used2campalot wrote:
Does Anyone have a pullers or tow vehicle choice? I like the Duramax and Allison combo as I have had them in the past. Ford scares me with their diesel issues and Dodge is just so dang ugly and loud. Although Dodge does pull.
I had to got through this last winter, spent many hours of research looking at the Ford, GM, and RAM pulling solutions. The Ford dealers I visited were pricy and arrogant, didn't seem interested in selling me a vehicle. The past history of Ford stiffing folks on warranty claims and the on-going issues with Powerstroke head gaskets sent me to the GM showroom.
I looked at a GMC Denali, 3500, SRW and I didn't like the red dash backlighting, the narrow front seats, the hanging DEF tank below the frame rail, and the DEF fill location under the hood. I'd either be holding the two gallon jugs high to fill or re-jocking the truck/trailer at fuel stops to get the fill point near the DEF pump.
RAM, I liked the fit and finish of the interior, the outside was OK but didn't really care since I'm always seeing the inside :). The RAM Longhorn uses saddle grade leather for the seating, there is a significant difference between the seating comfort of the RAM and the Ford/GM solutions, even the Ford King Ranch version.
From inside the cabin, I found the RAM Cummins quieter than either the Powerstroke or the Duramax. The Cummins is an inline six cylinder with a longer stroke, able to make better use of diesel fuel combustion characteristics. The other two may beat the Cummins to 60 MPH, but I'm not far behind and use less fuel to get there.
The bottom line, DW and I are going to tour the country for a few years pulling a 15,000 pound Montana, which one is the most reliable, well from all that I read Cummins was the way to go and that is what I ordered.
Funny how we all home-in on features, for example, my not caring for the red backlighting of the GMC trucks. I chose what meet my criteria, other will have a different set of criteria, that is why we have different manufactures. Like someone said above, all three will do the job.
Think about this, RAM uses Cummins, a company that does nothing but make diesel engines. They did the engine calibrations along with Bosh. Likely the reason I didn't read about Cummins in the repair shop stories. There are some out there but they are from folks with deleted pollution and tuned engines, I'm staying stock.
