Ok, Again I'm sick to death of Dodge, and they again can kiss my ass. I've got a '98 Dodge 3500 with a Cummins 24v diesel, and a 5 speed manual transmission. Right now I pull a 24 foot enclosed car trailer all over the USA, and this thing's been nothing better than a pain in my ass. At only 92,000 miles, the Cummins took a shit in Detroit and was out of service for 3 weeks there. Thank God that was under warranty, 'cause the bill that Cummins sent to Dodge was over $18,000 !! That included an entire engine, turbo, and bunch of misc little stuff. Two weeks agao at 107,000 miles, the Transmission shelled out on me on the Ohio turnpike and held me there for an extra week that I didn't plan on.
I could'a swore these were supposed to be workhorses..........
WTF ?? I need a REAL truck that get's down the highway consistantly.
What's the best truck out there for Pulling power and mileage ??
If you aren't happy with dodge I would not even flinch to get a Ford F350 supercrew with the powerstroke. 03's are incentivised to hell right now, get one before they're gone, the new model while nice is only availiable in 1/2 ton spec right now.
While the new cummings is marginally better than the powerstroke I'm pissed enought at DC right now I wouldn't buy one.
If you got the dough a F550 supercrewzer would be the best.
Everybody I know who as moved to one says to go with the Chevy Duramax with that kickass Allison tranny. They say its the best tranny they've ever towed with and the Duramax keeps on truckin.
This is from folks who have gone from Fords to Dodges to you name it, and many feel the Chevy is the best for towing now.
I like my Chevy. In fact, I just bought a new one. Traded in the 2000 for a 2003. Duramax with Allison 5 speed transmission. Mine's a 4wd 4 door 3/4 tom short bed. I tow all kinds of things but the heaviest trailer is a 28' enclosed race trailer. With the Viper, tools, 4-wheeler, generator, etc., I guess it weighs around 10,000 lbs loaded and it tows that with no problem at all.
I can tell you that they have all gone to a common rail injection system that Chevy's Duramax introduced with their Bosch system. It's quiet compared to the old system. Also, the Allison transmission is hell for stout.
Sorry about the troubles you've had with your Dodge.
our 97 cummings has took a big hit in fuel economy after 70K miles and is down bigtime on power. I hope all it needs is injectors because it is just flat out ass.
One bad thing about common rail injection is the price of the injectors when they have to be replaced. Thay are all like that now though so it's not just a Chevy thing. BTW, the Chevy rides noticeably better than the Dodge and the Ford. (especially when you aren't towing)
our truck has been pretty trouble free especially considering I used to pound on it during the first year I had my licence [img]/images/graemlins/supergrin.gif[/img] But now it's just so blah and starting to show it's age. No way in hell my dad will get a new one tho. There is about a 20K price difference for a new 1 ton diesel now and what we paid for ours back in 97.
Being a true Viper Fanatic, I had to get the first year of the Dodge Quad Cab with the V10........GAS.
That diesel is a $6-7,000 option, and although you get better mpg, that extra cash buys alot of fuel.
The break even point is 100,000 miles, at that time the diesel engine has paid off itself, so at that point, you can start bragging about the better economy.
I'm perfectly happy with my 4x4 Viper, and the 10-11 mpg it gets.....I'll be driving 800 miles round trip from Seattle to the Oregon Dunes with ATV's here soon, all while carrying a 5,000 pound truck camper and towing a 4,000 pound trailer......for those slow on math, that makes me 15,500 pounds rolling down the road. Mileage will drop to about 7 mpg, but so what, I also don't go deaf driving a school bus loud diesel, and stink up the freeways with black smoke either.
Unloaded the 6500 pound truck can do 0-40 in 4 seconds. Not to shabby for a daily driver.
JH, I have been left out to dry with Chrysler before unfortunately. I have an Acura and the car is bulletproof; so I went with a Toyota Tundra. I don't know if 7500 lbs is what you need, but that is what it will pull. I bought it for reliability, and more importantly its ability to resist rust...tough winters up here with the salt on the roads. I know these trucks are tough as nails and won't let you down. The big 3 just seem to rust something fierce...
Mojo, went with the 1500 eh? I would say good move.
Hey Craig, what kind of weight are we talkin' about? I only have 4000 lbs grace on the Tundra. Wouldn't that be this type of trailer? I want to get one soon.
