Dad is in the market for a new 2500 crew cab 4x4. His duramax has about 240,000 miles on it and little things like headliner, window motors, dash lights, cd player, a/c-heater controls etc. are killing it for him, add to the list he backed into a loading dock last week and bent his tailgate he said he is ready for something new. He has always been happy with the duramax, and the truck is still in great mechanical shape so he is somewhat drawn back to it.

He said no fords but is open to Ram and GM/Chevy. What would be your pick and why?

I'm team ram for the inline motor alone.

Whatever I can get the best deal on, probably. And GM tends to be expensive when I've looked.

From my experience Ram is historically proud of their diesel option. GM will scare you away price shopping, but when you actually get in and wheel and deal with them at the right times their prices are not any higher at least that has been our experience.

No preferences on drive train?

I think the Cummins is the better engine and economy and the Ram probably has a better transmission. I think the Allison is over-hyped. But I think you'd have better luck with GM electronics and possibly fewer recalls and trips to the shop. Pick your poison. I think both are solid trucks.


I'd still rather have a Ford, though.

Saw this video earlier today. Performance wise is almost a toss up with a slight edge to the Chevy. Guess it would come down to which one I was more comfortable in.

The new Ram interiors are awesome. Those interiors with a Cummins motor would be enough for me if I could find a decent deal on one.

Word!

You gotta love it, I put this up on two forums, one of them being a Ram forum, both stating Ford wasn't an option and the majority of responses on both are... you guessed it "Ford" Its like tell em what you don't want and that's all people will recommend.

Dad likes to keep vehicles long term and he wont modify it so its staying stock right down to the EGR and all. I think the simplicity of the inline motor will pay dividends in the long run.

I don't know about the Allison being overhyped either, ours have been solid.

You asked, I told.

If it was my choice id give a cummins a shot. The duramax is a good platform but there's just something about those cummins that gives you the feeling of wow this can could rip a house down. They have plenty of power and dodge has came a long way with their transmissions now. There old transmissions out of the 2nd gens were complete trash. Then the 5.9 common rail camout out and the transmission behind that engine was a little bit better but still had a good history of failing. Now these new 6.7 cummins transmissions are pretty good. I have not heard much about them failing. Dodge has also fixed most of there front end issues they had to. What i'm saying is that dodge is a whole lot better then they used to be now. Just go drive both and whichever one feels right, pull the trigger on. Let us know which one you decide on. I'm a ford guy but there's my input on it.

Rams are cheaper, Duramax and Allison is a stout combination.

The Fords usually win on the interior, although the 6.7 is an excellent engine.

Curious, why is he against Ford?


Disclaimer: I don't care what brand he buys because I am not sponsored by anybody, I'm just curious.

In all honesty I do not know. He has owned fords before, but its been since 1985 that he bought one. I tried steering him away from a 3/4 ton diesel because the biggest thing he tows these days is a 30-foot 6000 pound +/- travel trailer twice a year, but that is what he says he wants. I told him to look at a 17 ecoboost originally. I don't really thing performance/economy any of the big 3 are really any better than the other.

I'm currently driving a 2013 F250 and have been shopping around for a new ride. As much as I like the looks of the new Rams I cant get over the Cummins. Dang engine just sounds too much like an old duce and a half and brings back too many bad memories of sleeping in the cab of one.

LOL if it weren't for that cummins ram would be in big trouble. They are very quiet these days compared to the past, just like the duramax and the powerstroke.