The SS is a badass vehicle there is no doubt about it. It was my daily driver, I started modding it and got addicted. Before I knew it I was spending a **** load of money that wasn't necessary (my fault) but who hasn't been guilty of that? Another thing is I sale stuff for HMP-TV fulltime and drive everywhere. Also my Dad owns a security business and instead of riding with him everywhere since I have the SS, I could get something I can throw ladders, and tools in and get dirty as hell without having to worry about it. Diesel cost less here in houston than premium does. Plus I was paying out the *** for gas already so I am used to that. I am trying to travel more to like San Marcus with friends, and beyond those lines. Also need somthing with more room in it, and more reliability.The SS just can't get it done for what I want to do now in life. But it is defenitly not the end of the road for me.

 

not saying there aren't problems, but nothing significant. There are problems that TAC would have that aren't nec widespread and would be typical for all trucks of that type.

Plus most injector problems are coming from lower lubricity in the new lower sulfer diesel we have to run in the name of lower emmisions. That is why I run additive in every tank.

 

the 08 SUPER DUTY is ugly if it was lifted and big tires it might look better but stock i just hate the front end will take awhile to get used to it

im leaning toward the the 5.9 cummins they just look sweet lifted

 

Save your money and buy a gas engine. Diesel is fine but trade it in a mile or two before the warranty is out you'll have to sell your first born to be able to afford to fix anything on it. Fords are a piece of crap if you have ever had to change a fan belt on one you would understand. The chevy is well a chevy they are all right but still have lots of injector problems. The dodge is the best on the market just everything around it is not to my liking. They all have their pros and cons I am a chevy guy but not when it comes to diesels. After being in the dealer network and having to work on all of them I do not care for diesels from the PITA of having to work on them and the expense to fix them when they do break. You have to work on all of them sooner or later. IMHO gas is the only way to go anything you save goes out the window the first time you have to work on it.

 

stay away from the 6.0's powerstrokes.

 

I was in your EXACT situation about 3 months ago. Here is the advice Im going to give you. Sell the car, buy the truck to get what you need done and begin an lsx project on the side. I made that move....and couldnt be happier. I went with a Cummins and love it. It is the only diesel that sounds like a diesel should and doesnt have to turn 3200+ to haul *** and pull things.

Ok, here is what I have to say about the trucks. If you are going to get a diesel, get a Dodge or nothing if looking for reliability. I work in the oilfield where I see every kind of truck being worked hard and the Cummins Rams are the only ones that go 200k+ in that environment. Needless to say, I just saw the company my dad work's for sell all of their '06 Duramax's to buy Cummins powered Ram's due to failing injectors and the inability to fulfill their pulling needs. Powerstrokes are simply a ******* joke so there is no need for consideration. When it comes to reliability, the Cummins simply cannot be beat. Here is why: It has WAY less moving parts than the V8 engines the competitors offer. Less moving parts=Less things to go wrong. Finally, the Cummins is not even in the same class as the Dmax and PS which are both classified Medium duty engines while the Cummins is a heavy duty industrial engine used in many other applications.

 

in my op the Cummins is the only original diesel power motor

 

This is exactly what I was going to do, my plan exactly. All of you guys are giving me great information and I greatly appreciate it. I have a old vette roller I am looking at after I get the diesel.

 

chase did you get my pm?

 

im with brady....im in the oil field as well and see diesels in and outta here daily....guys i know have recently gone to dodges from fords and are happy with their trucks...i myself have owned the dmax and now bought the '07 4x4 megacab this week....love the room and ride....went over to rpmoutlet.com and purchased their stage 3 kit which is 5" exhaust,predator programmer and aem dry flow cai....also got the stack it to go along with the predator for an xtra 90hp....this thing hauls the mail and at 26 mpg it's great!!!!

 

Do you mind if I pm you on somethings?

 

Give the new Fords another year or two to work the bugs out.. Having a stock truck that shoots flames out the tailpipe is cool, but with a good amount of downtime to fix the problem. Duramax's are nice and vast becoming a good all-around truck.. Still some cooling issues, but only in a small majority of trucks. Being the biased person I am, Im gonna say Cummins. The basic engine has remained unchanged and proven for about 17 years now and aftermarket parts are plentiful. Everyone knows how to repair them and parts are cheap.. V8 horsepower is nice, but inline 6 torque will get you up the hills more efficiently and quickly

 

Cummins all the way... I love mine, it still makes over 500 r.w.h.p. with over 325,000 miles. Tell me what Duramax does that, and runs like a new truck w/o an oil leak???????????????

 

Yep. Chevron is one of my clients and the new Drill Site and Well Site Managers they are hiring are getting new Fords as their company vehicle.

Still, Cummins FTW.

 

Dodge is the only way to go. I liked the outside of the truck it just took a while for the inside to grow on me. The couple with that were fully loaded with the cloth interior were real nice and they are quiet on the inside. You will also not have to have a reserved parking space at the dealership like you do with a chevy and ford.

 

I'm a Cummins fan. I had a 03 4x4 crew cab dually and loved it. I hardly ever pulled anything with it though. Dieseltruckresource.com is a good site to check out if you have any questons about the Dodge trucks. My stepdad has a Dmax and hasn't had any issues with it, and he pulls a 35' fifth wheel with it. The few times I've drove it was pretty nice, but I just don't want an auto..they don't sound as good going through the gears.

 

i have an 06 duramax w/ allison with around 14,000 miles on it that i am going to sell....pm me if you might be interested.

 

i would stay away from any diesel ford puts out (except the good ol 7.3l) im very impressed with dodges new 6.7l cummins. its basically a bored and stroked 5.9l with alot more emissions crap on it. the duramaxes are decent diesels too, and do awesome in the aftermarket dept.

my 48re tranny has held up nicely and i have nothing but good things to say about it. i would have gone with the chevy, but there 4x4's have a crappy weak front end, and i needed a stout solid axle for wheelin use. the only problem is, the limited slip on these axles are horrible so as soon as i can get some arb air lockers, the better. all i have done to my truck is an afe intake, and full straight piped exhaust, and i see about 19mpg city and 22mpg highway mileage. this will probly increase a little when i get my tuner.

 

oh ya, the turning radius on my 4x4 dodge is awesome compared to my dads superduty.

 

I have an 03 Duramax/Allison 3500 crew cab dually & I LOVE this truck! I got it a year old with 23k miles on it for $28k. So far, this is probably the happiest I've been with any vehicle, even my 02 Trans Am....I just love the truck, lots of room, tons of power with my Predator programmer, and so far, no problems with the truck at all. I've hauled cars with it & it rides even better! The only thing I wish I'd done is gotten a 2500 short bed instead since I am in the city quite often now since I work near downtown so the dually & long bed are a slight hinderance now & then, but you'd be amazed at how well I can back into a tiny parking spot, lol.

In my opinion, I like my interior the best over the other in the big 3. Dodge's looks like crap, cheap crap, the seats were not comfortable at all & the dash was cheesy. This is based on an 04 Dodge quad cab that my friend has with leather. The Ford's I've been in were better, but still not very pleasing, but I haven't been in the newest model & hear they have addressed their issues with the interior. My interior has the premium cloth & the big center console with the AC vents & rear radio that people can put head phones in. This truck rocks for long road trips...4 adults can ride in comfort for hours.

As for the trannies, I'm not sure on all the techical data, but I do know it has it's own seperate computer, and in the summer I usually run my programmer on the 2nd from the highest setting, the highest setting requires exhaust & tranny upgrades so I don't ever run it since my truck is all stock. In the winter I have to tune it down because it makes too much power with the cold dense air....the reason is, if I get on it too hard on the freeway, it makes more torque than the tranny's parameters will allow since I think it reads the engine load...the tranny will put itself into limp mode & will go & stay in 3rd gear & I think this is to keep it from blowing itself up. I read about the limp mode a while ago because I thought I broke my truck....but I just cleared the code with my predator, turned the truck off & on again & problem was solved. I've put it in limp mode 4-5 times in the last 3 years or so & never had a problem with it.

With the problems my buddy had with his 6.0 PS, you'd want to avoid them like the plauge...and if you get a dodge, maybe get the manual because I hear the autos suck....but if I were you, I'd pick up a used Duramax, save some bucks & then use the other cash to get some step bars or tool box or what ever for it. Diesels will run a lot longer than a gas engine in most cases....100k miles is nothing for a diesel motor. If you can find one in good shape that hasn't seen commercial use with under 50k miles for a good price, you should consider that & save that big depreciation hit you take driving off the lot with a new one. Had I bought my same truck that was new with only 24k less miles on it, I would have paid about $40k for it...I saved $12k, I'm happy with my choice.

4x4s are cool, but if you don't plan on seriously using it, I wouldn't get a 4x4. Plus that's just more money in a lift & big tires & worse fuel economy....it's like getting out of one money pit & into another one. I had plans to get wheels & fix up my dually, but I've been so happy with it, it's remained stock. I like that it doesn't stand out, no one fools with it and you can run **** over, like curbs...that's always handy. Most of the time, people will GTF out of your way too if you are going faster than them in the fast lane