I am in the market for a 02-06 Diesel truck. Which would you choose and why. I figured I could ask here and it not turn into one big bash fest. Thanks.

I prefer the Cummins Straight 6 . . . efficient (lots of power and torque from the displacement), durable (HUMONGOUS crank bearings, etc.). Heavier duty service rating than some alternate engines.

Are other Diesel engines more powerful; more fuel-efficient?

Maybe so. Not an issue with me, I find my D2500 HD with 6-speed manual transmission, well, ADEQUATE!

Ive always been a Chevy man but when it came time to get a diesel truck I went with the Cummins. On my 3rd one now and lovein it. Hard to beat the reliability of the Cummins.

It's my first diesel pickup, but the duramax-alison combo has just been bulletproof so far. On a little 170 mile trip last week on secondary's with 5 little towns to slow down for each way it did 20.6 mpg on winter fuel.

I did drive a cummins-6 spd manual before I bought this and I've always liked the bottom end power of an inline 6, but in town driving just too narrow an rpm band and thus lots of shifting for my taste. jmo Spent too much time in a big truck to enjoy grabbing gears anymore.

I have had GM trucks for many, many years. I went looking for a diesel about 5 months ago. I drove all three of the major brands.

A couple of months ago the wife and I went camping with some friends and he had a Dodge Cummins Diesel. He flat walked away from me under load and at the time he was pulling a bigger trailer. Very very few large diesel tractors have ever seen anything other than a six cylinder motor. Look at their performance on the highway. Like bkrukow said to me when I posed this same question - look under the hood and see which one you would rather work on. I was impressed.

I think the 2005/3500 dually six cylinder Dodge Turbo Diesel I just purschased will will do the job for me for many years to come. I am still impressed!

The Cummins is top on my list at the moment, and the Ford 6L is way at the bottom, matter of fact it isnt being considered. I want a manual tranny. This truck is going to used for a "toy tug" only and wont be driven much other than that. I want something that will last me a long damn while and not be any fuss. Has to be 4wd. I dont want the new fangled diesels with the new emissions crap.

And another thing about buying one a few year old is cost. Man some of them are 50+K for the Chevys..GEESH..

15 months and 26,000 miles on my Duramax/Allison and I love it. I was ready for an automatic tranny and know too many people who haven't had good luck with the ones Dodge uses plus I had 13 pretty much trouble free years with my last GM (gas/5 speed) so it was hard not to go back for another try.

Bruce

Based on cost, low to high:
1) 04.5-06 Dodge
2) 02-03 Ford (7.3 only)
3) Any GM

Good luck on finding a used Dodge or GM after 6 months of looking I had to settle for a 6L Ford.

IF ya want a Dodge there are quite a few around here. As a mattrer of fact there are lots of all of them used around here. Depending on what price range you are looking for I would either go with an 02(last of the 2nd gen) Dodge or an 03-04(first of the 3rd gen) Dodge. IF ya can aford it the 3rd gens have a lot more power from the factory. Just make sure you pop the hood and look at the sticker on the valve cover. You want the 305 or 325hp versions not the 235 hp version. The 235hp versions where the California emisions versions. After 04.5 they all became known as the "600" for the 600 ft/lb of tourque. They will say 325hp on the valve cover. The 04.5 325/600s where known to get a little worse milage than the 305hp versions. If fuel milage is your main consern then a 305hp version is your best bet. If you are a tinkerer and like to add mods to the engine than the 04.5 and newer is a better choise. There are more mods available for them. There are qute a few for the 305hp versions as well but more for the 325hp version. IF ya want a manual tranie then there is NO WAY I would even consider anything but the Cummins. The Cummins and the 6 speed are a mach made in heaven. They pull like none other. My last one was a 04.5(325 hp 600 ft/lb) with a 6 speed and for pulling it was a freight train. IF ya have ever been west out of Denver, You will have a good idea of a long hard pull(8-10% for 60+miles). I had pullded it several times weighing just over 20,000LBS and did it in 5th gear at 70mph. So long as no one in front of me forced me to slow down below 50mph it would climb up the grades with no problem.

Well I found a Gear Splitter for a Dodge manual tranny. Its made by GearVendors. The guy wants $600 bucks for it with everything. I know its in good condition as I have used it before. It may need some type of adapter to mate up the the 6 speed as he used it on a 5 speed. There are numerous Cummins here, no problems finding them in my price range. I want a 4wd 2500 or 3500 SRW 4 door long bed. I dont want to do any mods other than maybe a intake/exhaust that is if the MPG gained will pay for the mod itself in a reasonable amount of time and gallons of fuel consumed.

I have an '05 Dodge cummins and have 45000 miles on it. I have pulled a trailer behind it for about 35000 of those miles. Automatic transmission has served me well, even in the mountains. Hard to beat the dodge cummins...

I have a 08 Ford F-350 Dually Diesel and would not trade anything for it..

I bought a higher milage '01 Dodge Cummins. It has the Banks power pack on it and it has plenty of power. I really love this truck. Traded my '01 Tacoma to get all the power I wanted with almost the same fuel economy. I was getting 22-23 unloaded in the Tacoma on premium and I get 18.5-19.5 with the Cummins and all the power to haul. I hope to get a newer Cummins sometime but time will tell.

Well, the wife and I have decided to keep my truck (05 Nissan Frontier Nismo 4 door) and get a motorhome in a year or so. That way I dont have to drive a big gas hog diesel or gasser everyday to work, and can still get to the trails fairly cheaply when just out for the day.

You got a parking place for a motorhome??

I have a 2007 new body style duramax/allison silverado. 665 ft/lbs and 365hp, its the most powerful stock diesel ever put into a light duty truck. I like the cummins myself, but I walk away from my friends '06 cummins in the mountains with equal weight trailers.

I used to be a GM tech so im a little biased I guess, you can go wrong with a Duramax or Cummins, I wouldnt touch a powerstroke. It seems with the fords its either a total hit or miss on reliability. Main reason I went with the duramax is the fact that GM's new interiors are far better than dodges. Dodge still a really good looking truck though. Re-sale value is better on GM's than ford or dodge. LBZ or LMM duramax's are both 650+ ft/lbs.

Yep sure do....in yo back yard!!!
but yea I do have space for one.

quote:

Originally posted by XS:
You got a parking place for a motorhome??

I think the LBZ LLY Duramax's were well ironed out engines. I heard the Allison was sold and is now built in Mexico. They stopped the PTO's in 04 early 05 then started using them again. I will not own a Chevy HD as long as they are using IFS for 4wd. I have owned half a dozen half ton IFS Chevys and do not like the tire wear, alignment issues and weaker parts in them. As soon as they put a solid axle back under them I will buy one. The Dana 60 under the front of my F250 has been great. I can hit pot holes, curbs, pull down old barns in 4wd. All without any worry of tie rod ends and alignments.