Ford F550 vs. Ram 5500

[Buliwyf]

almost everything about the Ram is clearly better than the ford, before you jump all over me go to the dealership with your creeper and look under both trucks. Then drive both.

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What did you see under there on the Dodge that you liked better?

 

[Rockhard426]

Everything , the top 2 you will see are the bottom end of a Cummins and maybe the Aisin Tranny !

 

[GCecchetto]

No, Dodge shouts Cummins because it is probably the best Diesel engine used in the light truck segment, and has been for 25 years. Dodge is at least smart enough to stick with a good thing. Ford has gone from 7.3 to 6.0 (great move!) to 6.4 to 6.7.

I also don't see how embarking on a swap is going to SAVE money? Maybe if you are a diesel tech, but not for the average guy.

I totally agree here! The Cummins rules, it's as reliable as a diesel can be, and is prolific in the world market. Ford diesels are CRAP, and it is foolish to argue any to the contrary. The best diesel they had was the 7.3, but you still had to carry a spare cam position sensor with you and keep a close eye on the exterior oil line to make sure the fittings stay tight or they will pump the engine oil out on the ground. I work for a large contractor and we used to buy fords exclusively. I drove them every day for many years and was left stranded on the side of the road way too many times when the 7.3 pumped all it's oil out on the ground. Our mechanic put his foot down and we now have no fords in our fleet. It's a night and day difference. We always had at least one ford in the shop, now all of our trucks stay on the road. Ford didn't move on from the 6.0 and 6.4 train wrecks after only a few years of service because they were great motors, they were unreliable crap plain and simple.

I will give ford the credit for good interior design, but I have worked out of them and owned them and have been screwed by ford so many times that I would have to fall out of the dumb tree and hit every branch on the way down to buy another. I'll stick with my Cummins powered Ram thanks.

Buy the way, a local, and large towing company, switched their entire fleet from super duties to Ram 5500's back when the 5500's first came out. I know the owner and when talking to him about the switch one day he told me he couldn't believe how much money he was saving not having to constantly repair the fords anymore.

I know this is bound to piss off the ford fans, but hopefully we can all agree to disagree and not turn this into a flame fest.

For what it's worth, we now buy Chevy's at work and the Duramax/Alison combo has been pretty good. You would have to go up to Chey's/GM's 4500 platform, which is a very nice truck, but maybe a bit large.

 

[deminimis]

Old thread, but same boat. Many of the issues that plagued both makes, from crap tie rods and trannies, to crappy engines, has been addressed. Ive been shopping the hell out of them. Some nice Dodge features are the Cummins, trans, bigger tank, bigger dual tanks, bigger dual alts, and nothing above the frame. Ford gets the Super 60 front, and a good, reliable, powerplant and drivetrain. The Ram's interior feels cheaper (can't explain it) and Ford's feels more robust. Upfits (PTO goodies, for example) goes to Ford. At this point, I think they are closely matched (I can't give the nod to either). Doesn't help you, but for the life of me, I can not decide (for me, it's not a vanilla vs chocolate issue, but more like a chocolate with pecan sprinkles vs almond sprinkles deal). I'd say it comes down to availability of parts and service for you in Europe. If only GM made a 5500 with a pickup sized chassis, well, I wouldn't be having this problem. Anyway, let us know how it goes.

 

[nick disjunkt]

I think you'd be mad to get an American truck as the basis for an expedition truck when you are situated in Europe. You have a host of vehicles perfectly suited to world travel that are made on your doorstep.

The Mercedes Vario and Atego 4x4 vehicles come in the right load capacity and are pretty common even in 4x4 configuration here. Mercedes now also sell a 6.5 tonne (14,330lb) 4x4 version of the Mitsubishi fuso which might work for you.

If you want a heavy truck with 4x4 and a cummins engine, the ex british army DAF trucks will be no harder to get parts for than the Dodge truck and are pretty cheap with low miles on them.

 

[Buliwyf]

I totally agree here! The Cummins rules, it's as reliable as a diesel can be.

No it's not. The B series was more reliable. Cummins can build far better engines than what's in the Dodge. As can John Deere, Volvo, DDC, Merc, etc. etc. etc. There is nothing special about the newest Dodge Cummins mills except for the giant C stickers on the window. It's just a plain jane I6 diesel. Nothing really spectacular. Ours fail as often as anything else. Gas engines are more reliable now. Hopefully the newest Fords can turn things around. Pretty sad days in diesel land lately.

I swear, if Ford or GM offered a John Deere badged engine, just the badge, not the engine, and a Carhart label on the seats, half this forum would show up at the dealers showroom naked.

I should make a giant golden C statue and open up a church. I'd be a millionaire by months end.

 

[Darwin]

I can't speak to the newest 6.7 Cummins, but the B series 5.9 inline six Cummins has a proven track record. I also prefer 6 cylinders over the v8, 2 less pistons, 2 less injectors, no glow plugs, they are easier to to work on, and provide great low end torque. If you want a manual, you only have one option among the big 3.

I don't think the "C" stickers on the back are an available option, however their are a lot of loyal owners, many who previously owned the Ford with the 6.oh motor. Another thing to note, the Fords and the diesel motors stuffed in them have provided a lot of revenue for companies like Destroked to exist, not many people want to swap a 460 gas motor for a powerstrokes.

 

[colodak]

While I'm naturally biased towards Dodge, I would suggest the OP look at the Earthroamer trucks, they are 90% built on a Ford F-550 chassis cab configuration, that starts life as a dually, and is converted to a single rear wheel, using 37" tires on beadlocks. Yes, the price of a built ER is 6 low to mid 6 figures (US pricing), but that will give him an idea.

 

[deminimis]

Not sure what the OP did, but made my choice. After weeks of studying, comparing, flipping and flopping, I ordered a Ram 5500 Laramie. New Ford CCs are not getting the upgrades the Ford pickups got. That was key. Other points that swayed me were higher amps (either single or dual configs), larger fuel tanks (either single or dual configs), higher psi frame. Another point is CCs are detuned. In Ford's case, in addition to programming, the CCs now have a different turbo, injectors, heads, and trans tweaks than their more powerful pickup brethren (no Gen II upgrades). Ram's detune is programming only. That's a big benefit if shopping for aftermarket tunes down the road. Ram has a little more oomph out of the box as well. No manual exhaust brake with Ford CCs either. Being a GM and Ford guy, this was no easy decision, but 2015 Ram CCs came out a little better when adding it all up. If only GM made a 5500 w/ a pickup sized cab, this would have been quick and easy.

 

[Darwin]

I think you are going to really like the Ram with Cummins motor. Did you get an auto or manual transmission?

 

[deminimis]

I went with the auto for several reasons, including, but not limited to, the wife saying she would not drive the rig if it had a manual (she is responsible to fetching hay for her horses, and doing associated horse nonsense, jobs I do not wish to undertake). Going with a Bradford built 134" FB and custom boxes underneath. Can't design the upper boxes until the rig actually arrives and I've either modded the FB or the camper, or both, for the camper to rest 10.5'-11' of it's 12' length on top of the FB. The front boxes are already built and should be big enough to house a QD generator should I ever choose to go that route (would be much nicer than replying on the LP genny we have in the camper).

 

[Buliwyf]

Not sure what the OP did, but made my choice. After weeks of studying, comparing, flipping and flopping, I ordered a Ram 5500 Laramie. New Ford CCs are not getting the upgrades the Ford pickups got. That was key. Other points that swayed me were higher amps (either single or dual configs), larger fuel tanks (either single or dual configs), higher psi frame. Another point is CCs are detuned. In Ford's case, in addition to programming, the CCs now have a different turbo, injectors, heads, and trans tweaks than their more powerful pickup brethren (no Gen II upgrades). Ram's detune is programming only. That's a big benefit if shopping for aftermarket tunes down the road. Ram has a little more oomph out of the box as well. No manual exhaust brake with Ford CCs either. Being a GM and Ford guy, this was no easy decision, but 2015 Ram CCs came out a little better when adding it all up. If only GM made a 5500 w/ a pickup sized cab, this would have been quick and easy.

I think you'll like the Dodge better than the GM's. Maybe not enough to go out and get a giant C tattoo or anything, but it's a step up IMO.

We had a few 5500 regular cab flat bed GM's. They were bare bones and no fun to drive. Tiny fuel tank as well. Akron to Toledo was 2 tanks of fuel usually! Maybe GM stopped making them because they did so bad on earlier models and chased everyone away?

The de-tuning is just so you can flog the trucks harder, for longer periods of time. To be honest, I'd rather buy a de-tuned F350 diesel than a regular joe version if I was in the market for a new diesel. Less power maybe, but it still works fine, and should be more reliable. I wouldn't reprogram your Dodge. It has plenty of power. It's not like they're de-tuning them down to Uhaul levels or anything!

 

[deminimis]

Although many folks will state the detune is for longevity, and that may play a roll, the Class 5 are also detuned to meet higher emissions standards (as I understand it, CARB and/or EPA concerns involve, in no small part, the length of idle time Class 5s are likely to experience, as opposed to pickups, due to PTO equip, etc.). http://epa.gov/oms/hd-hwy.htm As it applies to vehicles with a GVWR above 14k, Ford gets away with the much more powerful F-450 pickup (it's GVWR is 14k and that was a close, very close #2 in my quest). However, the F450 cab chassis gets the detuned power plant (higher GVWR). I've driven the '15 5500 and it does fine, but the throttle response is underwhelming (and that was with a bare cab chassis). A tune would be welcomed, but not at the expense of my warranty, so it's definitely a down the road kind of deal, if ever.

If referring to the Former Kodiak/Topkick. Yes, not a road friendly vehicle. Small tank, horrible ride, horrible mileage a chain driven transfer case all packaged in a beastly size. However, if GM would make a new pickup sized chassis 5500 (like Ford and Ram so smartly do), and put in the required effort, I'm sure it would be great (they, like Ford, would probably still make the fuel tank too damn small though).

 

[Buliwyf]

Interesting. Thanks.

 

[deminimis]

You bet. Yea, it's no coincidence that Ford rated the F450 pickup at 14,000. I sure would like to know what it really could handle. I bet it's all of 16,000, but who knows? It's a unique frame in Ford's '15 line up, so nothing to compare it to. I had my Ford F-450 Lariat pickup build all spec'd out and ready to go (had determined the Ford chassis cab was not a good fit as I still had concerns about the turbo, lack of manual exhaust brake, injectors, etc -all things addressed with the pickup Gen II upgrade for '15 (other than the too often regen issue that some '15 owners are currently experiencing, but will likely get fixed with a Ford reflash in the not so distant future)). I lamented all last weekend over this. We really need a flatbed, so given the additional weight of a flatbed over a stock pickup bed, I determined we would have eaten up too must of the listed GVWR of the F450 pickup. It stands to reason that Ford built in plenty of fudge room with what I suspect is a very low GVWR rating, but just how much would be nothing more than a guess on my part (and they aren't talking). So that's how I ended up where I'm at. The OP asked about Ford vs Ram cab chassis rigs. For that question, it became obvious me for (Ram). The real hard question for me was F-450 pickup vs Ram cab chassis. They priced out within $500 of each other (Lariat vs Laramie). Of course, there will be another $4k on top of that for a flatbed if going the cab chassis Ram route. Man oh man, did I eat up the hours researching this one.