Trying to decide on half ton- reliability?
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Joined: Dec 2011
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I had a an 2006 sick-O and an 08 6.4 and an 04 5.4 and a few other 5.4's.
Still have an 08 5.4 f-350 for work. Not very happy with the 5.4's. They are week doggy motors with no real pep.
I have a couple buddies that have the 6.7 and they have been very happy with them aside from mileage. My thoughts are if you don't have a 10k or more trailer hooked to your truck 90% of the time it simply does not pay to have a newer diesel. I love the power of a diesel but the cost of ownership simply doesn't make sence of you don't need one.
I do still have an 06 Chevy with the Diramax/Allison for the horse trailer cause fully loaded it comes in around 20k# and it's a great truck that has cost me nothing other then normal maint.
I'm typing on my phone and my thumb is about to give up. I'll be happy to share my thoughts on the 6.0 & 6.4 when I get to my keyboard.
Still have an 08 5.4 f-350 for work. Not very happy with the 5.4's. They are week doggy motors with no real pep.
I have a couple buddies that have the 6.7 and they have been very happy with them aside from mileage. My thoughts are if you don't have a 10k or more trailer hooked to your truck 90% of the time it simply does not pay to have a newer diesel. I love the power of a diesel but the cost of ownership simply doesn't make sence of you don't need one.
I do still have an 06 Chevy with the Diramax/Allison for the horse trailer cause fully loaded it comes in around 20k# and it's a great truck that has cost me nothing other then normal maint.
I'm typing on my phone and my thumb is about to give up. I'll be happy to share my thoughts on the 6.0 & 6.4 when I get to my keyboard.
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Joined: Dec 2011
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Next summer/fall when rebates are highest & you can still order 2012s I am going to order a new half ton gasser. I have been a motor builder racer hot rodder since about 1980. Bought my 87 Buick Grand National brand new. Love it and big V8s. Actually I love about all motor designs for their attributes or what they are best for. We have a fleet of about 25 pickups at our shop that are run two shifts many with lots of miles. Half are diesels that usually carry 3 to 6 guys, medium loads and drag 9 & 10k trailers. The other half are gassers that normally carry supervisors & light loads. Mostly Ford but several Chevys & Dodges as well. I can talk about pick up trucks. Big rigs run turbos all day long for millions of miles they are as reliable as anything else in your engine. Done right that is not exclusive to Diesels. We are not talking late 70s early 80s non computer controlled carberated gassers here. Nate you sound like a great guy but you are no motor builder engineer and kind of got off track into something you know little about.
I have been studying all the latest generation & current half ton gassers for months. Best depends on how you use your truck and whats important to you. I am not brand loyal. Overall the Hemi powered Dodge and the Ecoboost powered Ford stand head and shoulders above the other three in half ton gassers. At least for most peoples uses and somewhat to satisfy my hot rod heart.
Aside from great looks the big three decision makers for most people are; How much do you tow both weight & miles, how important is fuel economy to you, and how important is sound to you. Reliability and warranty shouldn't be a big issue as all are well tested and reliable. That said it can be, and the most important thing about it often comes down to whether you bought from a good dealer with a good service department that will take care of you should bad things happen.
If its not being used as a hard core heavy loads work truck the Dodge coil suspension is outstanding. It rides and handles superior to everything else out there. The Dodge is also quiet and aerodynamic compared to the others. Driven reasonably intelligently the Dodge 2WD will get 20 hwy even with 3.92s. So fuel economy is good relative to the size weight & power. FWIW given the weight of the truck and where the Hemi put down what torque the 3.92 is ideal as is getting the LS differential. Also the sound of the Hemi is music to most peoples ears. In the 2012 1500 Dodges 65RFE 6 speed (545RFE 5 speed with software changes etc) is kind of its weak spot if you are pulling heavy loads often or raceing it around hard or drag racing it. In the 2012 2500 Hemi Dodge put the 66RFE 6 speed which is great. IMO Dodge should have put the 66RFE in the 1500 as well. It might in part be because rumor is that Dodge is working on putting the new 845RFE 8 speed in the 1500 as well as offering an SRT version with the 6.4. Happy day.
The Ford Ecoboost is more suited and a better puller than the Hemi. More torque and at lower rpms. Probably also outlast the Hemi if you are constantly pulling lots of weight. But if you are doing that you should be looking at a 2500+ diesel. Unloaded and driven intelligently the 2WD 3.5 Ecoboost will get 22 Hwy. The V6 motor will never make any music but you can open the intake and possibly work with turbo blow off to get great powerful jet sounds and blowoff. I have gotten unsolicited compliments on the turbo sounds from my GN for years. Option for option you are going to pay about 2 to 3 thousand less for the Dodge compared to the Ford. Ford also has a great new 5.0 which makes beautiful music under load but has nothing on the Hemi not towing mileage or power. They also have a strong 6.2 that at WOT sounds like a well built old school musclecar and drinks fuel like one as well.
The Chevy 1/2 ton gasser seems a bit dated. Even with the outstanding 6.2 and tow package its a great truck but falls a step short to what you can now get from Dodge & Ford. Its also thirsty but not as bad as the 6.2 Ford. The 5.3 is fine for grocery shoping but sucks with a trailer & some weight. Toyota builds a great truck and Nissan builds a good truck but the bar is especially high and ever changing in pickups.
I have been studying all the latest generation & current half ton gassers for months. Best depends on how you use your truck and whats important to you. I am not brand loyal. Overall the Hemi powered Dodge and the Ecoboost powered Ford stand head and shoulders above the other three in half ton gassers. At least for most peoples uses and somewhat to satisfy my hot rod heart.
Aside from great looks the big three decision makers for most people are; How much do you tow both weight & miles, how important is fuel economy to you, and how important is sound to you. Reliability and warranty shouldn't be a big issue as all are well tested and reliable. That said it can be, and the most important thing about it often comes down to whether you bought from a good dealer with a good service department that will take care of you should bad things happen.
If its not being used as a hard core heavy loads work truck the Dodge coil suspension is outstanding. It rides and handles superior to everything else out there. The Dodge is also quiet and aerodynamic compared to the others. Driven reasonably intelligently the Dodge 2WD will get 20 hwy even with 3.92s. So fuel economy is good relative to the size weight & power. FWIW given the weight of the truck and where the Hemi put down what torque the 3.92 is ideal as is getting the LS differential. Also the sound of the Hemi is music to most peoples ears. In the 2012 1500 Dodges 65RFE 6 speed (545RFE 5 speed with software changes etc) is kind of its weak spot if you are pulling heavy loads often or raceing it around hard or drag racing it. In the 2012 2500 Hemi Dodge put the 66RFE 6 speed which is great. IMO Dodge should have put the 66RFE in the 1500 as well. It might in part be because rumor is that Dodge is working on putting the new 845RFE 8 speed in the 1500 as well as offering an SRT version with the 6.4. Happy day.
The Ford Ecoboost is more suited and a better puller than the Hemi. More torque and at lower rpms. Probably also outlast the Hemi if you are constantly pulling lots of weight. But if you are doing that you should be looking at a 2500+ diesel. Unloaded and driven intelligently the 2WD 3.5 Ecoboost will get 22 Hwy. The V6 motor will never make any music but you can open the intake and possibly work with turbo blow off to get great powerful jet sounds and blowoff. I have gotten unsolicited compliments on the turbo sounds from my GN for years. Option for option you are going to pay about 2 to 3 thousand less for the Dodge compared to the Ford. Ford also has a great new 5.0 which makes beautiful music under load but has nothing on the Hemi not towing mileage or power. They also have a strong 6.2 that at WOT sounds like a well built old school musclecar and drinks fuel like one as well.
The Chevy 1/2 ton gasser seems a bit dated. Even with the outstanding 6.2 and tow package its a great truck but falls a step short to what you can now get from Dodge & Ford. Its also thirsty but not as bad as the 6.2 Ford. The 5.3 is fine for grocery shoping but sucks with a trailer & some weight. Toyota builds a great truck and Nissan builds a good truck but the bar is especially high and ever changing in pickups.
Last edited by VernL; Dec 16, 2011 at 12:43 PM.
