We currently pull a Flagstaff 26RLWS, 30' and 7500lbs or so, with a 2002 Chevy 1500HD. Ole Red is getting a little long in the tooth and it's time to consider a new tow vehicle. Looking at Ford, Chevy and Ram 250/2500 trucks. When/if we upgrade the RV, it won't be with anything considerably bigger than what we have. Have been very happy with the 1500HD. It's basically a 3/4 ton truck in disguise. 3080lb payload, 6.0, 4L80 transmission, 8 lug wheels and 373 rear end. Tows very well. Anyway, I would like owners impressions of the differences between the manufacturers. Not just ratings but, having lived with a truck for a few years, what are your impressions and experiences? Reliability? There doesn't seem to be a major cost difference between any of them of any significance and the capabilities are very similar for what we'll be dealing with. Not considering a diesel, just doesn't work for us. Greatly appreciate everyone's input.

Any of them would work. I will say the park rangers where we camp host have one of the aluminum bed Fords and absolutely HATE it. After less than one year the bed already had holes in it. Lots of dents too from putting stuff in there. So if you actually use your truck for more than a grocery getter, think carefully. As for which one? Go drive them all. Ram, folowed by Ford probably have the most polished interiors. GM follows third. When you finally decide, check places like Dennis Dillon, and Dave Smith motors for their best fly/drive price.

donn0128 wrote:Any of them would work. I will say the park rangers where we camp host have one of the aluminum bed Fords and absolutely HATE it. After less than one year the bed already had holes in it. Lots of dents too from putting stuff in there. So if you actually use your truck for more than a grocery getter, think carefully. As for which one? Go drive them all. Ram, folowed by Ford probably have the most polished interiors. GM follows third. When you finally decide, check places like Dennis Dillon, and Dave Smith motors for their best fly/drive price.This is a very good summary and is what I saw as I was searching for a new rig. Ended up with the Ram but bigger since I have a larger trailer. I have an 04 Chevy truck for work and it doesn’t seem like GM has improved as much as Ram has since I first owned one 12 years ago.

If you're looking at new trucks and considering the possibility of a future RV upgrade, skip the 3/4-ton trucks and go straight to a SRW 1-ton. In the same configuration and option package, the price difference is very small but the payload differences are big. There are lots of people who are sorry they bought a 2500/F250 (including me in the past) but I've never met anyone who was sorry they bought a 3500/F350. All three brands will do the job.Rob

I hardly consider how an employee treats a company vehicle a fair comparison to how someone would treat their own. I know several people that drive aluminum box F150's. Not one of them has dents or a hole in their's, or even scratchd paint. I see it everyday on construction sites. People abusing the trucks that the company owns compared to how they treat their own truck. I've seen 2500 series and 3500 series Chevy, Ford and Ram's beat to shiiit in 3 months. That's the difference between someone that bought and paid for their $50,000.00 truck and someone that drives a truck they didn't have to pay for.Show me someone's personal vehicle that has holes in it and then we'll talk.Or how about any of you Chevy or Ram owners that would let me dump a load of blocks into your $50,000.00 truck with a loader raise your hand.

troubledwaters wrote:Show me someone's personal vehicle that has holes in it and then we'll talk.Or how about any of you Chevy or Ram owners that would let me dump a load of blocks into your $50,000.00 truck with a loader raise your hand.OK, I just unloaded 5000 pounds of inch and a half minus rock out of the bed of my Ram. No scratches or dents. Could you say the same for an aluminum bed? I doubt it. BTW this is my personal truck bought specifically for hauling my fiver, not a work truck. I like many people buy and use their trucks for everything. Not garage queens.Buy what floats your boat, and if that happens to be an aluminum Ford glad for you. All I did was point out how unhappy the park rangers were with the choice thrust upon them by the powers to be at the State motor pool. The truck is driven by only a few employees, and while it is used for work they do take pride in their equipment.

Starting the new truck hunt | Good Sam Community

dugwms
Explorer
Feb 16, 2018
We've got 173k on ours. And no real issues to speak of but are looking at some long trips and a little concerned about the mileage. It's been a great truck. We may keep it for another year. Just can't seem to make a decision and, you know the saying, if you can't make a decision... don't.
wowens79
Explorer III
Feb 16, 2018
So how many miles do you have in your 1500HD? Any serious problems??
I've got 215,000 miles on mine, and it has been a great truck, but I've got the itch for the ram with the 6.4, but I kinda hate to leave the Chevy since it has been so good, but I would really like more power, but don't want diesel. I drove an f-250 the other day but didn't like it. I really like the Ram.
dugwms
Explorer
Feb 16, 2018
wowens79 wrote:
Take a look at where the powerband is on the 5.7 It is at a much higher RPM, and a much narrower rpm range. I really don't think you will be gaining much over your current 6.0 other than less miles, and a bunch of payload capacity. Not sure where you are, but I've been talking to a dealer in NC, and they are over $9k off on a 2018 2500 Bighorn with the 6.4. If you shop around you can get the pricing on what you want.

I bet a 3500 with the 5.7 is a had truck for them to sell.

That's certainly my concern. And the 6.4 comes on much sooner. My only encouragement is that TFL did the Ike Gauntlet with the 5.7 pulling 9000 and it did very well. Still haven't made up my mind though... ug...
wowens79
Explorer III
Feb 16, 2018
Take a look at where the powerband is on the 5.7 It is at a much higher RPM, and a much narrower rpm range. I really don't think you will be gaining much over your current 6.0 other than less miles, and a bunch of payload capacity. Not sure where you are, but I've been talking to a dealer in NC, and they are over $9k off on a 2018 2500 Bighorn with the 6.4. If you shop around you can get the pricing on what you want.

I bet a 3500 with the 5.7 is a had truck for them to sell.
dugwms
Explorer
Feb 16, 2018
Well, we found a left over 2017 Ram 3500 with everything we want except the 6.4. It has the 5.7. The good to that is, no MDS to worry about. The bad is, slightly less power. I'm not sure that is such a problem because we're only towing around 8000 and do not ever see getting any larger RV. There are many state parks we would like to go to now and can't because our trailer is too long. Not really interested in a bigger RV so, maybe the 5.7 will be just fine. The really good part is the truck is almost $10000 off sticker. Payload is 4090 and towing is over 11000. I'm seriously considering it.
Sportsmen
Explorer II
Feb 15, 2018
BurbMan wrote:
I don't know if the MDS technology is the same in the 6.4 as it is in the 5.7, but I can tell you we bought one of the first 2005 Magnums to come off the line in Sept 2004. First year for the Magnum, first year for the all-new 5.7 Hemi with MDS.

The MDS works in the 5.7 by redirecting oil pressure to deactivate lifters and keep valves closed while the PCM turns off fuel and spark to those cylinders. Sounded terribly complicated, so I got the 7/70 Dodge extended warranty because I had my doubts about the MDS technology. Here we are 13 years later, 142k miles, and the motor has never been opened, not even valve cover gaskets.

I suspect that a lot of problems with AFM/MDS are a result of engine sludge. This technology incorporates several new points of potential failure. The lifters are different than conventional lifters and are a know point of failure in many of these vehicles. Both the GM and Ram engines require that the heads be removed to replace the lifters. I have attached a link that details the GM AFM system, but the Ram is similar....

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/38005/how-does-cylinder-deactivation-work
dugwms
Explorer
Feb 14, 2018
BurbMan wrote:
I don't know if the MDS technology is the same in the 6.4 as it is in the 5.7, but I can tell you we bought one of the first 2005 Magnums to come off the line in Sept 2004. First year for the Magnum, first year for the all-new 5.7 Hemi with MDS.

The MDS works in the 5.7 by redirecting oil pressure to deactivate lifters and keep valves closed while the PCM turns off fuel and spark to those cylinders. Sounded terribly complicated, so I got the 7/70 Dodge extended warranty because I had my doubts about the MDS technology. Here we are 13 years later, 142k miles, and the motor has never been opened, not even valve cover gaskets.

Apparently, it's still the same. Doesn't seem to be any issues with it. Probably extra points for Chevy for not having it but I don't know that it's enough to sway the decision.
BurbMan
Explorer II
Feb 14, 2018
I don't know if the MDS technology is the same in the 6.4 as it is in the 5.7, but I can tell you we bought one of the first 2005 Magnums to come off the line in Sept 2004. First year for the Magnum, first year for the all-new 5.7 Hemi with MDS.

The MDS works in the 5.7 by redirecting oil pressure to deactivate lifters and keep valves closed while the PCM turns off fuel and spark to those cylinders. Sounded terribly complicated, so I got the 7/70 Dodge extended warranty because I had my doubts about the MDS technology. Here we are 13 years later, 142k miles, and the motor has never been opened, not even valve cover gaskets.
dugwms
Explorer
Feb 14, 2018
Tvov wrote:
dugwms wrote:
Ltrip wrote:
Great discussion!! I have a 2018 Ford F250 Crew Cab, 6.75' bed, diesel, 4X4 on order, so I don't have experience with it yet.
One poster said "I will never buy a Ford because of...." Well, I had a bad experience with Dodge, and feel the same way. Probably irrational.
It also depends on what features are important to you. We each have individual preferences beyond all the specs.
For me, I want the high tech that the Ford has. Cameras, blindspot and especially the adaptive cruise control.
Good luck in your search!

We're going exactly opposite. As plain and simple as possible. This truck's sole purpose in life will be to tow our RV and keep the dog out of the nice cars. The less stuff to break, the better. That's what I like so much about our 02 1500HD. Simple as a rock and very little to go wrong when you're miles from anywhere camping.

dugwms, don't be so quick to not look at all the available options today. Most of them are REALLY nice to have when towing / camping! To the point where you wonder how you got along without them. And many times they come with the "tow package" options anyways. Sometimes a dealer will give you a discount on a nicely optioned truck to get it off the lot - special ordering a less optioned truck may actually cost more.

Keep an open mind, and good luck on dealing with the dealers!

We've speced out a Chevy work truck and Ram Tradesman with all the goodies for towing. It's hard to find one on a dealer lot around here because we don't want 4WD, only 2WD. We don't need diesel for what we are towing and where we go. Would it occasionally be nice? Sure but can we justify the cost? Not at all. While the 10 camera setup with the Ford is impressive it's just not worth it to me. Ram is much easier to spec out with what you need without having to add "packages" that cost thousands just to get the towing mirrors you want. Although I'm a Chevy guy, our current HD has been awesome, I'm seriously leaning toward the Ram. That Hemi is the berries. Doing my research on MDS now. If I read everything correctly, the Chevy doesn't have AFM in the HD trucks, only 1500 series. I haven't looked into it too much just yet. Overall, I was more impressed with the Ram than the Chevy.
4x4ord
Explorer III
Feb 14, 2018
dugwms wrote:
Ltrip wrote:
Great discussion!! I have a 2018 Ford F250 Crew Cab, 6.75' bed, diesel, 4X4 on order, so I don't have experience with it yet.
One poster said "I will never buy a Ford because of...." Well, I had a bad experience with Dodge, and feel the same way. Probably irrational.
It also depends on what features are important to you. We each have individual preferences beyond all the specs.
For me, I want the high tech that the Ford has. Cameras, blindspot and especially the adaptive cruise control.
Good luck in your search!

We're going exactly opposite. As plain and simple as possible. This truck's sole purpose in life will be to tow our RV and keep the dog out of the nice cars. The less stuff to break, the better. That's what I like so much about our 02 1500HD. Simple as a rock and very little to go wrong when you're miles from anywhere camping.

Ive had fully loaded vehicles for years. My 03 Duramax is junk....everything has failed on that truck. But, with all the trucks I've had since that piece of junk I have not had a single problem.

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