New Dodge/ Ford Trucks

[stltreedr]

We will be in the market for a new small 4x4 bucket truck this spring- Anyone have any experience with late model (last couple years) Dodge 5500 or Ford 550's?

It looks like those may be our only options, except for maybe an ISUZU or similar cab- over with a 4x4 conversion. Not sure if they offer 4x4 options on those.

I'm leery on the newer diesel motors...It seems that they always have some issues... and the warranties aren't that great from what I've seen.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Bill Becker]

We will be in the market for a new small 4x4 bucket truck this spring- Anyone have any experience with late model (last couple years) Dodge 5500 or Ford 550's?

It looks like those may be our only options, except for maybe an ISUZU or similar cab- over with a 4x4 conversion. Not sure if they offer 4x4 options on those.

I'm leery on the newer diesel motors...It seems that they always have some issues... and the warranties aren't that great from what I've seen.

Any advice is appreciated.

Local cable company is using the new F550 with gas engines for their bucket/service trucks. New emission standards for diesels are making the engines complicated and expensive. Local Bandit dealer has a new XP990 with a GM 3 liter gas engine. And nobody can explain why filters and parts for diesels are much more expensive than those for gas engines.

 

[stltreedr]

I was also looking into the gas motor chippers, but the torque numbers were way low.. which im sure is also the case with the trucks. Might be worth a look into it- gas motors in big trucks dont seem to last very long though

 

[Mowingman]

The Ford V10 gas is a real workhorse. I have owned a couple, and they pull as good, if not better than a Cummins or Powerstroke diesel. That V10 has been around for a good while, and is very dependable. My son is a certified Ford mechanic, and he speaks highly of them. I believe they are available in the F350 and bigger Fords.
I drive a school bus part time. We have about 25 or 30 of the big Bluebird school buses that have the V10 engine running on propane. I can beat most cars off the line at a traffic light. It is fun to watch the faces of drivers who think they are going to jump out around me a traffic lights or stop signs. These things have lots of torque.
As far as fuel mileage, well, forget that. I never did better than 9MPG with the v10 in my F350, pulling a trailer, or with no trailer.
Jeff

 

[crotchclimber]

The Ford V10 gas is a real workhorse. I have owned a couple, and they pull as good, if not better than a Cummins or Powerstroke diesel. That V10 has been around for a good while, and is very dependable. My son is a certified Ford mechanic, and he speaks highly of them. I believe they are available in the F350 and bigger Fords.
I drive a school bus part time. We have about 25 or 30 of the big Bluebird school buses that have the V10 engine running on propane. I can beat most cars off the line at a traffic light. It is fun to watch the faces of drivers who think they are going to jump out around me a traffic lights or stop signs. These things have lots of torque.
As far as fuel mileage, well, forget that. I never did better than 9MPG with the v10 in my F350, pulling a trailer, or with no trailer.
Jeff

The Ford V10 is a joke compared to a diesel in my experience with heavy loads. I've driven F250s with the V10 and they are gutless hauling a water or UTV trailer compared to a 7.3L Powerstroke or 5.9L Cummins. They are OK on flat ground but try going up a hill and it's half the speed at most. The V10 does little to slow you down going downhill compared to a diesel.

 

[cgraham1]

The Ford V10 gas is a real workhorse. I have owned a couple, and they pull as good, if not better than a Cummins or Powerstroke diesel.

********. You do know the new Cummins is rated at 1000 ft. lbs. of torque? There isn't a gas engine made that can hang with a new diesel when it comes to towing/hauling.

 

[Mowingman]

I am not comparing them to the new diesels. I have owned 18, F250 Powerstrokes, and 4 Dodge/Cummins. The V10 Fords I had worked just fine for me, never noticed a difference worth the thousands of dollars more, that a diesel truck costs to buy and maintain.
Remember, I am in flat land. I am sure one would notice a difference in hilly terrain.

 

[CalTreeEquip]

If you are talking about buying a new truck I would go with Cummins or Duramax. Fords new engine is suppose to be pretty good but the 6.7 is the first diesel engine Ford has made itself. Before that they were all International engines or a Cummins, or before that Detroit. 7.3 was very good, 6.0 the worst pos ever, 6.4 better but still not worth owning. 6.7 much better but only time will tell. On the other hand Cummins has always been great. Duramax has some problems but I think they have worked them out.

 

[stltreedr]

As far as I know, GM is only making trucks up to 1-ton... I will need a 550 or 5500, medium duty chassis.

 

[blades]

With the EPA screwing up the diesel fuel ain't nothing going to be decent for about 20 years- took that long just to get the gas engines reasonable again.
Dosen't matter what brand all have problems just hear about some more than others. Was a time where d's had it all over gas, That's changed due to pricing of the units, fuel , & maintenance. Heavy loads and long hauls yep D all the way- other than that not so hot. Yep, I have had both, running gas now. Not a fan of turbos failure rate too high on big 3 oem.

 

[CalTreeEquip]

GM and Chevy make a 20,000 GVW last time I checked.
I would agree with Blade and suggest you do some research on which engines are holding up best and probably
go with a used truck rather than buying a new tier 4.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Almost all the slope contractors are buying gas trucks over diesels. The new diesels with all the emissions junk have been nothing but trouble. Urea freezing which splits the tank or lines, dpf clogging up constantly, egr problems, etc.

One of my friends works for a big towing company, they are buying v10 F550s-650 vs diesel ones on their new trucks. After one diesel truck spent months at the dealer they gave up on them. No real trouble with the V10s.

Gone are the days of a simple diesel engine that can run just about on cheap beer.

 

[blades]

cheap beer = the urea tank

 

[Mike Gibson]

I currently have 12 Ford F550's with the new Ford built 6.7. Like people have said, it does have a few more issues than the older diesels; i.e. 7.3 International or the 5.9 Cummins. Having said that, ours have not been "in the shop" all of the time as some people claim. The most important thing with the newer diesels regardless of brand is a good dealership close by. When you do have a problem it will most likely have to go to the dealer because of all of the computer controlled systems. The reason we run all Fords is due to a true comparison we ran for a few years. At one time we had four Dodges with Cummins and 6 Fords with either the 6.4 or 6.7. The issue with the Dodge was not the motor but the rest of the truck around it. It was junk and we had terrible dealer support. On top of that, FCA USA (parent of dodge / ram) is the worst about issuing a recall and not having the parts available. Just do a quick Google search and you will everyone has this issue with any FCA vehicle. Long post but had lots to say.

 

[CalTreeEquip]

That is interesting Mike. Thanks.
I have heard the 6.7 are working much better. And ya, having a good, responsive dealer service department makes all the difference.

 

[Mike Gibson]

An GM is only making up to 1 ton trucks. Rumors are swirling that they are coming back out with a 4500 / 5500 truck but nothing concrete yet.

 

[catbuster]

I have 3 F550s. One has a 6.4. The others are 6.7 PSD. The 2012 with the 6.7 is about to turn over a quarter million miles. No major problems yet. Standard PMs. Filters, oil, add diesel & DEF as needed, same fuel economy as my 7.3 F350, but it drives better with a 6 speed auto vs the 4 speed 4R100. It makes better power than the 7.3 and 6.4.

The technical rescue response rig my department runs is an F550 with a Warner body and the 6.7 handles the PTO generator and other requirements like a champ. And it goes like a bat out of hell.

I'm a big fan of the 6.7 PSD and Ford's class 3-5 trucks. I like GM too. I have always run away from Dodge because of component failures outside of the engine, and apparently the 6.7 is not good on fuel, nor does it like the emissions controls placed on it.

 

[blades]

Well I ain't exactly happy if someone is choking me or starving me either. For that matter I personal don't go as far on a tank fuel either, course I got about 60 years on them trucks - not much works like it used to.

 

[stltreedr]

Thanks for the help guys- i think ive been talked into the ford. Hope to be making the order in a month or two... ill post pics when i get it.