Trouble deciding between dodge and ford

[pprice01]

Originally Posted by greytraveler

I have owned nothing but Fords since 1970. But, when we started towing a larger fifth I wanted torque and reliable. For sure the Fords all had much more comfortable cabs. The RAM we purchased was pretty bare bones. After all, it was meant to work not go to dinner and a show.



Did my homework for several years. Cummins for a number of reasons beat others hands down. Ours is a 2004 which is what, the 5.9? We also have the New Venture six speed manual. My wife wanted to feel like she was in control so she specified the manual trans.



So far 100,000 miles and almost all towing fifth wheels of around 10,000. No problems.



I still wish I had the Ford cab or maybe one of the new RAM cabs.



Just for drill, ask an independent diesel mechanic about the cost of ownership for each of the three diesel choices. What happens if, for instance, you have a turbo failure?



I plan to leave my RAM to whomever has to settle our estate. I will never sell the truck.

Thanks Grey!

[Crusader 816]

Well said bitnine.

[shorthorn]

You for sure need a dually with that size unit. Personally I chose the Ram because I liked it better than the Ford and Chevy. I am in northern IL so I see the camper haulers all day long headed south and west... easy 10x more Rams than anything else. Been seeing more and more chevy's, rarely do you see a Ford.

Do your research as well on injection pumps... the CP4 units in the Powerstroke and Duramax like to disassemble at a cost of 10k+ to repair. Cummins uses the very reliable CP3... that issue alone was the final deciding factor for me between Cummins and Duramax.

And before you think warranty will cover you on the CP4 issue... read the forums... more often than not Ford denies warranty due to fuel quality.

[bfhammer]

I've logged over 600k miles on Ram's including 18 years of snow plowing. I sold GM & dodge vehicles, I sold upfits(dump bodies etc, and Dodge remains my favorite.
GM's will ride a little better unloaded but I've always had issue with interiors on them, the seats are uncomfortable and make my butt go numb. Ford's have more wind noise at 10k than my old dodge did at 300k. Ford's seem to survive employees a little better with the slop in the transmissions for those who use Drive & reverse as brakes.

When it was Minnesota cold back when I was selling and we had to move the vehicles for plowing the Cummins would start and the GM's we had to push out of the way.

The GM's, or ObamaMotors, are better now but I'll always look to Dodge first for trucks.
One of my customers when I was selling had 400k on his from transporting trailers and a guy he worked with had over 1 million.

[inspectorgf]

I am a dodge owner 170k on my 06 mega. We keep looking at new trucks and I really like the Ford but by far they scare me more than the other two. With a 5% engine fail rate I just don't know if i want to roll the dice and hope I don't wind up in that 5%. Also I don't like that the cab has to come off to make repairs. I have talked to 2 people that lost their engine. One was a fellow camper who's engine went at 60k and the other was a RV transporter that lost his engine at 24k. Even with that though there is a part of me that would still love to have a f-350 but I love the reliability of my cummins.

[bitNine]

Originally Posted by pprice01

Thanks Dustman. I don't care for the non-leather interior of the ram, just looks/feels cheap.

It's not all non-leather. Laramie is leather trimmed, which means the seating surfaces are not leather, but all the bolsters and other pieces are. The Laramie Longhorn is 100% leather. In my experience, the non-leather holds up against my ass FAR better than ANY vehicle I've ever had with leather.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by bitNine

It's not all non-leather. Laramie is leather trimmed, which means the seating surfaces are not leather, but all the bolsters and other pieces are. The Laramie Longhorn is 100% leather. In my experience, the non-leather holds up against my ass FAR better than ANY vehicle I've ever had with leather.

Cloth seems to always hold up better. Every single used truck I've ever looked at with leather or vinyl seats that was 10 years old or older was completely shredded and looked horrid. We have a 1997 Expedition that has been outside for ~50% of it's life and the cloth interior still looks new. When I see all of these new trucks with leather on the dash and doors, I can't help but wonder how that's gonna look 10 years from now when it's all cracked and peeling. So, I tend to buy cloth and the cloth Ram seats left much to be desired for me. But, others have talked about liking them.

[shorthorn]

I have 0 issue with even the cheapo cloth seats in my tradesman Ram

[greytraveler]

I don't remember anyone saying anything about pin weight for a fifth wheel. That was one of the things I looked at when shopping for our new fifth. Maybe someone can explain why that is important better than I can. I just know I do not want to overload the rear axle and its related components.

[Jim34RL]

When I went shopping for a new truck in Nov 2007, I wanted a diesel engine vehicle to tow our 5er that we had. I looked at all three makes Chevy/GMC, Ford and Ram and decided on the Ram 2008, 6.7L Cummins Mega Cab for a tow vehicle. Why? For simplicity; the Cummins which is a in-line 6 cylinder engine has less moving parts than any 8-cylinder engine will ever have. Also the Cummins builds the torque for pulling at the low end of the torque curve 650 lb-ft at 1500 RPMS and maintains this thru out the power band falling off to 600 lb-ft at 3,000 RPMS.
I have towed with this vehicle out east and west, both on flat lands and in the mountains with no towing issues at all. I have towed a 5er with this vehicle close to 35,000 miles of the 100,000 that is on the OD and I have no regrets towing with this vehicle at all.

[bfhammer]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

Cloth seems to always hold up better. Every single used truck I've ever looked at with leather or vinyl seats that was 10 years old or older was completely shredded and looked horrid. We have a 1997 Expedition that has been outside for ~50% of it's life and the cloth interior still looks new. When I see all of these new trucks with leather on the dash and doors, I can't help but wonder how that's gonna look 10 years from now when it's all cracked and peeling. So, I tend to buy cloth and the cloth Ram seats left much to be desired for me. But, others have talked about liking them.

My first one was cloth and it held up ok but I'd never give up leather now at home or in my truck. Just like you need to vacuum cloth, leather is helped with a conditioner applied when cleaning to stay soft and supple. I have 8 years on the latest one and the leather looks new. Much easier to clean and doesn't stain, absorb smells, or absorb spills.

[kevnval]

I had a 96 Ford , with 7.3l Powerstroke Diesel , loved the truck pulled 5th wheels weighing 11,000 lb , a little weak on hills but still got the job done.
Next had an 07 Silverado Dmax , loved it for towing , didn't like the maintenance costs...
Now have the RAM 2500 6.4l gas...so far I really like RAM...no it doesn't hold the speed on the hills like the diesels....but the ride and comfort and stable feel are great

Get what you like and suits YOUR needs...just make sure you have Michelins on whatever it is

[greytraveler]

All this talk about trucks made me curious so I went to the RAM Trucks web site. Wish I had not!

I thought I would never sell our 2004 but after looking at the new ones, OMG.

The colors and options and towing capacity. 900 foot pounds with the CTD and a 31,000 plus tow. Holy cow.

I think I will try and find something else to think about. Like dinner and a drink.

Cheers,

GT

[ferguson65]

Originally Posted by m2kamp

Not a fan boy lol. Don't want to start a flame war, but I would be worried about metal fatigue on the Ford.

Frames aren't springs and I thought all trucks had fully boxed frames nowadays, thanks for the education! To be fair though, I think the F350 frame has been around a very long time 1999?, with the Ram only around 2010 I believe.

The SD platform is OLD. I will give you that. It has been around since 1999. The truck is all new for 2017. I'm undecided on the majority of the new truck, but I can say I HATE the new dually fenders. The cab will be shared with the 2015+ F150 which I'm told is huge inside. It will have a fully boxed frame, likely because the C channel frame's amount of flex would tear the aluminum body and bed to pieces.

I'm very happy with my 13, and it's not going anywhere. To the person concerned about failure rates on the 6.7, its really a non issue with post 2011 trucks. The job 1 2011 trucks did have some issues, both pickups and C+C's. And the only truck that ever left me sit on the side of the road waiting for a wrecker was a 5.9 Ram with a CP3. **** happens and nothing is perfect.

They can all have issues, and the Cummins is no longer the dead nuts reliable 12 valve tractor engine it was born from. I can say however, in my line of work (heavy equipment) the 6.7 Cummins (sometimes rebranded) is one of the most reliable Tier4 interim and final platforms. Just be glad you can get parts and service at a Ram dealer, because at least our local Cummins dealer SUCKS.

[spock123]

I'm going to look at a Dodge on Friday. I sure would love to have a dually but then I would just want a bigger camper


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