[CD]

I am planning on hitting the road semi full time and want to upgrade to a 5th wheel for comfort etc. my F150 won't handle the size I am looking at so I am looking at used diesels.

Any input on:

99 and later Ford 7.3l with either manual or auto? Most likely 2wd F250 /350
Already know about the 6.0 fiasco but I have spoken with a couple of current and former 7.3 owners and they love them.

94 to 2003 Dodge either tranny? 2wd 2500 or 3500 series
You cannot kill the Cummins in the Dodge if you treat it right but I want some input on tranny's etc

Sorry, I am allergic to GM products, they give me hives, rash and chills.

[FLHTbiker]

CD, be careful of the older Fords as they to had Transmission issues to. I owned a tranny shop for awhile and the two biggest money makers in trucks was the 1. Older dodge 2. Fords 150 (not as much unless they pulled heavy loads) F250, yep got a lot of them to. Chevy's I rarely ever saw.

I pull a fifth wheel and we keep it at the Oregon coast and have a 07 Dodge diesel. That thing with the newer and upgraded engine and transmission is a work horse. I have an older S&S Camper and last weekend I put it on the truck towing our 14 foot cargo trailer (w/bikes inside) to the All Harley Drags, simply amazing truck. It even has a Jake brake on it.

My brother has a older Ford F250 4X4 98 or 99 I think and I got to rebuild that tranny to. The older Fords and the Dodges with the diesels just had to much torque for the tranny that they installed with it. The older Fords with the V-8 gas motor had issues with the tranny also when it was used for pulling heavy loads. Not all of them did but the Automatics did have some issues. If you find one with a stick shift they seemed to hold up very well.
A good shift kit in the auto transmission really helps.

A Harley rider friend of mine bought a new Ford 350 in 07 and has already had issues with that diesel and Ford I have heard has a lawsuit against the maker of the motor. Something that I heard but have not confirmed.

The newer truck with diesels you can get some pretty good deals on right now, something to think about.

We had a 96 Chevy with their older Diesel pulling a 32 foot wheel, Bob will probably remember that one as we had it in Sturgis one year. the truck tranny held up good but the motor sucked, not enough power.

[hotroadking]

While you may not be GM the newer GMC and Chevy Duramax gets great ratings a friend has one that pulls his shop trailer all over, said he's never had any problems. I think it's the 6.6 duramax

Any of these with a chip or stacked chips really wake up the power.

Here is a link to a Duramax Forum you could check out the problems area to see what you'd be up against


Powerstroke Forum


Dodge Cummins forum

Used are a dime a dozen in this market but I'd still check new, down here they are all half price on the F150's Chevy and Dodge gas pickups.

You should be able to get a new or one or two year old one for half it's original value.

[CD]

Thanks HRK!!
The Ford diesel with problems is the 6.0 litre. It has lawsuits, extended warranties and free replacements galore. My neighbor up the street got an 06 with the 6.0 and it blew the bottom end out going up to Globe. Went back, got his money back (Jim Click) went next door to the Jim Click dodge dealer and got a smokin deal for his trouble.
Nice to have a dealer that will work with you.

[bikerputz]

I have a Ford F250 5.4L Gaser that hauls a 31.4 ' 5th wheel Toy Hauler. It does OK so anything bigger than that can haul a 5er at that size. They have some big a$$ campers these days.

You will find useful information at the following website:

Trailer Life Magazine Open Roads Forum

[cowboy]

I run A Dodge 2500 diesel 209K five speed Pulls hard my son has a 99 Dodge 2500 diesel pulls a 9k trailer every day for work he has the auto At 207 had the tran gone through , son-in-law has a 06 Dodge 2500 diesel auto 4X4 pulles hard , My daughter & him just pulles a 30 ft G neck camper she said it was like it was not there & got 18-19 mpg non flat hwy her father-in-law in his Ford 6.0 was behind them with a small bumper pull trailer about 8x10 & got less mpg & has a some trouble with the engine
Go Dodge

[FLHTbiker]

Whe I was selling MAC tools a few years back my 18 foot MAC tool truck had the Cummings 5.9 turbo in it with the Allison tranny. That sucker pulled hard and the truck was very heavy with all the tool and tool boxes in it. I got 8-9 MPG with it.

[ironhorse]

the 96 ford treated me good about 17-19 mpg auto, and the only repairs in 360000 mi was a front end rebuild, and a waterpump for the eng, and a new reman trans at 240000 miles. pulled about 15,000 on an off and on bases and cant complain,
the dodge i drive now gets about 24-27 mpg supertuner open ex, ho with 6 spd, 4x4, and will pull the assshole out of a rino,(about 14-16 mpgs) replaced the fuel pump with the updated (not fed-ex) one, and installed a fass fuel system, about 200000 mi on it right now, and about to run the overhead.,
bro in law has a gm and my dually will out pull out run, out fuel, out ...ohhell just out do it to a point my broinlaw gets emmberessed
out of all the diesels (in p/u trucks) the cummins is and has out performed the rest in every catagoriy except the cylinder count that i will not start on
the only thing i would recommend, have an oil analisis done it might save you a bundle