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Hey guys I am looking for a tow rig for my stuff and cant decide on what truck to get but I know I want a diesel. If you guys have any let me know what companie you guys like.
Diesel Truck
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183 Posts
Can you say can-o-worms. You'll get every answer under the sun on this one. duramax vs cummins vs powerstroke. In reality is depends on your budget. I'm biased toward cummins...but no matter what you do, first and formost, if the motor is powered by an electric pump (ie VP44, CP3, or fords HPOP) get a fuel pressure gauge. period. ask me how i now. The EGT, Boost, and trans temp (auto). If your not going to mod the truck (yeah right) then just a good set of gauges to keep an eye on things is step one. If your looking at an auto there are two areas that go first once you start pushing the truck and those are torque converter and clutches. If your looking at a stick, the stock clutch is only good for simple mods unless you pussy foot it everywere. Let us know what your looking at. Pending what your brand of choise is, look for (i'm bias remember) a late 94-97 dodge with a 12v motor extended cap shortbed. You really have to be over-fuelling them or run them out of vital fluids to kill them. And they're cheap 
cause they're "old"
My mule, nothing special, and once you start modding them....holy shiz is it addictive.
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cause they're "old"My mule, nothing special, and once you start modding them....holy shiz is it addictive.
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889 Posts
I think I'd be happy with any newer diesel, but I like my truck:
2005 F250 Lariat FX4 SuperCrew
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General consensus is that the older 7.3L was worlds better than the 6.0L ('03-'04 being the worst), but I've had good luck with mine. She currently has 198k miles. Most people that see the truck think it's much newer and are shocked when I tell them how many miles she has...
2005 F250 Lariat FX4 SuperCrew
General consensus is that the older 7.3L was worlds better than the 6.0L ('03-'04 being the worst), but I've had good luck with mine. She currently has 198k miles. Most people that see the truck think it's much newer and are shocked when I tell them how many miles she has...
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531 Posts
I drive a 06 Dodge 2500 diesel for a work truck. And I'm glad its a work truck so It don't come out of my pocket when it breaks. Its got about 125K on it. 80k the turbo went. 101K it needed 6 injectors...(warrenty ended at 100k) That bill was around 6 grand. Tranny went around 110 another 3 grand for a rebuilt tranny. Then a few little things here and there, Exhaust rotted out, Only 1 U joint. Our trucks are well taken care of becasue its a tool for my job. Reg. maintenance is done, oil changed every 6k miles, Howes lubricant diesel fuel treatment is used in every fill up.
To see these major things go wrong around 100k miles kind of scares me away from buying one myself. You'd think you purchase a diesel for long life and fairly low maint.
My boss has the 05 3500 diesel and has a little trouble with it but I don't think anything major with the motor. The rest of the guys have 07 2500 gas trucks and those things eat U joints like its thier job.
Heres my rig...The load it carries all the time could have a little effect on its life
To see these major things go wrong around 100k miles kind of scares me away from buying one myself. You'd think you purchase a diesel for long life and fairly low maint.
My boss has the 05 3500 diesel and has a little trouble with it but I don't think anything major with the motor. The rest of the guys have 07 2500 gas trucks and those things eat U joints like its thier job.
Heres my rig...The load it carries all the time could have a little effect on its life
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91 Posts
Go look at the new 2011 Ford Super Duty. I went and test drove one the other day and couldnt believe how nice they are on the inside now. They have certainly come a long way. Anyway here's my '04...
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2,537 Posts
Why are you set on a diesel? What are you actually planning on towing? I ask because I have a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 5.9l a/t 2wd and it has 209,000 on it and I would drive it anywhere I wanted without thinking twice about it. If you aren't towing a huge payload it is kinda pointless to spend the money on a diesel. IMHO.
Here's my truck.
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I still owe tom a pick of the other side so you can see my pipes. But it has to stop raining long enough to wash it.:banghead:banghead:banghead
Here's my truck.
I still owe tom a pick of the other side so you can see my pipes. But it has to stop raining long enough to wash it.:banghead:banghead:banghead
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182 Posts
i have a 2010 f-150 king ranch, small lift, 35" tires, 3.73's. it does everything great, but drinks gas as if i get free fill up's for a year.
if you'll be pulling alot, ya, i'd go big boy. but me, i wouldn't be pulling a huge trailer consistantly so didn't want a diesel. although with the max tow it says it can pull like 11k, i wouldn't.
to give you a comparison, going to the track 2 weeks ago in my rig, 3 people, 2 bikes in the bed, misc gear, luggage, etc. i was getting about 12-13mpg doing 80mph on cruise.
our buddies, pulling a big boy closed trailer w/ 4 bikes etc. using a dodge cummins diesel, i think a 2500 got about 13mpg.
so, diesel is more effiecent at pulling a load.
if you'll be pulling alot, ya, i'd go big boy. but me, i wouldn't be pulling a huge trailer consistantly so didn't want a diesel. although with the max tow it says it can pull like 11k, i wouldn't.
to give you a comparison, going to the track 2 weeks ago in my rig, 3 people, 2 bikes in the bed, misc gear, luggage, etc. i was getting about 12-13mpg doing 80mph on cruise.
our buddies, pulling a big boy closed trailer w/ 4 bikes etc. using a dodge cummins diesel, i think a 2500 got about 13mpg.
so, diesel is more effiecent at pulling a load.
I have an early 99 F350 Crew Cab dually with the 7.3(yeah baby) and its more truck then I'll ever need. I tow a 25ft car hauler with either my 93 Mustang drag car in it or me and some friends bikes when we go to the track. Its got 115K miles on it and I paid $11K for it so I think I got a pretty good deal. Only problem is the truck weighs close to 11K lbs so the fuel mileage sucks ass. I think the best I've ever gotten was 13mpg and that was keeping it below 70mph the whole time.
Diesels are great but if you dont need one then I wouldn't waste the money. Before my F350 I had a 2001 Chevy 2500 with a 6.0 gas motor and it pulled all of the above alright but it was constantly up & down shifting on the hwy and the tranny was taking a beating. With my F350 I can pull in od and just cruise.
I guess it all boils down to what you want to tow.
Diesels are great but if you dont need one then I wouldn't waste the money. Before my F350 I had a 2001 Chevy 2500 with a 6.0 gas motor and it pulled all of the above alright but it was constantly up & down shifting on the hwy and the tranny was taking a beating. With my F350 I can pull in od and just cruise.
I guess it all boils down to what you want to tow.
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735 Posts
Uh, mileage? With just a Smarty, my 7500 lb. '05 4WD 2500 Cummins crew cab gets 25 MPG at 65 MPH, whereas a friends '01 4WD 1500 Ram with a 360 gasser gets 14 if he's lucky.
Cummins vs. Dmax vs. Powerjoke.
I have extensive experience with several versions of all three pulling up to 30,000 lbs. at work. The best unloaded driver is the Dmax, hands down. It drives like a car. However, put a decent load behind it, say, 15,000 lbs, and you really feel it. It's still responsive, but you can definitely tell it's loaded. The 12V Cummins is the best loaded driver of the group, with the 24V and common rail right behind. While the 12V is the slowest unloaded, when you throw 30,000 lbs. behind it, it doesn't get any slower. It's about as hairy chested as it gets. The 24V and common rail, due to torque management, have a very small bit of lag when loaded to 30K, but are still brutal as shit. The Powerjoke. FML, I f'in HATE these piece of shit engines. First off, they are reliable- especially the 7.3. But **** me, they're loud and laggy! The 7.3 is the slowest and least laggy, but it sounds like an garbage truck falling off the Empire State Building. The 6.0 is a turd 'till it spools, but are unreliable time bombs. And then the 6.whateverthe****withthetwinturbos... How in the hell F*rd decided it was a good idea to pass off this festering pile of shit as anything other than a waste of metal is beyond me. Where do I start? Turbos so laggy, you have to power brake it to pre- spool the turbos so you have a chance in hell of not being t-boned when you pull out, even when you're unloaded? LOUD WHOOSHING EXHAUST NOISE? How about a mechanically complex nightmare that does everything a Cummins does, but worse? TWO freakin' turbos and it won't even hit 30 lbs. of boost, let alone peak boost before 2400 RPM (for reference, a stock common rail Cummins makes 30 PSI at 1600 RPM)? Oh, and the best kick in the balls from FoMoCo? If you have to do anything deeper than pull the valve covers, you're talking about a goddamn cab- off- the- frame job. No shit! You cannot do head gaskets on a Powerchoke without removing the cab from the frame. WTF, F*rd, WTF????
Dodge reliability- the Common Rail engines (03+) are finicky bitches. Before I even put the first tank of fuel in it, I'd get a fuel/ air separator to save the injectors, and before the first oil change, I'd do at the very least a shift kit and GM gov. solenoid conversion. The Dodge trannies are stout- the RE line is the evolution of the old two speed TorqFlite trannies from the 50's, but their main problem is lack of line pressure, which causes excessive slippage and will cook the clutch packs. A shift kit will bump line pressures, and the GM gov. solenoid conversion replaces the piece of shit Dodge solenoid with one from GM because the Dodge solenoid won't handle the increased pressures. I was running a +60HP tune on mine with the stock 48RE tranny and smoked the front clutch pack so hard, a friction disc and plate welded themselves together and cut a groove in the input shaft drum. Then, all those pieces of metal and clutch lining circulated throughout the tranny... $3100 later, I had a billet flex plate, billet torque converter, billet input shaft, billet servos and accumulator pistion, and a full rebuild on the tranny. It's good for about 2200 lb. ft. of torque now, and I'm running my truck daily at about 500 HP and 960 lb. ft. with the boost turned up to 44 PSI without any issues. Other than the tranny and fuel/ air separator, they're otherwise pretty reliable trucks. Not as reliable as the old 12V's, but much more refined. If I had to do it again, I'd probably get a '97 or '98 12V, but only because it would have cost about 1/2 of what my '05 cost. The turbo failing on an '06 at 80K is very rare... Most don't go 'till well over 200K. And u-joints? Well... it's a work truck buried balls deep in snow with a heavy ass welder in the back.
Good thing u-joints are only $20 and take a few minutes to change. But... if you're just towing a couple bikes, get a Tacoma. Hell, even my Miata would tow a bike on a small trailer just fine.
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+10, i'm sure you'll get flamed by the FoMoCo guys, but good job throwing some facts out. Oh and nobody's gonna believe the fuel mileage figures until they do it themselves, it just the way it is. Tidbit #2, 98.5 24v trucks (which is what i have) have the "53" cast on the block in 3" letters are prone to cracking, cummins recalled them a few years back. It amazes me how many people don't know about the smarty tuner, even if its just a timing box, still one of the best bang for bucks.
Hey Full-on, give us a little more about what you want, like i have $5k or $35k to work with. It's fun to watch us back and forth this but it's like, hey guys, i'm thirsty, what beverage with taurine should i buy! Ctrials
Hey Full-on, give us a little more about what you want, like i have $5k or $35k to work with. It's fun to watch us back and forth this but it's like, hey guys, i'm thirsty, what beverage with taurine should i buy!
Ctrials
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889 Posts
Wow, all this time I thought I had a great truck. Who knew???
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Thanks for all the info guys I figures this was going to be a pretty bz thread. I think I am looking for something in the line of 2004 and up. A 6 speed auto would be nice ( my wife has to drive it sometimes ). I need a quad cab (2 kids). As far as driving I do alot of highway so I know diesel will be better for mpg and I will be towing alot next year (excavators and backhoes) building my house. I love the look of the ford but I hear it sucks on mpg. Like the dodge for the cummings but I hear the trans suck and gmc have great trans (alison). So if I could take the ford looks, dodge motor and gmc trans I would be good.
). I need a quad cab (2 kids). As far as driving I do alot of highway so I know diesel will be better for mpg and I will be towing alot next year (excavators and backhoes) building my house. I love the look of the ford but I hear it sucks on mpg. Like the dodge for the cummings but I hear the trans suck and gmc have great trans (alison). So if I could take the ford looks, dodge motor and gmc trans I would be good.
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889 Posts
So do it. Can you weld? You can swap pretty much anything if you throw enough money at it...
=)
=)
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735 Posts
The Allison 1000's are just as failure prone as the Dodge 48RE. Like I said- the issue with the 48RE is lack of rail pressure. Spend a couple hundred to fix that issue, and you'll be fine at stock power. Granted, you can throw Allison 2000 internals at it, but for the same cost, you could build a billet 48RE that'll smoke the Allison 2000 like a BBQ.
If you like the Cummins, but are leery of the auto tranny, do a shift kit and a GM gov. solenoid. If you don't want to take apart the valve body, get an entire valve body and a GM gov. solenoid. If you can swing $1200, get a torque converter as well. Those two things will give you an indestructable transmission as long as the engine is kept below a +60HP level.
The number of gears in the tranny on a diesel are purely fluff and would not base my purchase on that. I've seen guys do Cummins/ Allison swaps in all sorts of shit, but once a project truck... ALWAYS a project truck. Especially with diesels. A Cummins/ Allison swap in a F*rd will easily run you 15K on top of the purchase price of the F*rd.
I would highly suggest you go over to Competition Diesel Forums and do some reading. If you like the Cummins, check out Dodge Cummins Diesel Forum
Like I said- the issue with the 48RE is lack of rail pressure. Spend a couple hundred to fix that issue, and you'll be fine at stock power. Granted, you can throw Allison 2000 internals at it, but for the same cost, you could build a billet 48RE that'll smoke the Allison 2000 like a BBQ. If you like the Cummins, but are leery of the auto tranny, do a shift kit and a GM gov. solenoid. If you don't want to take apart the valve body, get an entire valve body and a GM gov. solenoid. If you can swing $1200, get a torque converter as well. Those two things will give you an indestructable transmission as long as the engine is kept below a +60HP level.
The number of gears in the tranny on a diesel are purely fluff and would not base my purchase on that. I've seen guys do Cummins/ Allison swaps in all sorts of shit, but once a project truck... ALWAYS a project truck. Especially with diesels. A Cummins/ Allison swap in a F*rd will easily run you 15K on top of the purchase price of the F*rd.
I would highly suggest you go over to Competition Diesel Forums and do some reading. If you like the Cummins, check out Dodge Cummins Diesel Forum
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