New truck time HELP, HELP

[richfaa]

These are hard times. The future of GM and Chrysler(Dodge) are hazy. I would think hard before purchasing a truck from a company that may go bankrupt again or out of business. IMO the future of the big trucks of the type we use are in jeopardy. Ford is the only company that is solvent..for now. We saw the 2011 S.D and it looks just like the 08/10 SD. The new diesels are unproven.. IMO I would stay with what I have for now or ungrade to a 08-10 MY. We love new trucks and we buy every 3 or 4 years but we are holding fast...to many unknowns.

[jksimons]

My husband and I have been going back and forth about a truck decision. We currently have a 06 F350 with 33,000 miles.

California has now put a new law into effect that any diesel from 1998 and newer will now be required to pass a "smog" test. On top of that, we talked to the local diesel "guru" and got a big education on the Ford diesel motors. We had considered modifing the truck motor/exhaust, but with the new smog law no altered motor will pass. Also, two out of ten people have success with modifying the 6.0 motor.

We could not see investing a huge chunk of money in any of the newer motors and end up with the same type of issues. What was recommended to us was to find a 7.3, 1997 or older to bypass the smog issue. Plus, you can modify the motors to increase performance and fuel efficency and from the get go they have more power then the 6.0.

I will also say in my opinion that Ford has done a terrible job educating truck owner on towing, and if they had originally installed additional gauges to watch turbo, exhaust, temp, ect, maybe they would have never had as many problems as they do. I myself only use my truck for hauling and not one person ever told me about overheating the turbo or letting the turbo cool down before shutting it off after hauling.

As a person who generally hauls and travels alone with my daughter, it is very important to me to have a truck that is going to handle what I am towing and I am going to get to and from where I am going. I know that no matter what, any truck can have issues, but need to feel secure in doing what I am doing.

Saturday, my husband and I just bought a 1996 Ford F350 extended cab dually, 7.3 with only 74,000 miles. The truck was garage kept and is in excellent condition. We plan to have the necessary gauges added and some slight modification done to increase towing power and to be able to monitor all that important towing stuff. Now we have to decide to keep the 06 or sell it and decide at a later date if we want a new truck. I will say first off I missed the seatbelt height adjustment and back up sensors, oh, and of course heated seats, but I need a truck to haul with and can live without the fluff. (for now anyway..lol)

I do want to say thank you for all everyone posts on here, it has been my springboard to ask my husband questions and have him start asking questions about trucks, ect. We've owned our Montana for five months and hope one day soon to actually go somewhere!

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by bear

5.MUST be a ford ,wont buy GM ever again because of bail out!!!!

I need help with the logic here. In order for the government to get the bailout money back, GM has to sell cars/trucks. So you don't want to buy a GM to help make sure GM never pays back the money?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you look hard enough into the past of any automaker (foreign or domestic) you find something to piss you off. Did you know that Henry Ford supported Hitler? Don't cut your nose off to spite your face. Buy the vehicle that will suit your needs best and has the best value, whether it's a Ford, a GM or a Dodge.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

I need help with the logic here. In order for the government to get the bailout money back, GM has to sell cars/trucks. So you don't want to buy a GM to help make sure GM never pays back the money?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you look hard enough into the past of any automaker (foreign or domestic) you find something to piss you off. Did you know that Henry Ford supported Hitler? Don't cut your nose off to spite your face. Buy the vehicle that will suit your needs best and has the best value, whether it's a Ford, a GM or a Dodge.

Well, here's my guess (or guesses). Anti-union sentiment, or pissed about mismanagement. I think both entities share plenty of blame. For me, it's hard to blame just one side. I felt sort of that way, but I got over it. I'm not gonna bash Ford, as I may drive one again. But I'm sure not gonna cut my nose off to spite my face. Done that before, and it takes a long time to get over it. BTW, wonder how many folks refuse to do more business with their financial institution after they accepted TARP money?

[richfaa]

Hummm... None of The big three install additional gages OEM to Monitor EGT or engine performance.. They are however easily installed. We have them in our 08 F-350 Ford Diesel. Overheating the turbo and letting it cool down before shutting down has been common knowledge for years and is /was stated in the owners manual. Sounds like California has done a terrible job of educating folks about trucks. The Environmental laws that prevent you from purchasing a newer truck are CA specific and did not, for example affect us in Ohio. Sounds like a lot of diesel truck owners in CA are going to be in big trouble.

[Delaine and Lindy]

Well it appears GM will pay back all the money that was givin to them by the TAX payers by June 2010. And I would bet that a new Duramax/Allison HD Truck will be at dealerships before June. Were did GM get the money to pay back the Tax payers, they lost 17 billion last quarter, something doesn't add up here.

As for gages I don't have them and never have had them. The OEM gages is all I have ever had. The Freightliner only has engine Temp gage and Transmission gage. But again I have been raised around heavy equipment gas/diesel type power plants. I for sure can see the need for extra gauges etc, and understand their use. I also thing emissions system is killing the Diesel engine. Look at the Cat Diesel engine been around for a long time, but they aren't producing the over the road Diesel any more, why because of the emission controls, it just cost to much to meet the standards. And for Cal. folks its going to be even worse. But they know how to stop it. Good Luck. GBY....

[jksimons]

I think the next few years in CA with the new smog is going to be interesting and highly debated. I heard that motorcycles are next. Go figure.

I'm going to pull out the manual on the 06 and see what it says in there about the turbo and hauling. If temperature is such a issue in these trucks, then let me say again, gauges should come stock in the truck, and, like when I bought my horse trailer, I specifically asked what do I need to know about hauling this trailer. I guess when we bought the truck I should have asked then too, but isn't part of a salesmen's education on the truck? Shouldn't these type of things be covered at the delivery of the vehicle?

Like I said, my education here has been valuable.

Gauges will be one of the first things installed on my "new" 96 Ford. It should be interesting for me to learn what all the gauges mean while I'm on the road.

[richfaa]

jksimons ...Just for a start on Gage education. There are many on the market.... We have this one

http://www.aeroforcetech.com/

[Bob Pasternak]

On our '01 Dodge that I put a chip on, I put gauges on. It also has 4" turbo back exhaust and straight thru muffler. Our '05 was bone stock with no gauges. Accord to the way I read the book on it, if tranny temp got critical, it would downshift 'til it cooled. If exhaust got too hot, it would de-fuel to bring temp down. Never had a problem in the 4 years and all places we went with it.

[Art]

Bear,
From my signature, you can see that also pull with the 8.1. Is the mileage great...NO! But after hearing about yours, mine seems fantastic. There will be alot of pullers that CLAIM to do all kind of great mileage, but I can honestly say my 3500 dually gets 7.5 to 8.5 mpg pulling a fully loaded (my wife's packing)3760RL -about 37 foot. I did slow down to pulling about 60-63 mph (after my buddy flipped his rig following me)! I only get between 10-12 solo. I also pull about 3-5 times a year for about 4000-5000 miles. As bad as this is, I still prefer the gasser over the diesel because I don't use the truck for anything except pulling. Good luck on whatever your decision!

[8e3k0]

We run a 09 F350 dually and love the truck, for ride, handling etc. We have completed some modifcations and the results in fuel mileage have improved substantially. Just completed a 2000 mile pull with the 3400RL and averaged 11.3 mpg throughout the total trip. I can see this topic will and can be (whose is better) when it comes to personal opinions. It's your money, your choice, and your the one that will be driving the rig. Take the time, do good research, test drive over and over and try not to listen to sales people and their pitch; very few have mechanical expertise or are mechanics.

[northeastdiesel]

First off let me say I am not a Ford man. I own a cummins powered Dodge and I am so far very happy with the truck.... so far. I have the oldier 5.9 so I don't have any of these emisssions "stuff" to worry about. I consider myself up with what is going on in the diesel truck world thanks to diesel power magazine and alot of reading on the web. I did alot of research on buying a truck before I bought my 06 megacab and I hope you will do the same before buying your next tow vehicle.

Next year, Ford is coming out with it "own designed" 6.7 diesel engine. Diesel power magazine did a great write up on it and I must say the engine looks interesting,but a plumming nightmare. Ford did very well with the old 7.3 diesel engine. But when the 6.0 navstar engine came out in late 02 I think Ford did a great disservice to its loyal customers with that engine. So Ford once again rushed out the design of the 6.4 twin turbo to meet emission standards in 07 and they have had some bumpy spots and I have not heard as many problems with the 09's. If you have to have the truck's engine worked on I must ask the engineer that designed it that day what he was smoking? My advice is to look into what you need/may need for a truck to handle the pin weight of your trailer and future needs, then buy a Ford with a 6.4 in it. Being a guenia pig for a first year modle engine is a big no no, and I am telling you don't want it. 2010 is the new year for diesel engines to be even cleaner. If I can bring you over to the dark side, the cummins 6.7 inline 6 diesel has been the same since 2007.5 meeting emmission standards right away. I think Dodge did a very good job with the upgrades in the 2010 trucks. Is the Dodge my first choice, no. I would have a Ford truck with a cummins 5.9 powering it with a allison 6 speed. I can't have that so i have to pick the best of the worst. Test drive, ask questions, and do alot of research before you buy. The bugs are not out of these engines yet and won't be until the emissions standard are the same for all 50 states. A 1993 Dodge ram 5.9 use to get 22-24 MPG unloaded. With the help of the EPA the 2010 dodge ram gets 15-17 MPG. Cleaner air coming out, but you burn more fuel doing it. So the question is are you really helping the air quality? I mean no harm in this posting, its just my opinion. In the end, its the buyers cash and nightmare for the vehicle they buy. Spend it wisely! I wish you many happy camping miles down the road! I hope I have helped you with your decision. Scott

[kmh3212]

We need to realize that if we live long enough and like and or need the towing power of having diesel vehicles we all will be driving a diesel truck with pollution controls on them. You can't live in the past forever. Innovation has solved most all the problems that we had with pollution controls that were mandated by the EPA in the '70s. I hope Ford has built the motor of the future. From my research they pulled out all the stops and are building one heck of a powerful engine but only time will tell. Sure there will a few issues even with all the testing Ford has done. Let's all hope the new powerplant will be a winner.