Are you happy with your diesel P.U. ?

[high country]

have owned them all, ford was all I bled for a long time, but the last one bled me dry. I had a nicely built dodge 24v that was a great truck sans fornt end always neending something. I now have a d-max, I never wanted a chevy, but stole one at a repo.....lemme say that my dodge had a 65hp tune and a 120hp edge drag comp, intake, exhaust, 120hp injectors, clutch.....twas built to pull hard. my chevy will hands down run away from it, loaded or on the strip. I have only a 120hp tune on the dmax.

the dodge would get 20mpg every unloaded mile of its 225k life. my ford was a 14mpg truck. my chevy is 18 avg.....20 if I drive like a old lady.
chevys ride, interior, and brakes...oh and the tranny far outclass the others. the ford and dodge take weight better at the cost of ride quality. dodges will run forever......and ever. fords will need glow plugs, glow plug modules, relays.....and batts.

chevy post 05 has the trickest tranny in the game, they all have stupid emissions stuff that kills mileage and reliability after 07. they sll do something better then the others and something worse

[cohoho]

 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.  

Ain't that the truth!

[Special T]

I have an 03 and 05  6 speed stick 2wd deully  I use them for work. They can tow i can put on the goose neck trailer.. I'll second the front end is week. have to replace the stuff pretty regularly... I've pulled loads over the pas with snow and i'll take the chains over 4wd for the fuel savings any day... i'm gona put a winch receiver on the 4 door 2wd for when i go to archery elk camp, just in case.(in the front already have one in the rear for hauling cars onto the trailer)  i don't think you want an 10 because of all the new untested emission crap on them.  I don't care for dodge cars or other trucks by my 1tons i love... Get one with an exhaust brake! I didn't know the factory had them available when i bought mine... you can get a factory one for a used one if it don't have it....

[JackOfAllTrades]

I love my diesel pickup truck!  I will never go back to a gas engine powered pickup.

I will not give in to the Ford, GM, Dodge battle, but will say that they all have issues. They all have plusses, as diesel power plants, but along with that brings transmission issues because of the torque the diesel can deliver. The faulty designs that are inherant in our fledgling high torque decade, and the lack of traditional vacuume that most automatics rely upon for shift points leads to inconsistent shifts and hardware failure. Yes, there are a lot of electronics implemented for automatic transmissions for both gas and diesel powerplants, but none of the big three have it mastered yet. For the consumer diesel powered trucks, there isn't a big enough clutch available in a stock rig but the ZF6 is a great transmission in both the Ford and GM. The Dodge 6spd is really smooth. As posted earlier, the front-ends suck.. But, that's only for the trucks with IFS. And although they ride better, I'll be turning the thermostat down to make hell freeze over the day I get rid of my solid front axle. I don't know where the fuel economy complaint comes from. I average 17.5mpg year round. Best as 22mpg freeway with no load with canopy on. There are a lot of Dodges and Fords that do better than I do. Many more that do worse, but I really think that can be attributed to LEAD FOOT.

All that said, there are calculators on the net that will help you determine if a Diesel powered truck is cost effective for you. In my truck, (now five years old), the diesel engine was a $5,200 option.  Maintenance for a diesel is no different than for a gas engine. Its just that if you don't maintain a diesel, you'll lose quick. You can get away with not changing a fuel filter on a gas engine for 100,000 miles. I wouldn't recommend that with a diesel. But, since most people use '$better$' oil in a diesel, that'll cost more in the long run. There is no $8.99 Fram oil filter available for a diesel..  

Love my diesel. But I will advise you that you should educate yourself about the one you're going to buy.

-Steve

[actionshooter]

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.

 I sold my dodge at 99000 miles, the warranty was getting ready to go and I didn't figure I had enough money in the bank to keep fixing it.
 I think the cummins is the best engine of the 3 but they stuffed it in the worst truck.
 3 sets of ball joints in 6 years!!

 I'm planning on trying the Chev next.

[mkcj]

I will never own a gas truck again! I have a 24v dodge and love it.

[Special T]

I have customers in Canada who have Toyota hyluxs  inline 4 diesel  imported from japan, and they get like 35-40 mpg... Why the hell can i get that here in the us? Diesel is suck a superior fuel in so many ways I  my head every time i think of it! You get 20% more fuel from the refining process, you get way better fuel economy, and if you panties get in a bunch about pollution blend 5-10% bio in and your emissions rock! WTF why don't we pull our head out like Europe or any where else? Its the GD corn lobby for BS ethanol!

[norsepeak]

Put 190K on my 98 dodge diesel, drove the crap out of it and never had any issues except I got tired of passing fords going up long pulls....got an 06 dodge now, 44K on it, exhaust, intake and programmer, and Pacbrake got TONS of power, 20 MPG and no issues.  With my camper loaded up pulling my 26' trailer with 4 quads and a dirtbike and gas cans and tools etc. weighs in around 19,000 lbs. pulls it like crazy with no issues.  Hard to beat Cummins power.

[Special T]

I've had my stock 05 at 32k lbs gross from longview to Skagit valley didn't drop below 55 all on stock gear...

[BLR 243]

My 97 F250 Powerstroke has 86k miles pulls like a freight train, sounds like a locomotive, I'll never have a gasser again.

[chukarchaser]

I have an 06 Ford 6.0, and it has problems and is often referred to as the sick liter.  The 6.4 was a rush replacement for the 6.0 and has it problems as well, so I would be leery.  My duramax friends have had no problems with there trucks.

[denali]

I have customers in Canada who have Toyota hyluxs  inline 4 diesel  imported from japan, and they get like 35-40 mpg... Why the hell can i get that here in the us? Diesel is suck a superior fuel in so many ways I  my head every time i think of it! You get 20% more fuel from the refining process, you get way better fuel economy, and if you panties get in a bunch about pollution blend 5-10% bio in and your emissions rock! WTF why don't we pull our head out like Europe or any where else? Its the GD corn lobby for BS ethanol!

86 ford escort diesel  45 mpg lets reinvent the wheel  

I was in Brazil 10 years ago and they had flex fuel autos, we in the states act like it's something new ??

[alanger]

Im a big ford guy, but i wouldnt recomend anyone a 6.4ltr if you dont want to baby the *censored* outta it. they must have constant care on those finicky buggers. and if you need any engine werk done they have to pull the cab. kinda just a pain in the arse.  id recommend a 08-10 durtymax or 05-10 cummins. im starting to like dodge more and more cause ford cantfind an engine and stick with it. 

[wildmanoutdoors]

I love my diesel! 95 F-250. 274000 miles and still going strong. Id never go back to gas....coarse when I bought it fuel was 99 cents a gallon.

[Woodchuck]

02 DURAMAX, Allison, last truck i will ever buy, is chipped, 24 mpg, will pull anything i need to hook up to