Current Diesels in SRW 1 tons, is one better than the other?

[Choupique]

Ford made a Megacab,

The new ones are absolutely massive. I wouldn't be surprised if the interior volume was more than a ram mega cab. I know my crew cab 2500 ram is far smaller than my buddies new F350 crew cab.

 

[TJ427]

You live in Montana, Jim. The only place that doesn't have diesel is Costco.

Billings Costco is the ticket! We go Bismarck to Idaho frequently and Sam's/Costco both have diesel in Billings (only location in MT for both on diesel).

 

[ShootOkHuntWorse]

Reason for the upgrade is our current truck is the Work Truck trim. Manual windows, arm rests have no cushion, ect. We bought this truck when the boys were little and didn't drive too far too often. Now that were empty nesters, were going on more this further away.

That’s definitely a good reason.

 

[Brooks]

Next time you are driving down the interstate look at all the Ford 6.7 Superduty trucks you see. I guess all the new trucks are pretty good trucks but the Ford 6.7 Powerstroke and the 10 speed transmission is hard to beat. My 2021 F 350 srw averages 17 to 18 mpg empty and about 12 loaded with 4 or 5 horses or 100 bales of alfalfa hay and nothing slows it down. Very happy with it.

 

[blacktail434]

I have a 2011 Dodge 2500 and 2013 Chevy 2500 (just replaced the CP-4 out of fear not failure) diesels. The Chevy's and Ford's from about 2011 til current both have the CP-4 fuel pump which is prone to failure and very costly to fix. Dodge tried the CP-4 for two years around 2019 and got rid of it quickly.

Chevy and Allison got into a spat over the number of speeds the transmission should have (Allison wanted to leave it at five or six) and Chevy ended up building them under license from about the 2016 model year til current and there have been a lot of problems with them. The difference you're probably noticing between Dodge and Chevy is mostly due to the Allison transmission and a little bit by the Duramax being an over square motor (bore > stroke) vs the Dodge being under square (stroke > bore).

In short they all have their troubles these days with all the electronics and pollution controls on them. With what Trump is trying to do with the EPA and vehicle emissions, I'd wait a year or two because its looking like you'll be able to legally own a deleted truck or buy a new one without the pollution controls. I believe the House voted on this just yesterday and it’s with the Senate now.

Pretty sure GM ditched the CP4 with the L5P. I do believe the current Powerstrokes still have them…. And yes, big issues.

 

[Backstrap]

Pretty sure GM ditched the CP4 with the L5P. I do believe the current Powerstrokes still have them…. And yes, big issues.

Yes, they did and good to know. Thanks for the info.

 

[Rjk300]

If you have a cp4 look into the Exergy fuel system saver. I was told by a diesel mechanic it’s a good upgrade to the cp4 so if it does grenade your fuel system won’t get contaminated.

 

[Marshfly]

I never tried to buy diesel there, but in any case, not everyone lives in MT.

I have driven diesels in a large portion of the country over the years. The only places stations do not have diesel are in the middle of cities. Fuel availability is really a nonissue.

 

[nobody]

I work as the Lead Estimator for a masonry subcontractor in Utah, we are a full service company specializing in stone, cladding, precast, block, brick, pavers, and masonry fireplaces. We have a huge fleet of work pickups. They’re always loaded, idling a lot at job sites, pulling lots of steep grades in the mountain communities where the bulk of our work is done, and get very abused day to day. Our fleet manager stays on top of maintenance, doing things like used oil analysis at every oil change for every vehicle, and they all get full fluid changes annually, along with new batteries, shocks, brakes, etc whether they “need” it or not. I say that to illustrate what we expect of our fleet of pickups.

We have an entire fleet of crew cab, long bed, one ton, SRW diesel trucks. The company owner and fleet manager give superintendents a choice between Fords and GM’s when their turn comes up for a new truck. The majority of them choose the GM, but the owner and two superintendents choose Ford’s. We have about 25-30 pickups in total. Per vehicle, the GM’s average exponentially more repairs, more costly repairs, more catastrophic failures, and more downtime over an ownership cycle compared with the Ford’s, and it’s not even close. We’ve lost 4 Duramax engines since 2021, had multiple transmissions replaced below 100k miles on multiple trucks, and have tons of issues with the general lack of vehicle quality with the interiors under day to day use. The GM’s leave before they hit 150k, with the exception of an 07 LBZ with 550k on the original engine and second transmission that we keep around as a loaner truck for when a guys 30k mile Duramax decides to eat a turbo or throw a trans. Contrast that with the fords, they’ve never had an extended stay in the shop. Most expensive Ford repair we’ve had was when our owner unhooked from his gooseneck trailer and tried to drive off without dropping the tailgate, which led to the replacement of his tailgate. I’ve asked our owner why we don’t just go straight ford’s across the board because of the cost, and he basically says he wants the guys to get to drive what they want since they spend so much time in their trucks. But he admits that per vehicle average ownership and maintenance cost on the fords is significantly lower, even when you take into account the fact that we keep fords until 250k vs 150k for the GM’s.

I’ve owned both fords and GM’s. Dad has been a lifelong blue oval fan until he bought his father in law’s 07 LBZ Duramax with 55k miles on it last year. They’ve all gone in cycles, and at time it’s been a toss up which was better. But if I’m buying a diesel with an in tact emission system, it’s gonna be a 6.7 power stroke.

Oh, and friends don’t let friends buy a Mopar/Stellantis product. There’s a reason so many guys pay big money to swap a Cummins OUT of a Ram pickup and into something else, rather than just buying a Ram pickup with a Cummins in it. Ram pickups are cheap, poorly made, rattle traps. It’s unfortunate because on paper they do so much right, and their drive trains are solid. It’s just too bad they can’t put a decent vehicle on top of that drive train.

Buy the Ford. If you can swing it, I highly recommend a King Ranch package, mine has literally changed my life

 

[carlc]

I've got a 21 f350 that gets the crap beat out of it. Like towing a 27k mulcher up a 12% grade, chained up on all fours, or grossing 48500 with a load of fir logs. It's got 115k on it, and all I have done is a wheel bearing and vacuum seals, two sets of brake pads, front rotors, and shocks. I used to be a Chevy guy, but the Fords are just more durable in my eyes. I haul mules with a buddies 22 cummins quite a bit and am not a fan. But I do think the 8 speed could change that. They also need to change the cab on their pickups, they are still using the same cab from 2010, and the way the front seats sit in them make you look out the very top of the windshield. It's weird.