Where to start? I need a truck!

[rob990]

I know it's a contentious issue, but I'm feeling overwhelmed with how to select a truck.

I know I need at least a 3-series to haul a TC at around 5000lb (AF990 loaded/wet should be around 5000lb)

I know Dodge Cummins diesel are highly sought after. Seems that Ford is next best.

But then there are certain years that the engines changed, additives are required or not....

Where is the summary of what is what in the truck world?

How can I start and not completely lose my mind in the mess of opinions?

FYI, I'm looking to buy used, maybe spend $30k

[KD4UPL]

So the payload difference is 5565 - 5096 = 469 pounds. Not that much different. Since the GM GVWR is 975 pounds lower that must mean your truck is 975 - 469 = 506 pounds lighter than the Ram when empty.

[billyray50]

RCMAN46 wrote:

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
The '01 to '04.5 LB7 Duramax had injector problems. Otherwise they were good engines but I would avoid because of the expensive injectors. The '04.5 to '05 LLY Duramax was a fine engine, some report having over heating issues. This engine had the smallest fan of any Duramax. My '05 has 214,000 miles on it and doesn't overheat.
The '06 - '07.5 LBZ is considered the absolute best, basically flawless, highly sought after, usually expensive. The Allison transmission went from a 5 speed to a 6 speed in '06. Duramaxes from '07.5 and on were fine, no major problems, just gained emissions junk that hurts mileage and makes things complicated.
The statement that GM trucks carry less weight than the corresponding year Ford/Dodge trucks is simply not true. In '01 for example, a Dodge dually had a GVWR of 10,500 while GM was 11,400. The GM truck was also several hundred pounds lighter and thus had well over 1,000 pounds of additional payload.
I highly recommend a GM truck. I've had 4 of them and worked them hard in my business towing and hauling. I don't put up with machines that aren't reliable and work well. My GM trucks had extremely good track records. My current '05 dually has 214,000 miles on it. It carries my truck camper and family at about 1,700 pounds over it's GVWR. It rides and handles very well.

Not disagreeing with you but am curious. My neighbor at our seasonal sight just bought a 2016 Chevy LTZ DRW 4x2 Duramax/Allison and his GVWR and payload is a lot less on door jam stickers than my 2015 Ram Laramie longhorn CTD DRW and mine is a 4x4?

So what do the stickers say? I would guess teh Chevy has a GVWR of 13,000 and the Ram is 14,000. I would also guess that the Chevy weighs about 800 pounds less empty. That would mean it probably has a payload of 200 pounds less than the Ram.
I'm doing a lot of guessing.

Ok here is the sticker pics of my neighbors new 2016 Chevy Silverado LTZ 4x2 Duramax/Allison truck.

Not Chevy bashing here at all. Actually my neighbor is curious too. We both have same truck configuration except his is 4x2 and my Ram is 4x4.

OK where is the sticker for your Ram?

My Truck has a GVWR 14,000 and payload of 5565 LB

[ppine]

Diesel is the word to remember. There are a lot of good ones.

I bought a 7.3 Ford new in 2002. It is the best vehicle I have ever had of over 30 vehicles. I made a few simple mods in the driveway, 4 inch exhaust, new air intake and a simple tuner. My Ford is a hot rod with over 300 hp. It tows like a dream and has gotten 23.8 mpg on the flats empty. Dodge and Chevy make good trucks. Compared to a gas truck all three are perfect.

[mkirsch]

The long and short of it is there is no one place where all this is summed up in one easy-to-digest little web page. One big problem with such a page is that it's a big job to compile all that, nobody is willing to do it for free, and nobody wants to pay to have it done.

If you want to do this without losing your mind, go shopping. Find one or two trucks that you think might do the job for you. Research THAT truck. Don't get mired down in trying to remember each and every problem with each and every model year of each and every brand. Just research THAT truck.

Don't fall for the impulse buy, especially at first. If the truck is such a good deal that it won't be there by the time you've researched it, let it go. You would probably regret buying it anyway. But, DO research it anyway, just to help build your knowledge.

In time you will start to learn the goods and bads about particular generations of the different brands of trucks.

Once you've built up all this knowledge, feel free to try creating a web page for the next guy. Then you'll see what I was talking about earlier.

[RCMAN46]

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
The '01 to '04.5 LB7 Duramax had injector problems. Otherwise they were good engines but I would avoid because of the expensive injectors. The '04.5 to '05 LLY Duramax was a fine engine, some report having over heating issues. This engine had the smallest fan of any Duramax. My '05 has 214,000 miles on it and doesn't overheat.
The '06 - '07.5 LBZ is considered the absolute best, basically flawless, highly sought after, usually expensive. The Allison transmission went from a 5 speed to a 6 speed in '06. Duramaxes from '07.5 and on were fine, no major problems, just gained emissions junk that hurts mileage and makes things complicated.
The statement that GM trucks carry less weight than the corresponding year Ford/Dodge trucks is simply not true. In '01 for example, a Dodge dually had a GVWR of 10,500 while GM was 11,400. The GM truck was also several hundred pounds lighter and thus had well over 1,000 pounds of additional payload.
I highly recommend a GM truck. I've had 4 of them and worked them hard in my business towing and hauling. I don't put up with machines that aren't reliable and work well. My GM trucks had extremely good track records. My current '05 dually has 214,000 miles on it. It carries my truck camper and family at about 1,700 pounds over it's GVWR. It rides and handles very well.

Not disagreeing with you but am curious. My neighbor at our seasonal sight just bought a 2016 Chevy LTZ DRW 4x2 Duramax/Allison and his GVWR and payload is a lot less on door jam stickers than my 2015 Ram Laramie longhorn CTD DRW and mine is a 4x4?

So what do the stickers say? I would guess teh Chevy has a GVWR of 13,000 and the Ram is 14,000. I would also guess that the Chevy weighs about 800 pounds less empty. That would mean it probably has a payload of 200 pounds less than the Ram.
I'm doing a lot of guessing.

Ok here is the sticker pics of my neighbors new 2016 Chevy Silverado LTZ 4x2 Duramax/Allison truck.

Not chevy bashing here at all. Actually my neighbor is curious too. We both have same truck configuration except his is 4x2 and my Ram is 4x4.

OK where is the sticker for your Ram?

[billyray50]

KD4UPL wrote:

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
The '01 to '04.5 LB7 Duramax had injector problems. Otherwise they were good engines but I would avoid because of the expensive injectors. The '04.5 to '05 LLY Duramax was a fine engine, some report having over heating issues. This engine had the smallest fan of any Duramax. My '05 has 214,000 miles on it and doesn't overheat.
The '06 - '07.5 LBZ is considered the absolute best, basically flawless, highly sought after, usually expensive. The Allison transmission went from a 5 speed to a 6 speed in '06. Duramaxes from '07.5 and on were fine, no major problems, just gained emissions junk that hurts mileage and makes things complicated.
The statement that GM trucks carry less weight than the corresponding year Ford/Dodge trucks is simply not true. In '01 for example, a Dodge dually had a GVWR of 10,500 while GM was 11,400. The GM truck was also several hundred pounds lighter and thus had well over 1,000 pounds of additional payload.
I highly recommend a GM truck. I've had 4 of them and worked them hard in my business towing and hauling. I don't put up with machines that aren't reliable and work well. My GM trucks had extremely good track records. My current '05 dually has 214,000 miles on it. It carries my truck camper and family at about 1,700 pounds over it's GVWR. It rides and handles very well.

Not disagreeing with you but am curious. My neighbor at our seasonal sight just bought a 2016 Chevy LTZ DRW 4x2 Duramax/Allison and his GVWR and payload is a lot less on door jam stickers than my 2015 Ram Laramie longhorn CTD DRW and mine is a 4x4?

So what do the stickers say? I would guess teh Chevy has a GVWR of 13,000 and the Ram is 14,000. I would also guess that the Chevy weighs about 800 pounds less empty. That would mean it probably has a payload of 200 pounds less than the Ram.
I'm doing a lot of guessing.

Ok here is the sticker pics of my neighbors new 2016 Chevy Silverado LTZ 4x2 Duramax/Allison truck.

Not chevy bashing here at all. Actually my neighbor is curious too. We both have same truck configuration except his is 4x2 and my Ram is 4x4.

[JIMNLIN]

rob990 wrote:
I probably should add that maximum power isn't the be all and end all for me, as long as I have *enough* power.

New truck or a used truck. Much depends on what year model trucks your looking at.

You don't need a 400 hp 900 ft lb diesel engine for just carrying around a 4k-6k truck camper. Now if your going to use the truck to pull your 15k-18k GN/5th wheel trailer then a diesel is needed.

Also don't rule out the new gen gas engines in the DRW trucks. Older trucks with Fords V10 or GM's 8.1 will easily do the job.

[Grit_dog]

Jimh, the OP only mentioned a diesel in his original post. Guessing that's why everyone "jumped on the diesel train."
I agree completely about used vehicles in the PNW. Having lived in a lot of different parts of the country, the PNW, wet side in particular, seems to be the overall easiest environmental conditions for vehicle longevity. Of course if everyone comes here to buy, it will make the already higher than avg prices go up even more!
Pluses here:
No extreme heat or cold. Easier on components.
Cloudy 300 @?!;&@ing days a year! Easy on paint, plastics, anything subject to UV damage.
No snow means very little salt or calcium on the roads, although king co likes to coat the roads with mag at the first sign of frost. Rains enough to wash it all away quickly though.
A lot of rain means fresh water rinse of under carriages daily from Oct - Apr. no build up trapping moisture for rust.
Wet roads over half the year are inherently easier on tires, drivetrain etc. Less stress on everything because in general, have to drive with a lighter foot on wet roads.
This really is worth considering for those buying used vehicles.

[billyray50]

RCMAN46 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
The '01 to '04.5 LB7 Duramax had injector problems. Otherwise they were good engines but I would avoid because of the expensive injectors. The '04.5 to '05 LLY Duramax was a fine engine, some report having over heating issues. This engine had the smallest fan of any Duramax. My '05 has 214,000 miles on it and doesn't overheat.
The '06 - '07.5 LBZ is considered the absolute best, basically flawless, highly sought after, usually expensive. The Allison transmission went from a 5 speed to a 6 speed in '06. Duramaxes from '07.5 and on were fine, no major problems, just gained emissions junk that hurts mileage and makes things complicated.
The statement that GM trucks carry less weight than the corresponding year Ford/Dodge trucks is simply not true. In '01 for example, a Dodge dually had a GVWR of 10,500 while GM was 11,400. The GM truck was also several hundred pounds lighter and thus had well over 1,000 pounds of additional payload.
I highly recommend a GM truck. I've had 4 of them and worked them hard in my business towing and hauling. I don't put up with machines that aren't reliable and work well. My GM trucks had extremely good track records. My current '05 dually has 214,000 miles on it. It carries my truck camper and family at about 1,700 pounds over it's GVWR. It rides and handles very well.

Not disagreeing with you but am curious. My neighbor at our seasonal sight just bought a 2016 Chevy LTZ DRW 4x2 Duramax/Allison and his GVWR and payload is a lot less on door jam stickers than my 2015 Ram Laramie longhorn CTD DRW and mine is a 4x4?

So what do the stickers say? I would guess teh Chevy has a GVWR of 13,000 and the Ram is 14,000. I would also guess that the Chevy weighs about 800 pounds less empty. That would mean it probably has a payload of 200 pounds less than the Ram.
I'm doing a lot of guessing.

Pictures of the stickers would put a definite end to guessing.

I will try to get a picture of his stickers. I just was surprised that GVWR was 13,100 and change and payload was just shy of 5000 with a 4x2 that's all. Real nice truck though.

[lonegunman]

You should be able to find a 2011 or so F-350 with a 6.7 diesel used in decent shape for under 30K with a warranty. I've had mine since new in 2011 and it has been trouble free. I've changed fuel filters and had one issue with an emissions glitch that was still under warranty.

It has tons of power and cruises everywhere effortlessly. If you needed a nice truck to haul an AF990 this would be my pick. You do not need a dually in spite of the advice of some here, you do need to add airbags and buying a truck with "camper package" and/or heavy duty suspension options is a must,

[deltabravo]

I'd highly recommend a dually for hauling a 990.

I haul my AF811 on a dually, and I'm glad I went dually.

[RCMAN46]

KD4UPL wrote:

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
The '01 to '04.5 LB7 Duramax had injector problems. Otherwise they were good engines but I would avoid because of the expensive injectors. The '04.5 to '05 LLY Duramax was a fine engine, some report having over heating issues. This engine had the smallest fan of any Duramax. My '05 has 214,000 miles on it and doesn't overheat.
The '06 - '07.5 LBZ is considered the absolute best, basically flawless, highly sought after, usually expensive. The Allison transmission went from a 5 speed to a 6 speed in '06. Duramaxes from '07.5 and on were fine, no major problems, just gained emissions junk that hurts mileage and makes things complicated.
The statement that GM trucks carry less weight than the corresponding year Ford/Dodge trucks is simply not true. In '01 for example, a Dodge dually had a GVWR of 10,500 while GM was 11,400. The GM truck was also several hundred pounds lighter and thus had well over 1,000 pounds of additional payload.
I highly recommend a GM truck. I've had 4 of them and worked them hard in my business towing and hauling. I don't put up with machines that aren't reliable and work well. My GM trucks had extremely good track records. My current '05 dually has 214,000 miles on it. It carries my truck camper and family at about 1,700 pounds over it's GVWR. It rides and handles very well.

Not disagreeing with you but am curious. My neighbor at our seasonal sight just bought a 2016 Chevy LTZ DRW 4x2 Duramax/Allison and his GVWR and payload is a lot less on door jam stickers than my 2015 Ram Laramie longhorn CTD DRW and mine is a 4x4?

So what do the stickers say? I would guess teh Chevy has a GVWR of 13,000 and the Ram is 14,000. I would also guess that the Chevy weighs about 800 pounds less empty. That would mean it probably has a payload of 200 pounds less than the Ram.
I'm doing a lot of guessing.

Pictures of the stickers would put a definite end to guessing.

[KD4UPL]

billyray50 wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
The '01 to '04.5 LB7 Duramax had injector problems. Otherwise they were good engines but I would avoid because of the expensive injectors. The '04.5 to '05 LLY Duramax was a fine engine, some report having over heating issues. This engine had the smallest fan of any Duramax. My '05 has 214,000 miles on it and doesn't overheat.
The '06 - '07.5 LBZ is considered the absolute best, basically flawless, highly sought after, usually expensive. The Allison transmission went from a 5 speed to a 6 speed in '06. Duramaxes from '07.5 and on were fine, no major problems, just gained emissions junk that hurts mileage and makes things complicated.
The statement that GM trucks carry less weight than the corresponding year Ford/Dodge trucks is simply not true. In '01 for example, a Dodge dually had a GVWR of 10,500 while GM was 11,400. The GM truck was also several hundred pounds lighter and thus had well over 1,000 pounds of additional payload.
I highly recommend a GM truck. I've had 4 of them and worked them hard in my business towing and hauling. I don't put up with machines that aren't reliable and work well. My GM trucks had extremely good track records. My current '05 dually has 214,000 miles on it. It carries my truck camper and family at about 1,700 pounds over it's GVWR. It rides and handles very well.

Not disagreeing with you but am curious. My neighbor at our seasonal sight just bought a 2016 Chevy LTZ DRW 4x2 Duramax/Allison and his GVWR and payload is a lot less on door jam stickers than my 2015 Ram Laramie longhorn CTD DRW and mine is a 4x4?

So what do the stickers say? I would guess teh Chevy has a GVWR of 13,000 and the Ram is 14,000. I would also guess that the Chevy weighs about 800 pounds less empty. That would mean it probably has a payload of 200 pounds less than the Ram.
I'm doing a lot of guessing.

[jimh406]

I'm not sure why everyone is jumping on the diesel train, but a 10 year old diesel is probably not going to be trouble free. I would have bought a Dodge/Ram/GM/Chevrolet if I believed everything in this forum. However, there are other sites out there that have a bigger sample of input. You'll find there is no such thing as a model that is bullet proof. Sure, there are some years/models that have more issues than others.

If you want to know all of the issues for each brands, go ask about all three in the truck owner sites. 🙂

By now, all 10 year old vehicles problems are well documented and other than the first year models, any "could" be a good truck. The actual truck you get has more to do with reliability than the model/year/brand.

I bought a diesel again in case I get a fiver later on, and think this truck will last 20 years. It had been well taken care of according to Carfax and was a one owner. There are people out there that take care of everything they buy and there are others that destroy every vehicle they have before trade in/selling it.

Up until the last few years, the GVWR of all brands weren't anywhere near the same. Well, they were within thousands. You can argue that the axles/tires were rated the same or nearly the same. I believe GMs ride the best with their weaker front axle and generally have worse brakes in the 10 year old models compared to any other models.

That being said, if you truly want to save money and don't need a diesel, buy a gasoline model from the Northwest if you can find one. The trucks around here don't rust out as much as other areas of the country.

[Reddog1]

I have never owned a Ford or GM diesel. But, I have become an expert on both of them through the internet.

I an just jesting with the BS in my first paragraph. When you read several of the post, they too are just BS. I would ask anyone reading this thread to ask someone that makes a post about a given brand of truck if they have ever owned one, especially if they are posting negatives. It has been my experience that most people will be very defensive with what they have. Some people are so biased, they have only owned one brand of truck.

About a week ago, I realized from experience that ride and load capacity wise there are so many factors to consider.

I have two trucks:

A 1996 2500 2WD SRW Extended Cab long bed diesel. I added one lief to the spring pack, it has no overloads other than the bottom, but does have airbags and 19.5 tires.


My second truck is a 2004 3500 4WD DRW Dodge diesel Quad Cab. The '04 has stock suspension which includes upper and lower overload springs, and stock tires.

Empty, the '96 rides like a covered wagon, and the '04 rides like one of my previous Cadillacs. This is not an exaggeration. In reading the posts through the years, I would have thought the 3500 would have given the rough ride.

Last week, I rode in a 2016 Ram 3500 SRW 4WD short bed Mega Cab. It had only the lower overloads and stock tires. The main leaf pack looked the same as my '04, with the exception the lower leaf appeared engaged with no load in the bed. The ride was as bad as my '96, maybe even rougher. I have rode in a 2004 3500 4WD DRW quad(?) cab GMC completely stock. It rode about the same as my '04.

I am making this post to point out that you can only say how smooth a truck of any size or manufacture rides if you have ridden in it. You can speak in very general terms, but ... There are simply too many factors to consider to generalize.

Wayne