Starting to think about a newer truck

[Highbeam]

I went from my 98 vortec 350 equipped 1/2 ton chevy to a 1000 Frod F350 with the 7.3. Stock, pulling the same trailers, performance is, well, bland. I was really hoping for more out of 444 cubic inches. Maintenance and reliability have been excellent over the last two years and 20,000 miles. Fuel mileage has been about the same as the gas 350.

At this point I'd consider the 6.0 chevy in a crew cab short bed. I am always worried that some little part of the engine will just snap and cost several thousand dollars. That's what can happen with these diesels. Are you ready for a 4000$ transmission replacement?

I really really like the super duty ford crew cab truck. The whole truck is very attractive and solid. Maybe the V-10 can be considered too.

Diesel is cool and all but there are some drawbacks.

 

[lostcause]

a little note as to (my experience with) the numbers of the gm offerings. sorry for the excessive verbiage.

i've got a 2006 gm 2500 crew cab with the 6.0l and its weight is right around 6000lb. i've been across three different sets of scales after hauling junk and they are always in the 6100-6150lb range with me in the driver's seat, and very little else in the vehicle. i'm sure the duramax/allison adds a little weight, but i can't imagine it being much more than an extra couple hundred pounds, putting you at somewhere around 6200lb. with a 9200gvw, that means your payload capacity is close to 3000lb including whatever you have in the cab (people, pets, gear, etc). you've got a 6000lb+ rear axle capacity with that truck too, so i don't think you've got any legal weight carrying issues there. i wonder about the single rear wheel tire capacity being over their limit though? the most i've personally had was 2300lb of #1 iron in the back going across the scales at the scrapyard and yes, i knew i had a load back there, but it handled it fine.

there have been some comments about axle ratios. i'm thinking it may be a dealer/regional thing? around here every gas engine 3/4 ton on a lot has 4.10 gears. at the same time, diesels are always 3.73 gears. i'm sure there are the exceptions, but i'd think they are almost exclusively from special orders by the customer. granted, the closest large dealer to me does a lot of its business to people who use their trucks for work every day, and they are probably geared more to "work" specs than grocery getter specs. in 1993 i bought my first new truck there and i ended up ordering it. the salesman was a family friend and he asked which transmission i wanted and i said standard. he again said which one. as a rule they always ordered the optional cast iron mt8 with an additional upgrade cost of $95 for anything they put on their lot. they deemed it more durable than the aluminum case tranny.

as far as the 2500/3500 issue, i don't doubt that the 3500 would give better payload numbers, but around here you probably won't find one unless you order it. used would be even harder. sure, with the internet you can scour the country, but that's kind of a crapshoot on used vehicles. i've never personally owned a single rear wheel ton, but what's the difference? mainly just springs? i can't say for sure, but driving a 3/4 ton here is no picnic due to the hilly, rutted, cracked, frost heaved, pothole riddled roads. heck, most of the dirt roads around here are smoother than the asphalt.

lastly, my experience with fuel economy. when i got the truck (pre-e10) i would routinely get 14.5+mpg with minimal loads in the body. i now get 13.5. on longer trips (back roads) i used to pull close to 16, now i can get close to 15 if lucky. in 06 i took it to florida and back (3200 miles). 15mpg on the nose each way - empty going down, packed to the gills with household goods on the return. towing varies based on speed, roads, payload. last week i towed a friend's 1996 3/4 ton ford x-cab longbed after it blew the pinion teeth off. 10.7 mpg on a total 80 mile trip. two trips actually - one to go haul his equipment trailer with the wood boiler he was bringing home and the second to haul the truck home. the roads were bad oes too. mostly 30-45mph speeds. hilly, bumpy and curvy.

altogether i'd say 10-12 when towing a few tons, 13-15 empty. overall i don't think this is horrible. i mean, we're talking a 3 ton truck, 6 liter engine, and 4.10 gears. our road conditions here are also far from optimal. in comparison, my last truck was a 2000 gm identical to the one i have now, except with the 5.7 liter. i get about half of a mpg better with the 6.0 than i did with the 5.7 in every condition. towing is close to even, but empty the 6.0 is better for sure.

 

[Diamondpilot]

a little note as to (my experience with) the numbers of the gm offerings. sorry for the excessive verbiage.

i've got a 2006 gm 2500 crew cab with the 6.0l and its weight is right around 6000lb. i've been across three different sets of scales after hauling junk and they are always in the 6100-6150lb range with me in the driver's seat, and very little else in the vehicle. i'm sure the duramax/allison adds a little weight, but i can't imagine it being much more than an extra couple hundred pounds, putting you at somewhere around 6200lb.

I do not have any info on a 2006 but I owned a 2005 SRW Dmax 3500 crew cab and it was right at 7,300# with me in it and a 3/4 tank of fuel.

Just went to GM's site and they list the 2011 Crew Cab 2500 Dmax like you have at 7,387# empty, no fuel. There is quite a difference in a diesel and gas trucks weight. Remember, you are talking a heavier cast iron engine, the Allison tranny, larger drive shaft, more fluids in the tranny, oil pan, cooling system, ect.

They now have a 10,000# GVWR for 2011 with the new chassis so with fuel and a driver add about 350# and that brings you to about 7,750# leaving you a honest 2,250# for payload or pin/tongue weight.

A gasser like you have still has a 9,500# GVWR and is quite a bit lighter, about 6,500# then add the drive and fuel and you are now at 6,850# so it can haul can haul a honest 2,650 give or take. The gasser can haul more but tow less than the diesel. I guess you have to pick what your needs are.

Contrary to popular belief vehicles are getting heavier. Everyone says, "man that old 78 pickup I had was a tank". Its not true. Heated seats, power mirrors, 10 speaker stereos, nav systems, power sliding rear windows, fully boxed frames, diff lockers, bigger tires and wheels, heavier suspensions, ect are adding weight. I know my first diesel, a 99 Superduty was the lightest I have owned. Each year they get heavier. Same thing is true for the 9 other trucks I have owned since the first one I bought in 91.



Chris

 

[radman1]

The mid and later D-max's were good. The frame of the chev was a weak point up until the newest model. If my cousin hooked anything heavy on the bumper, the distance between his box and cab would get larger from the bend in the frame. One day, it never came back. I have heard that with others. Newest models boast a beefed up frame from Chev.
The last couple years of the Ford 6.0 were good. The early Ford 6.4's had some injector issues and several other minor issues. All of those had been corrected by recalls and the job 3 of the 2008 fords had the bugs nearly worked out. The 2009 6.4 has been good. The new Ford 6.2, by nearly all accounts I have read, has been surprisingly a good motor put out by Ford and the mpg is better with more power than the 6.4. The Ford V-10 gassers have been good but some report spark plug blow outs on the very early 1999-2000 years. I had a 1999 v10 but no issues. IMHO, the ford v10 is one of the best gassers.
The Dodge has been very reliable with the Cummins and tranny. Many gripe about the body and less than desireable cosmetic interior on the prior models. I don't know much about the newest Dodge's. Long term of the Chrysler corp still worries me. I believe Ford and hopefully Chev will be around.

 

[lostcause]

I do not have any info on a 2006 but I owned a 2005 SRW Dmax 3500 crew cab and it was right at 7,300# with me in it and a 3/4 tank of fuel.

wow, i didn't figure they would be that much more. i've also got a 2001 gm 3500 dual rear wheel duramax with a fairly large steel dump on it and that is only 8300-8400 with me in it. figured the steel dump and subframe, toolbox and the heavy steel hitch plate on the back of the frame accounted for the bulk of the excess weight, but i guess not.