Ford f550 vs Dodge 5500 for expedition vehicle
- Thread starter dfs9
- Start date
2025 deleted member
Well-known member
It would be if a camper hangs over a cab, if not they have cab removal down to an art these days.
workerdrone
Part time fulltimer
Our 6.0 liter Powerstroke F550 DRW with utility body and heavy Bigfoot camper and 4.88's, probably about 13k or so, got 11-14mpg, more like 16 if kept at an aerodynamic sweet spot of 45mph. One year of testing fully loaded 
Downhill mileage is infinite - the motor shuts off the fuel completely. And often you don't get the best mileage babying it - with the camper off I'd get 18mpg by flooring it up hills or on the level up to a good speed, then coasting down hills or down a bunch of mph, then flooring it again. If anyone's on your *** you'd drive them bonkers, but it switches between coasting in gear (no fuel used), and almost 100% load, at which diesels are very efficient.
And yes they removed the cab to do the bulletproofing job on the motor. Only takes a few hours I guess.
Downhill mileage is infinite - the motor shuts off the fuel completely. And often you don't get the best mileage babying it - with the camper off I'd get 18mpg by flooring it up hills or on the level up to a good speed, then coasting down hills or down a bunch of mph, then flooring it again. If anyone's on your *** you'd drive them bonkers, but it switches between coasting in gear (no fuel used), and almost 100% load, at which diesels are very efficient.And yes they removed the cab to do the bulletproofing job on the motor. Only takes a few hours I guess.
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vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
I understand your intention to keep the vehicle for 150,000+ miles HOWEVER life can get in the way of the best laid plans therefore RESALE value of this rig still needs to be a big consideration when equipping and ordering this truck given the amount of money you will be SPENDING (Not Investing) in and on this vehicle.
Any 4500/450 or 5500/550 truck with a GAS engine will be worth LESS THAN HALF of the exact same diesel powered equivalent truck on the used truck market rigged as an expedition vehicle or not. Folks buying the "Heavy Trucks" especially USED 4500/450/5500/550 heavy trucks want that diesel engine and rarely if ever will they settle for a gas engine truck. Rigged as an expedition vehicle your "Heavy" expedition truck just might be un-sellable at anything more than a "give away" price due to your choice of a gas engine when you ordered, purchased and built this truck.
Yes you will "Pay Up" on the front-end for that diesel engine and be rewarded on the back end when it comes time to sell your truck. And there will be a time that the truck is sold whether it is you doing the selling or your heirs!!!
Any 4500/450 or 5500/550 truck with a GAS engine will be worth LESS THAN HALF of the exact same diesel powered equivalent truck on the used truck market rigged as an expedition vehicle or not. Folks buying the "Heavy Trucks" especially USED 4500/450/5500/550 heavy trucks want that diesel engine and rarely if ever will they settle for a gas engine truck. Rigged as an expedition vehicle your "Heavy" expedition truck just might be un-sellable at anything more than a "give away" price due to your choice of a gas engine when you ordered, purchased and built this truck.
Yes you will "Pay Up" on the front-end for that diesel engine and be rewarded on the back end when it comes time to sell your truck. And there will be a time that the truck is sold whether it is you doing the selling or your heirs!!!
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NevadaLover
Forking Icehole
Good lord man, even a 6.4 PSD would be better than a stinking, banging, rattling, smoking dinosaur 12V! Yuck....
And EVERYONE in earshot would know!
Explorerinil
Observer
It's not cheap if it's out of warranty. The place I work has a fleet of ford only vehicles due to them being cheap on bid process. Overall we have had allot of problems with the explorer and it's internal water pump. The gas trucks have been flawless, diesel trucks have had egr issues and emissions issues. After talking to the fleet mechanic, he told me that he hates the new ford 6.7, it's very complicated and no room to work on anything. He also said he really misses the old dodge Cummins trucks he had. He wants them to stop buying the heavy duty ford trucks with diesels and wants them to start buying gassers.
On a side note, I owned 1 gmc duramax and it was in the shop 9 times in 6 months with an electrical problem that was “incurable “, I now have had 7 ram trucks with no problems other than one needed a set of ball joints.
Explorerinil
Observer
At lest it would run, and be easy to work on.
Plenty of owner feedback and even a TFL review show an empty 6.7l Cummins Ram 2500 getting +20mpg on the highway. Driving style and gearing plays a part in that, but also I think the Cummins has been known for being a bit more efficient than the comparable diesel V8's.
I don't know how much heavier the 5500 version is, but I'm sure its DRW setup will decrease fuel efficiency relative to the SRW setup.
It is an issue in the sense that every time you need to do major repairs or servicing, you have to take your truck into a dealership or repair shop for cab removal (unless you have a friend with a vehicle lift). Personally, I think the whole cab removal issue for F-250/350/550's is a stupid, and greedy, move on Ford's part. It certainly adds cost and complexity to certain procedures which would otherwise be fairly easy to accomplish.
2025 deleted member
Well-known member
I've owned 2 new 6.7 cummins, 18 was the highest I sqeaked out with 3.73 gears. Pretty sure 5500's only come with 4.88 gears, he will be lucky to get 12mpg. I agree the cab removal deal is ridiculous, but the new Fords require cab removal less than the 6.4's did. More parts are accessible now.
workerdrone
Part time fulltimer
6.6 Duramax 2500 SRW 4x4 with 3.73's and a topper, up to 25-27mpg highway cross country. And that's not hypermiling or really trying, just set cruise control all day long. 16-18mpg towing 5-8k back across the country and with a loaded bed too. Put 12,000mi on that truck in a few weeks with two cross country trips to fetch trailers.
Not very impressive for the Cummins then?
Not very impressive for the Cummins then?
25-27 MPG without hypermiling or trying? That's quite the lofty claim.
workerdrone
Part time fulltimer
Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't owned the truck. Just max tire pressure, fresh synthetic fluids, high gearing and an aerodynamic topper. Set cruise at 70-75, drive all day; diesels like long trips though too.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...3-GMC-4wd-Duramax-Allison-Locker-114k-New-pix
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...3-GMC-4wd-Duramax-Allison-Locker-114k-New-pix
That's the thing about the internet: everyone's truck gets +8mpg higher than the rated average...