Need a new truck
 

My 06, Ford 4 door dually 4 x 4 is in the shop for warranty repairs. Looks like it may be there for a couple of months. 6.0 diesel has head gasket failure, and a few other things. I am glad that I shelled out the cash for the extended warranty. It will have paid for itself several times over.

The truck has about 85k miles on it, and I think I will sell it for a new truck before it hits 100k miles. I have been a Ford Man as was my father. I just can't see myself buying the new model diesel engine (6.4 liter). My dad has one, and has had alot of trouble, and gets terrible fuel milage.

I am leaning towards a Duramax diesel dually 4x4. The factory wheels just look too small for the fenders. Maybe it is just me. Might have to put a set of 22.5's ( Big rig) on it.

I am also looking at the Dodge trucks.

Without a brand war, what do you guys think? Does anyone on the board have a 09 Dodge or Chevy? If so, what is the experience? Fuel mileage? Comfort? I think all of the new models have the new emmisions packages on them that hurts performance and mileage.

I use my truck to work every day on a construction job, and tow the 382 on the weekends.

Just FYI, All new diesels get horrible fuel economy. Its all because of the new emissions systems on them. Also, those new 6.4s did have a lot of problems in the beginning, but, I know a lot people with them now, and not really any issues.

The 6.4 is so much quieter than the 6.0 that is worth the switch for that alone. I have a 2008 F450 and have about 14K miles on it. I haven't had a bit of trouble (although it's not many miles). I tow a 47 Fountain and it's great. I have a 4.88 rear and only get 12 mpg which suffers further if I don't stay below 70.

If I end up with another Ford, I am going to install a Gear Vendors aux trani on it. There is a camper/performance shop in Lafayette Louisiana that sells them.

It installs onto the transfer case, and the driveshaft has to be shortened. Gives you a gear in between each of the factory gears, and another on top. Drops rpm's on top end. Running at 85 will get you approx 70 mph mileage.

Costs about 4k, but with diesel so expensive, will pay for itself in about 60k miles. They are really made for towing, makes the trucks pull like a Mack.

Anyone else using one of these?

Ive had 7... 6.0 and 03 was the worst..My 05 has 212k on it as of now. I also have an 07 and 08 Duramax Dooley and an 08 6.4 dooley. All the 08's get terrible mileage. The Gm products get about 1/2 - 1 mpg better, but don't have the suspension nor the comfort for long hauls as the Fords do. Not bashing, just calling it like it is..and I have always prefered GM. Drive them all, THE SAME DAY...hook up you're boat and then make a decision what works for you. Good Luck. Jeff

There's a lot of truck info in this thread....

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/t...t-duramax.html

I am still thinking about selling my '05 Chevy CC Duramax 4x4 Dually (red with aftermarket rims)) and only 6K miles if interested. :cool:

Matt

I got an 08 GMC Duramax/Allision crew cab dually slt 4x4 last month.I love the truck I am getting 15-16 around town have not done a long highway run yet but should be over 20.
The only thing I changed is the factory hitch but you will do that with all of them all liked the Dodge, Ford has to many issues with the 6.4 I am a tool dealer so I see them apart every week in the dealerships.
I just liked the GMC better its loaded to the gills and was a killer deal I pulled my formula around today after I put the hitch on an It was like it was not even there

We have not seen many problems with the 6.4. My brother in law put 45,000 miles on a 08 with zero problems.

call me if you would like me to price a new Ford for you.

910-787-4101. Thanks, Mat

www.sandersford.com

I traded for an 08 with a 6.4 a couple of months ago and so far have had ZERO issues with it, more power than the 6.0, noticably quieter and for some reason the transmission seems to shift a little better.
If you need tires you might look to some taller ones before you spend the money on the Gearvendors setup,,on my 06 when I went from the 17's with 245/75r17 tires at 31 inches tall to the 265/70r19.15 Michelins at 34.5 tall I picked up 2mpg with no other changes.
My cousin has a Chevy with the Duramax,,after driving the Ford versus the Chevrolet, the Chevy rode and drove more like a passenger car than a truck, and I deal with a company that drives the Dodges with the Cummins, and they experience alot of transmission problems,,,and the Cummins is damn noisy.

I've put 60k miles on my 06 6.0 and I think I've had more than my share of problems with it. It has to go in now for a steering shaft bearing. My 04 was a total piece of crap. I just don't think any of these new trucks are worth buying and I really think I am going to move up to a medium duty truck.

I love my Duramax GMC dually, I have put 98,000 mile s on her with ZERO problems. I am selling it as I no longer transport boats for customers, and I have a new truck for work that I can pull my boat when needed. I would buy the Duramax/Allison combo again in a heartbeat, I had a 2002 and then this 2004.

Try towing your boat with a new f450 with the 6.4. It is really quiet and tows heavy boats well. I've towed my 47 Fountain with a lot of different trucks ranging all the way to class 8 and prefer the 450. It really is a personal preference but the 450 will be a lot more versatile than a medium conversion.

Just a little feedback:

03 GMC 2500 Crew Cab 2WD Duramax/allison- 130K miles (lots of city driving/ atleast 25K miles towing 32 Sunsation (8K lbs +/-).

Repair list:
106K water pump
112K pair of batteries
129K - power steering leaked reservoir dry, refilled can't find the leak or even a drip. 1K miles later it is still perfect level.

Two sets of Michelin LTX E loads. Truck has only had fluid/filter changes and still has FACTORY BRAKES (EVEN PADS). Never had a single warranty claim/ unscheduled stop/never a wrench under the hood!

Would I buy another? ABSOLUTELY!

None of the one ton PU's are rated to tow a 382 full of fuel and a steel trailer. Having said that my 08 F350 DRW 6.4 doesn't have any problems. I bought the F350 because the tow rating was 1000# or so better than the GM trucks and I didn't realize how heavy my boat was. An F450 is probably a better choice and will probably cause less hassles because it doesn't "Look" like a commercial truck. I am not sure but I think an F450 may need a CDL because of its tow rating. Any help on that one?

Almost correct statement....The 06 F350 Dually I had with the Tow Boss pkg is rated to tow 18,800lbs,(so the Ford propaganda says),,I wouldn't think your rig could weigh that much,,,but hell,,I've been wrong before.

I have a CDL, because of my business. We have several dump trucks, and lowboy tractors.

I looked at the F450's, but they are geared down so low, you are always at high rpm's. I use my truck for work every day, drive approx 200-250 miles a day for work. I seem to have a heavy foot, and figured I would have the F450 redlined most of the time on the interstate.

Truck pulls my 382 just fine, but I know it is not safe. It is just not enough truck if I ever get in a bind to stop. I had a complete brake job done on the trailer, so it stops easily. If one day the trailer brakes fail, the truck will have a hard time stopping in a hurry.

Maybe I will go to a medium size truck for work every day, and just put a trailer hitch on my 389 Peterbuilt truck. I could unhook the lowboy on the weekends and use it to pull the Foumula. I think it would look pretty cool.

Its a 1994 379 classic peterbuilt with walk in sleeper. Black in color with 24.5 alcoas on it. We use it to pull a tri axle lowboy and gravel trailer.

I know a couple guys with the 08 dodges. A couple had problems with the polution system at first. All warranty issues. Dodge serviceman said they all had the problem. Now they all run fine. Don't know about the 09's. I have an older one and love the enigne.

All dodges come with 100K mile warranty on the cummins from the factory for free also.

I guess I am biased.

I would love to have a Pete to pull my stuff around with. Thought about replacing the dually several times with one because IT WOULD BE COOL.

Happy hunting.

When I bought my new truck in October, I looked at an F450 and with the 4:88 gears, it was turning damn near 3 grand at 70 with the factory height tires., Hell, with the 4:30's that were in my 06 F350 dually at 70 I was running 2450 rpms,one of the reasons I went to the taller tires and 19.5 wheels.
I love the older Conventional Petes, truly a classic looking large car, I had one for a few years.

I know a guy who owns a trucking company and pulls his Formula with one of his Kenworth W900's. It looks great and pulls well but it's a rough ride for the boat. He has a lot of trouble parking at some of the launches because of the guys patroling the launch and lot.

I have an 08 1 ton dually Gmc diesel 4x4 sticker about 54000.00 white with tan leather. It has about 10,000 miles and has never been titled. It is our demo and you can save 20,000.00 or a little more. If interested let me know.

I had an 06 F-350 dually that I thought was great. Had the 4.10 gears, got about 12 mpg, and 11 towing the boat. Truck was bone stock. At around 20K miles, I got rid of it for an 08 F-450 with 4.88 gears. What a mistake !! On the road @ 80 mph, the tach was at 3000, and that's all you can run with the govenor chip in the tranny in overdrive. At 70, it was at 2650 on the tach. Truck got around 9 mpg's around town, and 7.5/8 mpg's towing. I towed several boats from 11K-16K lbs, and tried running around 60 mph to see if the fuel economy would pick up. NOPE, nomatter if I towed at 60 or 80, the fuel consumption did'nt change more than a tenth or 2. It would get on an average around 7.8/8.0 mpg's towing, nomatter what speed I ran.
Just before christmas, on an aluminum open trailer, I towed a small car (08 BMW M-5) from Chicago to LA Calif. the truck averaged 7.9 mpg's for the whole 2300 mile trip. The GPS showed that my average moving speed was 65 mph, and that's horrible fuel mileage. Sold the truck to the gentleman who owned the BMW, and flew back home. Actually, he bought the truck before I delivered him the BMW with it. :ernaehrung004:

My boat with fuel and trailer weigh close to 16,000lbs. Problem with most 3500's are they are not rated to pull that weight. I think GM says 12,000 lbs, Ford 15,000 lbs and Dodge 16,000 lbs. Some of these - I think the Dodge for instance is actually only rated at that weight with a fifth wheel. Therefore if police notice you for example in North Carolina - they will pull you over and give you a ticket. If you ever have an accident the insurance company may actually deny your claim. I ended up buying a used low miles Kodiak with a pickup conversion. Rides a little rough but has air seats. It is not a 4x4 - which are really rough riding. Actually was cheaper on ebay than most 3500's. Would agree with what others are say however, not much of an all around truck if that is a consideration - but great for pulling.

Duramax! Good deals too.

Deals are good but the inventory is shrinking rapidly..... My local dealer that recently became a Chevy/GMC store after a competitor reliquished the franchise only had 7 diesels on the lot last weekend down from 25+++ a few months back. They still had one new 07 ext cab (in August they had tons of 07's/ 4 diesel ext/crew cabs). Of the 7 currently on the lot only ONE was an 09 which indicates you will pay all the money for a new 09 this year since they have not been ordered in quantities of years past.

08 Z06's........no less than 9 currently left on lot with stickers in the 80's.

Heard from a friend last night that University Dodge (I think?)in FL was offering a 2 for 1 deal on Dodge trucks as inventory was so high they had to rent space just to put the vehicles.

Apparently the article was on the front page of the New York Times. Would be a great trip - fly to FL and drive back new truck.

I was out of 08's about 3 months ago. The whole northeast seemed to run dry long before the south. I remember your post when your dealer had about 50 plus! Gas was 4 bucks then too.

try a freightliner
 

i have a06 ford 550 crew cab /hauler body had a bug and i bought a freightliner sport chassis better milage 15/15 mpg more comfortable and just plane cool cat/allison auto this truck will live longer than me ps the ford is for sale

Noticed Shogren got rid of their Freightliner. I wonder why. Does anyone know? They seem to move a lot of larger boats long distances. What do they use now?

F350's & F450's
 

We use F350's & F450's, they tow great although the F450 eats alot of gas but you'll never know you have anytihing behind it.

We also have a couple used Dodge diesels on our website for sale.

www.teamshogren.com

Fountain & BAJA By Fountain

Why Do People Keep Buying Fords?
 

As a dealer I understand the whole brand loyalty thing and I actually appreciate it. But in the past few years I have had so many ex-Ford customers who have nothing but problems with every version of the Powerstroke since the 7.3 was phased out I've lost count. Last year I had two customers literally walk from the Ford service department across the street to my office and say they've had enough. Fords diesel program has been a joke for years. I'm taking an F-450 Lariat on trade with less than 4,000 miles because he can't get more than 8 mpg. 8! I'm not bashing, I just don't get it.

FORD works for me
 

NEVER HAD A PROBLEM...FIFTH ONE AND THEY ARE AWESOME! How many GM guys have come to their senses and walked across the street to the blue oval?? I'm sure it goes both ways...in fact my father always had GM trucks but had enough with the junk they were putting out in the early 80's and ordered a "then" innovative custom ordered deisel Ford F250 HD. I have owned older Chevys and my last 5 Fords are better for my use: towing 8k-15k dump trailer, 10k boat, and high miles. My 08 F350 just turned 60k miles and I get 24 mpg @ 60mph non-towing...13-14 towing my AT @ 65-68. And the comfort level is a 10....I'm done; carry on.

They look great! Have you towed larger boats like the 47's with them long distances for boat shows and poker runs?

The longer you can hold off the better.

All the lines will be offering radically new and different drivelines this year (2009).
New diesel engines, new gas units, new approaches to Heavy Duty hybreds too.

You'll be glad you waited.

Some crazy s#it about to hit the showroom floors.

I have a 2002 Super Duty with the old 7.3 lariet, 4x4, loaded truck with all the goodies, thinking of going to an suv at the moment if anyone is interested in my truck.
Don

Is it a dually ? I'm looking for a 01-03 7.3 crew Cab dually.

ive driven them all coast to coast. i currently have 08 duramax, put 65,000 in 6 months no issues and great fuel economy.

Is it a dually ? I'm looking for a 01-03 7.3 crew Cab dually.

No supercab shortbed 3/4 single rear wheel

I am selling my GMC 2004 Duramax dually, I'll have and add here in the next day or so, $21,900.00 OBO.

My 2006 Dodge quad cab dually is for sale. Less than 60,000 miles on it. PM me if interested.