26scarab

I've got an 01 Dodge /Cummins 4wd, this is my third Ram, first diesel and I towed the boat in the summer and sleds in the winter and have had absolutley zero problems with the trans. in either trucks.
Right now I've got and Edge EZ , 275injectors , and exhaust and have had 40k problem free miles. I am completly satisfied with this truck. Best mileage not towing on the free way was 22 and towing 15, city/highway 17-18.
Now the 03/04 HO's are unreal. A friends 4wd HO with only the addition of a fueling box went 15.20@91 in the quarter and on the chassis dyno made 380hp at the rear wheels.

All the new trucks are good , buy what you like and kind find a deal on but don't rule out the Dodge. The new ones have an upgraded trans and should not have the problems some had in the past.

105mph_38_2003

The new Dodges are the best by far...I had 2 Duracraps and a 7.4 Powerstroke before the HO Cummins. Drive a HO Cummins/Auto and you will love it!!@! The SO is a dog and that is the one most compare too since the HO is so new...Keep us all posted on what you do.

Chris

Thanks guys!
I think I will look at a Dodge and Chevy a little closer.

Formula Outlaw

My only beef with the Dodge is the **** transmission. Now they've got that 7 year, 70,000 mile drive train warranty, that makes a bit of a difference. at least I was told that this afternoon. It's just annoying as hell to me to pay that kind of money and have a trans that craps at 50,000 miles that's been babied. How quiet is the new HO Cummins? I drove several before I settled on the V-10, mostly due to the noise factor. Any feedback here? Thanks....

R Addiction

Work for a GMC dealer and we have very little problems with the Duramax/Allison combo. Ike has one and tows his 41 Apache around with no problems!!! If you don't go diesel the 8.1 and the 6.0 are great gas motors. 8.1 is a little hard on the fuel but then again you are towing something around!!! Good luck on your choice!!

26scarab

Formula Outlaw,
The trans. is fine on the new Dodges (03 and up). Man, that is going to be one hard thing for Dodge to shake. The new diesel is just as quiet as the other two.
That was a great marketing ploy for GM , teaming up with the Allison trans. ,as far as i know there where know problems with original transmissions they used. To bad the other OEMs couldn't have picked up in it.

Jassman

As far as quiet diesels go, when listning to them on the outside the General is by far the quietest, with Dodge 2nd and Ford 3rd. Now on the inside, General is still first, with Ford 2nd and Dodge 3rd. Thats what we have noticed around our shop.

birdog

The Chev rides & drives the best...IFS really helps.
Give Ford some time to get the 6.0 together...
Dodge ?....Well....Never mind

BTW.....I own a PSD Ford...It is a heavier duty truck than the Chev..but most dont need that. The Chevs drive sooo nice

ofshore

Ford did build a new hydraulic trans to go along with the 6L but troutly's right it's not an allison. As far as your other dodge comments troutly...

I'm probably a little biased because i can get the A-plan from ford, knock off another 5 or 6k and the decision is a lot easier. As far as dodge goes I agree they do look good however, everyone i have known that owned one has had nothing but problems with the drive train. From the trans through the rear end they have not been able to hold up if you plan on working them. Someone mentioned the HO option with the automatic trans, last I knew this was not an option so if it is now maybe they fixed some of the reliability issues with the drive train and the higher HP.

The allison/Duramax combo from what i have seen is an awesome set up, i haven't heard of too many problems with them. I have a friend with one and it has been in the shop a few times but in general he's pretty happy with it and it tows it 9,000 lb trailer without a problem.

Ford as you know has been having problems with the 6L so far, but like troutly said buy an '04 and hopefully the problems are fixed. I have two friends that own them and neither of them have had any problems so far, one's only a couple months old but the other is about a year old. They also have the new trans but i haven't heard of any issues with it just with the motor.

So IMHO! from what i've seen and heard i'd recommend a ford or Chevy. I will probably always own a ford because of the discount but i wouldn't have any problems buying the Chevy because of their reputation and what i have heard about them.

Iggy

Although I don't have a diesel powered truck (yet), when I do upgrade it will be a Ford.

I've had no trouble with any Ford I've owned. My current F250 LD has 105K on it with no trouble...ever. The '87 Bronco I had went 150K with no trouble.

Every Chrysler product I have owned was a headache. Every one had electrical gremlins after a few years. And usually it started after the warrenty ran out.
All of them had switches and knobs fall apart, interior pannels fall off, exterior door handles that quit working, etc. The last one had holes melted in the tail light assemblies due to excessive heat from the bulbs.
Do I have to say that I'll never by another Chrysler product again?