as the Ford PSD/Torqshift does. For example, I had the Ally suprise me with upshifts on several occasion when in Tow/Haul and trailering down steep twisty roads (my foot was nowhere near the throttle), It got so I didn't trust it and kept my foot hovering over the brake pedal just in case. The Ally also wouldn't predictably go between tow/haul and normal mode, like sometimes you'd just use it to slow you down for some hill or turns, and then turn it off and it would stay in the lower gear even with you giving it throttle (this was maybe 75% of the time and was reported by others on GM forums) -- the Ford goes seamlessly between the two modes. Lastly, the Dmax (my LLY) had a nasty touchy throttle at low RPM, they never could fix it, and it was a pain driving over rough roads at slow speeds, jerking everything you're towing around (even worse empty), and you could forget off road, it'd loose traction if you breathed on the throttle...

Anyway, I'm sure there'll be some Dmax fan by here anytime now to challenge this, but hey, I've owned both and done alot with both, have they? (or are they just good at reading/posting on Ford forums...)

The Dodge would be my second choice if the Ford didn't exist. You've got one tough truck already and unless it's a SRW and you are concerned about being overweight, I'd give it a chance 1st.

My $.02....

 

The options thing is a 2 way street, you can get a lot of options on a chevy that you can't get on a ford, so that is pointless. I agree with the touchy throttle, efi live smoothes it out, but some programers make it worse. You can spin out effortlessly on grass by " breathing on the throttle."

I have never experienced the tow haul mode problem though as reported by diesel_dan. I feel that that the allison grade breaking is the one and only.

Like I said earily a test drive will bring to light many things. You should have a really good idea of what to look for.

I have never missed adjustable pedels, and the GM seats are rated 2nd to none by ALMOST everyone.

 

duramaximizer: you obviosly have never experienced the Torque shift. I have two friends that have Dmax's and one has the LBZ like yours and they are very impressed with the Torque shift trany's. Of course that would mean looking at it with open eyes and for some that is impossible. I will agree that the Allison is a huge improvement over the old trany's Ford and Chevy used to offer. Ask the techs they will tell you that they hardly ever touch the Torque shift trany's. Until chevy goes the one piece front axle they will always fall short on strength and reliability when it comes to the suspension and axles.. When Hp and Torque are equal the Ford will out pull the Chevy and that is because of the trany getting the power to the rear wheels. This is one reason that Ford has not increased the Hp and Torque #s they didn't need to. My guess is that in 07 chevy wont offer the lbz because the new regulations wont allow it.