Replacing truck, which way to go ?
 

Back story; I (well actually my daughter) has a 2006 Ford F350 supercab, 6.0l diesel dually. It currently has 222000 miles on it. In the past 1.5 years it has undergone 15000 in repair bills. It is her DD and she puts about 20k miles on it a year. She hauls her horses to competitions and drives it from Virginia to Florida for the winter ( I know lucky girl, right ? )

I am seriously considering replacing the truck due to the costs associated, and its probable life expectancy.

I am looking at a 2010 Dodge crewcab 2500 series with a 5.7l hemi. It has 68k miles The price is great. But... The biggest concerns I have are;
Do I stick with a diesel
Should I stick to duallys

She has a 2 horse gooseneck trailer with tack room, So it is not likely that she will max out the towing capacity. The plan is for it to last for 5 years.

Can you fellows help a brother out ?

My father in law has a similar year Dodge diesel dually 1-ton. He's at about 100k and has had to address damn near everything except for the Cummins diesel. I don't think that generation of Dodge is a very solid truck, because I've heard similar feedback from others. I think there's a reason why Dodges tend to be less money than Ford and GM.

I think the motor on that is good. But isn't that the years that have all these issues, i.e. with steering, where they are buying back vehicles?

15k of work on the Ford? Did it have engine issues?

Why not buy a new truck? In 5 years you will add 100k miles to a used rig and drive another truck into the ground. If you buy new, you get 10 years out of it and 3 years of warranty, easily extended to 100k/7 years, or in the case of your daughter 5 years.

A new dodge 3/4 ton will be a much better bet. So will any other one of the big 3.

Just my two cents.

G

The 6.0 diesel is a ticking time bomb. They have an issue with the cam and needle bearings where shrapnel is spread throughout the engine, necessitating a tear down.

Has happened twice to my brother. Don't know about the diesel 6.4 and newer 6.7. My recommendation is for her to back date to a 7.3.

DO NOT BUY THE DODGE.

We have a crew-cab 1-ton diesel (non-dually) which we bought brand new and it is the biggest POS we have ever owned--I am hoping that it is on the Fiat/Chrysler buy-back list as we have dumped thousands into it (not counting the recall and warranty work) and it is still garbage.

Go with a Ford or GM

The problem I see, is not so much which truck you buy but what motor it has in it. I have a 7.3 L diesel Ford and love it, i'm half afraid of upgrading to a 6.0L ford diesel, due to all the issues I have heard happening to them, and can't afford a Cummins.

I think with having a 4000 lb gooseneck trailer loaded with two 1200 lb horses, and another 1000 lbs of tack and feed, that 2010 Hemi will wheeze pulling long grades through the mountains, and get horrible fuel mileage while doing it.

I have heard of many quality issues with the older Dodges, and would really rather stay with Ford, I just can't bring myself to reccomend a Chevy Duramax, but you see alot of them going down the road pulling trailers.

I wish I could afford a new truck, but that is out of the question. As far as getting a good price, my BIL is a used truck dealer who buys a lot in Canada. The particular Dodge I am looking at he will sell me for 6k-8k less than I would find at a dealership. Maybe I will go to the auctions with him and "cherry pick" what I want.
My current ford was great for 3.5 years and then it started with the "issues" typical for the 6.0L. Turbos, EGR's, injectors, oil tubes, EGR & oil coolers....and the list goes on and on.

Since my daughter will have this truck in Virginia & Florida...and points in between, I want the right truck so that I don't have to worry every time she is hauling to a competition or is moving some of the big $$ horses that she trains.

A diesel will always be more expensive to maintain, and fuel cost is higher, but you cant beat the torque.

I am also starting to "used truck" shop and find myself in a similar position. I have an early '98 Dodge 2500 w/the 12-valve Cummins & about 160k miles. There is nothing wrong with the truck, but I find myself wishing it had 4 real doors and (as much as I hate to admit) for it to be a little quieter & more comfortable rolling down the highway. I use it as a truck/plow around home & to haul my car to the track w/a pretty big bumper-pull enclosed trailer.

I'm looking at 2011 & newer Ford F250s & Ram 2500s and not finding much that's interesting below the low $30Ks. I probably need to adjust my budget & expectations, but that seems like a lot of dough for a used truck...

My local Ford dealer has a 2013 F250 w/the 6.2L V-8 gas engine that I test drove and it didn't seem to make any more power than my '98. It actually felt like a dog... the sales guy said the gas motor had more than enough power & torque to pull my big trailer, but I'm not so convinced. Looking at the actual numbers, the same-year diesel has close to double the torque... and there are actual mountains out here that I have to drive up & down to get anywhere. Even though you pay a premium for it, the diesel seem like the way to go if you're actually towing anything of consequence.

I hate to fix what isn't broken, as my '98 runs great and hasn't caused me any major problems yet. I guess it's free to dream about a new truck, it just gets expensive when you actually buy one!

Here's what I've got now:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441310566.jpg

I'm surprised no one has mentioned GM... The Duramax is a pretty reliable diesel. The gas engines haven't changed prolly in the last 10 years. I know people with 300k+ on the original gas engine.

Matt, come on, you live right around the corner from me and you don't want to put your daughter into a Mercedes!:D Great for the Florida sun, pulls 22 tons and the back dumps as well!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1441312313.jpg

Someone already mentioned it but if you could find an older 7.3 with decent miles on it that would be a good truck but you do have to watch out for the transmissions which probably didn't change when they went to the 6.blow. I'd give serious consideration to a Chevy with a Duramax. I know there were years that had injector problems but if you're careful and do some reading, you should be able to find the right truck.

As for DRW versus SRW, if you're pulling a goose I'd say either would be fine. The DRW doesn't feel a "slippery" if you're hauling with a lot of tongue load because the tire deflection is less than it would be on a SRW.

In an alternate universe (or heaven) I inherit my parents farm, use it as a hobby farm and keep this as my farm truck just because I can. That baby would be perfect on the logging trails of the Mississippi River bluffs in Wisconsin.

I see a lot of shops, daily. The newer ford diesel is always the one that has the cab up frame down, every day. The techs take that approach to get at what's wrong with the motor.

No thanks.

I don't see a lot of Dodge trucks in the shops, and I don't see many GM's anywhere, on the road or not.

7.3, manual, in a newer body.