Lots of Fords

How many Ram Class A's or C's were there?

otrfun wrote:
When I was in the market for a new 1-ton, I tried to keep an open mind and test drove all the big 3 diesel offerings. The test drive themselves didn't sway me one way or the other. They all drove great. Yes, I did notice the Ford and Chevy were a little quicker off the line than the Ram. They all impressed me equally in terms of styling and features.

However, when it came down to the wire, there were two significant reasons I went with a Ram Cummins. One was price. Checking prices nationwide, Ram Cummins were discounted about $3k-$6k more than comparatively equipped Ford or Chevys. Price isn't everything, but I can do a lot with 3-6 thousand dollars. Number two, I personnally visited a number of independent diesel repair facilities over the course of a month. Both in-town and out-of-town. The vast majority of the mechanics I spoke to commented on the reliability of the Cummins 6.7. It's very hard to ignore that kind of endorsement.

I've never been much of a Dodge/Chrysler/Ram fan. In fact, I've never owned a Chrysler product new or used till now. In the early days I stayed with GM, then later moved on to Honda/Toyota/Nissan. Honestly, if Toyota made a 1-ton that would have been my first choice--even if it costed $3k-$6k more. Toyota's "overall" reputation for quality engineering has been proven to me time and time again.

In any case, I've got 4,300 miles on my '16 Ram Cummins. Yup, I was disappointed to have a improperly positioned radiator shroud take out my radiator at 800 miles, but hey, the local dealer did a super job of getting it fixed quickly and professionally. Experienced some of the best customer service I've experienced in quite a while---was very pleasantly surprised. Beyond that burp, I've been totally impressed with this truck. Just got through pulling our new 12.5k (loaded) 5th wheel on a 1,000 mile trip through many thousands of feet of elevation changes in 112 degree heat. Performed flawlessly while providing almost 12 MPG! Fit and finish on the interior and exterior is excellent. My only complaint? Cheap-ass Firestone tires--lol!

My cousin has been a diesel tech since '93 and worked only on Ford diesels until a couple of years ago when mostly the 6.0/6.4 PSD were out of warranty. He has been working in the Chrysler shop working on ram diesels now and the ford shop has reduced it's diesel techs almost 50%. He also reported the red tape is terrible with FCA whereas in the Ford shop they were given more wiggle room to handle warranty repairs without pre approvals. The emissions equipment, injectors, transmissions, suspension overhals, and electrical grimlins keep's him very busy in the Chrysler shop.

Good luck with your truck....

When I was in the market for a new 1-ton, I tried to keep an open mind and test drove all the big 3 diesel offerings. The test drive themselves didn't sway me one way or the other. They all drove great. Yes, I did notice the Ford and Chevy were a little quicker off the line than the Ram. They all impressed me equally in terms of styling and features.

However, when it came down to the wire, there were two significant reasons I went with a Ram Cummins. One was price. Checking prices nationwide, Ram Cummins were discounted about $3k-$6k more than comparatively equipped Ford or Chevys. Price isn't everything, but I can do a lot with 3-6 thousand dollars. Number two, I personnally visited a number of independent diesel repair facilities over the course of a month. Both in-town and out-of-town. The vast majority of the mechanics I spoke to commented on the reliability of the Cummins 6.7. It's very hard to ignore that kind of endorsement.

I've never been much of a Dodge/Chrysler/Ram fan. In fact, I've never owned a Chrysler product new or used till now. In the early days I stayed with GM, then later moved on to Honda/Toyota/Nissan. Honestly, if Toyota made a 1-ton that would have been my first choice--even if it costed $3k-$6k more. Toyota's "overall" reputation for quality engineering has been proven to me time and time again.

In any case, I've got 4,300 miles on my '16 Ram Cummins. Yup, I was disappointed to have a improperly positioned radiator shroud take out my radiator at 800 miles, but hey, the local dealer did a super job of getting it fixed quickly and professionally. Experienced some of the best customer service I've experienced in quite a while---was very pleasantly surprised. Beyond that burp, I've been totally impressed with this truck. Just got through pulling our new 12.5k (loaded) 5th wheel on a 1,000 mile trip through many thousands of feet of elevation changes in 112 degree heat. Performed flawlessly while providing almost 12 MPG! Fit and finish on the interior and exterior is excellent. My only complaint? Cheap-ass Firestone tires--lol!

Ford definitely owns by far the commercial light/light-medium duty (class 2, 3, 4, 5) truck market. In medium/medium-heavy (classes 6 and 7), it's all about International and Freightliner.

Around here, private owner light trucks (classes 1, 2, 3) are about equally divided between the 3 US brands. Nissan and Toyota barely make a dent in that market around here.

Seems to be mostly a regional thing. Here on the west coast I see more Chevys in campgrounds, then Fords, and then Dodges. (However, the last couple of years we're seeing more Dodges than before.) When we make our occasional journey to Arkansas it seems everyone there is driving a Ford.

I don't like to get involved in truck brand wars, but I have to agree with FishOnOne. Ford Owns Work! I know this cause it says so right in my SuperDuty brochure.

Also he is right, many are not diesel engines. The 6.8 V-10 was used in many work vehicles, as is the 6.2 in recent years.

I might add that if I were heavy hauling, RV delivery/Hotshot, I'd be using a diesel, likely a Cummins. :)

Jerry

Just look at the independent RV and Hotshot haulers, I did a study in "faith" counting the numbers traveling from SoCal to Elkhart, IN. It was around 5 to one with RAM trucks dominating the independent hauler world.

Over 1/2 of the Fords were the good ol 7.3! Hey who would not want a truck that has a "PowerStroke" under the hood?

My 2012 Super Duty 6.7 Power Stroke has 95k miles and it has yet to need a repair. The leather seats are holding up really great, the interior has zero rattles or noises, the exterior still looks like new, and the engine/transmission continues to perform second to none.

To date replaced windshield wipers, 3rd brake light bulb, and recently installed 3rd set of tires.

This has been a awesome truck and I have been really impressed with the overall quality of the truck.

I still see way more Fords at the campgrounds, farm trucks, ranch trucks, construction sites, utility company's, and emergency vehicles and their not all the 6.7 PSD either.

I guess thats why "We Own Work"!

stickdog wrote:
6.0 and 6.4 were not Ford engines 6.7 was Ford designed and built.
As far as the quality of the truck other than the engine Ford is beyond the others.

http://www.jdpower.com/sites/default/files/2016027_us_vds_v3.pdf

In reality I think they're all pretty good. The single biggest factor that swayed me into a Ram is the CP3 pump.

stickdog wrote:
6.0 and 6.4 were not Ford engines 6.7 was Ford designed and built.
As far as the quality of the truck other than the engine Ford is beyond the others.

....and if that's the case regarding the "quality of the truck" ( except the engine ).....then GM and Dodge must be really junky :)

I have a '06 Ford with 55K miles, and a '06 Nissan with 125K miles. The Ford is falling apart with rust, rattles, the driver seat stitching is tearing apart ( leather ) and generally has poor body integrity, and the Nissan still looks like new, no rust, the doors still close with a solid "bank vault like" sound, no squeaks, no rattles, seats ( cloth ) are still fine.

Both trucks used and maintained essentially the same way.

Of course, the Nissan won't pull a 14K pound horse trailer though.....;)

EDIT: and yes, I too kind of "count the trucks", while out. I've noticed in general at horse shows, about half the trucks are Ford, and the other half more or less equally divided between GM and Dodge ( Ram ). So it seems just from looking that Ford super duty has the lions share in the kowgirl kadillac market.