New 2500 diesel?

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.

Super Duty Limited

For all you Ballers out there.
Makes my Platinum Super Duty look entry level.

GM. Because he has been happy with them. If he gets something else and it happens to get an issue he'll blame the brand and be unhappy. The Alison is a solid transmission. We rarely work on them.

Duramax, said and done

I also find it funny how the guy above said "Allison is over hyped" and the Ram has the better tranny. That's you're opinion, and I 100% respect that. But from my knowledge, the Allison has been the best/problem free tranny from the 3 companies since it came out in the first Duramax, with Ram being the ones with the most tranny issues.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm a big Dmax/chevy guy, but I'd drive a Cummins before a Powerstroke.

With that being said, the sad part about this whole ordeal is that an old 12v Cummins will outlast any other diesel you see on the road. This is coming from a Duramax guy

He won't get a gasser cause he got the poison.. Once you get a diesel, you'll never go back to a gasser. I've expedienced that....

I owned several diesels and went back to a gas and when the 1/2 ton diesels came out went to that for the fuel mileage. I do my thinking with my pocket book and my needs not my but dyno. Besides an ecoboost runs pretty similar to a diesel in that it has a huge flat power curve and makes great bottom end torque. I think he is shopping for what he "wants" now and when he gets the sticker shock he might reconsider what his "needs" are.

Wants vs. Needs has always been a big fat B!t@H slap in the face to me

Yeah I see where you're coming from.. I'm kind of like him. I just got my first diesel a few weeks ago (2006 2500HD Duramax.) All I tow is a 4,000lb boat on most weekends (sometimes 25 miles to the bay, sometimes 150 miles to Rayburn), and a 6,000lb travel trailer maybe 8-10 times a year..? Does my half ton with 5.3 get the job done? For sure. Pulls the boat no problem, and pulls the travel trailer good too (but you can tell it's back there, and it can get in a small bind in the hills.)The half ton does what I need. However...... When I got this Duramax a few weeks ago, after the first time I towed my boat with it, I told myself I'll never go back to a gasser again. Even before I towed with it, I already knew I won't be going back to a gasser. It pulls both my boat and RV with no effort at all. Drag it through the hill country, it'll keep 70-75mph up hill in 6th gear. The power a diesel gives out compared to gasser is some what "addicting." When I've driven my half ton after driving this Duramax the past few weeks, it feels like a pig.

Now about the ecoboost.. I've heard the same as well. Apparently that motor is tons of power. But you also gotta remember, it's still a half ton truck. I would safely guess the ecoboost to pull safely around 7,000 (just a guess, don't know the true numbers.) But if I took that engine and put it in a 3/4 ton, I could tow 15k. The truck itself is just as important, if not more important, as the power train. Not to mention, diesel is reliability. You can turn a Duramax, powerstroke, or Cummins 500k miles EASY. Gassers will start to show their wear at around 100-150k miles. My dmax as 179k miles on it, and it's running like brand new, and hasn't given the previous owner or me a single issue. Just change the oil/filters and roll. 179k miles is just getting broken in... And believe it or not, I'm getting much better fuel economy in the dmax than in my 5.3. Matter in fact, this past sunday I filled her up with diesel and reset the trip odometer. I'm at just below 1/4 tank and the trip is at just over 350 miles. The truck is bone stock aside from a S&B cold air intake. I was expecting worse fuel mileage and more $$$ on fuel. I was wrong lol.

Bought a 7.3 in 99 still got it. Bought a Duramax-Alison past Jan. 2017 love it. A Denali ,
Crew Cab , 4 Wheel Drive . Mucho power and torque. I buy a new truck every 18 years .

The 7.3 is the Holy Grail of diesel engines, let me know if you decide to sell it.

I'm s Dmax person, but I will admit, nothing will out last at 7.3.

I'd call the 5.9 cummins the holey grain of a diesel before the 7.3 any day.

Oh well now they found another piece of property they want to buy so if they get the property the old man said new truck is out again and ill be increasing my knowledge of vehicle repair LOL.

I got some kin that bought a Ram 2500 back a couple months ago . Has the biggest diesel Dodge has he said . Pretty much plain jane with no carpet but a/c and radio . With trade in of his old dodge dully he still gave $47k for it . Only reason he got it was to pull a 30ft travel trailer and a big boat he has .

Diesel is not reliability- not anymore. This is an antiquated idea used to defend diesel just like them being noisy and stinky is an antiquated negative. Neither are true at this point. Your line of thinking on gas powered vehicles is no longer valid, either. A well maintained gas engine should last at least 200K now, and should very often go more than that. Granted, the long block of a diesel may very well last. Problem is the VERY expensive components bolted to them. Just go look at the emissions components warranty on new diesels. There's a reason they're warrantied for half the time/mileage the engine is- they know they're more susceptible to failure.