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Donziweasel
03-17-2008, 05:52 PM
Anyone have any feedback on the Dodge with Cummins Desiel? I know it is an aging platform compared to the Chevy and Ford, but the price is pretty comperable to both of them. Just wondering and looking at options.

I have a couple of Sprinter Vans by Dodge, but it is not a fair comparison as they are actually built and powered by Mercedes. Great vehicles, but have gotten too expensive (almost twice the price of a Ford or Chevy) for me to add any more to my fleet.

vonkamp
03-17-2008, 06:05 PM
A friend of mine has one as a daily driver and he uses it to tow a 40 foot travel trailer. He has no complaints other than the price of diesel. :garfield:

JimG
03-17-2008, 08:25 PM
Almost everyone I know has Cummins Dodges. And most work them VERY hard. (My neighbor tows a BIG dozer daily with his...) The other two makers build great trucks too, but I have over 350k miles between the two Dodges I've owned and they've been great.

Jim

Team Jefe
03-18-2008, 07:05 AM
I drive an '06 Mega Dually everyday with 5.9L cummins and love it...except for the price of Diesel.

Honestly, If I was buying a truck today I would buy a gas motor. with the price differences and mileage differecnes, I have figured it will take 100K-150K miles for the diesel to pay for itself.

Plus, with the new 6.4L Cummins, its not really an established platform anymore....sorta starting over just like the F&C boys.

Donziweasel
03-18-2008, 07:47 AM
Even with the gas prices, I would still go diesel. I tow too much at high altitude and over mountain passes. On flat ground, I am sure the gas is more price effective, BUT, when you tow over passes, or at high altitude where you are down ove 20% of your power, the gas mileage of the gas engine goes down exponetially while the desiel doesn't fall off near as much. Plus, I love the 660 ft pounds of torque vs. the 360 for the gas engine. Diesel is the way to go for what I do. If I lived elsewhere, like our Florida brethern Buiz and Poodle, I would probably buy gas. The gas engine just has to work too hard up here.

mrfixxall
03-18-2008, 09:30 AM
Anyone have any feedback on the Dodge with Cummins Desiel? I know it is an aging platform compared to the Chevy and Ford, but the price is pretty comperable to both of them. Just wondering and looking at options.
I have a couple of Sprinter Vans by Dodge, but it is not a fair comparison as they are actually built and powered by Mercedes. Great vehicles, but have gotten too expensive (almost twice the price of a Ford or Chevy) for me to add any more to my fleet.


Dodge! one of the better trucks out their..you wont be sorry if you bought the new 6.7 liter or even the older 5.9,fron what ive seen their pretty much bullit proof and get better fuel milage then the chevy or the fords and i can vouvh for that..

Our family has a 2005 monaco cayman motorcoach with the cummings 5.9 325 hp with a allison tranny and believe it or not with all that weight it has to tug around(24000gvw) it still manages to get between 9-11 mpg...

MOP
03-18-2008, 11:15 AM
The boat yards by me love them, some are so old there is not much left of the bodies but they are still towing and what ever. From what I have seen the 5.9 is one of the very best diesels ever produced, the 6.7 will more then likely follow suite.

Phil

dclassic
03-20-2008, 10:26 PM
I have a 2002 Cummins Ram and love it, it has just over 100K and has never had a problem. I have always been a Mopar guy. The Cummins Dodge is a great truck. That being said, truck for truck I think the F350 is a more heavy duty truck than the Dodge, except for the motor. The Ford has a beefier frame and whatnot. We recently drove all 3 new diesel trucks and liked the Dodge the best because it felt the most nimble to drive, quick steering, a bit smaller, and quick with the 6 spd auto, etc. The Ford was second and was the comfort king with softer ride, more plush interior and lots of neat toys, but the 5 spd auto needs another gear. I just didn't get too excited about the GM styling but the Duramax is a rocket. If Ford used the Cummins motor it would be the top dog in my opinion... Except for having to pull the cab to remove the valve covers and access the heads! That service will not be cheap.

The Cummins is simply one of the most solid motors out there, it will easily outlast the Dodge around it. I would say the Powerstroke and Duramax are sportier performance wise, but the Cummins is old school overbuilt and super reliable. FYI my brother in law, who gets to purchase Fords on A plan, and makes fun of my Mopars, just bought a new Cummins. It was far less expensive than the F350 he priced even with A plan. Dodge has a serious inventory problem (as do all the auto co's) and has some killer rebates.

Donziweasel
03-21-2008, 08:13 AM
I went with the F-350. I like the Dodge, but have two issues with them. They are the oldest design out of the big three (I think the platform is over 10 years old now) and the re-sale doesn't seem as strong as the Ford or Chevy. Cummin's has never, in my book, produced a bad engine. I have 6 of thier turbo deisels in my fleet and the damn things are indistructable, and trust me, we have tried. I have got them over 250 degrees, cold winters, hot summers, pulling mountains, nothing stops them. Damn good engine, but is getting a little out of date compared to the Duramax and 6.4L, even with the new displacement in the Dodge trucks.

Hotspare
03-22-2008, 09:22 PM
The Cummins is a Tractor Motor, inline six get's it's torque down low ........ True Puller ..... The V motors get there's at higher RPM's, good on the highways .......... I've got an 03, 3500 Dodge Cummins 4x4, nice rig and no problem's ..........

zimm17
03-23-2008, 08:59 AM
I have a 2003 F-250 with 7.3 powerstroke, my brother had a 2002 Dodge with 5.9 cummins. I like the body and interior of the Ford better in this year range, but the Cummins is by far the superior engine.

We both did gauges (boost and EGT), chips, and exhaust. They were about the same power level, I get 14mpg, he got 22 on the hwy.

Pick up an issue of "Diesel Power" magazine and check out the trucks. Cummins 5.9 can be modified to put down 600HP and 1200ft/lbs of torque to the wheels with lots of work. The Powerstroke will blow it's powdered metal connecting rods (PMRs) right through the block when you go over 400HP to the wheels.

Now if I bought a new truck, I'd go with the Chevy- their interior is my favorite by far and the duramax motors are making big power too.

Team Jefe
03-24-2008, 06:54 AM
I've never been a GM fan for trucks...but my dad is looking at them hard. and they are comfortable on the inside with LOTS of bells and whistles....much more than the Ford and LOADS more than the Dodge. Plus you can get more heavy duty models and availability without the Diesel...hard to do in Fords and Dodge. He doesn't need the pulling torque like I do, and the low lands here won't rob the power of the gas motor.

It was mentioned earlier, Dodge has one "long" wheelbase...160" it is the same for the Quad cab and Mega Cab (thus why the Mega does not come in a Long Bed version)...and it is VERY manuverable...especially for a 4X4. The Fords are better now and Chevy is good since it does not have a sold front axle, but sicne I changed from the '02 F-350 to teh Mega, I can work the boat around much easier.

Donziweasel
03-24-2008, 08:01 AM
I am not disagreeing with you, well, maybe a little, but since I just got done looking at both, the Ford has many more bells and whistles than the Chevy, especailly on the interior. The first pic is the Top of the line Ford interior, second is the Chevy. They both have most of the same options, except Chevy has the fully locking rear diff and exhaust brake as options, Ford has the tailgate step and bed extender.

Also, Ford offers 3 engines -5.4 V-8, 6.8 V-10 (which is a damn good motor, I know, I own 4 of them) and 6.4 Diesel in the Super Duty. Plus, in the F-350, you can get the standard bed, while in the Chevy 3500HD, you have to get the long bed.

Team Jefe
03-24-2008, 11:58 AM
John - we had this conversation several years ago...but the shorty F-350's must all go north becasue we jsut don;t see them in this part of Texas. Dad needs a long bed anyway.

As far as trim...the truck kind I mean....I should have been more specific....on the Lower models, I think the GM's have more bells and Whistles (my dad is not buying top of the line anything...he's tighter than Dick's Hat Band) and seem more comfortable like a car...not my speed but the Old Man is getting.....Old so he want's some comfort, plus he drove all those work trucks for so long I think he gets a twitch when he gets in one now.

Also, we seemto get a small shatre of teh gas heavy duty trucks...not sure why, but a pretty big Ford dealer near dad had zero gas trucks on the lot.

Donziweasel
03-24-2008, 12:38 PM
Jefe, must be because we live in different parts of the country. We see some gas rigs around here, but 90% are diesels. The gas stuff on anything over 1/2 ton just has to work too hard at this altitude.

Everything in Texas is big! You see about half and half short bed vs. long bed out here. To be honest, the backcountry is hard enough to access and a long bed can make it really hard. If I was ranching, I would probably go with the long bed. For what I do and my personal needs, the short bed is perfect. Not being able to get it in 3500HD Chevy was a serious drawback.

Funny thing, I asked 3 different Chevy Dealers the difference between the 2500HD and 3500HD and got three different answers, from it is just one more leaf spring to it has a completely different suspesion. Hmmm.....

Boo Boo was happy to see ya on her thread and was wondering if she is still part of the bikini team! Good to see ya Jefe. How has fishing been?

Team Jefe
03-25-2008, 06:48 AM
Boo Boo was happy to see ya on her thread and was wondering if she is still part of the bikini team! Good to see ya Jefe. How has fishing been?


Well that all depends....will she still wear a bikini? if so then YES Ma'am she is still in...a membership is good for life:wink:

Fishing has been non existent so far....They are out there, I'm just not yet. Still have some shake-down time for teh new set up and with the refinery getting lots of work done in time for teh summer gasoline season, we have been super busy at work.....Luckily about mid-April, early May all that stops and we coast through the summer. Of course with $3-$4/gal fuel I mayu have a hard time finding crew:boggled::boggled:

Craig S
03-25-2008, 09:12 AM
I've got an 06 4x4 Quad I bought new. Flawless. Great mileage. I'm easy on it, but the motor is super. 45,000 miles.