mooty

that's great. my 2500 duramax also in SF bay, 16mpg avg fwy/local no tow
when towing 13000 lbs, 9mpg

Carrera GT

Each of the truck/diesel sites has turned into a zoo. Even the moderators are mongrels.

As for the truck, I see no problem with the diesel and some problems (aside from woeful mpg in the 6.2 gas engine.)

The fully boxed rails on the GM is a good improvement, but practically irrelevant unless you stress the chassis (nobody at 10-15K trailer is going to stress a 20K+ frame) and in the driving, I really couldn't tell any difference, especially the same old Allison smooth shift that the newer boxes have replaced with quick shifts and a quick lock-up in the higher gears.

All three still seemed to hunt for a gear if you let them fool themselves. Easily driven around once the right foot programs itself.

Cabin noise is the big plus for me in the Fud, but you'd have to imagine GM and Dodge are looking at quiet engines and quiet cabins for their next update. I'd get an older Chev or Dodge, but I wouldn't touch a pre-2011 Ford at this stage.

bperry

I have a 2011 F350 SRW King Ranch 4x4 on order. Have a 2008 F250 KR 4X4 as my tow rig now. The 6.4 in the 08 is a fuel hog (6-7mpg towing) as stated earlier. I'm hoping with the the new motor and urea injection instead of the huge afterburner to get a little better mileage.

On the Fords to get a lower rearend ratio of 3.55 instead of the standard 3.31 you have to either order the 20" wheels or order a package like snow plow or camper PKG which changes the front springs to stiffer. I need the lower rearend for when I install my 35 x 12.50's.

Ford now offers the gooseneck/fifth wheel prep in the short bed. However is you order it you will be stuck with getting high priced accesories through Ford parts or Reese elite. I personally like the B&W turn over ball better.

P.J.S.

the 2011 dealer order guide (went over it today with fleet salesman) says 8 ft bed required for 5th wheel prep on f350... are you saying that that has changed since the order guide was printed? if so, thanks for the tip!

bperry

PJ, Yes it has changed. However, take a hard look at the B&W Hide a ball. I was going to order the prep pkg as well but just the gooseneck ball for the prep pkg is $250 and unavailable through ford right now. Also a lot of complaints on Dieselstop that the 5 plastic plugs that are in the bed at delivery are easily knocked out. The Reese elite fifthwheel attachment is around $1800where the B&W companion 5th wheel is around $750. Just food for thought.

P.J.S.

very good to know and thank you for the tip :-)

I honestly do not envision using a gooseneck/5th wheel set up but was considering the "prep" as a just in case idea.

I think ideally I will end up with a 24 ft tag trailer of sorts

I am only hauling one car and all that goes with it (tools, extra wheels/tires, coolers, chairs, etc)

even that will be a ways off... sticking with my little open trailer for now

thanks for all the good posting on this thread everyone!

mooty

LMK when u are flush with money.
$60k, you can have it.
i think by the time you are ready, i may be itching....

Crazy Canuck

Here's the 28' ATC we'll be using for the next couple of years.
Graphics will be installed in a bit.

http://www.primotrailersales.com/etInvItem.php?tid=98

Dry weight is 4678# with 7' interior height and lots of extras.

Tom Pritchett

I think that all of the pickup diesels before 2011 are bad. I have both Ford and Dodge trucks. No, sorry, no Chevys. The 2000 Excursion with the 7.3 is bulletproof. The '97 Dodge with the mechanical fuel injection was awesome. The 03, 05, and 06 Dodge trucks I have are great. I don't know that I would buy anything new. I tow a 580K extendahoe 4x4 glass cab back hoe on a 12 ton goose neck trailer. It does a pretty good job. I have always felt that the Dodges have pulled harder than my Fords.

New, I don't know. That is why I still have my older trucks. However there is someting kind of cool about peeing in a Ford to fill the urea tank.

NJR911

I have an 08 f250 4x4 crewcab with the 6.4 I use to pull my turbo and our cattle(and everything else) with the B/W turnover ball. Tom is right the 7.3's were bulletproof the 6.0 not so good then navistar got heavy involved with the 6.4 and it's been bulletproof except for the poor fuel economy (federally mandated junk on the exhaust). However that can be fixed with a spartan tuner and the dpf/cat delete which I have had on my truck and If I drove like grandma I would get 22+ mpg, but average 17 to 18 unloaded and 12 to 13 loaded.

I have considered the new ford and have many friends that have them but realistic mpg are the same or less than what I get with my 08 and with the tuner set for towing (210 hp) I can dust them. The new ford does ride much smoother offroad and is VERY nice inside the cabin (electronics) so I do see one in my future!

tcsracing1

you are right. My 07 dodge cummins also serves me well as have my 87, 92, 03 and 06 dodge. The 1999-2002 Ford superduty 7.3L diesel was also a rock solid performer that i still use to this day.
And this new burden of having to fill a separate tank with urea (or ****) has killed the new model year diesel idea for me.

that being said, the 2011 dodge diesel does not require urea!

goooo dodge!

bgiere

Get a Dodge Cummins...why screw around with something unproven? I am a little biased as every Ford truck I have had (4 in total) has been an absolute POS. We do work them hard but they were always over maintained. Our Dodge trucks have been pretty damn good.

tcsracing1

If you do not mind used, a great find would be a low mile 2009 dodge 3500 cummins single rear wheel in quad cab.

This was the last year for the mini rear door quad cab. The best cab ever.

the newer full four door models are just too damn big and long.....

bperry

Really? It's that difficult to add 5 gallons of fluid to the tank every 5,000+ miles. This urea fluid is already sold at service stations around here.

Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW already use this technology in their Clean Diesels. A Huge DPF (diesel particulate filter) used to burn away pollution is Old school and a waste of fuel. Like going back to a carburetor on your GT3.

bperry

Wow! I'm not calling BS on this but I had the Spartan Diesel Technology Tuner with the DPF delete pipe and cold air intake and best My 2008 6.4l crew cab 4X4 could manage was 15 mpg unloaded hand calculated. Pulling my 24 ft aluminum enclosed trailer with the GT3 (7000#) dropped the mileage to 8 mpg. Sneaky thing that the spartan tuner does is screw up the on board fuel mileage calculator! The Lie-O-Meter on the the dash said I was getting 21-22 mpg unloaded. They've been called on it on several diesel boards.

However I agree it runs like a raped ape with the 275 tune