Edumucate me on diesel trucks

Gary RV Roamer said:

I'm not sure why you are rejecting a used one. You could buy a 100k old truck and still get 10-15 more years out of it. Other things will wear out long before the engine.

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For the reason I highlighted.

What you're saying makes good sense Gary.  Given how durable they are, why not buy used?  Well.... a couple of reasons. 

1.  Time.  I still work long hours, and I want to spend what little free time I have enjoying the camper, not wrenching on the TV....even fixing piddly items....and I'm a stickler for everything working correctly.  I'm restoring a 1970 Mach 1 right now....I get to scratch my wrenching itch plenty....and then some.  If it's new and under warranty, I drop it off at the dealer during the week while I'm at work, and anything that breaks is someone else's problem.  And like you said.....even if the engine will go 300K miles, the rest of the truck will need attention just like any other.

2.  Logistics.  If we do decide to go on a long trip, and it breaks 2000 miles from home, it's covered under warranty.  If it's a catastrophic failure, I have the trailer put in storage, and I fly home until it's fixed, then go get it.  If my 24 year old gasser tosses a rod out the side of the block and it's close to home, I have a good friend that runs a towing company.....it will cost me nothing to get it home, and I'll source a good used block and build it myself.  If it (or any other used truck) does that halfway across the country, I can still rebuild it....but how do I get it home?  I can't swap an engine in South Carolina.....and getting both the truck and trailer home in that condition would be a logistical nightmare.

3.  Features...The newer trucks have some cool gadgets that may not be available on the older ones. 

4.  Because we can.  Yeah....that sounds kinda odd....but hear me out.  Wifey and I have worked hard for 25 years since we got married.  We've lived frugally, and well under our means.  We have a nice but modest home, and it's paid for.....we didn't buy the McMansion when everyone else did.  We have zero debt, and still make good money.  We invested well over the years instead of blowing the money on junk.  Heck, even our television is 13 year old LOL. We have no heirs to leave it to.  The last NEW vehicle we bought was in 1996, and we still have it.  We are starting to recognize that we aren't getting any younger.....why not enjoy the fruits of our labor while we're still young enough?  We will pay cash for it....which is why we're still saving instead of just buying it now and financing.  By fall, we can pull the trigger. Either we enjoy the money now, or it goes to charity when we move to the great beyond.

So there you have it....we've settled on new.  My next step, after getting over my natural phobia of buyer's remorse (which you guys helped with), is deciding on a brand. 

So new it is, glad you can afford it and yes there are some pretty cool gadgets on the new trucks. Just to make you feel better, yesterday I spent 9 hours at Corpus Christi Freightliner for an oil change, lube and filters!!! Welcome to the world of getting something done on a diesel truck by a shop.

I know, I know, you're gonna do all that yourself but there comes a time when it just sucks to crawl under the thing.

Foto-n-T said:

I know, I know, you're gonna do all that yourself but there comes a time when it just sucks to crawl under the thing.

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I'm there already Joe.  One of the reasons I want it new.  If I was 20 years younger, my Mach 1 would be finished already. 

I was intimidated by my first diesel also. I too know my way around engines/cars but was ignorant when it came to diesels. Let me tell you I'm going on 4 months with my (new to me) 2002 F350 Crew Cab Dually 7.3 Powerstroke and you don't know what you're missing. DO IT!

The other posts are correct keep up on the routine stuff (which you can do in your driveway) and you'll never look back.

Just curious,  but why are you eliminating GMC/Chevy?
its a mature engine setup with a solid tranny.

rickf said:

Just curious,  but why are you eliminating GMC/Chevy?
its a mature engine setup with a solid tranny.

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Funny you should ask.....and one of my best friends is a Salesperson at Rudolph Chevrolet, and he's been trying to talk me into a 2500HD for a while now.  The Duramax / Allison combination is about as strong as they come....but to me, the truck looks very dated.  Yes, I know, that's a petty reason to rule it out, but if I'm going to spend this much, I want a truck that is aesthetically pleasing too.  I know there's a redesign for 2014, but it still isn't appealling to me....and they're more expensive than the Ford and the Ram. 

Funny you should say that. When I was truck shopping back a few years, I looked at the Chevy  too, and I wanted to love it. But I just couldn't. It just didn't appeal to me.

SargeW said:

Funny you should say that. When I was truck shopping back a few years, I looked at the Chevy  too, and I wanted to love it. But I just couldn't. It just didn't appeal to me.

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And it's a shame.....because mechanically, it's a really good truck.  I just don't want to walk out in the garage and say to myself "I paid $48K for THAT??"  My buddy has sent me videos of just how capable it is, and they're impressive.  But I can't get past the looks....or lack thereof.

I know how you feel about the looks of your truck. I drive a 2007 Chevy Duramax 2500HD that I didn't like at first because it was the NEW look. But now when I drive by the newer models I think how awful they look compared to mine. I love my truck, and not just for the reasons your salesman friend is pushing. Sure it pulls great, I pulled a 34 ft 5er, no problem, what I think sets the Chevy apart is how quite the engine is. I've had people not
believe its diesel because its so quite. DW will just as sone drive it as drive her Tahoe! That's my 2cents.

I know a lot of you who have newer rigs won't agree with me but....

Glockholiday has got the HOT setup.  Even though we've been riding around in a medium for the last five years, it took me three years to actually part with my 7.3 PowerStroke Ford.  Mainly because my mechanic told me that if I sold that truck I would regret it, which I do.  Unfortunately it had become my wifes daily driver and her arthritis had gotten so bad that climbing in and out of that beast as well as using the clutch had become difficult. 

It's like Jeff Foxworthy once said, "You have to keep your wife happy because if you're wife isn't happy then you're not happy and if your wife isn't happy long enough you're gonna have to learn to be happy with only half of your STUFF."

I just don't want to walk out in the garage and say to myself "I paid $48K for THAT??"

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I share your opinion of the Chevy/GMC truck styling, inside and out. It has been dated-looking for over a dozen years, and the two "redesigns" (2006.5 and 2014) have been little more than tweaks, in my opinion. There are a lot of positive things to be said about them, but looks isn't one of them. And since I have excellent alternative choices from Ford and Ram, why shouldn't I have something I can love as well as drive?

We have used Cummins diesels as long as they have been available in our Dodge piclups on our ranches, both business and pleasure. We use them a lot, driven by all of our employees and myself. I can't speak for Ford or Chevy since we have never owned one. We also have used diesels, Cummins, Cats, Deteroit Diesels,  in our Semi's for over 55 years, so we are familiar with them. We have used both gas and diesels in our Ranch Tractors, and equipment also since 1960.

Our experience has been to follow the manufacturers' recomendations for maintenance. This includes using the proper filters recommended for the type and quality of fuel, oil, etc.  As fuel types have modified over the past few years, filter recommendations have been upgraded by manufactureres. We have never replaced an injector in a Cummins engine in our piclups. Normally we replace our Dodge Pickups (D350's and D3500's) at about 250,000 miles. Some of our pickups are traded in with the dealer, some are given or sold to neighbors, some are given to my employees who want one,  a few to relatives, but all are driven further by the new owners after I trade or dispose of them. For examples, one of my sons still uses a 1972 Dodge D350 on his own ranch as a water truck that I gave to him when I replaced it. One of my ranch formen, and his wife, still drives a 1987 Dodge D350 that I gave to him for his personal use in 1999.

I have a fulltime mechanic who does most of the service work on all of our trucks, heavy and light. Therefore I cannot comment on commercial maintenance costs paid by others. Since we have gas engines in a few of our lighter vehicles, autos and "knock around ranch trucks" our maintenence costs are similar for us, depending on the vehicle.

Our experience is that if you take care of it, service it on schedule, you will probalbly never wear out a Cummins engine. We have never worn out any of our Dodge piclups either. They still run for others after we replace them.

If you choose to buy a used Diesel pickup of any brand, I suggest that you have a qualified mechanic check it out before the purchase. If it checks out OK, you will probably never wear it out if you service it properly. I doubt that anyone using it to only pull an RV will ever get enough miles/hours on a Diesel engine to even need any major repair.

Gary RV Roamer said:

, why shouldn't I have something I can love as well as drive?

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You nailed it Gary.  I'm an old school "car guy", and a vehicle should feel like an article of clothing to me.  It must be both functional and visually appealing.  A good jacket may protect you from the cold, but if you shudder at the thought of wearing it in public, what good is it?  Now...the Chevy pickups aren't ugly by any stretch(dated is a better term)....they just aren't as good looking as the Ford and the Ram.

Rancher Will....I've read a lot of your posts in various sections of the forum, and you're one of the reasons I keep leaning toward the Ram.  How you work the trucks and how durable they are under those conditions says a lot to me.  My truck will never see service that severe, so as long as I follow the service schedule, I will probably never wear it out.  And I'm one of those guys that sweats a misaligned glovebox latch....if it needs attention, it gets it.  Part of why I still go into the boonies with a 24 year old truck today and never worry.

I'm not one of those guys that generally trades in vehicles every 4 years....I tend to keep things a long time.  This may be the last new one I ever buy. 

Easy guys, Easy....Some of us like the looks of our new Chevys/GMC . IMHO it?s the Ram that looks a little dated. They have had the same design for almost 20 years. I was tired of looking at it after about 3. If you look back the Chevy/GMC has changed quite a bit over the last 10 years. I think they are keeping up quite well.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4381_zps47af5e4f.jpg

I myself would not by new, to much smog egr coolers dual ecms, dpf(diesel particulate filters) def fluids, triple injection cycles, a engine compartment so full its hard to get to anything, have to have computer software for most repairs, lower fuel mileage. 2007 and back for me, only a cat converter. Proven engine and 20+ mpg when empty and towing a 16,000 lb trailer I get 12-13 mpg. That said for the non wrench inclined person, new. Any smog related item is warrentied for 100,000 miles per federal law. With extended war you will not have an expensive repair bill.

warsw said:

Easy guys, Easy....Some of us like the looks of our new Chevys/GMC . IMHO it?s the Ram that looks a little dated. They have had the same design for almost 20 years. I was tired of looking at it after about 3. If you look back the Chevy/GMC has changed quite a bit over the last 10 years. I think they are keeping up quite well.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4381_zps47af5e4f.jpg

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LOL.....Yeah, the GM is a good looking truck, I just like the others better.  To each his own.  If a screaming deal on a GM truck came along, I might take another look at one.  But they seem to be the most expensive of the three. 

Frizlefrak said:

LOL.....Yeah, the GM is a good looking truck, I just like the others better.  To each his own.  If a screaming deal on a GM truck came along, I might take another look at one.  But they seem to be the most expensive of the three.

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Yeah....I know. Just giving you guys a bad time . I just had to stand up for the Chevy/GMC crowd...LOL. Actually I don't think anyone could go wrong with any of them. They all make a good truck. If they didn't they wouldn?t be around for long.

On the topic of diesel truck makes, I kinda wonder why Toyota has not gotten more involved with the diesel pickup market yet.  Their trucks have become increasingly common on American roadways in the last decade.  I am a lover of American cars & trucks myself, but it stands to reason that the truck market will face foreign competition in future years just like many other product markets.

scottydl said:

On the topic of diesel truck makes, I kinda wonder why Toyota has not gotten more involved with the diesel pickup market yet.  Their trucks have become increasingly common on American roadways in the last decade.  I am a lover of American cars & trucks myself, but it stands to reason that the truck market will face foreign competition in future years just like many other product markets.

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I'm sure they will at some point.  For all intents and purposes, the Tundra IS an American truck.  Manufactured in San Antonio with parts largely sourced in North America, and designed and engineered right here at home specifically for this market.  We've had a handful of them in the rental fleet, and they're good trucks.  That said, I'm still partial to the big 3 nameplates.  Yes, I realize the Ram es hecho en Mexico. 

Toyota just does not have enough market share to justify the expense of entering the full size diesel truck market, there is a reason that for many years both Dodge and Ford source diesel engines that had already been on the market and needed minimal R&D money to put in a light duty pickup. 

We have  tractor with a 5.9 Cummins in it with 18,000 hours (comparable to 900,000 miles according to Cummin's numbers) that uses very little oil and it has been extremely reliable.