Just purchased new 5th Wheel, now need truck advice.

[SinceDay1]

My DW and I have just purchased a 2011 Colorado 320BS, we have been looking for over a year for one we both like the floor plan, which we finally found. With DD being 11, we wanted her to have her space, so the back bedroom and 1/2 bath worked great, we are excited about our next FW trip, as we will be staying in our own home away from home and not a cabin, which we like.

So, here is my issue, now, I am wanting to upgrade trucks too, so, I am looking for advice. A Dodge with cummins diesel or Ford F350? How are the Chevy diesels? Any advice will be great, as I am not all up to date on the current offerings in diesel trucks. I want to go with a 4 door dually, I do know that. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Do a Dodge.

just my opinion,
but it's a good opinion,

 

[WannaBeImagineer]

I'm a big GM fan so I'm going to recommend the Chevy 2500HD or 3500HD with the Duramax diesal and Allison transmission. We've owned two of these and they pull a ton and the newer ones are even better. The first one was a 2500HD and had close to 200,000 miles on it when we traded it in for a 3500HD which now has close to 200,000 miles on it. We've hauled horses all over the country with them and know tons of people with them. But we also know tons of people with Fords and Dodges so its just your preference. I will throw out there that I always felt that the interior of a Dodge isn't as nice as a Chevy or Ford. Happy shopping!

 

[Alexander]

We have a F-350 PowerStroke and it has been nothing but trouble! The turbo has been rebuilt or replaced I can't tell you how many times! There are constantly codes popping up for one thing or another. DH is furious we got rid of the Dodge. However, he does think that the Duramax with Allison transmission is the best workhorse of the bunch.

Congrats on your 5'r. We sold our Montana a few years ago and I am really missing it this summer!

 

[stacktester]

To be honest unless you really need the dually I would just get a 3/4 ton. I have a 31' 5th wheel that weighs 8k. I have a crew cab Silverado with the Duramax. Dually's are nice to control sway but it's not a must have.

Congrats on the new camper.

 

[becky1960]

We have a GMC Duramax crewcab dually, we were looking for a regular bed truck but could only find a dually. Now that we have it we are glad we got it. We have parking problems sometimes but it is worth it. We have had both kinds of trucks and the dually is much more stable in my view.

By the way, we lost two wheels on our last trip on our 5th wheel and the view of the RV techs that repaired was that we would have had big problems if we didnt have that dually...

 

[Alexander]

To be honest unless you really need the dually I would just get a 3/4 ton. I have a 31' 5th wheel that weighs 8k. I have a crew cab Silverado with the Duramax. Dually's are nice to control sway but it's not a must have.

Congrats on the new camper.

We started pulling our Montana with a 3/4 ton, but it caused so much bounce because the pin weight was over what the 3/4 could carry. DH installed airbags, but it still wasn't comfortable to drive. We moved to the F350 (not a dually) and it was much better.

You really have to look at that pin weight, not so much the overall weight of the RV. That pin weight sits right on the truck and makes all the difference in the world.

 

[LONE-STAR]

If you are looking at a brand new truck the 2011 ford F-350 wins hands down it is class leading in every thing from mpg to towing it even has built in anti trailer sway. Not to mention A/C in the leather seats. You can get a factory installed 5th wheel hitch. Go see your local Ford dealer.

 

[LONE-STAR]

Here is a link to some video's about the 2011 superduty enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=2011+ford+super+duty&aq=4

 

[Disney Bunny]

My DW and I have just purchased a 2011 Colorado 320BS, we have been looking for over a year for one we both like the floor plan, which we finally found. With DD being 11, we wanted her to have her space, so the back bedroom and 1/2 bath worked great, we are excited about our next FW trip, as we will be staying in our own home away from home and not a cabin, which we like.

So, here is my issue, now, I am wanting to upgrade trucks too, so, I am looking for advice. A Dodge with cummins diesel or Ford F350? How are the Chevy diesels? Any advice will be great, as I am not all up to date on the current offerings in diesel trucks. I want to go with a 4 door dually, I do know that. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Congrats on the new RV. I highly recommend the Ford diesel trucks. We tow a 32 foot 5th wheel......weight around 8500 unloaded. We started out with a 2004 F250 diesel, but I didn't like the way it rode so we installed airbags. That helped, but it still was a little uncomfortable and still some significant "bounce" and some white knuckles on my part since the reason we upgraded truck/camper was because I had just totaled the TT and F150 that we had. I was still a little leary about getting back in the saddle so to speak and going anywhere in the camper really stressed me. So in 2006, we upgraded to another non-dually F250 4x4 (crew cab and longer bed than our 04) with the integrated tow/camper package. What a difference in the ride!! I am now comfortable and can go to sleep/read a book when DH drives instead of hanging on for dear life. Makes both of us happier.

 

[mitadoh]

Opinions on trucks are going to as varied as the people giving them. I like all three for work purposes but I agree with a pp about the interiors. The one thing that would sway my opinion is the 5th wheel hitch you can get from the factory on the Ford. It's not really the hitch itself but the set-up for it that has been tied into the whole frame assembly itself which will help out tremendously in emergent needs over the other two.

Your best bet is to go sit in them all and decide which one sits best for you as far as comfort is concerned. THAT is what is going to matter in the end.



Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[LONE-STAR]

I have a 05 crew cab f-350 long bed 4x4 and my DW drives a 05 dodge 2500 quad cab long bed 4x4 both are diesels. Both motors are no longer offered due to Emissions. In these year models the dodge has better mpg and more pulling power. But as far as every thing else the ford beats the dodge. The ford feels alot more stable pulling our toy hauler and the truck it self has more room and comfort. To me ford paid alot more attention to detail. The only week link in my ford is the 6.0 diesel motor(built by international) the rest of the truck is great. Another reason I like the 2011 superduty ford built there own diesel motor. I test drove the 2011 a couple weeks ago and it makes my 05 king ranch feel like a plain old truck. But I only have 92,000 miles on my truck so my plan is to drive it a couple more years.(I bought the 200,000 mile warranty on the motor)

 

[3girlsfun]

My brother has the Ford, and it feels like a "beast." My dad just sold his Chevy (upgraded to a motorhome) and I loved it, so smooth, and just "nice."

 

[parrothead365]

You cannot go wrong with the Dodge. I Highly recommend the 3500 with the Cumins. I pull a 39ft 5th wheel with mine. Pulls like a dream, has a factory installed jake brake (exhaust brake) rides real nice and has all the bells and whistles you could ever want. I would go with the dual wheels for the stability. I love mine

 

[dtum]

Love our Chevy (2500HD 4X4 Duramax Diesel-Allison Trans). Drives great towing or not towing. DH and I both share the driving when on long trips and I can't even tell I'm towing our 5er. The tow-haul mode is really good when taking on the mountains in WV and VA. It climbs up and goes down with no problems. That being said our friends have a Ram and swear by it. DS has a Dodge Dakota 4X4 and if I were looking for a small truck, that would be the one. Trucks are a personal preference and you'll get as many opinions as their are trucks. Look at all of them and decide which you like best.

 

[des1954]

For as many people as respond, you will get a different opinion from each. Everyone that has owned more than one truck for towing will favor one over the other.

As for me over the past 37 years, I've owned 4 GM products, 2 Chrysler products, and over 10 Ford products. My 1987 F150 we bought new, put 160+k miles on it, sold it to a friend that used the crap out of it while building his retirement home in N. Georgia (he lived in Fla at the time). He put an additional 200k miles on it and gave it to his son to use as a "runner" truck on his farm. The darned thing is still going. I had a 1999 Grand Marquis that we put 130K miles on, never did a thing to it, and traded it just because we were tired of it. Last August, I traded my 1997 Explorer V8 for a 2009 Mariner. Now, that Explorer had over 160K miles on it, we NEVER did anything to it except normal maintenance, replaced serpentine belt once, and two power window motors. We took advantage of the "Cash for Clunkers" program because the $4500 allowance was double the blue book value of the truck, and FMCC offered 0% financing for 5 years. While I love the Mariner, I miss my faithful old Big Red. It never let me down, took me through 2 moves, and towed almost anything you could hook up to it.

I can honestly say I don't know a thing about Ford diesels, but if they are anything like Ford gas vehicles, you can't go wrong. We have friends that are avid GMC truck owners and they don't keep a vehicle over 3 years because they always find something wrong with their current truck. My DH often kids him about being loyal to a brand the guy ultimately ends up disliking.

Also - Ford did not seek financial help to get thru a dark economy. Can GM & Chrysler say the same thing?

JMHO.

 

[2goofycampers]

Another vote for Dodge, they will all get you there, see which one is most comfortable on your body and go with that one.

 

[WDWFWfan]

Most people on camping boards will tell you to stay away from Ford diesels...they are known to be trouble. The Cummins has a proven track history and the Chevy gets pretty good reviews as well.

 

[wak648]

Most people on camping boards will tell you to stay away from Ford diesels...they are known to be trouble. The Cummins has a proven track history and the Chevy gets pretty good reviews as well.

I agree about ford diesel's especially the 6.0. I am in charge of fleet maintance for one of the ambulance services I work for and we are constantly have one out of service for repairs. Most of the time it is a problem with the internal oil cooler, that alone is 40 hours worth of labor alone (according to the mechanics). Luckly all the problems have been under warranty and have only cost us our deductable.

When I asked about the new 6.7 that is in the 2011 models, the mechanics say it is supposed to have solved most of the problems, but the jury is still out.

 

[Barney Fife]

I would imagine the OP is now more confused than before posting this thread.

I think we all need more details before giving you the best advice. Are you looking new or used? What's your budget allowing?

I for one have always owned Ford trucks. I really like GM and the Dodges but Fords have always done me right and I work them fairly hard with my landscaping business.

I've had the 7.3L, 6.0L, and now own a 6.4L. They all have their plusses and minusses but they've always been great. The 7.3L had the least power but is generally the favorite among Ford fans. My '05 6.0L was absolutely fantastic for 51,000 miles and four years before I sold her. We pulled the 8,000lb. TT 1300 miles to the Fort and back twice and it never gave us a bit of trouble. And that was usually 70-75 mph.

I now have the 6.4L and it's even more powerful. Great engine with rediculous power that loves to run 70-75 mph but drinks fuel like there's a hole in the tank.

Like Lone-Star said, that new 6.7 Ford is getting great reviews. But are you looking for a $60,000 truck?