Thread 2947565

Duramax vs PowerStroke vs Cummins

Which truck is the most reliable? Best value? Most capable when towing?

(Decided against posting this in /o/)

OP here:
Going to be used to tow a mini excavator and trailer... probably around a 15000lb load. Prioritizing reliability and lowest maintenance costs.

What years are you comparing?

I pretty much immediately dismiss anything Chevy or GM as they just aren't up to the task of heavy work with their wimpy front end.

As for Dodge and Ford. The pre emissions 5.9L engines are hard to beat. I believe they started putting emissions crap on them in 06-07 on the common rail engines. Before that the 24v were damn good, and the 12v are known to be epic in their reliability.

The old 7.3 superduties and older are good work horses. Bit more electronics, sensors, and wiring to go fucky, but really not that complicated once you figure out how they work.

Whatever you do get a standard transmission as autotragics are just awful.

If you're looking at newer than that, I'm not going to be any help here. I don't know anything about the newer shit.

I'm 100% a ford guy, but my wife has a pretty nice 06 dodge with one of the last 5.9 common rail engines pre emissions bullshit and a 6 speed transmission.

>>2947567
How often are you going to tow this combo? What kind of terrain and grades will you be towing up? Don't dismiss gas engines either. They are reliable and cost of maintenance is much cheaper. I wouldn't want to tow mountain passes with one every day, but occasionally towing something is no big deal.

>>2947568
Models need to be less than 5 years old. 2021 and newer.

>>2947569
Daily. Mostly on normal roads and highways. Relatively flat terrain, not much elevation change. Construction sites too. No off-roading.

>>2947565 (OP)
Go with the Allison transmission option. All new diesels are kinda finicky. I have a ram and just put 10k$ into a new transmission at 85k miles, but out of warranty because the truck is 7 years old. I pull a trailer full of tools with mine.

>>2947567
>15k combination for commercial use
you know thats well into cdl territory and all the bureaucracy that goes along with it?

You want the most retarded to tune, get a 6.6 Duramax. A tuned and deleted 6.6 will scare tf out of you

>>2947565 (OP)
Nobody doing serious work has the ram, the faggots out in the field stick to chevy or ford for a reason. There I narrowed it down to you pick one of those two

>>2949027
Yeah the hardest work I see anyone do with a Dodge is hauling a cattle trailer with a 3500

>>2949028
i only see the ram with residential electricians and things alike lol

>>2949029
Lol I do lawncare with a 15 year old Tacoma and beyond the regular oil changes and brake jobs I've done diddly to it

>>2947567
get a gasser. modern diesels are dogshit because of emissions. your def system WILL shit itself and cost thousands to repair. and the ~4-5mpg advantage while towing will not add up to make up the difference. only reason to get a modern diesel is if you are towing long distance constantly. the ford 7.3 gas engine available right now is probably the best work truck for anything that isn't super heavy (20,000lbs+) or hot-shotting freight loads.

>>2947615
This

May as well go medium duty. International 4900, GMC Topkick, etc

Even better, if you're pulling an excavator, you will likely need a dump truck.

>>2947615
I thought it was 26,001 lbs and more was CDL territory...

I'm just glad I'm a farmer and don't have to give a fuck...

>>2949390
cant be real how is the truck holding all that tongue weight

>>2949390
You may be right, but there’s a billion rules that don’t apply if you stick a “Not For Hire” sticker on it. Also I think it’s GVWR, not the actual weight of the thing.

>>2947615
It’s amazing that Penske will rent a 26’ straight truck with a car hauler attached with a basic DL.

2006 Duramax or a 6BT swapped into something not Dodge are the only good diesel trucks.

>>2949390
>cant be real how is the truck holding all that tongue weight

With ease my friend. That's the power of the ol' 7.3L IDI. Also just drug it up a sloppy clay mud road right before this picture was taken. Notice the mud squeezing out between the duals on the trailer... That loader weighs around 19000lbs and the trailer is probably another 6000lbs or more. I've drug some absolute stupid loads up some real shitty roads with that thing.

>>2949631
is it a 4x2 because I heard they can handle more weight than 4x4

>>2949703
>is it a 4x2

>>2949707
fucking A

>>2949703
>is it a 4x2 because I heard they can handle more weight than 4x4

As the other anon:
>>2949707
spotted, it's a 4x4. F350. 7.3 idi 5 speed manual. I does have some of those Timbren bump stops on the suspension that were on it when I bought it. Other than that as far as I know it's pretty much stock.

>>2949723
ugh to think you need to pay like 60k for a new one that does the same shit

>>2949728
>ugh to think you need to pay like 60k for a new one that does the same shit
I gave $3200 for this hot pile with the flatbed already on it. Had around 200k on it when I bought it. Has 320k miles on it now.

>>2949723
>based 7.3 enjoyer
you wont get anywhere fast but youll probably get there and you get the sweet sounds of powerjoke the entire way
my controversial opinion is early super duty was pinnacle pickup evolution

>>2949753
>you wont get anywhere fast but youll probably get there and you get the sweet sounds of powerjoke the entire way
>my controversial opinion is early super duty was pinnacle pickup evolution
The one I posted above isn't even a powerstroke. Hell it's not even a turbo'd idi, just a naturally aspirated 7.3 idi.

But yes I agree, the early 2000's is where things peaked. Any newer than that and everything got too much electronic bullshit on it and reliability went to shit.

I'm currently dailying a 2000 F-350 4x4 with the V10 and ZF5 transmission. has a 9' flatbed so it's nice for hauling four 3x3 bales of hay and feeding cattle off of.

OP here again checking in.
So the mini excavator I need wont be that big. Maybe 5500lb. Eventually I'd like to add a skid steer. Those are around 9500lb. Id never tow them both on the same trailer at the same time. So Im thinking an hd pickup and trailer should not put me into the CDL range.

>>2950699
https://cdlresources.org/flowcharts/

luv me old LBZ
shes a loyal whore

ford f150 goverment subsidies are still going from the 2008 bailout, more car per dollar, but design specs have moved away from truck and seem to be flirting with sedan that has an open air trunk.

>>2949841
And I found another clean 189k mile 1999 F-250 v10 crew cab short bed with the 5 speed manual for sale on Craigslist for $5500. Made arrangements with the guy to meet us part way and purchase it this Sunday. Pretty pumped to add another v10 manual superduty to the fleet. Probably be my wife's run-around vehicle for the most part and a backup work pickup for me. Planning on getting rid of 4-5 other vehicles that we just don't use much anymore...

>>2951159
$5500 is to much for that thing

>>2951219
its not 2015 anymore
im not saying prices are reasonable but considering 2005 taurus shitboxes bring $2k (just sold one last month for that) a functional pickup for twice that isnt out there
a local telecom just put a bunch of various beat to shit mid 00s fleet run 5.4 super dutys out for sale at $4k choice and most sold in a few days
5500 zimbabwe bucks just dont go like it used to
t. not that anon

>>2951220
It's a 26 year old truck with 200k

>>2947565 (OP)
>Which truck is the most reliable? Best value? Most capable when towing?

>>2951219
>$5500 is to much for that thing
Nah. As the other anon said $5500 isn't shit anymore. They're pretty rare with the standard transmission, and this one is as clean as it gets without being retardedly expensive.
>>2951222
>It's a 26 year old truck with 200k
And it'll go another 200k easy. Already put 75k miles on my current V10 with nothing more than spark plugs, a carrier bearing, front U-joints, and tires... currently sitting at 235k on it. And I've beaten on that thing like a red-headed step child.

But yeah, keep thinking that, and leave all the early 2000's superduties and older stuff for me. You can have the newer shit, I don't want it.

>>2951254
>And it'll go another 200k easy
Nah.
It's a flatbed and that means it was clearly used as a work truck the whole time.

Those 200k miles are equal to 500k freeway miles. Cool thread but stop spreading misinformation.

>>2951255
czechd 5z but obviously still wet behind the ears
pre 6.7 super dutys are these peculiar beasts that exhibit this sadistic characteristic where the harder they are beat on the longer they go. the highest mile examples ive come across are always the least taken care of. there are several 6.0 crummies own by gyppo logger outfits here still kicking at north of 700k. these are driven against the rev limiter in 2d by the dumbest shithead kid rigging rats daily up what most would consider too rough for goats to climb. constantly have a 5k lb sky car or broken grapple in the bed. never get the oil changed or anything that resembles maintenance done because gyppo loggers are the cheapest brokeass fuckers on the planet. and these pickups just keep going
rolling off a landing 2k ft down into a creek because somebody forgot to stuff it in gear or creaming a loaded downhill log truck on a blind corner generally is what kills them
keyboard dweebs always spout off about how japtraps are peak reliability but i positive it actually furd pickups

>>2951255
>Nah.
>It's a flatbed and that means it was clearly used as a work truck the whole time.
Lol. Lmao even. I guess the 2000 F-350 I have that was ordered as a cab and chassis and has a 9' Layton flatbed on it was all just freeway miles right? Because that's what I'm basing my experience on. I bought it with 155k miles from a guy that had a construction company. I've beat the absolute fucking snot out of it and it loves it.

This thing lives it's life hauling 4000 lbs on the bed on rutted snowy/muddy roads every day in the wintertime feeding cattle...

>>2947565 (OP)
>Which truck is the most reliable?
any truck made before ECU's

your ECU dies your truck does not move.

>>2951356
Hard to find a reliable truck from 1965

>>2947565 (OP)
>Posts a picture of those giant ass trucks
>These are driven primarily by people who are basically never hauling shit
There's a stark difference between an actual work truck and a fashion statement

>>2951437
Have fun towing a kayak

>>2951437
>3/4 & 1 tons
>never hauling shit
Nobody is talking about half tons. OP says he's towing 15000lbs and anon is posting his setup towing even more than that and you're in here posting your retarded /o/ bus rider contrarianism. I wouldn't mind having a kei truck around the ranch for hauling feed sacks and odd jobs but it would never replace our 3/4 tons, our 2 ton, or our 1/2 ton even if were highway legal.

>>2947565 (OP)
I hold no brand loyalty. My only thing is a hate Dodge and will never buy one. I bought a 2024 duramax, mainly because I liked the truck better than the Ford. The Ford is the most capable, especially with the high output power stroke. The question is really, which one do you enjoy the most, and do you need a truck that can do more than the duramax.

>>2951708
For me its Ford>Dodge>Chevy.

Have never been a fan of Chevys IFS front suspension on their trucks. Just seems like a bad design choice overall.

Not a huge fan of Fords TTB on their 3/4 tons and a few unfortunate years of 1 tons from early 80's to 97 either, but at least they are easy to Dana 60 swap. I can see some appeal to the TTB on 1/2 ton stuff. They can be setup real nice for long travel suspension if you know what you're doing. At least when they went to the superduty body style change in 98 all f-250s and 350s came with a monobeam front axle after that.

Dodge at least has a monobeam front axle, but it has that stupid center axle disconnect bullshit... I can see the appeal of the 5.9 Cummins from the ol 12v up to the common rail before emissions junk got mandated.

I hate automatic transmissions. Never really been around a Chevy with the Allison. That might be something chevy did right as Allison makes decent medium duty auto transmissions at least.

>>2947565 (OP)
All diesels are shit now thanks to Obama. They will never be good again. Move on.

>>2951159
Got er home today boys... Drives real nice. Needs a few small things fixed but overall extremely happy with the purchase.

>>2951876
How much did you end up paying for it? I saw that it was 5500 OBO Mr. Colorado plates on the other truck
>>2951261

>>2951912
He held it for me until the weekend and drove it 2 hours one way to meet me saving me an extra 4 hours round trip so I gave full asking price because I'm not a jew.

Pulled up right next to it in my own crew cab v10 manual and hopped out. Two absolute Chad's standing there shooting the shit for about 10 minutes. Asked him a few questions about the pickup. Shared a couple stories. Handed over the cash and he handed over the title and bill of sale. He didn't even count the cash. Left the plates on it for my drive home. Offered to remove them and send them back to him if he wants. He didn't care, he knows I won't screw him over. Shook hands on a deal well done (insert "Dillon you son of a bitch" scene from the Predator movie). Drove it 4 hours home through the mountains. It's an absolute unit.

God it feels good to be white.

>>2951711
I haven't had any issues with their front ends, and I've been driving Chevy service trucks for quite some time. This is my first personal Chevy 3/4 ton, and so far so good. It's a great truck in my opinion, and I like the interior and exterior design on this generation. My last one was a Ford, which I also enjoyed. The issue with the Cummins, is there's a Dodge built around it.

Bought this from my dad which he's had for the past 10 years with a trailer hooked up to it for most of that time. Would use it to move cars or take scrap to the junkyard and he's never maintained it in all that time so I'm trying to bring it back to life. Doesn't have a diesel but it's got that big block 454. Biggest issue it has right now is sometimes it won't accelerate when I press the gas pedal. Friend told me it was probably misfiring so I changed the spark plugs (didn't work) but I'm pretty sure it's just the massive exhaust leak which is also triggering an 02 sensor and EGR code. Wanted to cut off the exhaust but it would have sounded horrible so I'm just going to change the flange behind the first catalytic converter. Eventually I want to do some badass shit to it like a cam, leveling kit, long tube headers, new exhaust, etc. but right now I just want it to run right.

>>2952255
>right now is sometimes it won't accelerate when I press the gas pedal.

Drive by wire? Throttle position sensor maybe? If not check your fuel pressure, clean your mass airflow sensor, etc. The usual culprits.

>>2952297
Not sure I'll have to check. Another issue is it won't start sometimes unless I give it gas so it could also be the fuel pump or injectors starting to go out. Also I couldn't get the bolts off the cat so I just ended up cutting them both off. Buddy said tomorrow he would help me weld in a straight pipe which is fine since the cats were clogged anyway. Wondering if I should also just get rid of the old muffler but that would probably be too much.