Who's building the best 3/4 Ton/ 1 Ton Gas Truck these days!

[1000arms]

I've read that Ford has developed a 6.8 L gas engine to replace the aging 6.2 L. I've been told it should be available on trucks this year. However, it is still not showing on the "Build It" function on Ford's website.

The new Ford 6.8 L gas engine is a milder version of the 7.3 L gas Godzilla engine. It is "available" as the standard engine on the 2023 F-250/F-350 pickup trucks with XL trim. It is mated to a different transmission than the Godzilla-engines/diesel-engines use. Trying to select the Godzilla engine (at the F-350 XL trim) seems to require a very high priced option, but jump up to the XLT trim and the Godzilla engine is the standard engine. The 6.8 L isn't an option.

I think Ford should have used the Godzilla engine as the base engine on all the Super Duties (or continued to offer the 6.2 L gas), with the diesel engines being options, as well as adding the Megazilla gas engine as an option.

"However, the two differ in a number of other ways, as the Ford Megazilla utilizes beefier internals including Callies forged H-beam connecting rods, forged Mahle pistons, a VCT delete, a 92mm throttle body taken from the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, and Ford Performance’s low-profile intake manifold and CNC-machined cylinder heads, while the revised V8 touts a 10.5:1 compression ratio. The result is a big boost in output, from the Godzilla’s ratings of 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque to 615 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque." is from:

https://fordauthority.com/2022/12/ford-megazilla-7-3l-crate-engine-officially-revealed/

 

[rruff]

The cruise set to 80mph on 35s it gets 11mpg which is what our Tundra got on 32s.

Two long trips last year, mine got >17.5 mpg both times (with 35x13 ATs and 2" lift), 75-80mph on the freeway and winding mountain road. Definitely no wind advantage. Weird that it varies so much.

 

[tacollie]

Two long trips last year, mine got >17.5 mpg both times (with 35x13 ATs and 2" lift), 75-80mph on the freeway and winding mountain road. Definitely no wind advantage. Weird that it varies so much.

My Tundra with stock size highway tires doing 75 would see 16mpgs. That's in Colorado so there's not a lot of oxygen and lots of hills. It didn't take a huge hit stepping up to the 32.5 ATs. The FWC took it down to the 11-12 range. I have two buddies with Tundras and stock size tires with FWCs. 12 mpgs is about as good as they get. Stock size tires the F250 was getting 14-15 on the highway. 35s and FWC 11-12.

 

[TexasSixSeven]

Two long trips last year, mine got >17.5 mpg both times (with 35x13 ATs and 2" lift), 75-80mph on the freeway and winding mountain road. Definitely no wind advantage. Weird that it varies so much.

I typically drive 65-80K miles in a Tundra every year. In my 3rd Tundra now. I couldn’t achieve 17.5mpg if I was idling going down the highway on a flatbed. Im somewhere around 12.8-13 mpg all time, and all 3 trucks have been the same. My fleet card tracks my fuel mileage for the life of the truck and I get a report on it each month. If it’s all highway and I stay at the speed limit I can see 14, but not much over that.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

They are all close enough at this point, its all personal preference...

Go drive them all and see which one fits YOU best..

My current truck is my first American vehicle ever, so i had no bias when searching.

i Drove them all in the same day to help me decide.

Ram was CONSIDERABLY quieter in regards to road noise and MUCH better seats than the Ford variant. (NOTE: Both seats were more comfy than the Tundra bricks)

I also HATED the interior of the Ford and it felt like high schoolers tried to design a video console. Personal preference thing

Specs on paper are one thing, ACTUALLY driving something and spending time in it is the only way to make a good sound decision youll be happy with.

My .02

 

[skrypj]

I do like that the Ram crew cab is 149" wheelbase vs 160" for the Superduty.

 

[nickw]

Currently in 3/4 ton, I believe the Chevy/GMC has the largest payload which is important with a truck camper. I'm open to correction on that. I recently purchased a 2022 Chevy 2500HD LT Z-71 gasser and really like it for the most part. Highway ride is good for a 3/4 ton. It did pretty well rough roading it during hunting season. Mileage has been decent for what it is. Getting around 12.5 to 13 around town and have hit over 15 mpg on the highway. Towing our camper dropped things to the 8 - 9 range, but that is terrain dependent. The engine has a lot of power and develops torque at a much lower rpm than the 6.0L it replaced. Huge difference from the 2013 Silverado 2500 I traded in.

It is my daily driver, solo camping (still waiting on topper), hunting and tow vehicle. It's ideal as the last one of those, but a compromise for the rest. I have a double cab, "short" bed and it is still a lot of vehicle to park around town. I was trying to keep mine with as few frills as possible, but wish it had the all over camera package because visibility over that hood is not good and makes a difference off road. Build quality is good so far, very solid other than the mirrors which shake like they're going to fall off when you shut the doors.

I haven't owned a Ford 3/4 ton to compare it to, and haven't owned a Dodge 2500 since my 2011 Diesel which was great for towing, but much rougher riding and not awesome off road due to the diesel weight up front.

Can you do me a favor and measure the height of the tailgate in the down position from the ground? I'd really appreciate it!

 

[Trixxx]

Yeah Diesel is out for me no matter how many miles, not dealing with the diesel repairs and loss of payload. 50K would be a pretty busy travel year, 20K is more normal, I mean a trip to Alaska and back and you are over halfway there, couple of trips to the Keys and a couple of trips up the eastern seaboard and your are over 20K, so thats where I kinda ballpark the 20-50K. I currently put about 20K a year on my current truck and I don't have a daily commute so most of that is travel and trips around town etc.

I find Fords extended bumper to bumper warranty’s to be reasonable on their diesel super duty’s, If unexpected costs are a concern. I have a 2020 6.7 F250 and purchased the bumper to bumper 7 yr/125k warranty through ford.

I understand you had payload concerns as well, which likely negates the above. Just wanted to toss it out there.

 

[UglyViking]

I do like that the Ram crew cab is 149" wheelbase vs 160" for the Superduty.

This was one of the driving factors for me. The SD turning radius is something like 27.5' vs the Ram at under 24' when you compare CCSB trucks. Just shy of 4 foot turning radius, or 8' for a circle, is a pretty serious difference. F150 with the short bed is the same as the Ram 2500, The GM and Ram 1500 fair about 0.5-1' better in their shortbed config than the Ram 2500, but even the new Tundra is over 24'! When you're talking daily driving and off-roading that can be a pretty big difference.

You have to go down to a ranger/tundra/colorado to get down to about 20'. So the Ram really slots in well with the 1500 size trucks, but you get all the extra payload and solid axle. For me, that makes it about as good a balance as I'll get.

 

[BikePilot]

For me it would come down to the Ford or Ram 3500. Both have solid axles and will fit 37s with little or no work.

For the body/chassis I think the Ram handles a little better, the Ford had better visibility. Ram has shorter wheelbase options, Ram has the Megacab. Personally since I tote a family of 5 around the Megacab is awesome and made the choice easy. I also wanted diesel and prefer the simplicity and ease of service of the Cummins.

In terms of transmission both are excellent and I'd give a slight nod to the ZF8 in the ram for shift quality.

For motor again both are good, but I like the torque of the Ford better and suspect it'll be more reliable on average. I'd be fine with either though. Both feel weak compared to their diesel counterparts. 30+ psi of boost is an amazing thing, especially where I live (high altitude).

In Ram land id stick with the 3500 as the leaf springs are more stable with a trailer and easier to make really perform well. For the Ford it doesn't make a huge difference whether you go for the 250 or 350.

 

[Hummelator]

I can't attest to the best but I can attest to the worst. I have a 2020 gmc sierra 3500 6.6 gasser and have had tons of problems. Still less than 100,000 Km.
Brakes have squeeled since new, had the bolts on the passenger side exhaust manifold broke off, some sort of solenoid in the tranny had to be replaced, constantly have issues with the infotainment unit not responding to commands, and the rear tail lamp day time running light went- but it's a built in LED so you have to replace the whole assembly.

Hoping to get a ram when the lease is up ( never thought I'd say that)

 

[phsycle]

I have kids so backseat space is a major consideration. Flat floor is nice for storage as well. I much prefer the Ford Supercrew back seat to Ram’s.

I like the pick and choose options on the Ford as well.

 

[Todd780]

I do like that the Ram crew cab is 149" wheelbase vs 160" for the Superduty.

Really it's just 149"? Wow. I'm at 157" for my F150, lol Guessing it's the smaller cab in the Ram?

 

[TGK]

The F150 CrewCab wheelbase is 145" with the 5.5ft bed and 156.8" with the 6.5ft bed.

 

[GeorgeHayduke]

The nominally "6.5 ft" beds are actually pretty different on Ram and Ford HD platforms. Ram's is 76" and Ford's is 80". Cab's are quite different too, front/rear legroom is 40.9"/40.2" in Ram while Ford is 43.9"/43.6". The HD Ram platform really is noticeably more compact and agile than Ford's, which may or may not be best for your use case/family size.