Ram 2500 vs Tacoma Crew Cab.....on a fence

[surlydiesel]

If I were looking for a slightly used Full sized gasser, I would look for a 2010 F-350 with the V10 and a Manual. If I were going new gasser and wanted a manual, I'd have to get a Ram. If I wanted a brand new Diesel, I would have to get a Ram. So I'm a ford guy it seems but only Ram is making the trucks I want to buy new. Oh and if I wanted a used diesel, it would depend on the level of "luxury" I wanted and I would base my decision on either a 7.3 in a ford or a 5.9 in a Dodge(before name change to Ram) I would skip the half ton trucks though, kind of a middle ground of better payloads and such but they still aren't designed for daily work and most see home depot runs on the weekends. If you want to "work" a halfton, you'll be doing all the suspension upgrades you would do to the Tacoma to make it reasonable for your level of use anyway. Hope this thread and the comments have helped.

Cheers,
jorge

 

[Kaisen]

If I were looking for a slightly used Full sized gasser, I would look for a 2010 F-350 with the V10 and a Manual. If I were going new gasser and wanted a manual, I'd have to get a Ram. If I wanted a brand new Diesel, I would have to get a Ram. So I'm a ford guy it seems but only Ram is making the trucks I want to buy new.

Because, um, you want a manual? You have only one choice, gas or diesel, and that's the Ram. Neither Ford nor GM nor Toyota nor Nissan offer a manual transmission in a full-size pickup anymore. Very few people bought manual transmissions when they offered the choice, so they simply stopped offering them

A used 2010 Ford F350 V10 manual transmission? They only made a handful, so you'll be looking for that needle in a national haystack.

 

[Threerun]

I have been a Dodge 2500 diesel owner for number of years. I have a 1998.5 Dodge 5.9 24v with about 225K on the odo, 5 spd quad cab 8 ft. bed. I have a family of 4 and it's a tight fit in the back for my kids (12 and 14 yo), kinda wish it was a full size crew cab, but honestly I would dread the extra length. We camp and backpack a lot as a family, own a 18ft Glastron boat, kayaks, I hunt a lot etc so I need a truck for what we do. We moved from West Virginia to Montana about 4 years ago and found out pretty quickly that we really enjoy dead winter excursions like snowshoeing, XC skiing and tent camping is a little, uh, impractical when it is −10 and snowing like Hell. So we now own a fairly new Hallmark Guanella pop-up camper to extend our outdoor recreational pursuits. Love it, love it, love it love it....

One thing that I can say is that whatever I throw at this truck, it just drops it's shoulder and powers right on through. Up and over passes, geared down and chugging along rutted, muddy forest roads (been chained up on all fours a few times), hauling a camper and just moving right along. Last year we had it LOADED with the camper and a couple weeks worth of crap and motored to our cousin's place in Huntington Beach CA (L.A.) stopping in Ely NV and boondocking in the forest, then Yosemite Ntl Park for a day and then on to the concrete jungle. I have no problems driving it in any of those conditions. I frankly love my set-up and am willing to put up with the constant battle of chasing the Dodge out of the Cummins, which routinely costs me $1,000 in bills a year (new FASS fuel system, new steering box, stabilizers, track bars, clutches, new replacement dashtop for the crappy Dodge ' oh s*it my dash cracked and caved in because this plastic is worthless garbage' and the list goes on...

There are some great upsides to this rig:
1. It's a Cummins.
2. It just takes abuse. It really eats it up.
3. It is roomy enough in the back for my kids not to suffer completely, but just enough to remind them of their current lot in life.
4. It is roomy enough for me and my spouse in the front and frankly that is all that matters
5. I can travel a fair distance with a full load of gear on a full tank of gas.
6. I can travel with a camper, tow my boat and really not notice it.
7. I can drop the camper at home, hitch up a dump trailer and grab a 2 ton load of gravel or top soil at the local pit for a home project. Or I can load full sheets of plywood and lumber for a Scout project. Or I can go cut a full load of firewood...

The downsides are:
1. It's a Dodge.
2. I am definitely limited on where I can go- no way am I getting this rig around some of the forest Jeep trails around here with or without that camper on the back! Some may scoff at this, but no offense I am not going to risk $30K plus of rig to go to the 10% of places I want to go. That's what I have a hitch carrier for and will bring my Suzuki DR350 dual-sport bike. I'm not worried about crunching $2,500 worth of bike or a few bones. I have good health insurance. My vehicle and camper deductible are too high to risk it.
3. I am at my payload capacity even with the Hallmark camper. My 1998.5 has around 2,000lbs of rated payload capacity and the Guanella loaded is RIGHT there. BEWARE that if you choose a diesel truck your payload capacity decreases versus the same rig in a gasser.
4. Higher maintenance costs. Yes- costs more to run this rig, however if you think about, a lot of 1/2 ton truck owners or Tacoma owners spend a lot of money modding their rigs to carry a heavier load. I didn't. Stock it is great. No problems with my set-up. I can go no more on the camper, but I like what I have. So it's a trade-off.


So for me- a guy with an active family that hunts, camps, hikes, involved in Scouts, owns a boat, travels to see family in far away strange lands (like L.A.) and is inclined to take a rig on non-groomed roads with 4 chains on- my Dodge is perfect.

Your results may vary.

 

[redthies]

Nice rig threerun! Love the Hallmarks too!

 

[Threerun]

Thanks! Great camper. Love it, love it, love it!

 

[zeke2.0]

At the risk of sounding contrarion, like the Chevy 1500HD, Ford makes a F-150HD model, plus you can get it with the Eco-boost engine and six speed auto trans with manual select option (aka Select shift).The Eco-boost makes 420lbs of torque at 2K rpm and gets a legitimate 17-20mpg highway depending on terrain. The HD option gives you up to 3K hauling capacity and up to 11,200 towing (Has a much stouter rear axle than standard F-150, plus trans cooler).
You can get it in practically any trim (XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum..) except for the FX4 trim.
If you go to the Ford site, select either the 3.73 limited slip or 4.11 limited slip rear end and the options will appear in the other pages (really stupid, stupid way to do things IMHO). Operating costs a much less than diesel, the Ecoboost runs on regular unleaded. No fuel filters to change very 10-15K miles, no Urea or other additives to meet pollution requirements.
Only con is if you prefer a solid front axle, then 1/2 ton not the way to go.

 

[Threerun]

I tried going to Ford a few months ago and checking out if a new F-150 could be configured with a package stout enough and in multiple trims, 4x4 crew cab I could not find any combination that would work for me. Selecting an 8' foot bed crew cab simply won't get me to the payload capacity I need.

 

[Buliwyf]

I tried going to Ford a few months ago and checking out if a new F-150 could be configured with a package stout enough and in multiple trims, 4x4 crew cab I could not find any combination that would work for me. Selecting an 8' foot bed crew cab simply won't get me to the payload capacity I need.

If the term "payload capactity" crosses your mind, then you shouldn't even look at a F150. That's why there is the F250, 350.

 

[Threerun]

I had heard rumor that Ford F150 had a series with a payload capacity suitable for light pop-ups like my Hallmark, just as zeke2.0 alluded to. I have yet to find the configuration that would work.

The other downside to my rig is that my bride hates driving it. She is totally comfortable driving 1/2 ton trucks, like my old 1500 Rams, but the 2500 diesel is a bit of a brutus on the road, and the clutch work is a little overwhelming for her. That's why I wouldn't mind seeing a beefed up 1/2 ton. Long road trips are a ********** when I have to do all the driving.

Funny when I was a kid I used to see these old F100 Rangers with big campers on them. Big old 390v-8 gassers that chugged on down the road with an old camper with oak cabinets loaded to the hilt. Were the trucks back then designed tougher or did new models just get wimpy over time, lol.. (Just kinda joking)

 

[zeke2.0]

I had heard rumor that Ford F150 had a series with a payload capacity suitable for light pop-ups like my Hallmark, just as zeke2.0 alluded to. I have yet to find the configuration that would work.

The other downside to my rig is that my bride hates driving it. She is totally comfortable driving 1/2 ton trucks, like my old 1500 Rams, but the 2500 diesel is a bit of a brutus on the road, and the clutch work is a little overwhelming for her. That's why I wouldn't mind seeing a beefed up 1/2 ton. Long road trips are a ********** when I have to do all the driving.

Funny when I was a kid I used to see these old F100 Rangers with big campers on them. Big old 390v-8 gassers that chugged on down the road with an old camper with oak cabinets loaded to the hilt. Were the trucks back then designed tougher or did new models just get wimpy over time, lol.. (Just kinda joking)

To get the Max tow and HD cargo options you have to select one of the limited slip rear axles (3.73 or 4.1x) if I remember, then they show up on the equipment list on the rest of the pages (automatically selected for you btw). Including 17" 7 lug steel wheels.
I think the HD option is more for fleet sales, so they don't make it obvious at the ford site. Which means you can't select the Electronic rear locker and get any of the HD options. I think the only way to get an 8' ft bed on a F-150 is to select either a single or extended cab, not the super crew option, which maxes out at 6.5 ft. You have to go to the 250 or 350 to get the uber long options.

 

[ripperj]

You can spec out a F150 Eco boost with a pretty decent payload(I think it was 8200gvw has over 2000#) but odds are good the sales people( even when you call ford 800#) wont have a clue how to do it( least that was my experience). The problem for me was price, you very quickly get into 250, 2500 territory(or easily more). I stumbled on a like new 2012 Ram 2500 crew cab and jumped on it. I like having a beefier truck,frame brakes ect vice the 150.
I love the truck, I get 15.5(Hemi) unloaded on my 50 mile commute (State roads-55mph)

 

[redthies]

I get 15.5(Hemi) unloaded on my 50 mile commute (State roads-55mph)

I would bet that's better than the Cummins is getting in most cases. Impressive. Do you know what your empty weight is, and gvw?

 

[zeke2.0]

You can spec out a F150 Eco boost with a pretty decent payload(I think it was 8200gvw has over 2000#) but odds are good the sales people( even when you call ford 800#) wont have a clue how to do it( least that was my experience). The problem for me was price, you very quickly get into 250, 2500 territory(or easily more). I stumbled on a like new 2012 Ram 2500 crew cab and jumped on it. I like having a beefier truck,frame brakes ect vice the 150.
I love the truck, I get 15.5(Hemi) unloaded on my 50 mile commute (State roads-55mph)

You are right. They only want to sell you what's on the lot. When I was looking at getting a Raptor, the salesman hemmed and hawed at how long it would take, tried to convince me an F350 would be better. So he lost a sale.
Probably same thing for a custom F-150. The whole build your own truck option at ford dot com is simply bait and switch to get you into the dealer.

 

[Regcabguy]

I have been a Dodge 2500 diesel owner for number of years. I have a 1998.5 Dodge 5.9 24v with about 225K on the odo, 5 spd quad cab 8 ft. bed. I have a family of 4 and it's a tight fit in the back for my kids (12 and 14 yo), kinda wish it was a full size crew cab, but honestly I would dread the extra length. We camp and backpack a lot as a family, own a 18ft Glastron boat, kayaks, I hunt a lot etc so I need a truck for what we do. We moved from West Virginia to Montana about 4 years ago and found out pretty quickly that we really enjoy dead winter excursions like snowshoeing, XC skiing and tent camping is a little, uh, impractical when it is −10 and snowing like Hell. So we now own a fairly new Hallmark Guanella pop-up camper to extend our outdoor recreational pursuits. Love it, love it, love it love it....

One thing that I can say is that whatever I throw at this truck, it just drops it's shoulder and powers right on through. Up and over passes, geared down and chugging along rutted, muddy forest roads (been chained up on all fours a few times), hauling a camper and just moving right along. Last year we had it LOADED with the camper and a couple weeks worth of crap and motored to our cousin's place in Huntington Beach CA (L.A.) stopping in Ely NV and boondocking in the forest, then Yosemite Ntl Park for a day and then on to the concrete jungle. I have no problems driving it in any of those conditions. I frankly love my set-up and am willing to put up with the constant battle of chasing the Dodge out of the Cummins, which routinely costs me $1,000 in bills a year (new FASS fuel system, new steering box, stabilizers, track bars, clutches, new replacement dashtop for the crappy Dodge ' oh s*it my dash cracked and caved in because this plastic is worthless garbage' and the list goes on...

There are some great upsides to this rig:
1. It's a Cummins.
2. It just takes abuse. It really eats it up.
3. It is roomy enough in the back for my kids not to suffer completely, but just enough to remind them of their current lot in life.
4. It is roomy enough for me and my spouse in the front and frankly that is all that matters
5. I can travel a fair distance with a full load of gear on a full tank of gas.
6. I can travel with a camper, tow my boat and really not notice it.
7. I can drop the camper at home, hitch up a dump trailer and grab a 2 ton load of gravel or top soil at the local pit for a home project. Or I can load full sheets of plywood and lumber for a Scout project. Or I can go cut a full load of firewood...

The downsides are:
1. It's a Dodge.
2. I am definitely limited on where I can go- no way am I getting this rig around some of the forest Jeep trails around here with or without that camper on the back! Some may scoff at this, but no offense I am not going to risk $30K plus of rig to go to the 10% of places I want to go. That's what I have a hitch carrier for and will bring my Suzuki DR350 dual-sport bike. I'm not worried about crunching $2,500 worth of bike or a few bones. I have good health insurance. My vehicle and camper deductible are too high to risk it.
3. I am at my payload capacity even with the Hallmark camper. My 1998.5 has around 2,000lbs of rated payload capacity and the Guanella loaded is RIGHT there. BEWARE that if you choose a diesel truck your payload capacity decreases versus the same rig in a gasser.
4. Higher maintenance costs. Yes- costs more to run this rig, however if you think about, a lot of 1/2 ton truck owners or Tacoma owners spend a lot of money modding their rigs to carry a heavier load. I didn't. Stock it is great. No problems with my set-up. I can go no more on the camper, but I like what I have. So it's a trade-off.


So for me- a guy with an active family that hunts, camps, hikes, involved in Scouts, owns a boat, travels to see family in far away strange lands (like L.A.) and is inclined to take a rig on non-groomed roads with 4 chains on- my Dodge is perfect.

Your results may vary.

With the 5-speed you should have the Dana 80 on yours which included larger rear brakes. My 2500 auto '98.5 had woefully inadequate brakes. I did all the tricks,Chevy 1-ton cylinders,etc but not until I had a Pacbrake installed did I feel confident on the freeway with that sucker. I carried the same camper in my signature and ran 285-70-17 M-55's on that rig. Put a Dashmat on that new dash and it'll never crack again. I rugged mine up on the old truck and it has not cracked to date with the new owner.
Our Ford F-250's at work of that year shared the lousy brakes. It wasn't until the Superduty's upgraded rear discs came along that they stopped better.

 

[ripperj]

I would bet that's better than the Cummins is getting in most cases. Impressive. Do you know what your empty weight is, and gvw?

I think it's 8800 gvw with 2345 payload,the crew cab eats a lot of payload. When I first got the truck I drove it like I did my 2010 1500 with a 4.7(a bit fast off the lights ect) I was barely getting 13mpg. I slowed it down just a bit. After playing around a bit I found the sweet spot at just over 55. I live in a fairly hilly area, with only a few stops.

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