3/4 Ton question- DIESEL 7.3l?6.4?6.7?Duramax?Cummins? for family rid and DD
- Thread starter dsal_86yota
- Start date
dsal_86yota
Observer
That mega cab is impressive. Only down side on those is usually a less the 6' bed. My buddy had a 2010 and it was nice. I could relax in the back seat, fell asleep back there a few times lol.
Thats funny OP I am currently in the EXACT situation your are.
Always liked fords, dont want a 6.0 (sure rules out a lot of used) clean 7.3's are hard to find and still pricey if they are not beat up. Was ready to pull the trigger on a new Super duty that I "built", however I am really second guessing if I want that payment. Never had a Chevy (except for my current 2012 Silverado company vehicle 2wd) but I'm starting to look at the Duramax's too. I do have a 2002 Dodge 3500 now with a HO Cummins and a six speed manual. I absolutely love the engine and tranny, very powerful, great fuel economy for a one ton dually. Has a nice custom flatbed on it, great truck buts 2WD and Im looking for a 4x4. Man I wish I never sold that 1987 F350, 6.9 diesel 4x4 I had when i was 19. 6.9 diesel was a little slow if you had to tow something but talk about simplicity and dead reliability, fuel, air and 12v and you're good.
Always liked fords, dont want a 6.0 (sure rules out a lot of used) clean 7.3's are hard to find and still pricey if they are not beat up. Was ready to pull the trigger on a new Super duty that I "built", however I am really second guessing if I want that payment. Never had a Chevy (except for my current 2012 Silverado company vehicle 2wd) but I'm starting to look at the Duramax's too. I do have a 2002 Dodge 3500 now with a HO Cummins and a six speed manual. I absolutely love the engine and tranny, very powerful, great fuel economy for a one ton dually. Has a nice custom flatbed on it, great truck buts 2WD and Im looking for a 4x4. Man I wish I never sold that 1987 F350, 6.9 diesel 4x4 I had when i was 19. 6.9 diesel was a little slow if you had to tow something but talk about simplicity and dead reliability, fuel, air and 12v and you're good.
Last edited:
We have a fleet of trucks for our construction business, about 30 in total. A lot of them are 2wd chevy work trucks, half tons, and those are nice, but not suitable for what you are talking about, so lets talk 3/4 ton and bigger. Currently all of our 3/4 and 1 tons are long beds, a mix of chevy and fords. My Dad drives a heavily beefed-up 3/4 ton 2002 chevy Duramax. This truck has 250k miles on it, and the first real breakage it has ever had is starting to show up. It gets much better mileage than my 1-ton ford, rides a lot better, and I think is quicker in a drag race. My 2001 F350 will haul a lot more, feels a lot more secure in mud and snow, has a bigger back seat, and is all around a better rough terrain truck. I think my Dad's truck is the equivalent of a 1 ton with all the upgrades he has put on it I.E. air bags, heavy duty shocks, tuner, oversize exhaust, etc. He hauls a Host hard side camper and pulls a 6000 lb boat with this setup. My 7.3 has 3" of lift, air bags, upgraded transmission and torque converter, tuner, HD shocks, and just about any other upgrade I could think of. It's pushing 300k miles, it's my fourth 7.3 in a row. I drive them for roughly 350 to 400 k and then find another clean one. This one had 70,000 on it in 2012, I picked it up for $25,000. I just switched from a Bigfoot hardside to a Phoenix popup to get the weight down, and I switched from a 5000 lb boat to a 3000 lb one for the same reason. I can haul my Dad's setup, easier than he can, but I wouldn't want to take it some of the places I like to go. I think the 7.3 is a very reliable truck, with a few well known glitches (glow plugs, anyone?). The Duramax is an even MORE reliable truck, and I love the Allison transmission, but it isn't as good in the rough stuff. To put it another way, if we are going shrimping on Hood Canal, with a paved highway and no mountain passes, we much prefer to take the old man's rig. If we are going chukar hunting on a two-track in the snow and mud, I do the driving. This experience seems to be pretty equivalent across our fleet, the Duramax being the more reliable and comfortable to drive, the older Powerstroke being more rugged and capable. All of our diesels get at least 3 to 5 miles per gallon better mileage than an equivalent gasser. In fleet use this makes a noticable difference in our bottom line. Anyhow, I hope this helps.
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
Yep, can't trust that GM IFS...
.
.
That over 70k miles of use every where from Mississippi to everything on the west coast. 143k miles total.
.
My stock F350, needed balljoints at 75k and it spent 95% of it's life on pavement.
.
Jack
Nice truck Bud. Love the bumper too. The shop I use does a fair share of GM tie rod upgrades,ball joints and suspension arm bushing replacements. Universally they are guys with 35's+. You've definitely put your truck through the grinder!
I also have two Duramax trucks, an 06 2500HD and a 09 Dually. I love both. I get 15.5 mpg daily driving it, and depending on my speed, 18.5-21 on the freeway.
GM trucks are my preference because they ride really nice due to the IFS front end.
If you are set on a diesel, I'd look for on 06 or 07 Classic GMC or Chevy. Mid model year 06s will have the LBZ Duramax, all 07 Classics are LBZ. 07.5 and newer have more emissions stuff, and get worse fuel economy.
The only additional maintenance I have seen is a more expensive oil change (10 qts on a Duramax), fuel filters about ever 10k miles and changing the Allison trans spin-on filter every other oil change.
locrwln
Expedition Leader
Thank you. I did my research before I bought the truck. I looked at and drove all of the big three when I was looking (had to be pre DEF/emissions), they all had their pros and cons. I had the F350 still, so I was in no hurry and the only reason I was looking was that a crew cab long bed is a bit much for offroad use. I had a friend who was a service writer for Ford and he warned me off of the 6.0's. My Ford was a 6spd manual, but I wanted an auto for this truck and while the third gen Cummins has it's own challenges, the autos are not an if, but when you are going to be doing a rebuild and I couldn't find one that gave me that warm and fuzzy. Plus Dodge/Ram is on their third or fourth steering revision, so they require some front end work as well.
.
During my research, the GM actually had the least amount of problems during that era of truck.
.
I drove the Chevy; it was actually last on my list, but one drive and I was hooked and my wife loved it as well. I did the research, I addressed the weak spots, and so far it has worked for me. I too like the bumper, but my only complaint is that I wish they would have had the aluminum bumpers at the time. Buckstop was having some issues with the aluminum versions and pulled them until they could be redesigned.
.
Thank you, it has treated me very well.
.
Jack
Last edited:
OP, if your plans are a camper in the bed and a boat in tow you need to skip the "3/4 ton" trucks and look at 3500 series. That's a lot of weight. My crew cab Chevy with the family, the camper, and the boat on the hitch weighed in at 13,100 pounds.
I've owned 4 Chevys: 2 Duramax, 1 8.1L, and 1 6.0L. I've never had any major work done to any of them. I wouldn't keep buying Chevy's if I didn't have excellent service from them. I expect a machine to work every day. If it doesn't it gets sold.
I don't understand all the bias against the IFS. I've never had a single front suspension part break. My '05 Dually work truck frequently hauls thousands of pounds of batteries and tools in the bed while driving off road to reach off grid cabins in the mountains. I have no complains and I've never been stuck.
In reading back over these posts it seems like most of the guys who own Chevy's really like them. Most of the guys who owns Fords mention all the problems, expensive repairs, and engines to stay away from. Then they go on to say how great Ford is. I just don't get it.
I've owned 4 Chevys: 2 Duramax, 1 8.1L, and 1 6.0L. I've never had any major work done to any of them. I wouldn't keep buying Chevy's if I didn't have excellent service from them. I expect a machine to work every day. If it doesn't it gets sold.
I don't understand all the bias against the IFS. I've never had a single front suspension part break. My '05 Dually work truck frequently hauls thousands of pounds of batteries and tools in the bed while driving off road to reach off grid cabins in the mountains. I have no complains and I've never been stuck.
In reading back over these posts it seems like most of the guys who own Chevy's really like them. Most of the guys who owns Fords mention all the problems, expensive repairs, and engines to stay away from. Then they go on to say how great Ford is. I just don't get it.
Clutch
<---Pass
Ha, no kidding...diesels are fussy.
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
It's a pay now or pay later thing with diesel vs gas. You pay more for the truck, you use less fuel later. Pay less for the truck, pay way more for fuel later.
Based on what I've read in this thread, I'd suggest a pre '06.5 Cummins 5.9 quadcab. It has a dead reliable drivetrain, is quite comfortable, has a good turning radius with the coils, and the simplicity of a solid front axle. Upgrade your ball joints to Carli or equivalent, put some Thuren coils and good shocks on it, and slap on 35s and enjoy. The only downfall is you're going to pay a premium for a good example of these trucks. Other people have also figured out that they are a great vehicle.
Based on what I've read in this thread, I'd suggest a pre '06.5 Cummins 5.9 quadcab. It has a dead reliable drivetrain, is quite comfortable, has a good turning radius with the coils, and the simplicity of a solid front axle. Upgrade your ball joints to Carli or equivalent, put some Thuren coils and good shocks on it, and slap on 35s and enjoy. The only downfall is you're going to pay a premium for a good example of these trucks. Other people have also figured out that they are a great vehicle.
Clutch
<---Pass
Dunno, diesel is the gift that keeps on taking...
All I hear is people ********** and moan of the cost keeping those things running.
Per mile our diesels cost a lot less to maintain than the gassers. The gas trucks are great if you throw them away after about 150 to 200k, otherwise they start costing us a lot of money. The diesels (Ford or Chev) usually cost us zip other than expensive oil changes prior to 250k. I mean nothing, no breaks at all other than normal wear parts (tires, brakes, oil changes, filters). So for fleet use we buy gas for the light duty site trucks and foremen's trucks, diesels for tow rigs, flatbed lumber haulers, and the highest mileage users (me, my Dad, a couple of our project managers who are on the road all the time). That's how it's worked out for our company, at least.
Dunno, diesel is the gift that keeps on taking...
All I hear is people ********** and moan of the cost keeping those things running.
So you made it all the way over here to preach your anti-diesel philosophy? Man, you're dedicated...
OP, if your looking for simplicity and reliability, I've heard fairly good reports on the 2004-2007 5.9L Dodge Cummins (with 6 speed manual)...I've been seriously considering one for my own uses.
The cost analysis of owning a diesel kind of varies by person. If you pick a problem engine to begin with (some of the early Ford engines) than yeah you'll have a lot of maintenance costs. From what I understand, the 5.9L cummins stands out because it doesn't have as much of the complicated emissions equipment, and from DIY perspective, it seems to be an easier engine to live with. I'm sure there are other engines/brands out there with a similar reputation.
Last edited:
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
Dunno, diesel is the gift that keeps on taking...
All I hear is people ********** and moan of the cost keeping those things running.
All I hear is jealousy. My fuel bill would be double what it is now with the current gas powered options. I also have bumper to bumper warranty for 7/100,000 so costs are $0. My diesel fuel filters cost a little more, and I use a few more quarts of oil per change, but that is a small price to pay a couple of times per year when compared to filling up twice as often ALL year.