I'm getting fed up with my 2004.5 HO Cummins. Hard start when warm problems and eating fuel filters like candy. Tons of codes, and going into limp mode from time to time. All of these problems came and went at random. It started stalling out under throttle last Monday on the way to the jobsite. After unloading and disconnecting the trailer, it shut off no less than 15 times on the way to the shop 37 miles away. It turned out to be the fuel control actuator. First morning hooked up to the trailer again it ran like a champ...for about about a half hour then shut off when idling. Limped it to the job, unloaded and headed for culverts. It shut off at idle two more times...one hour to start each time. Parking back at the job I happened to be looking at the oil pressure gauge when I saw it drop from 30ish pounds to the bottom. I shut it off and found that the crankcase was full of diesel and it was blowing it out somewhere at the back of the engine inside the bell housing. It' headed to the shop on Monday. I finished out the week with my trusty old '99 7.3 SRW, but she's had a hard life and at 320k I'd rather not be towing 15k pounds around too awful much. I'm trying to decide whether to keep the Dodge (don't know if it's worth keeping), or get a newer flatbed. I won't buy new, so which 2012-2014 big 3 diesels are having the least amount of problems?
Early '98 12 valve mechanical with a bit of tuning?
This is precisely the reason I keep my ratty old '94 Dodge 12 valve Cummins around, the body is rough, the interior is rough, but it does it's job when I need it. Actually looked at an '82 Chev 1ton 4x4 with low miles the other day, I keep thinking simple.
All three diesels between 2012-2014 are very nice. I think the ram has a great interior and overall package on those years. The 2015 Chevy duramax is super nice but the years you mentioned I would go with the Cummins.
My 2013 F350 SRW with 6.7 has been a great truck. 60K on the clock and the only thing I've had to take it to the dealership for was the drivers side seat belt wouldn't retract. I'll buy another one.
I had a '98 cummins extended cab that I was trying to buy, but the guy wouldn't sell it. 5 spd, 4wd, dually, skirted flatbed, 100 gal. fuel tank, 65k miles. I left town for a week and he traded it in... CM, that's exactly the info I'm looking for. I don't give a rat's tail about fancy interiors and pretty, I want reliable. I can rent any piece of equipment I need and still make money. I'd rather make a payment on a good reliable truck. Did I say reliable?
Sounds like your Case skid rubbed off on your pickup some. I've been pretty darn happy with my 2012 6.7 Ford. Some things may have fallen off it and now it runs much better, increased mpg, less potential headaches and the motor should live longer. Quiet, starts right up in the cold (coldest I've had it sit for a day or two and not be plugged in was around -18*F and it popped right off like it would have on a 65* day. Smooth driving truck, interior holds together pretty well so far, mirrors give you a great field of vision, etc. The 6R140 automatic is a beast as well, it doesn't care if I'm driving around empty or my gross weight is 50k, it just does it's thing and doesn't get hot either. Usually we end up taking my truck everywhere even on vacation over my gf's BMW car just because both of us like it and it has good road manners. As far as problems, it's been back to the dealer twice. Once for a dome light that wouldn't shut off and the other being the aluminum wheels were delaminating and were replaced.
Another vote for the 6.7L Powerstroke, although I would skip the 350 and get the 550.
That's funny Mark13, we take my 350 on long trips over my wife's BMW as well. It's an XL but it's comfortable and the dirt and grease wipe right off.
Like the truck got jealous over all of the attention or something... :beatsme Thanks for the review of your truck.
I have been running the Duramax diesel/ Allison equipped Chevrolet and GMC models since 2002 and have been really happy with these trucks. The Allison tranny is bullet proof and the Duramax motor is strong. I presently am running a 2015 Chevy that a few emission items fell off and the truck is insanely powerful, can tow just about anything up to 20k and I an getting over 20 miles a gallon with it. Hard to beat these newer Dmax equipped rigs IMHO....that being said I also have a shop truck with a 7.3 Ford that has been running failure free since new. Over a million miles on just one complete rebuild...The older Cummins are good motors as well....my fleet trucks are all Chevy Duramax trucks and I am pretty happy Their perforamce to date...
Mine would ride a lot better if it was a 350! The biggest complaint I have with my truck is the unloaded ride quality and it's not even that bad for a 550 I don't think. I get spoiled with my truck having the Lariat package, I never wanted leather in a truck and didn't like it. If this truck was an XLT I would have been just fine with that when I bought it. Now after having it for a year and a half, I love the Lariat interior with the heated/cooled seats and the huge center console. Her BMW is a very nice car but I'm not a car person and I like driving a truck and like the feel of my truck so we take it pretty much everywhere. Not a problem, if you have any more questions feel free to ask. Before my 6.7 Powerstroke I drove a 2006 Chevy 2500HD with the LBZ Duramax and 6 speed Allison 1000 for 5.5 years. Fantastic truck, gave me very little trouble even after 5 years of being run very hard. If GM made a 550/5500 sized truck that was closer to the pickups in stead of the large Kodiak chassis I'd be driving one of those instead of my 550.
I like the Allison transmissions. But I also love the older 5.9 Cummins. Put them together and I think it would make an absolute bulletproof combo. but, unfortunately, you can't order them like that from the dealer.
Yep, my dream truck would be a Cummins/Allison combo in a Ford F-450. Weird... I know.
I think that's everyone's dream truck in a 250, 350,450 or 550.
Cummins/Roadranger with a 2 speed rear would be my dream truck, lol.
Cummins Allison in alot of mid size trucks
13 speed with a front box OD no doubt
I just bought an International 4700. The used one tons I have looked at are either over priced or high mileage and worn out. The 4700 is a 2001 with 31k and a crew cab. More truck than I need but better quality for less money.
Bighorn - That's a thoughtl. I'd like to have a single axle dump truck for short loads, cleanup and onsite work. I'll have to take more time to think about this.
A453t detroit and a rto6610 in a square body gm truck would be by dream pickup. Ok might be short on power but would sound so cool.
If you would be willing and able to do the work, a off lease lo-pro box van would fit the bill nicely. Usually they are 25950 gvw with a diesel and a Allison auto. These will have box that will make a nice storage shed and a mile of extra frame. Grab a torch and a mag base drill and go to town! I have made a dump and a rollback truck doing this and while it was a lot of work, they made nice units. With a little imagination the sky is the limit.
I feel the GMs have the best all around package. Good truck, great trans, and over that last 15 years a pretty well proven engine. I don't think cold starting is an issue on any new truck. I know of several duramaxs that start in subzero temps even with one battery. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
The 98-2001 4700's are good trucks. I've got a 1999 as a service truck. DT466 with a 5 sp which makes top speed 65, down hill with a wind behind you but it serves the purpose. They don't have a lot of electronics, built solid, good visibility and are comfortable to drive with an air ride seat.
I have an 01 4700 crew cab with a dt530 and a 6 speed allision and air ride. The truck runs pretty good besides a puff of smoke at startup. The truck will easily run 70mph and will tow whatever you can put behind it. We pull a 20k GN with it currently and use th heck out of the flatbed. Its a good lil truck for my need. A deeper rear end, locker and 4wd would be on my upgrade list though.
I know they have a good rep, but what is considered high mileage for the DT466 and DT530 engines ? I would imagine that the electronics are similar to the 7.3 since they both have oil fired injectors. I'm familiar and comfortable with that system.
I still haven't been able to get the Dodge into the repair shop for diagnosis. It won't fit on my small trailer and there's an issue with getting a brake signal from the f350 to my GN trailer. I'm not about to pay for yet another 40 mile tow. It's raining today so I'll work on the brake issue and the 7.3's water pump started weeping yesterday, so I'll replace that too. I have a ton of work on the board, but sometimes it seems like the struggle never ends.
JNB If you want to speak with my truck guy, I can send you his info. He is located near Houston. I was surprised at the cost of a 2 ton and he customized it the way I want it. Tony
My 2001 ford F-550 xl work truck
I'll second that. In the mid-80's I worked in a subdivision that had a contractor driving a F-250 with a Detroit, wish I had taken pics- to busy pushing for production to smell the diesel.
My 13 Ram 3500 Cummins has been great. Only 35k miles but only one trip to dealer, to fix stereo issue. Had gooseneck up to 26k and it pulled great. Pull 21k all the time. I'm bias towards Dodge, but they are hands down the best truck. Most proven and reliable motor by leaps and bounds. Cannot stand IFS of the chevy, and ford can't put a good engine in. One nice thing they finally did is you no longer need air bags to load the truck right up. Over 5k on the pin and the truck is still level and it's a srw. Ford use to have a leg up with interiors but that's long gone. Dodge by far has the rest beat there now too.
I have a 2015 Ram 3500 diesel. I really like it, no real complaints so far. It pulls my excavator w/ gooseneck really well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well I've had great service out of my '13 Ford 6.7 with 65K on the clock with not one problem. Strong with plenty of torque. It's a truck I work out of, crosses the scales at 9K with tool boxes, fuel tank and the regular crap I carry on a daily basis.
I'd agree with you. My last truck was a GM and did just fine with front end parts even with bigger mud tires, the diesel motor, and a 1000lb snow plow all winter. I'm at mid 50's in my 6.7 F550 now and still going strong. It scales between 10,500 and 11,000lbs depending on the day before I put anything on the bed or hook up a trailer. I've been very pleased with it. It even got around 13mpg going to northern, wi and back last weekend. Bed full of stuff almost as high as the cab, speed was kept between 72mph and 85mph the whole time so the rpms were constantly 2100+. If I had less crap on the bed and slowed down some it would have gotten right around 15mpg. Not terrible for a 11,000lb brick with 4.30 gears.
I am curious as to what you have carried that brought you in at a 50k gross weight? Here is mine loaded up. Truck scales at 12,000 lbs. Trailer with Tl150, grapple, bucket and 4 wheeler 17,000. Grain drill 2000, 90 gallon tank 750, misc tools tires steel beams etc 1500 lbs... 35 k to 37.5 k
Hay bales. I haul a fair amount of big square bales and round bales. A round bale can be anywhere from 1200-2200lbs and a big square can be upwards of 1000lbs in some cases. 10,500-11,000lb truck, 8800lb trailer, then anywhere from 33-40 big squares or 14-17 round bales depending on the day, distance to haul them, number of bales to haul, etc.