Thanks for a lot of food for thought.

Now who makes the quietest diesel?

I think the new Cummins is the quietest of the diesels.

Dogfish you do bring up a good point about the short 5.5 ft bed on the F150 supercrew. Since it is shorter I put on a toneau cover instead of a canopy. I still have a tall 6 ft canopy from my old Ranger extended cab that I'm looking to sell for almost free. When I do a three day weekend fishing jorney I just put my stuff in back and crawl up in the back of the cab, curl up and sleep. My son can fit across the front seats. Probably not the best set up but it will work for a night or two in the spring, summer, or fall.

I tend to like Ford better than Dodge. My Bose has a 2003 F-350 crew cab. That thing has lots of power. But it has had its problems. The pickup has the 6.0L diesel. The motor had to be replaced after 7000 miles. The Ford dealer told him the cam bearing went bad. Some times the transmission makes a funny noise when it down shifts also. I haven't heard of anyone else having problems. The Dodge diesel is a lot quieter now, and cheaper than the Ford.

Duramax, definately the quietest up until '03 that I've heard.
Topwater, you care to comment?
Also, less of that "shaking chatter" during idle than other recent deisels.
I understood that before it became available in the light truck market that it was used commercially in Isuzu box van chasis, and had good feedback as far as the reliability, economy, and so on.
I wouldn't call any deisel "small" in a truck, but can't deny small fuel consumption (and big power). Or cheap.
I've R' and R' enough tranny's off of that 6.0l Ford to know that I wouldn't spend my money on it. Plenty of power, but that's why I said Cummins over Powerstroke earlier.
My old man was a deisel mechanic for 20 years and he'd say GM w/duramax. He's actually been contenplating signing his life away on a new one for months, but has yet to bite.
Myself, I'm not in the market for one, but those deisels are comparitively quiet.

i'd take the f250 with a powerstroke and 6 speed manual, hands down

most people's impression of diesel is from the 80s when the geniuses at GM decided to take a 350 and crank up the compression and call it a diesel. it was unreliable, noisy and smoked a lot. real diesel motors are nothing like that

I would go for a diesel in a Ford or Dodge the only problem I have with chevy's is headroom being that I'm 6'4" they don't have any and for some reason every other one I see on the road has a burned out fog lamp what's up with that . I would say they are all pretty equal it just comes down to who is going to give the best deal.

Dave, my 2004 F-350 might not be the quietest, although it is much quieter than my 99 Powerstroke. It is rated the best tow vehicle amongst other things, and the new tranny is quite nice. I know you said small engine, but you can't have everything, espescially when you add camper and toys.

Steve Ng

I have a 2000 Ford F-250, 7.3 diesel and I'm biased but I do know something about each.

I have heard that the aluminum heads on the Duramax's are giving up at about 60,000 miles. They ride more like a car but you pay for it big time in overall durability. I rode in a four door and it was nice but the durability isn't there and neither is the price.

Whoever said the cummins is the quietest must be high. It is the loudest out of the three. It also has an outdated 4 speed transmission.

I have heard of some transmission problems from Ford but not from anyone that I know. I don't know the exact numbers but Ford has put a very good warranty behind the new transmission, and the one in my 2000 has performed flawlessly over 78,000 miles. The only thing I did was replace the water pump and I only paid a $100 with the powertrain warranty deductible.

As far as power goes all three will get the job done in the diesel market and all have excellent fuel economy. However, the new Ford engine will leave the other two in the dust.

I'm not sure how Toyota fits in here or why it was mentioned, you can't even make a comparison. In my opinion they are junk and I have ridden in them all.

I would stongly suggest staying away from any of the gas motors especially if you are pulling. The diesels now, are quiet, they love to pull and the fuel economy is unbeatable. Take a test drive in one of the new diesels and you will be amazed at how quiet it is inside and out, it's also 600lbs lighter than the old 7.3 in the Ford. 1.Ford 2.Dodge 3. Chevy

Dodge all they way! There's a reason they have a million mile club for diesel dodges. My uncle drives a 96' Cummings, and hauls a 11 1/2 ft Artic Fox camper, a drift boat. Plus he hauls a 33' travel trailer, over Ryegrass pass at 65 mph in overdrive. averages around 20mph, exhaust brake, boosted line pressure to tranny, lockable torqconverter, and the list goes on. He just converted it to a dually for towing the camper, much more stable.

Fords frame and body flex too much for my taste.

I'd rather be Cumming, than Stroking!

elkman

FishNg1

I can't decide which hawg is prettier:

the beautiful king in your avatar or that beautiful truck!

at the risk of straying a bit off topic:

i really wish toyota would bring a diesel truck to the us. then i could really laugh at some of you knuckleheads

i don't consider the tacoma much of a truck. their older pickups are very much trucks, and incredibly dependable. though you can't really tow a big sled with a 4 banger, many of them were 1 ton pickups, the lowest payload you could get was 1/2 ton

and exactly how many of your fords/chevies/dodges have over 300,000 miles on them with no major problems? my toyota does, and still runs like butter. i'm probably going to see 1,000,000 after an engine rebuild and general maintainance

my perfect truck would be a toyota diesel, straight front axle, manual transmission, locking hubs, with a locking rear axle

HI DAVE
I HAVE A 2001 2500 HD CHEV CREW CAB WITH THE DURAMAX/ALISON COMBO AND I AM REALY PLEASED. THE DURAMAX IS SUPER QUIET AND THE ALLISON HAS NICE SMOOTH CRISP SHIFTS AND THE TOW HAUL OPTION IS GREAT FOR TOWING. THE EMPTY WEIGHT IS 6300 LBS AND THE GVW IS 9200 KEEP THIS IN MIND IF YOU WILL BE TOWING AND HAULING A CAMPER YOU DONT WANT TO SMALL OF A TRUCK. I TOW A 22' ARIMA AND IT HARDLY NO'S ITS THERE.
GOOD LUCK
BEAR

being a dodge mechanic i can only speak for dodges. i know that in the next year or so that dodge plans on producing diesels in the 350hp range. the 03 and later diesels i believe to be as quiet as the duramax. the 03.5 and later trucks have beefed up automatics. also in 03, on the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks they started using american(chevy) axles instead of dana axles. major improvement. i have been around all the other diesels, except the new ford 6.0, and wouldnt mind owning any of them. the most important part is getting a good deal. go with a fleet salesman. you can get the truck at the dealer for only about 100 dollars over invoice. also a good time of year for huge rebates on 03 models. heard of a deal the other day where a truck was sold, the second sticker said 40k, through the fleet sales dept and after rebates, the bill came to 28k and some change for a diesel truck.

I was a long time ford man until this year when I bought a new dodge with the cummins. There was nothing wrong with my powerstroke I just had to see what all the hype was with the new dodge. I'm very happy with my new truck.

I think ford builds the nicer truck, but dodge has the proven engine. Combine the two and you'd have a match made in heaven.

Search some diesel forums and you'll see what others have to say.

When you go to buy a new truck I'd do it in Lewis county. You'll save a few hundred in taxes. Which is the only difference between most dealers. Chehalis and longview both have good dealers. I bought mine at Mccords in longview from John Goodman.

Another side note. I've been getting a little better than 18mpg even with the winter fuel and some offroading. Not bad in my book.

Good luck

I'd say your biased. There is nothing wrong with the heads on a D-max. Giving up at 60K? Whatever dude.

I can play your game too. Nothing wrong with the Ford trannys? The tranny in my brothers 99 SD went out at 40K. The tranny in my moms 97 F-350 went out 3 times before 75K. My brother tows a 15' Smokercraft. I towed it behind my 98 Ranger for almost 30K with no tranny problems. I guess if your gonna tow you better get a Ranger,cause a SD tranny wont take towing a 1000lb boat.


The big three all make good rigs. It's like anything else,you make a few million of something and you're bound to make a bad one on occasion.

Dave....Last night I was playing cards with a friend who just got a 2003 Dodge with the Cummins...He always had Fords and I have always had Chevys...I told him about this debate over which truck is best and asked why he chose the Dodge...First he said it was 2003 truck of the year...then he pointed out the criteria...he wants to haul a pretty good sized camper and tow his boat. He said the Dodge one ton (not a dually) had the best payload and the Cummins combo sold him...He said he would have gone with the Chevy because the Duramax / Allison 6 speed auto trans is hard to match but the payload didn't work for him.....He also said that Dodge was coming out with a new diesel in 2004 with 600 ftlbs of torque and I think he said it was a 4 cyl....

Of course, everyone thinks that the truck they purchased is the smartest one or they would not have purchased it. Take a look at the payload capacity you need and then compare trucks...If you drive alot of miles and don't trade trucks too often then the diesel is the way to go. For my money the Silverado 2500HD is it with the Duramax and Allison 6 speed automatic. When you see us in February you can see all three top trucks in the parking lot.

Dave this truck looks to be a great buy http://www.ifish.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=001749

Dave, with your requirements of being able to carry a 9' camper and a 16' open boat you really don't need the expense and hassle of a diesel engine. If this is going to be your primary mode of transport; look at how often you will be putting it under load, and just how long you intend to keep the vehicle. The breakeven point on a diesel vs gas is nearly 200,000 miles. Dodge's new hemi gas engine will meet your needs. However if you do intend to get a 13' camper and a 24' boat then by all means get a diesel.

Gads, don't get a ford or a dodge, get a chev or GMC diesel with the allison tranny. You will have nothing but blown up trannys with the other 2 of the big 3 - found out the hard way myself The chevy has given me absolutely 0 problems, drives much better, turns much tighter, has more power, and uses less fuel (I get 22 mpg empty believe it or not )