who makes the best diesel truck?

[Oldtimer]

Hmmmmm... I could've sworn the F550 and above had the engine options. Maybe they just had to be special ordered...

The F550 has never had any engine options except Diesel (7.3 IH, 6.0 IH, 6.4 IH and 6.7 Ford), and the gasser V-10.
I have a 2000 F550 with the 7.3 (444 cid) diesel. Rock solid engine. I just put a new transmission in it, 110K miles of pure work was enough for the OEM.

To the original poster:

Buy from the dealer with the very best after sale service and or the best service dept. Make is secondary to that, as all 3 are fine.

IMO, you should buy either a Sterling (Dodge) "Bullet" 5500

Or..

The Ford F550..

I say this because a 3/4 ton and dump trailer is silly for hauling wood...expensive and not very practical for most delivery situations IMO.

A "1-ton dump" will be over-weight (GVWR) with one full cord of green wood on...

But either of the 550 series trucks will haul 2 cords legally while still serving fine for residential plowing as long as you get a reg cab short wheelbase (up to 11'-6" dump body).
You'd need to have the 19500 pound GVW package (in the ford anyway) to haul 2 cords, and you'll have to stack it in to get 2 honest cords on, but it WILL haul it with zero issue...and legally.

GM makes you jump up to the "big truck" style to haul 19500 pounds GVWR.

Good luck.

 

[Oldtimer]

Also, I posted in the firewood forum about going over the scales @ 23,480 pounds gross when I hauled 2 cord of fresh cut oak...not legal by about 3500 pounds, but it hauled it without issue.

 

[PLMCRZY]

I love my cummins, its sharp looking and its relatively easy to make go fast.

But my next diesel truck if i get one will be a Chevy/gmc duramax. Best of both worlds comfort, powerful, and classy.

 

[Whiteman]

I love my cummins, its sharp looking and its relatively easy to make go fast.

But my next diesel truck if i get one will be a Chevy/gmc duramax. Best of both worlds comfort, powerful, and classy.

Ya I like the 5.9 Cummins, but not so much the truck. I have an '03 Gmc dmax and have intake, exhuast and hypertech programmer. Nothing to brag about but its a nice overall setup. I have enough power to get done what I need to pull or haul with ease. Thats why I like the GM package, the best overall package. It has a great motor, awesome tranny and the truck isn't too bad either. They have their weaknesses like all trucks, but I like them better than the others.

 

[PLMCRZY]

Replaced any injectors in that first gen dmax? The 3rd gen dodges are nice, they look sharp the 4th gen are even better. My year (01) 2nd gen was the best looking year i thought, but also the worse made. My dash is non existent, my paint is good but alot of others paint is just flaking off. I wax mine about every month though....when its running:hmm3grin2orange:

I took a dmax for a spin a while back, loved it. Like i said my next diesel will be a dmax if i choose that route. I wont mod it at all. Stock is the best for reliability...

 

[mdavlee]

I think if I was going to get a Dmax it would be a LB7 for the mileage and it's available with the 6 speed manual. I like the cummins the best for use in the hills where I live. It seems they could keep a load going the best up the hills and through the curves. I like the ford trucks the best in the 99-07 body style. I would like to find one with a 6 speed manual and blown engine to drop a 12 valves cummins in. Nothing like the mechanical engines.

I would think dodge will keep the 6 speed manual available with a lower power rating like it has been since the 6.7 was introduced.

 

[Whiteman]

I havent replaced an injector on mine and dont need to at the moment.. knock on wood. I tell myself I dont want a 6 speed cause I know some guys that try pullin in 6th and it just runs the egts up. I am very happy with mine with the hypertech cause I can pull all day on the highest setting and not worry about egts and doesnt add enough power to trash the tranny. My only complaint is the weak tie rods. They have too much torque for them little things. I bent one while getting out of a snow drift my front end hit pavement while spinning the tires a little. Here is my truck. Got it for 13 in 2009 with 74,000 miles. It was clean inside but it is a work truck so a few scratches and stuff.

 

[wooddog 066]

I love my dodges i always been a gm guy at heart but these cummins motors are reliable and for a inline 6 outrun and pull almost all the v8's out there and some cummins there are reaching 500,000 miles theres alot to be said for that,.. i have had both a 99 model and now a 2005 which could of had better balljoints in it but i see alot of newer trucks coming with greaseable ones in them so.......

 

[Whiteman]

Ya the cummins is good, but the rest of the truck....The few guys I know with 200,000+ on their cummins have had to replace a few things mostly on the other drive train or truck. Here is a little food for thought.
TheDieselPage.com - 751,000 mile Duramax - March 2010

 

[BlackOakTreeServ]

The F550 has never had any engine options except Diesel (7.3 IH, 6.0 IH, 6.4 IH and 6.7 Ford), and the gasser V-10.
I have a 2000 F550 with the 7.3 (444 cid) diesel. Rock solid engine. I just put a new transmission in it, 110K miles of pure work was enough for the OEM.

To the original poster:

Buy from the dealer with the very best after sale service and or the best service dept. Make is secondary to that, as all 3 are fine.

IMO, you should buy either a Sterling (Dodge) "Bullet" 5500

Or..

The Ford F550..

I say this because a 3/4 ton and dump trailer is silly for hauling wood...expensive and not very practical for most delivery situations IMO.

A "1-ton dump" will be over-weight (GVWR) with one full cord of green wood on...

But either of the 550 series trucks will haul 2 cords legally while still serving fine for residential plowing as long as you get a reg cab short wheelbase (up to 11'-6" dump body).
You'd need to have the 19500 pound GVW package (in the ford anyway) to haul 2 cords, and you'll have to stack it in to get 2 honest cords on, but it WILL haul it with zero issue...and legally.

GM makes you jump up to the "big truck" style to haul 19500 pounds GVWR.

Good luck.

F550 would be very nice to own with a chip box dump, but my 97' F350 is going to have to do for now....oh, and dont have to smog it here in CA, only 98' and up has to, so Im saving $$$money right there...lol

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Ya the cummins is good, but the rest of the truck....The few guys I know with 200,000+ on their cummins have had to replace a few things mostly on the other drive train or truck. Here is a little food for thought.
TheDieselPage.com - 751,000 mile Duramax - March 2010

Only 751k?

Several 2nd Gen Dodges with 1 Million+ miles...

Here's one...
Mopar1973Man's Dodge Cummins Articles - 1,000,000 Milestone

Howard Clayton has a '00 3500 with over 1.7 million miles. Never touched the internals. Changes oil every 10k miles. That was back in March of '11.

Brennan Magee has had 2 Cummins equipped Rams that passed 2 million and several others that passed 1 million.

That's food for thought.

 

[mdavlee]

Yeah there's been quite a few with over 500k on cummins powered rams. I had a 7.3 with 330k when I sold it. The most on any cummins I had was 210k. I go through trucks about like I do chainsaws so I don't keep them around long sometimes.

 

[Whiteman]

Only 751k?

Several 2nd Gen Dodges with 1 Million+ miles...

Here's one...
Mopar1973Man's Dodge Cummins Articles - 1,000,000 Milestone

Howard Clayton has a '00 3500 with over 1.7 million miles. Never touched the internals. Changes oil every 10k miles. That was back in March of '11.

Brennan Magee has had 2 Cummins equipped Rams that passed 2 million and several others that passed 1 million.

That's food for thought.

Everybody knows Cummins will go the distance. Cummins has been around and proven itself. I was just showing that even though Dmax has only been in the Gm line up for a few years it has gone the the distance. Now when you talk about best complete package, thats where I will keep my 03 Dmax.

 

[chad3]

Everybody knows Cummins will go the distance. Cummins has been around and proven itself. I was just showing that even though Dmax has only been in the Gm line up for a few years it has gone the the distance. Now when you talk about best complete package, thats where I will keep my 03 Dmax.

The IFS is the deal breaker for me. I'll stick with my RAM or travel over to the Ford side.

 

[mdavlee]

I like the duramax but the ifs is what I didn't like. It seems they don't hold up very good when off road a lot like farm roads and stuff like that. All my friends that had them had wheel bearing problems around 03-05. I wish the 3500 in them had a straight axle.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

The IFS is the deal breaker for me. I'll stick with my RAM or travel over to the Ford side.

+1 I hate IFS.

 

[Sawdustmaker]

there is so much bad info in this thread its painfully funny. I think my favorite was this

I think the Dodge is the best company makes diesel Truck. Dodge Company, especially given the technology used in new vehicles. This engine is very quiet and makes a ton of energy and is connected to Allison, who is by far the best auto tranny as an alternative to Big 3 diesel.

the anyone ever seen a dodge with an allison? Hell id rather have a BUILT 47re anyway.

Oh and there are a lot of 7.3 worshipers here. Yeah its a good engine but its no 6bt. If ford had used the international DT360 instead of the V8 IDIs and later models they would have never looked back. That would have been so much better than the 7.3.




Has anyone had trouble getting manual transmissions to hold up to towing heavy?

 

[Meadow Beaver]

Cat 3208, 5.9 12v, 6.0 powerstroke, 7.3 powerstroke, 6.4 powerstroke, my choices.

 

[arbor pro]

I have a '99 F350 Superduty 4x4 with the 7.3 turbo powerstroke and a 6-spd tranny for sale in the classifieds. Awesome truck. 120k on replacement motor, 263k on chassis. scott - AP 605-228-9350

http://www.arboristsite.com/classifieds.php?do=viewitem&itemid=2323

 

[K-TRON]

My 1979 GMC 7000 has a 4-53T Detroit Diesel in it. Unlike the Cummins which is a medium duty diesel, and the Duramax/Ford diesels which are light duty diesels, the old 2 cycle green grenades are industrial engines which will run laps around Cummins/Ford/Duramax engines in terms of reliability, longevity, ease of maintenance and of course sound. With 50,000 mile oil changes, injectors which can burn any type of combustible fuel you pour into the tanks, and over 70 years of proven excellence, I will stand my ground when others naysayers disrespect the durability and legendary performance of the old GM/Detroit Diesels. I know my Jimmies will run 500,000-750,000 miles before any major rebuild, and when the time comes I can break out my bait and tackle box and get her back up and running again.

Chris