HD Dodge trucks are made in Mexico yes, but the Cummins is made in Indiana. Yes the GM HD trucks are built in America but the Duramax is an Isuzu engine. Yes the Ford trucks are built in America but their new 6.7L diesels are built in Mexico. Take your pick now...

I wanted to haul LTL freight and cars, so for me it wasn't the truck but the powertrain, fuel mileage and longevity. After joining several towing websites and asking lots of questions, I chose the Dodge dually with the G56 manual transmission.

The Cummins has 30% fewer moving parts than the V8 diesels, the parts are stronger and more robust, the torque comes on lower in the rpm band and the engine goes at least 500,000 miles before overhaul.

I would make exactly the same choice today, even with Ford's and GM's improvements. I love the new styling and the Laramie interior is every bit the equal of the other two. The new 68RFE six speed automatic is as good, if not better than, the Allison. I have to say though that the new Ford 6R140 is the best automatic.

I agree.. I get great treatment from the local Ford dealer, Henderson Ford, and the GM dealer closed up..and my other neighbor owns a Ford dealership in LA and a Dodge dealer in MS... I like all 3, but have had more GM's over the years. Since 03 I have leaned slightly more towards the Fords because they do tow heavy loads with a little more stability. They did not have the best diesel, but their trannies were stronger than the Alison, especially when we got to the 125k miles, and towing loads, they overheated, and always went into some kind of limp mode. The interiors were always the best in GM's, but that changed in 08, I gave the comfort and use of better materials to the Fords. All these trucks are good, and if you dont work the crap out of them, any one of the 3 will do just fine. Service and no down time is extremely important to me, and thats why we ended up with Ford's this year..plus Im really liking the new motor, hp/tq, fuel mileage, and use of materials..As to looks. The Dodge has my vote..

That statement is misleading........

DMAX of Moraine, Ohio is a manufacturer of Diesel engines for trucks.Originally A joint venture between General Motors and Isuzu Motors, the formation of DMAX was announced in December 1998. General Motors acquired a majority stake of the venture in 2003, including all engine designs. The company's Duramax V8 engine has been extremely successful for GM.

Prior to the founding of the DMAX venture, the Moraine plant produced GM's 6.2 L Diesel V8. Production of that engine began in 1982.
[edit] DMAX Engines

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMAX_%28engines%29

Thanks for pointing that out, I was just about to post the same.

Everyone (GM bashers) loves to act like D-Max engines are straight from Isuzu in Japan! The reality is the D-max employees are GM guys shipped down to Morraine! The design the engines, and a lot of the testing is done in Pontiac, Milford, etc. I don't know that Isuzu does much of anything with the JV any more.

I did not know all that, thanks.

I was a trade show for work last week and I was talking to the ford rep about the new diesel in the ford pickups. This rep told me that he worked for GM for many years before working for ford. He went on to say that ford hired some of the engineers from isuzu and they basically copied the D-Max for the most part in the new engine.

Anyone know any truth to this?

Your choice of Dodge was very "duty specific" so it worked for you.

My opinion is Mexico doesn't make a single product I admire from beer to cars etc. I don't think a vehicle assembled there is good for anything. The quality control simply isn't there in my mind. I use my truck as a tool, if it starts, runs and isn't in the shop it is the ideal tool. I regularly see Fords sitting on the side of the road waiting to be towed, that to me is insanity especially if you are still making payments! I don't chip or hotrod my trucks and maintain them beyond factory specs so I simply expect the truck to do what it was designed to do and get to work. My 2003 truck @ 160K miles has been great and the longevity actually scares me away from replacing it. Imagine spending 50K or more on a new truck that doesnt' run as good as the old one? I like the new GM's and not enough changed on the motor to make it sketchy as a new model so I wouldnt' be afraid of owning a 2011. The Ford motor is another story.......

Yes it works for me but the Cummins will work for anyone who hauls boats too. I have had zero problems with the truck itself, except for a constant pull to the right which is more a nuisance than a serious handling problem.

Ford has struggled with its diesel engine program ever since the 7.3 was replaced. The 6.0 was a pig. The 6.4 was much better but got terrible fuel mileage. Jury is still out on the 6.7.

GM has made a lot of good changes to its HD trucks and the Dmax for 2011 as well.

The problem with V8 diesels is they don't hold up to constant, daily heavy hauling. Big rigs use inline 6 cylinder diesels for many reasons.

Truck pulls to the right a nuisance? Between shifting, the interior falling apart and gripping the wheel you sound like you have a full time job driving that Dodge!

Look at 90% of the diesel pickups on the road, most aren't pulling/hauling anywhere near their capacities. So even if a manual tranny is better (like the Dodge) I would never utilize the capabilities driving it daily unloaded.

You get used to cranking the wheel over but I'll get it fixed...

My interior is not nearly as nice as the new Laramie, but I've not had any issues(except dog hair clinging to the cloth back seat ) If I keep it I'll rip the interior out and put Dynamat and Katzkin in it. I really want the 2012 because Dodge will come out with a 7 or 8 speed automatic transmission that year.