Choosing a 3/4 ton diesel for towing..

[iceman1575]

Before I go any further...this is NOT meant to be a vs. topic, and is NOT going to be a Ford vs. Dodge vs. Chevrolet topic, so please keep that crap out of here, this is a serious topic about picking a new(er) truck

My poor ol' half ton Chevrolet is finally on it's way out (200k miles, and needs more in repairs than the truck would be worth), so I'm gonna try and get it out while I'm ahead...looking to get a 3/4 ton pickup truck to tow my 14ft cargo trailer loaded with sound equipment. What experiences has everyone had with their diesel trucks? My main things are looking are at newer (less than 10 years old), diesel, 4x4, crew cab, standard box (6.5'), less miles and of course, price. Dodge Cummins and Chevy Duramax have been tied in my list, the Powerstroke's are down, but not 100% out (highly unlikely though)...looking for some suggestions from anyone about any of the trucks.

[Rockford96]

Ive never owned a diesel im a hardcore ford guy but i wouldnt buy a powerstroke.. if your doing alot of towing i would get a duramax ive heard alot of good things about them and the allison trannys are amazing. The cummins is a good motor too but ive personally never seen anyone have good luck with dodges trannys

[bdog]

2003 7.3 powerstroke was bullet proof had one loved it and it got great milage down side is a bit of a ruff ride from the all leaf suspension .

[Amart88]

My father had a 2007 ford f450 Super duty for work. It towed a heavy fifth wheel every day.

Got it Brand New.

First, they replaced the tracer lights as they literally fell out of the body,

Inner wheel wells fell off on top of the duallys.

the turbo blew it's hose,

Trailer plug stopped working.

The the starter failed

Starter was replaces and it exploded destroying the transmission.(no joke) Had to be replaced

Turbo completely blew.

Engine had complete failure. Had to be replaced.

Serpentine belt flew off and broke cooling fan.

The dash lost all of it's lights and function.

Also developed bad exhaust leak into the cab.

EDIT: and rough as hell as stated above. I believe it had 7.2? or 3 L power stroke diesel.

All of this happened under 80,000 Miles. The truck had regular maintenance at ford for it's whole life.

Not trying to piss on Ford but from witnessing that I would not personally buy one.

They got him a new 2013 Gas f250 3/4 ton now and it seems really nice so far.

[Rockford96]

oh and my stepdad is the bc at a fire dept and in the trucks they have the powerstrokes and everytime im there they are having a problem with the turbo on one

[kryptonite]

I'm a dodge guy but the duramax backed by the allison transmission can not be beat stock for stock. My buddy has an 07 lbz block duramax with the allison and it is a beast! Of course diesels have alot or brute strength stock but putting "smart" power adders and mods you can get crazy output. He has a shift kit in the trans and a programmer on the truck, can pull a triple axle equipment deck with his mud truck on it and pass people going up hill gaining speed lol. The auto trans that backs the cummins needs to be built up and heavily modified to be useful from what i've seen with the trucks in my area. They'll pull great but need money to do it which sucks.

[baron_of_bass]

I'd go with the cummins, aside from CAT engines those cummins are probably the best Diesel engines out.

[dangaranga]

You could always go with an 04+ f250 3v V10 gasser, should have plenty of power but fuel mileage won't be the greatest.

[Lbox88]

My dad has an '07 silverado classic crew cab with the dirtymax and the Allison. He's taken it back and forth to VA a few times towing a 31' fifth wheel camper and uses it for farm use and towing, he loves it.

So damn quiet for diesel too, it's weird until you start mashing on it. He loves that truck more than any vehicle he's owned other than his old '64 impala SS back in the day.

[lifted_silverado]

Cummins cummins cummins. The stock 48re tranny on a dodhe is more than capable of handling any towing youre doing. The bad luck you hear about with dodge trannys is assbags who throw in these smarty tuners on crazy high settings and slip the hell out of them. In fact MOST competition sled pullers prefer the 48re when built over the allison or any ford tranny fully built. People hype up allisons but they arent wonderful and break just as easy and cost much more to rebuild because of the parts. Powerstrokes are PROBLEMS, even ford has come out and called every engine in the past 6-8 years lemons. All the emissions crap on the newer trucks are ruining the power and fuel mileage. I personally would never purcahse a 3/4 or 1 ton truck with independent front suspension, the weight of a diesel engine needs a solid front axle to support it so chevy wouldnt be ideal in my book. Cummins has been proven to be a 1 million mile engine more over than any other diesel engine. Any cummins before halfway through 07 when they switched to the 6.7 is a beast and has no emissions restriction parts. Cummins is putting out the same horsepower numbers with a 6 cylinder compared to an 8 cylinder with any other brand, that should say alot. I could go on for days about this.