If you could get the package on a 3500 with a Cummins it would be sitting in my driveway right now.
This is what I have been saying for years, the Tremor comes the closest to providing that.
If Ford 3/4 ton is not an option, a Ram is the natural choice. Maybe even the first choice. Who knows. Although that 7.3L Ford……I wouldn’t mind that.
Me personally, I’d probably push the wife into an F250 Tremor with 7.3.
But if you’re more about full-size rock crawling, PW is where it’s at.
I agree, after owning four Super Duty's, a PW and now a 3500 CTD 4x4 I agree that the Tremor is probably the best option for an all around truck, at least in my eyes and for my needs.
I almost bought a Tradesman with pw option but in the end the pw made more sense for me. If you try and look up the blue book on a used tradesman you will find they don't list the PW option so you will get screwed down the road if you trade vehicles often. The lights on the PW are light years ahead of the tradesman. Seats are better and powered and heated and I know it is cheesy but the dash and steering wheel are much nicer. The one thing the tradesman wins hands down is front grill is way better looking. I was going back and forth between these two at the time..
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The Tradesman grille is the best but I like the PW grille as well, I am just pissed that mine is chrome, I need to replace it with the all black like above or with the white painted parts. My high optioned (Tradesman with Bighorn trim) Tradesman came with the halogen headlights and they are indeed crap so I replaced them with the OEM halo LED's like on yours. I have $1000 in them purchasing them new discounted online and then I got $400 for the halogen units so for $600 I upgraded which is pretty good. Granted, I had to purchase AlfaOBD to reprogram the ECU for the lights but I needed it for a few other items as well so it's a wash in my eyes.
OP, I've owned a PW and I loved a lot of things about it, the interior design, the off-road bits and the ride quality to name a few. The 6.4L is a good motor, reliable, a bit "ticky" but good, just don't expect to get good gas mileage. Towing is fine so long as it's 6k-ish or less and you'll benefit from adding air bags and the Daystar buckets out back. Add a Thuren sway bar and front coils, Dethloff engine/tranny skid plate, some 35's or 37's and sliders or Amp Research steps and you'll have one hell of a truck. Now, if you want to tow like a 3/4-ton truck should then you're looking at the wrong truck, seriously consider a standard 2500/3500 4x4 or a Ford Tremor.
In the last decade I've had four Super Duties, all with the 6.7L Powerstroke Diesel, a PW and now a 3500 4x4 with the Cummins. Even though RAM has the most updated design to their cab in regards to the interior, I still prefer the interior and overall cab layout/design of the Ford. Ford has more room and a better rear under seat storage design. The RAM 2500 will ride a lot better with its rear coils but they also impede your payload and squat when towing heavy. I prefer the Cummins over the Powerstroke but that doesn't factor here and I see no difference in terms of overall customer service and dealerships between the two but there are always stand outs on both ends of that spectrum. Your money still goes slightly further with a RAM but know that it's completely built in Mexico, that bothers me to a degree, YMMV.
At the end of the day I don't think that a late model from either of the manufacturers is really better than the other because they both have their pros and cons, but I still lean slightly towards Ford overall and that's coming from a current RAM owner. Your issues with your Ford's are unfortunate but they don't factor into the 3/4-ton trucks so I wouldn't let that sway you away from the brand when considering a new truck. Best of luck with your decision, it's not an easy one but in the end you really can't go wrong either way.
