Diesel Truck Guys?

[jaha2000]

After a couple of seasons towing a camper that was marginal in the half ton, we are going to do some big cross country camping trips next year and I think a 3/4 ton with a diesel is going to be the way to go.

*Insert, do you really need a truck, why not rent a truck, who actually needs a truck comments here*

Looks like the previous Gen (up to 2104) GMC/Chevy can be had for a good deal on the used market right now. Getting a diesel with 30K or so on the clock, but a GMC denali with 30k popped up around me and its awful tempting, ya know, given that the previous guy to a 25K depreciation hit the first year.

Any thoughts on brands, seems they all have their weak points and strong points, but most praise the GM for riding less like a HD truck than the others.

 

[squirrel dog]

F250 ?

 

[boomhower]

Ford for best overall truck and Dodge for the best motor. IMHO.

 

[Greenman]

Any of the diesels are going to be good trucks. I'd also note that if it doesn't ride like a truck, it's most likely not going to haul a load like a truck.

 

[skyking]

I do like the ford interiors. I also work on my own rigs, and that is one of the reasons I have two Ram trucks.
There is no comparison with working on a straight 6 to a V8 diesel.
The duramax trucks have a really good automatic transmission, which can't be said for the earlier dodges and even the fords.
Later model years with 6 speed transmissions did a lot to level that part of the playing field.

 

[jaha2000]

The modern emissions equipment seems to be a talking point on the interwebs.
Dodge/Cummins seem to have the best solution that does not involve DEF. But it seems most guys get noticable MPG bumps from taking that crap off. Michigan is not an emissions state.
To Greenmans point, dont think you can go wrong with any of them, comes down to which one you prefer.
The allison in the duramax gets high praise from most.

Any of you guys live with them in the great white north? We had some -20F days here last year, and there would be no plugging it in while it was sitting outside at work.

 

[Jimzz]

Yea usually its not the engine you have problems but the trans. Dodge has always had issues, ford is ok, but the Chevy/GMC diesels use Allison and they seem to hold up the best.

And like any used vehicle how it was treated will probably be a large part of its reliability. So if anything seems off assume the worse and base your decision on that.
For diesels the fuel filter is VERY important so ask when that was last changed.

 

[skyking]

I opted for the manual 6 speed in the latest truck. autos are reliable, until they are not. The bill to fix any of them is far too steep.

 

[Jimzz]

I opted for the manual 6 speed in the latest truck. autos are reliable, until they are not. The bill to fix any of them is far too steep.

True but if you shift poorly in a manual diesel it can and will tear the rear diff up fast.
I use to drive a tow truck. We had F350s and 1 super duty with the 7.3 and manual trans. The owner would ride with new employees to watch them shift. It had to be perfectly smooth. They had 1 guy who drove it like a Honda civic and blew the rear up so he had to train everyone after that. Made me a better driver of manuals though so that was good.

 

[squirrel dog]

oil change takes 20 qts , just so you will know . I retired from att after 40 yrs and for the last 20 yrs ran crews of employees all in diesel trucks . My maintenance budget was very high . All the gm's had to have the fuel modulator moved to the fire wall or the trucks would cut off under load(no pwr steering or brakes)These were early 2000 models 3/4 ton . The dodge units would need a trans rebuild every 2 to 5 yrs , the fords if they developed a problem , it would be with the ignition(glow plugs). Diesels have more torque and you can find fuel during a disaster as most vehicles run on gas , but the maintenance costs are higher on the diesel . I would still select a diesel for towing over mountains, I like the f250 ford , but that's me . One thing is for sure,they are expensive to buy . You can save money by changing they oil yourself , the bean counters had us on a 7000 mile oil change using rotella , If I owned one it would be 3~5 k at the most . Good Luck and happy hunting .

 

[Elganja]

i'm a fan of my f250 diesel truck... i have a 6.4L, have put about 10k miles on it already, have towed my car plenty of times... haven't had a single issue

 

[RLGL]

oil change takes 20 qts , just so you will know . I retired from att after 40 yrs and for the last 20 yrs ran crews of employees all in diesel trucks . My maintenance budget was very high . All the gm's had to have the fuel modulator moved to the fire wall or the trucks would cut off under load(no pwr steering or brakes)These were early 2000 models 3/4 ton . The dodge units would need a trans rebuild every 2 to 5 yrs , the fords if they developed a problem , it would be with the ignition(glow plugs). Diesels have more torque and you can find fuel during a disaster as most vehicles run on gas , but the maintenance costs are higher on the diesel . I would still select a diesel for towing over mountains, I like the f250 ford , but that's me . One thing is for sure,they are expensive to buy . You can save money by changing they oil yourself , the bean counters had us on a 7000 mile oil change using rotella , If I owned one it would be 3~5 k at the most . Good Luck and happy hunting .

Yep you gotta pay to play.

 

[ghost recon88]

If you're looking at GM trucks, the LBZ is the most reliable diesel motor they've ever built, and doesn't have all that new emissions crap on it. The LMM isn't bad either, but they highly recommend doing all the emissions delete if your state doesn't have emissions testing. The new LMLs are too soon to tell how they're gonna be.

 

[jaha2000]

If you're looking at GM trucks, the LBZ is the most reliable diesel motor they've ever built, and doesn't have all that new emissions crap on it. The LMM isn't bad either, but they highly recommend doing all the emissions delete if your state doesn't have emissions testing. The new LMLs are too soon to tell how they're gonna be.

That lines up with what i have seen as well, and you know what type of emissions we have in Michigan.

Seems that the issues are emissions related, not necisarrly mechanical issues. Few 2006 for sale on CL. But paying 26 or 27K for something with 150,000 on it is something i will have a hard time doing

 

[JulesMaximus]

If you're looking at GM trucks, the LBZ is the most reliable diesel motor they've ever built, and doesn't have all that new emissions crap on it. The LMM isn't bad either, but they highly recommend doing all the emissions delete if your state doesn't have emissions testing. The new LMLs are too soon to tell how they're gonna be.

Because clean air is highly overrated...

 

[skyking]

20 quarts in what? the 5.9 Cummins are all 3 gallon engines.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

What kind of weight you lugging around? Just curious. I'm pulling my hybrid with a 1/2 ton ecoboost and it really pulls great. On that note, I'll most likely be going to a 3/4 ton. I'm most likely going with a 2500 duramax when I'm ready to upgrade to a bigger trailer. Isn't Nissan putting in a Cummins diesel on their Titans next year? Might be something to watch. I'm just pulling a 24' right now.

 

[jaha2000]

What kind of weight you lugging around? Just curious. I'm pulling my hybrid with a 1/2 ton ecoboost and it really pulls great. On that note, I'll most likely be going to a 3/4 ton. I'm most likely going with a 2500 duramax when I'm ready to upgrade to a bigger trailer. Isn't Nissan putting in a Cummins diesel on their Titans next year? Might be something to watch. I'm just pulling a 24' right now.

around 6K lbs...
The tudra does not do horrible with it. But the truck works quite hard doing it. And the MPG hit is quite noticable, espically since Toyota thought a tiny gas tank would be a great idea.

Cummins is going into the Titan next year, but still a half ton underneath. I have not seen any specs on it, but would guess it would be half ton diesel kind of numbers, and be down quite a bit on torque comapard to the 3/4 ton. EDIT. Looks like 300/550. Stouter than i would have thought.

 

[Jimzz]

around 6K lbs...
The tudra does not do horrible with it. But the truck works quite hard doing it. And the MPG hit is quite noticable, espically since Toyota thought a tiny gas tank would be a great idea.

Cummins is going into the Titan next year, but still a half ton underneath. I have not seen any specs on it, but would guess it would be half ton diesel kind of numbers, and be down quite a bit on torque comapard to the 3/4 ton. EDIT. Looks like 300/550. Stouter than i would have thought.

Yea the Titan is more of a "5/8 ton" truck from what I am seeing. They can't afford to do many lines yet so they have to scale up the "1/2 ton" as a catch all. Should be a good truck if they can catch all the bugs before it goes out. The first gen, 2004, had some issues they did not fix till the update in 2008.

 

[ghost recon88]

That lines up with what i have seen as well, and you know what type of emissions we have in Michigan.

Seems that the issues are emissions related, not necisarrly mechanical issues. Few 2006 for sale on CL. But paying 26 or 27K for something with 150,000 on it is something i will have a hard time doing

Yea the 2006-early 2007 2500s around here are insanely priced, I just don't understand. Paying $20k+ for a 10 year old diesel truck with 150k+ miles is hard to justify. Sure, I realize they are super reliable but at that age you're gonna start rusting, and having to replace other parts outside the motor. I think the interior got a huge changeover between the early 2007 and 2007.5 models, more-so than from the 2014 to 2015 change.

There is no way this guy is gonna get $25k for this, http://lansing.craigslist.org/cto/5224687396.html. Fabtech are cheap ass lifts, and its a cloth interior as well.

Because clean air is highly overrated...

This isn't hippie California....

 

[squirrel dog]

SkyKing , 7.3 power stroke if memory serves me , I never did the work , just signed the invoices . Even at 3 gals , that's twice what a 6 quart gas truck engine . My point was , diesels cost more , they are much heavier , hence wear tires out faster , brakes as well . That and a One ton needs 6 tires . I'd get a 1 ton King Ranch quad cab dually . If I had $ 65,000 .

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I guess if I were to get one now, I'd go with a 2500 or F250. Personally I wouldn't go with Dodge based on some anecdotal problems a friend had, but that's just one person. I'm sure there are a ton of guys with Dodge's that are running fine. If I knew I would never be upgrading to a bigger, heavier trailer in the future, I'd stick with the ecoboost. I wonder if a dealer would let you hook up and test drive something.

 

[rancherlee]

The big problem with 1/2 tons is that they come with P rated tires, the single best improvement for towing on my 12' F150 are the load range D tires I put on after the the stock "crapyear" tires wore out. With load range D tires I really don't miss my old 99' 7.3L F250 at all, same daily driver mileage and not much worse towing mileage with the 5.0L. I also installed airbags to level the truck with a 5th wheel trailer. My loaded trailers are only ~7000lb though.

 

[jaha2000]

Just drove the 2014 GMC..
For only having 30K on the clock it seem like it had been ridden very hard and put up wet. Not very quiet on the road, inside was a mess, steering felt stiff.
Same reason i got a Toyota in the first place i suppose. Stuff is built to last longer.

 

[Squeetard]

Overkill dude. You are only towing 6,000 lbs and any 1/2 ton will do that for you. Of course your mileage suffers when you add 3 tons. And it is going to lug on hills. Going diesel will only help a bit with that. Save your money.