A Tow Vehicle religious question

[watkinsk]

I have come to the conclusion that it is time to trade my beloved 2012 F350 6.7L SRW std bed truck. I am looking for a used, 2021-2023 diesel model with mileage below 30K and SRW, std bed.
So my “religious” question for everyone who tows a 5th wheel is, which brand of diesel truck should I trade up to?

My concerns and take on each of the 3 brands are:

1. Ford Super Duty: Reliable with great engine (6.7L) and decent tranny but it has a huge failure point with the notorious CP4 fuel pump that can cause catastrophic engine failure when it fails. Tranny is 10 speed. Seats are comfortable but interior and electronics are dated.

2. GMC/Chevy Duramax: Reliable with great tranny and proven engine (6.6L) although the engine is the least powerful towing of the 3 brands. Its diesel exhaust brake is also anemic. Tranny is 10 speed. Inside, the electronics are quite nice but the seats seem to be slightly firmer and less comfortable.

3. Dodge Cummins: Reliability is questionable due to a very suspect tranny known for its failure. The engine (6.7L) does have the most torque for towing and other than the tranny is reliable. Tranny is a 6 speed. The interior is spacious and comfortable with electronics better than Ford but not quite up to GM trucks. A huge concern for towing is the Dodge std bed is 4-6 inches shorter than the Ford or GM trucks.

All trucks have come a long ways technologically in the last 10 years so I would probably be improving my towing capabilities with any brand.

What is your advice/recommendations and experience?

[Don Wilson]

Keith,
If looking at the Dodge 3500 the Aisin transmissions has proven to be very reliable. My 2014 has the Aisin 6 speed Thee standard Dodge transmissions are the ones that are not too reliable. I had the standard automatic transmission ( 48RE I think the 68RFE was used in later models) in my 2006 and had to have it rebuilt at 108,000 miles.

Don

[dfredendall]

Keith, you have stirred a hornet’s nest and I also am interested to see if a consensus grows from your questions.
My observations in traveling all around the country is there are many more Ford diesels on the road these days than Dodge or GM. As the owner of my second Ford diesel, I am partial to the Ford. Their TorqueShift Trans has been trouble free for me, and every bit as tough and durable as the GM Allison trans. The Ford interior and body holds up for the life of the truck. In 2018 I sold my 2008 6.4l at 200,000 miles (80,000 towing the Cardinal) with none on the chronic issues they claimed to have. Regular maintenance and oil changes was the key to success. My only complaint about both Fords diesels I’ve owned is the engine oil leaks. Both had “Bed Plate” leaks at less than 50,000 miles that were fixed under warranty. The “bed plate” is upper oil pan, between the cast iron block and oil pans. I saw the ‘08 a couple months ago and it was running great and looked great.
GM has had more fuel pump failures, and DEF pump failures than Ford, that I have read about.
(A separate issue is the need for fuel additives to lubricate the fuel pumps because modern fuels are too watery and fail to properly lubricate as old fuel did.) I am looking at additives and will begin using one.
To get the GM modern and amazing electronics, or Ford’s 360 cameras and electronics you have to spend big $$$$ for the package that includes it. You are looking at $120K.
All brands are making 4X4 only in these HD trucks. The short bed limits your fuel tank capacity on all trucks. An aux fuel tank eats into your 6 1/2 foot truck bed unless you get an OEM frame mount replacement tank. ($2000).
I think the Dodge can pull the Empire State Building off its foundation. They have improved interiors immensely. The older Dodge interiors fell apart. If you get the 3500 you can get the Aisin trans, which is the only one to have in my mind. The Chrysler trans does not compare. I wouldn’t own it. Does the 3500/ Aisin trans combo come in short bed configurations? As I have traveled with Dodge owners, the Dodge out pulls the Powerstroke on flat lands, but my Powerstroke out pulled in the mountains. I’m not sure if that holds true with everyone’s 10 spd transmissions.

I would likely buy another Ford, if I could find one.

[dpalmer]

Our 21 f350 dually with a 4/10 ratio. The 10 speed trans is fantastic vs the 6 speed in my 15. Getting 20mpg highway not towing and 16 locally. We cruse at 63 and avg 11mpg in the east and 9 to 10 on the Colorado trip. The cruse control is much smoother and hardly notice the gear change when climbing grades. My son-in-law has a 21 f250 Short bed and on our trip to Colorado our miles to empty was about the same he was getting 14 towing a 35ft 5th wheel compared to my 42ft. As far as pulling, the only time I know the Cardinal is there is when I see it in the mirror

[WVcampers]

My close friend traded his 2011 Ford diesel for a new 22 Chevy diesel. Both are the 3500 with the short bed. He says the Chevy has plenty of power, like they all do. He does say that the Chevy brakes are noticeably not as good as the old Ford. He also said that the Ford rode better, could be because as you stated the Chevy seating is much harder.He had to have the Chevy factory step bars replaced with the after market automatic deployed steps to get the distance to the ground close to what the Ford was. He has the new tailgate that folds down multi times to assist getting into the bed of the truck, he liked the Ford type bed step much better because it has the grab bar to hold when using it. The Chevy does have a larger fuel tank.

[watkinsk]

It borders on impossible to find a decent F350 with low miles. Ugh.

[dfredendall]

Perhaps Olbird has a spare F450. He never said what he decided to do with the second one he ordered. George…?

[Olbird]

Yep, my second ordered 2023 F450 came in early May, Ford has had so many problems with missing parts and not building the trucks as stated on the order form.
The 2023 truck came in without projector headlights, LED taillights, and mix matched interior colors so I decided to keep my 2022 that was ordered and delivered with all the correct options. The F450’s are selling at MSRP in the range of $94,000 to $100,000 depending equipment packages.
My 2023 sold after listing it for one day with a $10,000 profit over a MSRP price of $88,000, so do not expect any deals when looking to purchase in todays market.
Used prices has dropped a little if you look really hard, I traded in my 2011 GMC for just about what I paid for 12 years ago.

[Big Bird]

The world has gone mad.

[jacknife]

Contrary to what some peoples opinions are, brand popularity tend to be more of one than the other depending on your locale .
Ram is a great truck. I won't go into why a 6 Spd is just fine for an inline six . Just about every class 8 truck on the road is an inline 6 .Longer power band 25% less parts etc . I have owned Cummins powered rigs in both class 8 and pickups and have had very little problems . The 22 Asian Tranny had a snap ring failure problem which would end up destroying the tranny . Bad metallurgy was the culprit . I would not buy that year unless they had proof it was repaired . If you go with one get the HO not the standard . if you have the older style nose on your bird you either need a slider or an 8 ft bed as the bed is 6.4 . You can also use an Anderson hitch witch has a 4 ' offset. All three have positive and negatives . Go with the best deal .All three make good trucks .

[watkinsk]

Well, I pulled the trigger last week and bought a used ‘22 Chevy LTZ SRW std bed, diesel, fully loaded with 12.4k miles. After looking for 3 months (and letting a couple get away) I found this one in ST Louis. I flew out and drove it home, still saving $6k over the best deal I could find in NC. My search was somewhat inhibited by Sher insisting she would not accept a black truck because black vehicles are hard to see and show dirt more easily (what she didn’t know is 45% of all trucks made are white and 30% are black, thereby limiting selection). So, the truck I bought is a metallic blue…which still looks black to me except in sunlight!
I like the Andersen hitch and am staying with Andersen but will have to change to an Andersen that slids onto a gooseneck pin instead of my current one that uses Industry Std Rails.
BTW, during my hunt I learned that low mileage Fords were hardest to find and drew a premium price. RAMS were available but as mentioned above the problems with the trannys in the last couple years seem to continue. GM trucks were more plentiful but for some reason, many were sold originally in Canada and then resold into the US.
Regardless, my new to me truck has a towing capacity for 5th wheels of 20,500 lbs vs 15,500 lbs in my old F350. (both Ram and Ford had 22,000 lb towing capacity in the models I looked at)
So, I changed religions to Chevy…let the adventure begin.

[dpalmer]

Congratulations, sounds like you had a challenging time. Hate to loose a Ford man but today I think they are all about the same

[Don Wilson]

Keith, Glad you finally got a newer vehicle regardless of its religion! 12.400 miles is very low milage compared to what we are seeing, a 2022 here would have 40 to 50k on it.
Hope you enjoy it and it serves you well.

Don