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Old 08-07-2012, 09:01 PM   #1
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Dodge vs GMC vs FORD Comparison

Hi Everyone,

I just spent the last four hours behind the wheels of the big three's 3/4 diesel trucks test driving each over basically the same course (the advantages of the auto mall ) and thought, for what it is worth, that I would share my impressions.

First a little background info, the wife and I are planning on purchasing a either a 25' or 27' Flying Cloud or International CCD and need a new TV. The TV's that made the short list are the Tundra 5.7L, F150 EcoBoost, F250 Lariat 6.7L Diesel, GMC 2500HD 6.6L Denali Diesel, and a late entry the Dodge Ram Laramie 2500 6.7L Diesel. At least on paper either of the 1/2 ton TVs are capable of doing the job, but I have several concerns, firstly we live in the west and will have to deal with western mountains grades, thus do either of these trucks have enough extra torque to get us over the passes without slowing down to a crawl and secondly, while it will be my wife and I 90% of the time or better, we still wish to have friends travel with us, so do either of these have enough cargo (axel) capacity to handle both the AS and the extra weight of our friends and their stuff? One final point is that we plan over the next 10 years or so to camp in each of the lower 48, all the Canadian provinces, and Alaska. Thus, my interest in the 3/4 diesel trucks. I know that I could buy a 1 ton truck for almost the same price, but I don't see the need for it and don't want to shake the poor AS apart anymore than I have to.

So here are my impressions, all three trucks just happened to be white with dark grey leather interiors with 4-wheel drive, crew cabs, standard length boxes, and tow packages. The course was suburban driving with road work that forced us from 4 lanes to two on the opposite side of the street for a short period and lasted over approximately 5 miles. The trucks were all similarly equipped with high-end features like auto climate control, heated and cooled seats (tested) and even heated steering wheels (not tested since we have record breaking high temperatures today here in SoCal). Two trucks had factory GPS (Dodge and Ford), all had factory break controllers, only the Ford had tow mirrors, the Dodge and Ford had both trailer connections where as the GMC had only a 7-pin connector and all of the trucks had rearview cameras and only the Ford had a steps to both the bed and cabin. I'll present the reviews in driving order.

1) 2012 Dodge Ram Laramie 6.7L Diesel
I became interested in this TV after noticing that my neighbor has two of them and reading about the Cummins engine, unfortunately, my neighbor also wakes everyone up when he leaves for work at 4:30 in the morning, so I was concerned about noise. I'm delighted to say that 2012 model is much quieter than the 2010 Cummins diesel and is quite livable, though still noisiest of the three by far. As for power, this engine, trans, and rear end combo, provided the best power at stop lights and acceleration from around 25 mph. On the down side, the ride was by far the roughest of the three. One bonus is that this truck is the only one of the three that does not require DEF fluid. Also the instrument panel was rather good and information display provided good information - including the fact that the two rear tires on the test truck were under inflated at 45 (left) and 47 (right) pounds. The interior was very nice and seemed more like an automobile than a truck, similar to the interior of the GMC. Overall, I was quite impressed, but given the combination of the noise and ride, this truck is off my list. I'm just not sure that I would feel particularly well after spending a long day of towing in this truck and I'm concerned about rivets popping out along the way. I suspect that if the truck were loaded with the AS hitched, the ride would probably smooth out a bit, especially if the rear tires were inflated correctly.

2) 2012 GMC Denali 6.6L Diesel
This truck really seemed to fall in the middle. The engine was quieter than the Dodge but still noticeably louder than the Ford. Plenty of power, but seemed the most sluggish of the three. The ride was controlled with an acceptable amount of bounciness. Probably the most automobile like interior of the three. I was surprised that this truck, despite it's top of the line trim level, did not have the GPS included. I'm also going to give the rear view mirror backup camera mixed reviews. I personally found it too small and far away to really be useful and prefer the GPS screened based backup cameras. Also the small led character information center in the center of the instrument panel seemed to be a bit dated and not as informative as the information panels on either the Dodge or Ford. Overall, I found the GMC to be a very nice truck and probably my second favorite of the three, but it left me wanting more some how. One area that I was most concerned about and left me questioning the build quality of the rest of the vehicle was the fact that the black plastic faux air intake (vent?) on the hood was bouncing up and down at a mere 30 mph. Clearly someone (or several someones) did not check to make sure that at it was securely fastened to the hood. This unfortunately also was apparent in a number of the trim items in the cabin that were either loose or not quite fastened the way that they should have been. Otherwise, I liked the GMC and could easily see myself towing the AS behind it.

3) 2012 Ford F250 Lariat 6.7L Diesel
After driving the other two trucks, I drove the Ford F250. Based on my experience with the Dodge and GMC, I had lowered my expectations. Boy was that a mistake! The Ford interior was nicely trimmed, though obviously not car like, but a nice mid-way point between work truck and automobile. The 6.7L diesel was by far the quietest of the three and the acceleration was closer to the Dodge leaving it in the middle of the three. The engine, trans, rear end combination worked well to provide a nice level of responsiveness. The truck had the nicest ride of the three and drove like a 1/2 ton more than a work truck to the point that it almost felt nimble, if that is possible for a 3/4 ton truck. The ride was well controlled with a minimum of bounciness and borderline smooth. The fit and finish quality seemed the best of the three with the Dodge a close second. It is clear from everything that Ford has put into this truck that they have researched their target market. They seemed to have really hit the nail on the head by including almost every option and accessory that a TV should have. This also was the only truck that I was able to get a trip MPG on, I'm sure that I could have on the others, but the salesman and I had been discussing MPG and we reset the average fuel economy screen before we left. The first numbers, showed a dismal 3.8 mpg, but climbed steadily to 10.2 mpg by the time that we returned (remember this was only a 5 mile or so drive in a brand new truck) and I have a feeling that in real world suburban driving it would have been higher yet, especially once the truck had a few thousand miles on it. Overall, I was completely impressed by the Ford and it was far and away my favorite of the three.

Well those were my impressions, I hope that someone will find this information useful. My intent is to give back a little something to the forums as I have gotten a wealth of information and want to give a big "Thank You" to everyone for sharing, so no "flames" please. I'm not trying to say that one of these is better than the other, just these were my impressions. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I've driven Fords for the past 30 years or so and Dodges before that. My impression is that all of these trucks would make excellent TVs for a larger Airstream, with the only question being do you want vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry?

Cheers,
Rion
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Old 08-07-2012, 10:24 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GinMame View Post
Hi Everyone,

I just spent the last four hours behind the wheels of the big three's 3/4 diesel trucks test driving each over basically the same course (the advantages of the auto mall ) and thought, for what it is worth, that I would share my impressions.

First a little background info, the wife and I are planning on purchasing a either a 25' or 27' Flying Cloud or International CCD and need a new TV. The TV's that made the short list are the Tundra 5.7L, F150 EcoBoost, F250 Lariat 6.7L Diesel, GMC 2500HD 6.6L Denali Diesel, and a late entry the Dodge Ram Laramie 2500 6.7L Diesel. At least on paper either of the 1/2 ton TVs are capable of doing the job, but I have several concerns, firstly we live in the west and will have to deal with western mountains grades, thus do either of these trucks have enough extra torque to get us over the passes without slowing down to a crawl and secondly, while it will be my wife and I 90% of the time or better, we still wish to have friends travel with us, so do either of these have enough cargo (axel) capacity to handle both the AS and the extra weight of our friends and their stuff? One final point is that we plan over the next 10 years or so to camp in each of the lower 48, all the Canadian provinces, and Alaska. Thus, my interest in the 3/4 diesel trucks. I know that I could buy a 1 ton truck for almost the same price, but I don't see the need for it and don't want to shake the poor AS apart anymore than I have to.

So here are my impressions, all three trucks just happened to be white with dark grey leather interiors with 4-wheel drive, crew cabs, standard length boxes, and tow packages. The course was suburban driving with road work that forced us from 4 lanes to two on the opposite side of the street for a short period and lasted over approximately 5 miles. The trucks were all similarly equipped with high-end features like auto climate control, heated and cooled seats (tested) and even heated steering wheels (not tested since we have record breaking high temperatures today here in SoCal). Two trucks had factory GPS (Dodge and Ford), all had factory break controllers, only the Ford had tow mirrors, the Dodge and Ford had both trailer connections where as the GMC had only a 7-pin connector and all of the trucks had rearview cameras and only the Ford had a steps to both the bed and cabin. I'll present the reviews in driving order.

1) 2012 Dodge Ram Laramie 6.7L Diesel
I became interested in this TV after noticing that my neighbor has two of them and reading about the Cummins engine, unfortunately, my neighbor also wakes everyone up when he leaves for work at 4:30 in the morning, so I was concerned about noise. I'm delighted to say that 2012 model is much quieter than the 2010 Cummins diesel and is quite livable, though still noisiest of the three by far. As for power, this engine, trans, and rear end combo, provided the best power at stop lights and acceleration from around 25 mph. On the down side, the ride was by far the roughest of the three. One bonus is that this truck is the only one of the three that does not require DEF fluid. Also the instrument panel was rather good and information display provided good information - including the fact that the two rear tires on the test truck were under inflated at 45 (left) and 47 (right) pounds. The interior was very nice and seemed more like an automobile than a truck, similar to the interior of the GMC. Overall, I was quite impressed, but given the combination of the noise and ride, this truck is off my list. I'm just not sure that I would feel particularly well after spending a long day of towing in this truck and I'm concerned about rivets popping out along the way. I suspect that if the truck were loaded with the AS hitched, the ride would probably smooth out a bit, especially if the rear tires were inflated correctly.

2) 2012 GMC Denali 6.6L Diesel
This truck really seemed to fall in the middle. The engine was quieter than the Dodge but still noticeably louder than the Ford. Plenty of power, but seemed the most sluggish of the three. The ride was controlled with an acceptable amount of bounciness. Probably the most automobile like interior of the three. I was surprised that this truck, despite it's top of the line trim level, did not have the GPS included. I'm also going to give the rear view mirror backup camera mixed reviews. I personally found it too small and far away to really be useful and prefer the GPS screened based backup cameras. Also the small led character information center in the center of the instrument panel seemed to be a bit dated and not as informative as the information panels on either the Dodge or Ford. Overall, I found the GMC to be a very nice truck and probably my second favorite of the three, but it left me wanting more some how. One area that I was most concerned about and left me questioning the build quality of the rest of the vehicle was the fact that the black plastic faux air intake (vent?) on the hood was bouncing up and down at a mere 30 mph. Clearly someone (or several someones) did not check to make sure that at it was securely fastened to the hood. This unfortunately also was apparent in a number of the trim items in the cabin that were either loose or not quite fastened the way that they should have been. Otherwise, I liked the GMC and could easily see myself towing the AS behind it.

3) 2012 Ford F250 Lariat 6.7L Diesel
After driving the other two trucks, I drove the Ford F250. Based on my experience with the Dodge and GMC, I had lowered my expectations. Boy was that a mistake! The Ford interior was nicely trimmed, though obviously not car like, but a nice mid-way point between work truck and automobile. The 6.7L diesel was by far the quietest of the three and the acceleration was closer to the Dodge leaving it in the middle of the three. The engine, trans, rear end combination worked well to provide a nice level of responsiveness. The truck had the nicest ride of the three and drove like a 1/2 ton more than a work truck to the point that it almost felt nimble, if that is possible for a 3/4 ton truck. The ride was well controlled with a minimum of bounciness and borderline smooth. The fit and finish quality seemed the best of the three with the Dodge a close second. It is clear from everything that Ford has put into this truck that they have researched their target market. They seemed to have really hit the nail on the head by including almost every option and accessory that a TV should have. This also was the only truck that I was able to get a trip MPG on, I'm sure that I could have on the others, but the salesman and I had been discussing MPG and we reset the average fuel economy screen before we left. The first numbers, showed a dismal 3.8 mpg, but climbed steadily to 10.2 mpg by the time that we returned (remember this was only a 5 mile or so drive in a brand new truck) and I have a feeling that in real world suburban driving it would have been higher yet, especially once the truck had a few thousand miles on it. Overall, I was completely impressed by the Ford and it was far and away my favorite of the three.

Well those were my impressions, I hope that someone will find this information useful. My intent is to give back a little something to the forums as I have gotten a wealth of information and want to give a big "Thank You" to everyone for sharing, so no "flames" please. I'm not trying to say that one of these is better than the other, just these were my impressions. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I've driven Fords for the past 30 years or so and Dodges before that. My impression is that all of these trucks would make excellent TVs for a larger Airstream, with the only question being do you want vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry?

Cheers,
Rion
Man, Thanks for the right up lots of good info. We have a sequoia with the same engine as the Tundra. It doesn't lack for power on the hills and we live at 7000 ft in Colorado.. I have always had more if I needed it. But it isn't a diesel. Sounds like the Ford is the way to go. I would stick with that..
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Old 08-07-2012, 11:28 PM   #3
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Not sure from your post if you have eliminated the gas trucks and I would not presume to tell anyone what to buy but having towed the Alaska Highway many times with trucks that included 2 different F150s, a 1 ton chevy gas and my current '08 3500 dodge with the 6.7l cummins, I can say the Dodge is the best by far. It is not working near as hard as any of the gas trucks and the result is less stress at the end of the day. I won't be going back to gas truck and especially not a 1/2 ton unless the fuel market really changes.

Only comment on report on the Dodge is that unless Dodge has changed the spec. on tire inflation, 45 psi is correct for a lightly loaded truck. There is a door sticker explaining load conditions for using 45 vs the max of 75. This may be true of other makes and if so the lower pressure is more comfortable for daily driving and it also seems to make for more even tire wear.

In comparing rides remember that the brand and style and size of tire greatly affect this.

On your 3/4 vs 1 ton I can say that again with Dodge, not sure what the others do, the major difference is the 1 ton has extra leaves in the rear springs that only come into play when the load is very heavy so unless you are heavy there is no difference in the rear spring rate to a 3/4 ton. This may come into play if you find a deal on 1 ton, you might see what the spring design is to see if it is the same as the Dodge.

By the way I've driven Fords most of my life, but Ford diesels were in a mess when we bought this truck. As they say "the best thing about the Dodge is the Cummins, the worst thing about the Cummins is the Dodge."

Rick
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Old 08-08-2012, 05:21 AM   #4
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To the OP, you didn't mention which rear end each vehicle had. This can make quite a bit of difference in how these vehicles accelerate and feel.
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Old 08-08-2012, 05:54 AM   #5
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I cannot speak for the Dodge or Chevy. I am 100% Ford man and have always been one. I will say we purchased our new 2012 F-250 Lairat back in March and have loved it. The ride is better than my wife's 2007 Expedition and the power of the 6.7 is unreal. We pull a Classic 31 ft. and have not issues at all. The only thing you will not like if you go with the shorter bed is the lack of fuel capacity. Unloaded the truck gets nearly 500 miles on a tank. Hook up to the trailer and it is going to drop around 325. We have resolved that with a 50 gal. Titan tank that fits directly in place of the original one. We love our Ford. I'm sure there are a lot of Dodge and Chevy owners who will say the same.
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Old 08-08-2012, 06:17 AM   #6
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The most reliable and least maintenance intensive truck wins every time. Now which of the three of these wins is going to be more personal preference. I am a Ford man but they have had their problems with diesels until the new engine. Truck wise, I think I would pick the Ford and engine wise, I would pick the Dodge (no DEF fluid). I suppose if you buy one new with a good warrantee and sell it as soon as the warrantee goes out then it does not matter which one you buy. I would not want any of them with 100k on them used. Personally, I stay away diesels because of the maintenance costs and the higher cost of fuel.

For now I will stick with my cheap reliable low maintenance cost gasser. I maintain everything myself so I know what takes the most to maintain. The winners would be old VW bugs and anything with a diesel engine. Oh yeah, anything with Airstream on it.

Perry
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Old 08-08-2012, 06:41 AM   #7
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Excellent review…thank you.

A couple of comments;
o There really is no reason not to go 1 ton. The overload springs do not engage until you need them, so there would be very little difference in “ride quality” and you will have the added payload. Our next truck will be 1 ton for sure…
o For the type of travelling you have planned, you made a good call on the ½ tons. You would likely be running borderline (if not over) on your capacity. This is not a fun way to travel. It’s nice to leave the calculator at home.
o I doubt I will ever tow or haul with anything but a diesel truck again…the power, range, and engine braking are impressive and make for much more relaxed traveling.
o The new Ford diesel is somewhat un-tested…but I have heard few complaints, I am sure they put their best effort forward after the 6.0l disaster.
o 3 trucks…3 flavors! You done well…best of luck with your purchase. Anyone in the market would be wise to do as you have done…drive em’ all!
Bill
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Old 08-08-2012, 07:24 AM   #8
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Good review. I went through a similar decision process earlier this year. I had a F-150 previously but after I visited the CAT scales, I know I needed a truck with more payload capabilities.

As I recall, the payload on the Ram was significantly lower than the Ford or GMC so I ruled it out. The backseat in the F250 was not very dog friendly when up. I also did not care for the ride during my test drive.

The GMC comes with two suspension options, an offroad and a highway. After some hunting I was able to find one with the highway option and the ride was much better in my opinion.

I ended up going with the GMC with the Duraax diesel engine. No regrets. Plenty of power for the mountains around Denver and the West. If you get the optional navigation system, the backup camera display is on the dash.

Good luck and safe travels.
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Old 08-08-2012, 08:19 AM   #9
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With the extensive travel you describe I am guessing you will spend much of your time using the tow vehicle as a daily driver to explore and get around. Is the diesel too difficult for that use? That's my impression when I see ma and pa driving to their next campground, pa pulling the fifth wheel with his diesel and ma following with the family sedan. And my own experience on our annual six months trips.

The great thing about medium sized Airstreams is they pull and handle so much better than other travel trailers due to their aerodynamic shape, low profile, and independent suspension. It would be appropriate to have a tow vehicle with similar characteristics, even if it means slowing down to climb mountains now and then.

doug k
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Old 08-08-2012, 08:37 AM   #10
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Good open minded review of the trucks.

Add me to the list when I say that all 3 brands are so close in competition you can't go wrong with any of them.

My brother just bought a 2012 Dodge diesel last month. The interior is much nicer than my 2009 Dodge diesel, the engine and drive train are identical but the 2012 is much more powerful. He traded his troublesome 2005 Ford 6.0 - well on it's way to a second turbo with only 50k miles on the odometer.......
Anyway he was able to get ~10k off the msrp plus his trade in and that Ford has priced themselves out of the market. The 2013 Dodge will get DEF fluid like the Ford and GM. Also be sure you open the hood of each of the trucks and see which one looks less complicated to fix. I bet you pick a straight 6 cylinder engine.

Have fun with the GMC it is indeed a very nice truck!
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Old 08-08-2012, 10:15 AM   #11
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Rion, thanks for the comparison. We're looking at new TV's and are down to two brands, and trying to decide 1/2 vs 3/4, and gas vs diesel. We will probably get a new truck in 2013 sometime (unless we see a killer deal sooner).

I would also like to thank everyone who have given pro's and con's instead of bashing

Drew
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Old 08-08-2012, 05:49 PM   #12
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I bought a used 2008 Ram 2500 4x4 with 63,000 miles last year and haven't looked back since. We had a 2003 Suburban and then a 2007 GMC Yukon XL that pulled our pop-up great, but we sold that to get to a TT and it was not happy at all pulling one. I tallked to many people and they told me everything from "That engine likes to rev that high" to "oh, it'll be okay, just keep an eye on your temps". Those temp gauges sure did bounce around a lot.

We had a family meeting........topic of discussion, "What do we want to do and where do we want to go" my eleven year old son didn't bat an eye or even think about it once and said "Everything and Everywhere" I put the notice out on the local dealerships for a used 3/4 ton diesel. One guy asked me why I didn't want new and I asked him for the extra $25,000, I wonder why he didn't give it to me.....

Real world results.

It's been a year since we got the truck. Two weeks after we got it I took my friend his camper to his new house in Texas, but only after we camped in it over the week of course. It was a Timberlodge 27', nothing special, just a plain white box. I tried to keep around 67 mph to keep my mileage decent and I got just under around 11 mpg over the course of the 1600 or so mile loop (Ruston, Arlington, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Lake Charles, and Ruston). We were very happy with those results because I was getting 13 pulling my pop up with the Yukon and here we are pulling a full TT. If I'm driving the truck around 55 - 60 mph on US 167 towards Little Rock or Branson I'll get between 20 - 22 mpg and 70-75 mph on the interstate runs about 18-19 mpg which is what I got on a good day with the 2003 Suburban.

Interesting thing is: Airstream says you'll get around 20% better mileage pulling one of their trailers and so far my numbers are pretty close with pulling my '74 Ambassador and getting around 13-14 mpg with it so far on the three and four hour road trips I've had.

Cons of the truck:

DPF Filter is Dodge's way of getting around the DEF fluid and I don't like it. The engine management system basically dumps fuel into the exhaust filter and runs the truck exhaust hot enough to ignite and burn off excess soot (or so that's how I've come to understand how it works). When that happens you can imagine how the fuel economy goes down. I've been advised to remove that and reprogram the truck to run without and I'll get more power and better fuel economy. I'm not ready to do that, especially since I'm still under factory warranty. Maybe I'll look into that later. I have had it in the shop once for a turbo sensor (covered under warranty) and oil changes cost me about $90 if I get them done at the dealer in town vs half or less for a gas-burner. Fuel is more expensive, but i can justify the $.02 a mile difference in fuel cost with the pros of the truck.

Pros of the truck:
Power, Power and more Power. Holy cow, is the trailer still back there? Yeah I see it in the mirrors. It's there. That and I don't have to keep nervously looking down at gauges making sure I don't overheat something. Our trip around Texas last summer was many days in 95 - 100 degree heat and some over 100 and the truck was rock steady. I kept an eye on the gauges, but it didn't matter, they never moved. That peace of mind is worth a lot.

MegaCab! This along with the Cummins engine are the two big things that sold us on this truck. The rear seat room is immense! It's actually bigger back there than the front seats. I realize for a lot of people with kids grown up and gone it's not that big a plus, but we've got a 13 yr old son and 11 yr old daughter. They love it. They didn't care that they lost the leather captains chairs of the Yukon and the overhead TV/DVD, they had room!

I wish I had more 3/4 ton experience with a TT, but the only other things I can compare to are the 2008 Ford E350 Van I drive for work with a 14 foot cargo trailer full of scaffold and tools and my dad's 1986 Ford F350 crew cab long wheelbase Dually and this truck blows both of them out of the water. I had a 2002 or so Ford E350 with the V10 for work and that came close to the performance, but at a cost of 9 - 10 MPG. For my money, diesel 3/4 ton is the way to go, and I recommend the Dodge, but that's all I know right now.
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Old 08-08-2012, 06:34 PM   #13
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Mgriffrus' story parrallels ours with our 3500 Dodge 2008 Cummins 4 x 4, Quad cab, manual trans. 12000 miles with 28 ft. Toyhauler, 11.1 mpg hand calculated at 58-65, the overhead displays tend to read high, up to 20 highway without trailer, 16 back and forth to work. Engine brake is absolutely great in hilly country with the trailer. Best tow vehicle we've ever owned and can't wait to try it with our AS.

One caution on these trucks is the front wheel bearings, at least on the 4 x4 they and most manufacturers have gone to cartridge style front wheel bearings that can not be greased. Dodge says to inspect them starting at 35,000 miles and people on the Dodge truck forums report failures starting around 50,000. If they fail on the road they will leave you stranded.

Rick
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Old 08-09-2012, 12:45 PM   #14
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Wow!

Thanks everyone for the great feedback and information, you guys are tops! In reading through the replies, I've decided to look at a 1-ton truck, it would be nice not to have to whip out the laptop and calculate loading prior to every departure. I definitely have a more to think about!

As for the Dodge, I am going to have to re-evaluate it considering that something was definitely up with the tire pressures. I cannot think of a reason why the front tires would be inflated at 65 and the rear at 45 just sitting on the dealer's lot. Obviously, someone had been playing with things, but the different inflation would effect the ride of the truck. Also, while I didn't say this in my review, I suspect that the Cummins engine would probably be the most robust in terms of longevity, especially considering its heritage.

Another thing that I realized was that I forgot to check which rear-end was being used on the trucks, major fail on my part, sorry about that. But hey, just gives me another reason to take another look. Right!?

All of that being said, I'm still partial to the Fords, my concern is that Ford's new engine may not have the longevity that they are marketing. Only time will tell. On that point I believe that the Cummins and Duramax engines have the edge. As Perry noted, "The most reliable and least maintenance intensive truck wins every time. " I couldn't agree more.

Marketing hype aside, there is quite a bit of difference between driving a brand new truck for a few miles and living with the same truck for a long time. So we know that Ford's diesels were a mess until the current 6.7L (and the jury is still out on them) and Rick was kind enough to share with us the situation with front wheel bearings on the 4x4 Dodges, what else out there are common problems with these brands? What problems have you or others had or are expecting? Please share, inquiring minds want to know.

Cheers,
Rion
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Old 08-09-2012, 01:12 PM   #15
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One ton truck for medium-sized Airstream. You might look into an Airsafe hitch to help soften the ride for your trailer.

doug k
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Old 08-09-2012, 01:14 PM   #16
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I suspect that the Cummins engine would probably be the most robust in terms of longevity, especially considering its heritage.

my concern is that Ford's new engine may not have the longevity that they are marketing. Only time will tell.

On that point I believe that the Cummins and Duramax engines have the edge. As Perry noted, "The most reliable and least maintenance intensive truck wins every time. " I couldn't agree more.

Cheers,
Rion
Rion...agree with much of what you have outlined above...
Cummins has been around a long time and is proven, also know as the most efficient...I would say Duramax is nipping at their heels.
Chevy is know for best road manners...
The new Ford? Let's hope...it looks promising.

Who offers the best warranty?

We are still VERY pleased with our 06 D/A...the combo is just unreal to tow/haul with.
Only complaint is the small tank (26 gal) that was available then...
They have since increased the standard tank (36 gal?)
Other than that, this truck handles whatever we throw at it. We ran x-country last year...sometimes driving 3 days staright (to make CO from New England) in 100+ deg temps...truck just kep on cruising...

Check with moosetags...he just bought a new Duramax...he will have some insight on the new trucks for sure.

Drive em' all again...would be great if you could hook up a load...but I don't know this would be allowed.

I really don't think you could go wrong with any of them...they are all super capable of the job at hand.

Good luck, Bill
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Old 08-09-2012, 07:42 PM   #17
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Rion...agree with much of what you have outlined above...
Cummins has been around a long time and is proven, also know as the most efficient...I would say Duramax is nipping at their heels.
Chevy is know for best road manners...
The new Ford? Let's hope...it looks promising.

Who offers the best warranty?

We are still VERY pleased with our 06 D/A...the combo is just unreal to tow/haul with.
Only complaint is the small tank (26 gal) that was available then...
They have since increased the standard tank (36 gal?)
Other than that, this truck handles whatever we throw at it. We ran x-country last year...sometimes driving 3 days staright (to make CO from New England) in 100+ deg temps...truck just kep on cruising...

Check with moosetags...he just bought a new Duramax...he will have some insight on the new trucks for sure.

Drive em' all again...would be great if you could hook up a load...but I don't know this would be allowed.

I really don't think you could go wrong with any of them...they are all super capable of the job at hand.

Good luck, Bill
I doubt that any of the dealers would let me bring an Airstream and hook up, that said, I had a good talk with the sales manager at the GMC dealer and I might be able to talk him into it. The Ford dealer also might go for it if I asked really really nicely like by agreeing to buy the truck and completing all the paperwork but not including the final signature. The Dodge dealer, forget about it, the guy didn't know his product at all.

Thank you for the suggestion to contact moosetags, I've followed his postings for quite sometime and this will give me a chance to introduce myself and get some answers.

Cheers,
Rion
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Old 08-09-2012, 07:46 PM   #18
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One ton truck for medium-sized Airstream. You might look into an Airsafe hitch to help soften the ride for your trailer.

doug k
Hi Doug,

Out of curiosity, what TV and hitch do you use on your 25' FC? I have been worried about the implications of a 3/4 ton or 1 ton shaking my AS apart, but others seem to do it without problems, yet I keep hearing warnings about 3/4 ton & 1 ton TVs.

Cheers,
Rion
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Old 08-09-2012, 08:32 PM   #19
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OK, as a long term Ford owner (1928, 1968, & 2009) I thought I would step on it (maybe I should say jump in). I didn't see much addressing the gassers in the review. We tow a 34 foot itch a 2009 5.4L. My buddy tows. Massive 5th wheel with a F150 powered by an Ecoboost. After talking with him I wouldn't hesitate to tow any Airstream with the Ecoboost. (I might think about it, but I would still go with my 5.4L normally aspirated as well). The upside of the Ecoboost is that you still get 20mph when you are just driving around town. As to back seat space, I have to lean forward to touch the back of the seat in front of me.
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Old 08-09-2012, 09:01 PM   #20
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Hi Rion, I tow the 25' FC with an 2006 Tundra 4.6, about half the torque these diesels make but soft ride for the 'Stream. Equal-I-Zer hitch that I don't recommend because the bars are not flexible, looking for a new one.

We are retired and in no hurry, so that may make a difference to some. Our operating costs are low and the truck is very reliable, plenty of capability for our annual 6 month winter trips. Don't like it as a daily driver though, too big, handles like a truck. Looking at Touareg TDI, Jeep Grand Cherokee, or new Explorer Sport Ecoboost V6 (outa' my way, 1 ton).

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