DIESEL POWER!

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

This says it all! Not sure why folks still try and compare rigs. There is no comparison!  Like said before own the best or die like the rest!

[RG]

Mileage varied between 14 and 14.5 mpg.  I'm over 20 empty.

[johnr060]

All three companys have their ups and downs. I personally voted cummins because i drive one everyday and get an average of 21mpg with it reading 267000 miles on the OD.  All the cummins engines are good until the 6.7 came along in my opinion. Chevy's Duramax is a great engine, as well as their trannys (you cant beat an Allison). The one down fall with the Duramax is the LB7 (01-04), the injectors tend to go out religously! other than that the LBZ,LLY, and the new LMM have minimal issues so far, and put out insane power and torque stock. As far as Ford goes, the only good reliable turbo diesel they have manufactured in my opinion is the 7.3l  powerstroke (94-2003.5). All the others are a joke especially the 6.0 . With any of these trucks the best way to get better gas mileage out of them, is quickly get rid of all the emissions BS, and get a Chip, cold air intake, and exhaust. Not only do you get better power, but the gas mileage pays off big time hunting all fall, and your truck sounds way more bad ass with a nice exhaust (no muffler!) . With the 12valve cummins (like mine) in the 94-1998.5 dodges you cant chip them because they are all mechanical. But, you can put some goodies in the injection pump to give you 50-120 hp more and +2-4 mpg. This is all just my opinion and what i have observed over the past ten years. Diesel trucks are the best investment you can make PS dont buy a truck with an Automatic transmission unless its a chevy with a Allison auto. dodge and ford automatics are a joke.

[johnnyaustin44]

  pretty much says it all. just upgrade from my 98.5 dodge with 365000 miles on her to a 09 gmc with the duramax. feels weird not shifting anymore but the ride of the new truck is quite a bit nicer than the ol'dodge. however getting 14 mpg out of the new rig stings a little bit. need to get some exhaust and a tuner to get rid of the emission bs.

[Cascade_fisher]

The new Dodge is a POS in all aspects compared to the new Ford and even the Chevy.  Just my  and I know I will get flamed but the only Cummins in a regular truck that was good was the 12valve.  The rest of the Dodge trucks are just such crap as to not justify the engine.  The steering boxes... I should stop now before you guys go jihadi on me.

[Chesapeake]

I have a 96 12 valve. I would trade up to a 2006/2007 common rail 5.9 with the six speed. I'd just put on a remote fuel filter, cold air, and a chip.

Or maybe bigger injectors, beefed up injection pump, and the bigger turbo from the common rail motor on a 12 valve would be fine.

The common rail injection engines have much more power than the 12 valves and you dont have to shut them down in the drive through.

My auto has been fine since the rebuild at 125k. Now at 270k. Had them toss in a beefed up torque converter and a few other upgrades to help it run cooler. Good to go since.

I've owned Ford and Chevy. Probably won't do that again.

5.9 was the best mix of power and economy. It hasn't been bested yet, but they keep trying.

[6x6in6]

Why on earth would you want to put a stock CR HE351 or and HY35 turbo (depending on CR year) with a 9cm exhaust housing in lieu of the 12 valve equipped hx35 with a 12cm exhaust housing?
Sure, the CR turbo is capable of flowing more air through the inducer but it gets plugged up on the exducer end with the 9cm.  It's an emission thing for the CR's.  CR's are capable at running higher sustained exhaust temperatures due to piston design and head flow design than 12 valves are therefore plugging the exducer down to 9cm gives a better burn on the fuel (that emission thing).
You restrict that airflow on the backside, you hold heat, you melt pistons not to mention you will run out of the efficiency map of the turbo and you wind up with crazy drive pressure issues when you want the power the most.
12 valve heads are prone to cracking and warping when they are subjected to lots of heat.  A 9cm exhaust housing is only going to speed up the inevitable.  Sure, you can port the head and port the exhaust manifold to get the heat out faster but it's still restricted.  Think golf ball and garden hose.  Porting works well with larger turbo's and twins.

You wouldn't want your pistons looking like this would you?   

[KFhunter]

I done some stuff to my 95 12v and now I need to upgrade the turbo
 
+50 DDP stage 1 injectors, #10 plate, 3k GSK, 16.5 degree advanced timing
 
got the plate slid back for a pretty mild tune, any further forward and I get into the pyro pretty deep.

[martin1]

love my 01 cummins with a 5 speed 

[RG]

KFHunter, I've had 2 12v Cummins engines.  That thing must be strong, the 12v's seem to have more low end than the 24valves seem to have and they respond really well to those mods.  I have an 06 24 valve now that I really like but it's different than the older ones.

[KJR]

It's CUMMINS,not cummings! Cummins has been doing it right since the 1930's,tried and true.An inline 6 can produce more torque than a v8 and there are 60% fewer moving parts.Those v8's can't compete with the fuel economy of the cummins either.

[Sportfury]

Okay guys I am thoroughly confused after reading this thread. I would like to get a full size camper and haul a 22' boat, but there is no way the 1/2 ton Tundra will do it. Been looking at diesels and was thinking Dodge, but after some of the comments I have to wonder about Chevy with the Allison. This truck would not be a daily driver and I probably wouldn't do many mods to it. What kind of mileage are you guys with the Duramax and Allison getting?

[RG]

Okay guys I am thoroughly confused after reading this thread. I would like to get a full size camper and haul a 22' boat, but there is no way the 1/2 ton Tundra will do it. Been looking at diesels and was thinking Dodge, but after some of the comments I have to wonder about Chevy with the Allison. This truck would not be a daily driver and I probably wouldn't do many mods to it. What kind of mileage are you guys with the Duramax and Allison getting?

Sportfury, whatever brand you get I recommend that you consider a 3500 dually.  I've had two 2500's and one dually.  For camper hauling it's a lot more stable to have the extra suspension, bigger brakes and wider wheelbase.  They feel way better on the road, especially in an eastern Washington cross wind.  The dually will be a little more expensive to own over the long haul because you have 6 tires, bigger brakes, etc., and more weight which uses a little more fuel but the difference was worth it to me, especially since you are going to have a big load.  You said you didn't plan to use it much so the extra cost may not be that big of a factor for you either.  My trucks have all been Dodge Cummins.  20-22 mpg empty for the 2500 and 17-18 for the 3500.  Both 2500's were manual transmissions the 3500 was an automatic.  Any of the diesels out there has more than enough power to haul your proposed load for you. 

[Dhoey07]

Okay guys I am thoroughly confused after reading this thread. I would like to get a full size camper and haul a 22' boat, but there is no way the 1/2 ton Tundra will do it. Been looking at diesels and was thinking Dodge, but after some of the comments I have to wonder about Chevy with the Allison. This truck would not be a daily driver and I probably wouldn't do many mods to it. What kind of mileage are you guys with the Duramax and Allison getting?

The cummins will probably get you an extra 2 mpg, but the chevy/gmc will ride better 

[aer212]

Any of the new ones wont get the mileage that RG said unless you take off the dpf. The Ford still won't even if you take off the dpf.