Maybe a new truck Ford or Dodge?

[sea2summit]

Drove Chevy's for a long time, converted to Ford. GM isn't a consideration for me.

So I've got a F-250 and an old F800. Love them both dearly but I've outgrown the '09 F-250 capabilities and often carry more than is good for it and she's showing her age as far as keeping her maintained goes. The '95 F800 is actually my favorite truck but it's max speed is 55.8 mph down hill and obviously it's operation entails other pleasantries with LE etc so I don't put a lot of miles on it. So looking at a new 1 ton+ type truck. F350/450/550 flatbed is what I'm thinking but their prices are nuts. Dodge 3500/4500 is advertised to have significantly higher capacities at significantly less cost. I haven't looked at Dodges in over 20 years and they were having a lot of front end issues back then with their new steering/knuckles.

So what say you guys? Dodge as good as Ford? I plan to have this truck 15+ years so long term reliability is more important than just about any other factor.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Are you considering Gas or Diesel? How much weight? GN, 5th wheel, conventional towing?

To me the Ford 6.7L Powerstroke is one of the best engines built along with the Cummins 6.7, many prefer the older 5.9 variants though.

The 6.7 from either has incredible HP and torque and is amazingly quiet.

To me the Ford interior is better than the Ram, this obviously is personal opinion.

I grew up a Chevy person and my dad still drives Chevrolet's, I changed in 1997 when Ford had the 7.3L but GM only had the 6.5L, no comparison!
The Durmax finally came out but by then I preferred the Ford's 7.3 and continued to prefer the Ford offerings over the GM trucks (For one the independent front is a weak area for heavy hauling and offroading, not just my opinion, but many magazines/Forums have said it).

When we get ready to trade in the 2019 F350 6.7L, I will probably consider all 3 but most likely will buy Ford or maybe a Ram.

 

[Hay Dude]

Drove Chevy's for a long time, converted to Ford. GM isn't a consideration for me.

So I've got a F-250 and an old F800. Love them both dearly but I've outgrown the '09 F-250 capabilities and often carry more than is good for it and she's showing her age as far as keeping her maintained goes. The '95 F800 is actually my favorite truck but it's max speed is 55.8 mph down hill and obviously it's operation entails other pleasantries with LE etc so I don't put a lot of miles on it. So looking at a new 1 ton+ type truck. F350/450/550 flatbed is what I'm thinking but their prices are nuts. Dodge 3500/4500 is advertised to have significantly higher capacities at significantly less cost. I haven't looked at Dodges in over 20 years and they were having a lot of front end issues back then with their new steering/knuckles.

So what say you guys? Dodge as good as Ford? I plan to have this truck 15+ years so long term reliability is more important than just about any other factor.

RAM all the way (if it’s Cummins). Hasn’t been “Dodge” in 15 years.
Like you said, less cost and I think more truck. Warranty was better in 2020, but I don’t know what Ford is in 2024.
My 5500 6.7L Cummins has exceeded my expectations.
PM me if you need any other specific info.

 

[5030]

Dodges have steering box and cam shaft issues the gassers) as well. I'd never buy a Dodge or anything owned by Fiat, plain and simple and being retired from the steel industry and working for 34 years for the major steel supplier for Chrysler, then Diamler Chrysler and now Fiat-Chrysler, I can say without prejudice that they buy the cheapest steel they can for under sheet metal components. That includes suspension component steel, frame steel driveline steel and internal engine components made of stamped steel and the company I retired from sold them anything so long as it was CHEAP. MTD is the same way and we supplied flat rolled sheet to them as well. Whatever MTD bought from us, it was always secondary mill coils with dummied up certs or no certs at all, levelled to flat sheets or slit coils and nothing has changed far as I know. Fiat-Chrysler is still the same way. if it's dark grey and looks good, they buy it. We were (and I presume still the same) the biggest supplier of processed steel for 'Dodge and MTD'. You would not believe how much tonnage in Ruskie steel we sold to both. Always got a kick our of Ruskie steel coils. They never banded any of them. The put cheap wire on them for bands and lots of the coils when getting 'pickled' would have big holes in the middle of the sheet. We actually scrapped many full coils and the scrap price was better than what we we paying the broker for them, including transportation from Putin land (then Kruschev). Stay away from Fiat if possible. I know there are people who swear by them but I know what is underneath the sheet metal and I also know where the sheet metal comes from. All the sheet metal and now aluminum sheet comes from either the German supplier Thyssen-Krupp (and ring a bell per chance?) or Alcoa Aluminum and the steel comes into the Detroit shopping terminal and is picked up by Thyssen company trucks and hauled to their processing plant in far west Detroit, processed and delivered to the automotive stampers like Fords and Chrysler ad GM. Thyssen Krupp steel is all Grade A external sheet metal btw. Not the cheap crap we sold them and probably still do.

I learned almost right away that far as QC goes, Honda is first, Nissan is second. GM third, Fords fourth and Fiat Chrysler is dead last. Titan wheel as well as Kubota is somewhere in between them all. We sold to both when I was working there. Honda was the only customer that actually came into the plants and carefully inspected their steel prior to shipment and if one slit coil or one levelled sheet was out of spec, the rejected the entire shipment. Used to get a charge out of the tiny Japanese inspectors all talking in Japanese hovering over their steel. Could not understand one word they said and I presume that was on purpose because they all could speak perfect English when they wanted to. Interesting people.

 

[EddieWalker]

I don't have any first hand knowledge, but will pass on a few second hand things that I've seen. When my truck broke down, the tow truck was a brand new Ford F550. It had unbelievable power. My F150 isn't the heaviest load out there, but he pulled it like he was driving a sports car. We where first off the light, and even going uphill, he was passing everyone on the road. He said that he had a Ram 5500 before the Ford and he likes the Ford a lot better.

A good friend of mine owns a crane company in three states with 20 repair trucks. He's gone back and forth between Ford and Ram. He lost a lot of money on the Fords that he bought a decade ago and switched to Ram. Right now, they are all Ford again. He wasn't happy with the Ram dealer, and he feels that the Ford is a better truck.

If I was buying brand new, I think that I would go with Ford just because of his recommendation. But I'm not going to spend that kind of money, so I'm casually looking for an older Dodge dually flatbed with the 5.9, 4x4 with manual transmission.

 

[sea2summit]

Are you considering Gas or Diesel? How much weight? GN, 5th wheel, conventional towing?

To me the Ford 6.7L Powerstroke is one of the best engines built along with the Cummins 6.7, many prefer the older 5.9 variants though.

The 6.7 from either has incredible HP and torque and is amazingly quiet.

To me the Ford interior is better than the Ram, this obviously is personal opinion.

I grew up a Chevy person and my dad still drives Chevrolet's, I changed in 1997 when Ford had the 7.3L but GM only had the 6.5L, no comparison!
The Durmax finally came out but by then I preferred the Ford's 7.3 and continued to prefer the Ford offerings over the GM trucks (For one the independent front is a weak area for heavy hauling and offroading, not just my opinion, but many magazines/Forums have said it).

When we get ready to trade in the 2019 F350 6.7L, I will probably consider all 3 but most likely will buy Ford or maybe a Ram.

I'm not a big fan of DEF. All the problems I've had with my 250 as far as engines go has all been DPF and sensors. Having said that, I'll probably still do diesel. GN is really what's pushing me to a new truck, I'll be commonly operating above 20k GCW.

I'm trying to figure out how the 3500 has such a huge weight rating on SRW? Seems like they are shady with their numbers?

 

[sea2summit]

RAM all the way (if it’s Cummins). Hasn’t been “Dodge” in 15 years.
Like you said, less cost and I think more truck. Warranty was better in 2020, but I don’t know what Ford is in 2024.
My 5500 6.7L Cummins has exceeded my expectations.
PM me if you need any other specific info.

No Hemi love lol.

 

[Hay Dude]

I'm not a big fan of DEF. All the problems I've had with my 250 as far as engines go has all been DPF and sensors. Having said that, I'll probably still do diesel. GN is really what's pushing me to a new truck, I'll be commonly operating above 20k GCW.

I'm trying to figure out how the 3500 has such a huge weight rating on SRW? Seems like they are shady with their numbers?

50,000 miles on my DEF truck. Other than a DEF fuel gauge that quit, no problems.
I think the initial DEF systems were guinea pig systems. They seem to have improved.
But it is more likely they will break because of the additional parts & electronics.

The world of new trucks we live in.
You want “new”, you get all the new equipment-the good and the bad.

If 20,000 GCWR is your sweet spot, I’d be looking at a RAM 3500 standard output 6.7 cab & chassis.

I still go ear to ear with the “grin” every-time I drive mine.

 

[5030]

Stay away from the 'Godzilla' 7.3 gasser. They are having continuing issues with the heads and camshafts. The heads are blowing out spark plugs and the cam shafts are not heat treated properly (I know who is doing the heat treat btw) and the cam lobes are disintegrating and spewing metal parts all over inside the engines, which cause a complete rebuild under warranty. The 10 speed slush box is also suspect. My BIL was the head designer on that slush box and he told me to stay away from it for at least 4 model years until they got the bugs worked out. Fords has a bad habit of designing a new component and then letting it's customers do the first article testing and the doing recalls to fix what they should have first article tested in the first place, but FCA does the same thing. Only GM tests their stuff comprehensively at the Warren, Michigan (Mound Road) test track where they literally destroy new vehicles. Fords and FCA don't test squat. Jeep has a test track in Stickney Avenue in Toledo and I've never seen a vehicle on it, ever. There for show only and I'd never buy a new vehicle from any of them anyway. Too expensive and not quality like I expect for something that cost more than the farm did and depreciates instead of appreciates.

 

[jyoutz]

The new Ford powerstrokes are extremely high cost for maintenance. The fenders have to be removed to do many services. One of my BILs has one and told me it’s usually close to $1K when he leaves the shop. I have 5 BILs in the ranching business. Slowly they have converted from Ford to Dodge because of the powerstroke maintenance costs. And they spend their days hauling cattle and feed trailers. The Cummins motors are bullet proof and the maintenance is simpler. Yes Dodge did some front end issues and transmission issues; back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Not an issue with the new Rams.