2011 F350 PS or GMC Cummins

[Allan A]

I am in the market for a new truck and I am not sure which truck I should go with. Anyone have these two diesels. I currently have a 2005 F350 PS with 140k miles and its time to get a new rig. Recently it seems people have not been that happy with the Fords and have moved to the GMC.

[bobcowan]

GMC/Chevy makes a fine truck. Especially the interior - very comfortable. The suspension is nice and soft. IMO, much too soft. I didn't like the way they handle at all. The one I drove actually scared me a little.

I drive a Dodge with a Cummins. The drive line is awesome. Really tough to beat the simplicity of a single turbo and a I6 engine. Plenty of room in the engine bay to do your own routine maint.

The Dodge suspension is great, too. For a 3/4 ton truck that weighs 3 1/2 tons, it rides pretty nice and handles really well. The interior is a little spartan, and the seats are more like city bus than living room. That's my only real complaint - the seats.

[Allan A]

Bob,

I really never liked the looks of the Dodge, but I should give one a test drive. The interior on the Ford is great with a new computer screen (maybe just something to break down the road) really nice info.

Thanks,

Allan

[Bill Bess]

I've had two dodge diesels, both 3/4 ton trucks, pulled a 13500 # 5th.wheel trailer all over the states, no problems. The first one had 140'000 miles on it, the trans. was never out of it and it ran just the same as when it was new.
My present truck has 65,000 miles on it and is giving me the same performance as the 94 dodge cummins, great. This truck is a 4x4 with 4 doors and 325 HP., couldn't ask for a better work horse.

[Mark IV]

The 2011 Ford has the Ford built/designed "Scorpion" 6.7L diesel. NOTHING in common with the Cornbinder built Powerstrokes of old. I talked with two of my old diesel techs the other day who are still at a Ford store and they had nothing but good things to say about the 6.7. An old customer has an F350 4x4 crew with with the 6.7 and he has topped 20 MPG on a steady, easy cruise.

I would certainly look at the Ford. The Cummins in the Dodge is a great motor in a so-so truck IMHO, they finally went out into the market and got a decent automatic to go behind the engine. The GM twins are not bad trucks, but I would suggest a real, serious test drive in each to confirm what you are looking for.

[OldKarz]

The 6.7 is an awesome motor. I have a 2010 6.4 and have been very happy with it. I have a number of good friends with the 2011 Ford 6.7 and they all love it. 16-21 mpg is what they are telling me for mpg. The Dodge engine is still good, but the interior still lacks. The Duramax platform is long in the tooth and I would expect something different from them soon. Just my opinion.

[Silverback51]

I owned three Dodge Cummins pickups, a 90, 93, and a 99. I loved them all.

As some have stated, the engine is the high point of the platform, with the rest of the truck lacking a little. However they have improved over the years.

[slider701]

I worked on the 2011 F250 - 550 Truck program before I left Ford and I can attest to the high level of engineering that went into a completely new truck. New diesel and gas engines, new transmissions, new frames, new interior, and all new exterior body styling. There wasn't a part on the truck that wasn't looked at and made better from a quality, performance, comfort, styling or a multitude of other reasons.

You owe it to yourself to look at and drive one. Try to find a dealer who has one with an integrated 5th wheel hitch. If you ever plan on towing a gooseneck or 5th wheel it is the cat's ass having the hitch mounts already integrated by the factory instead of having some hack at a hitch store cutting holes in the bed of your truck with a hole saw.

[bulletbrown]

Take a look at Motor Trend Febuary 2011 it is now out , Winner hands down : Chevrolet HD . Dodge still is having trans. problems . Ford is a good truck but time will tell as to the there 1st Diesel and trans combo. There is no better Automatic than the Allison in the Chevrolet .

[fordracing65]

ford body, chevy trans, dodge motor, now thats a truck

[Jerry Clayton]

for a keeper for long miles don't forget the rear axles and brake systems

[slider701]

And don't forget which company needed Government (i.e. - your) money to stay afloat.....and which one was strong enough to survive on their own.

[Jim Werth]

I've got the old 7.3 powerstroke. 170,000 miles and still get 20mpg when not towing. Jim

[SP01715]

I just got back from the San Diego Auto Show, and IMO the Chevy gives you the most bang for your buck. Both the Ford and Chevy were very nice, but the top of the line 1 ton dually was a little less than the Ford, and IMO a little nicer. I love my current Duramax 2500, but the new 3500 will be my next truck. Out of the box with 397hp and over 750 lbs of TQ with the Allison tranny.
I will never buy another Chrysler product again. Not only did I get screwed by them, but after spending time on the Jeep forum I can't find anyone happy with them. They have a oil pump with a design flaw causing engine failures on 05 and 06 Wranglers and they are doing nothing about it even though it is causing engine failures. If a company won't stand behind their product what good are they?

[Great Asp]

I have a 05 PS F250 w/ 170K miles.

The interior is still great, so is the paint, motor runs fine.

I really want a 2011, but the fuel urea thing is bothering me. The torque on the 2011 is monster.

E

[RICK LAKE]

Allan A. Allan I work of GM for 25+ years. They have finally gotten there issues fixed with the Duramax and allison transmissions. We have no failures with STOCK running trucks. We have had failures with modified diesels with broken and bent rods and damaged piston ring lands. GM have gotten wise to the after market tuner along with Dodge and Ford. If they find out you modified the performance of the truck, they can and in 1 case cancel the warrantty on it. Unless you have 2 PCM's for the truck you can't install and remove the calibration numbers with a tuner. The PCM stores 10 calibrations. The other thing is running biodiesel in the truck. We have found that no more that a 50/50 is safe for the injection pump. Biofuel does not have the same power output the #2 diesel does from the pump. You can install and exhaust system if you want but GM has an after burner tube on the back of the truck. Changing oil is the most important thing. The new diesels have a tank with this new fluid that help reduce emmissions. The tank to fill cost about $70.00 and will last for about 1-2000 miles of normal driving. The big 3 are all going to do this within the next year. I like the screw on trans filters for the Allison tranny's. Easy to change and just add fluid to top off. Even with heavy duty hauling, the new fluids are holding up to about 75,000 miles before changing. Rearend fluids I would change at 50K if hard towing or high speed driving. Transfercase gets the same at 50K miles. Injection pumps, injectors, and glowplugs have all been improved and have very little failures unless major abuse is found. I know the air in air out story of the motor, stay with the stock filter, it does a better job of keeping crap out of the motor than K&N. See will be surprised at how fast this 2.5 ton truck is when driving. Put a large trail on the backend and it rides like a caddie, smooth and soft. I am sure that Dodge and ford have about the same to offer but GM's is quieter too. That has been tested in truck and car mags. Get some back issues of trailer mags and they have done the testing every year. SHOP hard for the best price. Rick L. PS fully loaded K3500 diesel just went for $58,000.00 OUCH. I paided 26,000 for my truck in 2000. with a sbc.

[Mark IV]

The urea (DEF, Diesel Exhaust Fluid) is no big thing. You use 2-3 PERCENT DEF to fuel so for every 100 gallons of fuel, you use 2-3 gallons of DEF. DEF is NON specific, all is the same so buy it where you want. Ford is providing DEF no cost during warranty.

Tuning the engines for DEF allows much of the emissions cleanup to be "downstream" of the engine thus allowing increased power, better economy and a MUCH wider powerband and "sweet spot".

I talk to guys with class 8 tractors on DEF that have seen 10% increases in fuel economy and believe me a trucker will KILL for 10 percent!

[gsharapa]

Go drive the new 2011 Ford with their new 6.7 diesel (Ford designed and built themselves) and I think you will sell yourself. I drove a friend's back in July towing a 24ft trailer and Cobra cruisin at 75mph and didn't even know the trailer and car were back there. Great fuel economy, power and it's so quite compared to all other diesels. Ford hit a home run on this one....

[thorconstr]

The only weak link in a Ford used to be the trans, I rebuilt mine 3 times in each of the F350, 2001 and 2005 diesels I had. Ford has supposedly gotten a tranny comparible to the Allison, if so I would stick with the Ford. A buddy has a 3500 Chevy with a Duramax and Allison, awesome truck, but I am still partial to the Ford if they have a tranny.

[Three Peaks]

My family (brothers, nephews) have owned at least 6 duramax diesel Chevy trucks. Not a single problem with any of them and they are used for construction business, hauling 5th Wheel trailers (13,000 , 14,500 lbs each), and going over the mountains in good and bad weather including snow an freezing conditions.

Without a load they report approximately 20-22 mpg on the highway. Hauling trailer they do better than my gas powered Chev with a much smaller trailer (5,500 lbs).

I've always liked the comfort and interior of the Chev trucks compared to the Ford and Dodge trucks. My buddies that drive Fords love their trucks and the same story with friends/family who drive Chev/GMC trucks. I've heard lots of complaining about the Dodge trucks from friends but they still drive them because they are cheap to buy?

I've always been a Chev/GMC guy, even though I worked for Ford for several years after high school and a stint in the Army. These days in the Ford and Chevy line ups I think you would have a tough time buying a bad truck. Both have really done their homework and put out a top quality product IMHO. Of course, the prices they charge these days represent that additional effort..... I guess that is why I bought a used 2003 Chev a couple months ago....

Bob