Are you happy with your diesel P.U. ?

[MHWASH]

I'm thinking real hard about getting a diesel pick-up. Crew cab, long box.  The three I'm considering are the 08-10 Ford 6.4, 05-10 GM, and the '10 Dodge. Up to this point Dodge has not built a true Crew cab. I'm looking for X vs Y debate, just trying to get a honest opinion.

[FC]

The Dodge is built the best, has the most power, gets the best gas mileage, lasts the longest and costs the most. The GM has the least power and the PowerPOKE diesel is the one most noted for punching holes in the block, call a few rebuild and machine shops if you doubt me.

[Shannon]

The new Ford diesel beats Dodge in everything stated above except lasting longer and that remains to be seen. I drove one for about 350 miles recently and it got about 23 miles to the gallon on the freeway doing 75-80. The Cummins is a great motor but I don't care for most of the rest of the truck.

[SnakeEyes]

I am really happy with my 03 Duramax. I have 142,000 miles with no problems so far. The thing I really like is the brakes. I am still running the original brakes. The ground clearance is not as good but I do not do any serious off roading. I am averaging 16-17 miles per gallon. Plenty of power for me. My dodge diesel was bad on brakes. Had to change every 40,000 miles. They may have fixed that problem but I know I was not the only one.

[MIKEXRAY]

I've had 3 ford f350 crew cabs ( diesel ) since 1999. I put 180,000 mi on the first two each and have 30K mi on my new one and have had no major problems. All ran great . I've done an alternator on one and had a sensor leak oil under warranty. I pull a trailer for work, haul a camper & boat all summer and snowmobile trailer in the winter. I think they are great trucks and I even think I get good resale after six years. My last one I paid $ 33k, ran it for 6 years & sold it for $ 18k with 180,000 mi on the odometer. Mike

[denali]

power, pulling,clearance go with dodge, I have two.  05 and 09

if a smooth ride is important go with chevy.

don't know enough about fords to comment

[Antlerking]

Try to find a superduty 4 door body with an alison tranny and a cummins motor and you will have the ultimate truck

[Birdguy]

I have an 06 duramax and would not trade it for anything. I know they all make good trucks and bad trucks depending on your personal preferences and that is fine. Guys I know with the Dodges and Fords say you MUST have the manual transmission. I like my truck for what it is. A four door family rig with a long box camper hauling, boat or excavator towing machine, that I can drive or ride 4-8 hours in and still walk when I get where I am going. You can not beat the ride from what I have found. To the defense of the newer fords and dodges, I have not ridden long distances in them but after 6  hours I could barely walk when I went to get out of my buddy's 04 ford. I have only made one trip of significance without a load on the truck and I got just under 20 mpg at an average speed of 70.

To answer your question I think most guys who bought a diesel truck because they NEED a diesel truck are happy with them. The guys that generally are not are the guys who bought more truck then they can use and start to try to justify why they need a different one  .

[WDFW Hates ME!!!]

I have an 08 mega cab. I love it. I have the 6 speed auto with the exhaust brake, i will never own another tow rig without an exhaust brake.
Dodge uses soft brake pads, it is far cheaper to change out pads than it is to change out rotors.
I change the brakes myself.

Honestly i don't care wich one you buy i can only tell you my expierence. I had an 05 that i loved, i got better fuel mileage with the 05 than i do with the 08. But i love the room in my 08. I have had no tranny problems with either. I heard they have been fixed since 04 when they went to the 48RE and now the 68RE. I tow a 10,000 pound 5th wheel with no probs. Plus i think the dodges look the best. But that is my opinion.

[GoldTip]

I have an '05 Dodge 3/4 4x4 quad cab with the cummins.  Drove back to Montana last weekend, averaged 70-75mph, and just at 20.4 mpg.  I tow a 26' toyhauler trailer that weighs in around 12.5-13K fully loaded with wheelers and water.  Can average 70-75mph up hill, down hill or sidehill.  MPG drops to around 14-14.5 with that much weight behind it, but pulls easily.  Personally I love my diesel.  My Dad own a 05 Ford super duty diesel, and it's is louder but the interior is more comfortable, ride is about the same, and maybe, maybe about the same power as my Dodge.  Brother owns a 07 Duramax.  Rides and drives like a dream, need a Walmart parking lot to turn it around as  the Chevy turn radius flat sucks, no ands, if's or butts about it.  Definitely rides better than my Dodge and interior is more comfortable for sure.  The Duramax is quieter than my Dodge but does not have the same pulling power by a long shot.  Not as much ground clearance by a long shot as the Ford or the Dodge.  Figure out which of those aspects is most important to you and go find your diesel!  

But to answer your question, am I happy with my diesel, yes I love it, as long as I need to tow something heavier than 5k, I will always own a diesel.

[cohoho]

Having all three in the past I have to agree with above...

Ford Super Duty body and Crew Cab, Chevy ride, Allison Tranny and the Cummins, but that is going to happen ...

Had an 01 Dodge Cummins - couldn't hear myself think while driving down the road...  But that is way improved on the new models... And road like a tank going down the road..
Had an 04 Ford 350.. crappy, crappy, crappy motor, problems and sucky fuel mileage...  But loved the vehicle, the looks and crew cab aren't going to be beat, supposedly the mileage is great now???  Don't know for sure...  

Now - 06 Chevy Duramax  - that year can't be beat in any power contest with anything stock.... at that time frame (last year before all the new restrictions) Also like the Chevy ride of course, good mileage and hoops of power... Will have 130,000 before 8 Aug as it will turn 4 years old... Thinking about a new one also???  But want to know about ford's mileage in the next two years....

[Rick]

The 6.4 in the Ford has a history of terrible fuel mileage.

The LLY Duramax ('04.5-'05) has a history of overheating and blowing head gaskets. GM upped the power but didn't address the cooling.

The Dodges have a history of crappy front suspensions. Ball joints and u-joints are COMMON issues.

My '07 Dodge 3500 has been pretty reliable other than needing a couple front axle u-joints and a carrier bearing in the two piece rear driveshaft at less than 35,000 miles.

I don't know that I'd buy another Dodge. With the solid front axle it rides like a hay wagon from 1880. I probably wouldn't mind the ride as much if the front suspension was more durable.

[carpsniperg2]

we have run a lot of diesels on the farm and they are the best for the hardcore work out if you pull a lot they are the way to go but for a everyday rig i would not care to own one. diesel is about as expensive as reg or more in some places the insurance is more as well most of the time. but for a work horse we have been very happy with all of ours that we have run

[509er]

Are you happy with your diesel P.U. ?


yep.

[jackelope]

I spend my life staring at Dodge trucks. They pay my mortgage.

The front ends suck...Rick would know.
The fuel economy sucks as soon as they put the DPF system into any of them(Dodge=mid-2007/6.7L engine).
The engines are great.
The transmissions are OK.
I hate the interiors till the 2010 trucks came out. They are awesome.
You could get a mega-cab starting in 2007 but  it only has a short bed.
We got word the other day that Cummins will quit warranty repairs on engines if the owners don't change fuel filters every 15k miles. They say 1 out of every 10 warranty claims for engine replacements are not warranteable because of fuel contamination. That said, I've stared at Dodge trucks pretty muchg every day for the last 3 years and have not replaced a Cummins yet warranty or customer pay.
I'm far from a motorhead but I know what goes wrong with the Dodge trucks.