Will be buying a newer truck soon.

[JimR]

Nice when you can make such a test of various models. Many tests become meaningless if spread too far apart.

I drove all three back to back. The Ram was first, Ford 2nd, then the Chevy.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Reminds me of years ago, I was shopping for a new Camry with my Mom. Used the test drive as an opportunity to visit a piece of land we owned. Had the vehicle bottom out once or twice. My Mom was embarrassed and the salesman didn't seem to happy, but we did buy the car.




I am not in the market for a new truck but always like to know in advance what I would get if mine got stolen, destroyed whatever. Kind of thinking about a little diesel in a half ton. But FORD is out. Just not a fan. And don't care for the body styling of the GMs. Wonder if they stopped the Ecodiesel from blowing up.

 

[jasonzee]

I didn't see you mention a price point.
You used 20 year old GM 5.3 numbers to much more current Dodge numbers.
2002 GM and Dodge numbers are 5.3 285HP 325TQ
Hemi 5.7 345HP 365TQ

Just trying to keep it apples to apples.

I'm will be looking at 2012 to 2014 or so.

 

[WilliamBos]

Just looked at both trucks power #

Dodge ram 385HP, 410 TQ

Sliverodo Hp 285 Tq 325

I'm leaning to the ram the power # look so much better. As far as the millage difference I think it's about 2 or 3 miles.

The 5.3 puts out 355HP & 383 torque. I owned a 17 Ram hemi, it was nice but won稚 touch another Hemi. Silverado over Ram Hemi anyday.

 

[jasonzee]

Yup leaning to Dodge 5.7 quad cab

 

[coobie]

The 5.3 puts out 355HP & 383 torque. I owned a 17 Ram hemi, it was nice but won稚 touch another Hemi. Silverado over Ram Hemi anyday.

Exact opposite for me my 2002 chevy 1500 with the 5.3 used 1.5 quarts oil every 1500 miles & had piston slap.Traded that nightmare at 28,000 miles.Next 4 trucks have been dodge & ford,2004 dodge with diesel engine,2006 ford f-150 5.4 engine(turd) 2011 ford f250 6.2 motor great truck and now 2016 ram with 6.4 hemi with 44,000 miles great truck so far.All truck brands have there share of lemons.

 

[smartascii]

I think it depends on what you need most from your truck. Rams are the most comfortable ride. The tradeoff for that is that they generally have the lowest payload ratings, which can limit the tongue weight of your trailer. Chevys have a very reliable engine/transmission, but the rest of the truck is just not as well-executed as the competition. Fords generally have the best payload ratings, and my butt-o知eter says theyæ±*e more comfortable than the Chevy and less comfortable than the Ram in terms of ride quality. Reliability is a little more spotty than the other two. The 3.5 ecoboost is good at unloaded fuel economy and great at towing in terms of power, but the MPG drops way down when a trailer is hooked up. Finally, if youæ±*e shopping used, remember that work truck trims are more likely to have been used hard than the Cowboy Cadillac variants.

 

[Tractorable]

I’m holding out for the new Ford 7.3L gas motor. Pushrod design, naturally aspirated, forged crank, 4 bolt mains, piston/rings from their turbo motors, port injection, beefy 10 speed trans. Looks super simple, under-stressed, and durable. And the aluminum body should have minimal rust issues.

I like my trucks simple. I don’t want a small displacement, turbo, direct injected motor in a truck. After the warranty expires, ten years from now, I want something easy to maintain, easy to repair, and easy to replace if necessary. That’s the makings of a truck you keep for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Sounds like something that was last made decades ago. You can't put two fingers into any space in an engine compartment anymore. Not like the days when you could sit on your inner fender well and work on your motor.

 

[LouNY]

Heck the procedure for pulling the little 183 cubic inch V6 out of my RAM 1500 is to remove the cab,
complete idiotic. that motor should pop out of that huge engine compartment with just a couple hours work.