4x4ord wrote: I think Ford must offer fleet owners better incentives than the others do in order to get the market share that they have but it doesn't take much of a look or a quick drive over the scales to reveal that the Ford is a much heavier built truck than the Ram. For a RV hauler going down the nice smooth highway all three trucks are more than adequate.
You are correct the Ford is heavier than the GM or Ram because the Ram and GM have higher strength/ lighter weight frames. Remember the buckeling tailgate on the Ford? Heavier does not mean stronger.
The bottom line is all three are finally making trucks that can do the job right out of the box!
2011 Ram Laramie Longhorn 3500 Dually Long Bed, Cummins 350/800 HO, Towin Machine
B&W Companion Hitch, Maghytec Trans and Rear Dif Covers, AMZ/OIL Top To Bottom
2007 1/2 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 27,000# Combined
4x4ord wrote: I think Ford must offer fleet owners better incentives than the others do in order to get the market share that they have but it doesn't take much of a look or a quick drive over the scales to reveal that the Ford is a much heavier built truck than the Ram. For a RV hauler going down the nice smooth highway all three trucks are more than adequate.
You are correct the Ford is heavier than the GM or Ram because the Ram and GM have higher strength/ lighter weight frames. Remember the buckeling tailgate on the Ford? Heavier does not mean stronger.
The bottom line is all three are finally making trucks that can do the job right out of the box!
I think if you cut the frame rails off the Ford and threw them off the scale the Ford would still out weigh the Ram. As far as the buckling tailgate goes what happens to the Chevy when you put 4000 lbs on the pin and drive it up that ramp - it might not want to come back again? Even the frame of my Peterbilt is forced to flex when I drive through the ditch with 80,000 lbs hooked to it. When it really comes down to it the present day 1/2 tons are likely tough enough to handle what we put these trucks through with our RV's.
2011 F350 SRW short box 4x4 CC 6.7 PS King Ranch
B&W TurnoverBall and Companion
2003 Citation Supreme 34 RLTS
only to the owners of the Ram Cummins trucks Considering where Dodge was a few years back and where they are now....It's looks inside and out, IMHO, are better looking than Chevy or Ford, tows as well...I mean I can only tow at the speed limit, and I can do it all day in the mountains or on flat land..not drag racing anywhere, not towing over my weight ratings, and actually not running over 62 mph because I get my best mpg when towing between 55 -62 mph...
Cummins/HD equipped trucks probably don't look impressive to those that don't own them. When I owned my chevy's, I looked down my nose at Ford and Dodge....it is what it is...now I own a Dodge, I still like the Chevy a lot, will never cut on them....they served me well, but Ford does nothing for me...I TRIED to purchase Ford F350's several times and Ford didn't want me as a customer...so I still look down my nose at them....though they are a great truck, per the marketing hoo-rah, I still think the Dodge truck looks better inside and out than a Ford...sour grapes? May be, but "bang for the buck"? Dodge beat both Chevy and Ford when I traded, thus the reason I now have a Dodge in my sig....and after two years of ownership...don't regret it one little bit
NC,
The numbers don't lie, but I respect your comments here and you simply found the truck you feel meets your needs and that's great.
I recently went thru the same process, researched, test drove, looked at trucks on the lots. Basically I was looking at RAM (Not Dodge anymore) and Super Duty's. Comparing the two I felt like the Super Duty was the better truck for me so that's the path I took. The looks (inside & out), fuel economy, capability, American Owned company, current owners problems or lack of problems, previous truck reliability all played an important part of my decision.
Good luck with your truck as I love my truck as well... It's a great truck!
I knew that Dodge (Ram)....hard to change sometimes was # 3 in the Big three sales, but all I was getting at was having far more Chevy's and Ford trucks than Dodge/Ram trucks in my 46 years of driving, I just feel like the Ram is as good a truck as Chevy/GM and Ford....Sales speak volumes...can't argue with numbers....Me, I'm not brand loyal, as some know from how long I owned my Chevy's and highly touted them...and still do....Just so happened last time I got a "wild hair" to trade, Chevy 3500 CC/Dually's were like hen's teeth to find and Ford didn't want to sell me an F350 loaded out Dually, and when I couldn't get the Chevy, Ford was actually next, but then I included the Dodge/Ram truck in the equation and again, "bang for the buck" netted me the truck I now own..."IF" I'm inclined to trade again, I'll look at Chevy and Ram, but have just about given up on Ford....started looking and trying to buy one on and off since 1999, but evidently, they're too proud of them for my money....
My truck has been trouble free for over two years...so far so good...Any of the big threes trucks are more than capable....bottom line to me is which ever one I get the best deal on, that is where my "brand loyalty" will be, while I own it and it's trouble free
Jim & Kathy
2013 Dodge 3500DRW Longhorn 4X4/CC/LB/Aisin tranny/4:10/Cummins: 385HP/850TQ
06 HR Presidential Suite 37RLQ/ 4 slide/ dual pane windows/Winegard SK3005 Satellite/Splendide XC2100 W/D
Boxers;Buddy& Sheba II
USAF 71-75 Nam Vet
Geez...someone here sounds like someone else from the past
Quoting the "Hurt Locker" while hyping the third place truck takes koolaid drinking to record high territory.
Now before anyone gets all wadded up over that statement, I will restate my long standing position that all three manufacturers build good trucks. Drive them all and buy the one that works for you...
Despite my best efforts , Ford has maintained it's number one ranking in new HD truck sales. It is easy to understand why. To most, it is a great looking truck with a plush and roomy cab. It makes great power with good fuel economy. All the crowing about the Dodge can not change these facts. Even after all my battles with a shameful Ford Motor Company, I still enjoy driving and towing with the 6.7 Ford. As long as this HPFP stays together, I will be happy with the truck...I will never be happy with Ford Motor Company...Shame on Ford
Most here know that I am trading trucks soon. I will not be buying a Ford. Dodge has to get rid of the high EGR cycling emissions and go to DEF injection to have any chance at getting the sale. After owning a DEF equipped truck, I am not going back to a stuffed up, hard to breathe all the soot, lower fuel economy and less power truck. Their crew cabs are as roomy as a Ford and IMO look just as nice. I have not taken a long enough drive to comment on long term comfort but they should do the job. The men in the know here are all saying 2013 will be the year that Dodge goes to DEF in the pickups.
The rumor mill has posted February 2013 as the introduction date for the new larger and nicer GM twin's crew cab. This, if true, will make the decision more difficult for me. Like NC Hauler, I may just vote with my wallet when that time comes...brand loyalty has been driven from my decision process...
Going Camping...
Regards
Ricatic
Debbie and Savannah the Wonderdachsund
2009 Big Horn 3055RL
2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Dually LTX with the Gold Standard LBZ Engine and Allison Transmission
2011 F350 Lariat SRW CC SB 4WD 6.7 Diesel POS Gone Bye Bye
I would buy a Ram...with gas power. Diesel power has jumped the shark.
John and Elizabeth (Liz), with 3 nutty cats
My beloved St. Bernard, Marm, lost him 1/2/12
Current rig:
1992 International Genesis school bus conversion
4x4ord wrote: I think Ford must offer fleet owners better incentives than the others do in order to get the market share that they have but it doesn't take much of a look or a quick drive over the scales to reveal that the Ford is a much heavier built truck than the Ram. For a RV hauler going down the nice smooth highway all three trucks are more than adequate.
You are correct the Ford is heavier than the GM or Ram because the Ram and GM have higher strength/ lighter weight frames. Remember the buckeling tailgate on the Ford? Heavier does not mean stronger.
The bottom line is all three are finally making trucks that can do the job right out of the box!
As a new Ram owner from previously nothing but Fords, I can attest to Ford having thicker metal on just about every visible body and frame part. I have no way to validate or quantify that statement, just an observation. It's amazing how thin the door hinges, bumper mounts, etc. are on my Ram relative to my '08 Ford. That has to translate into weights savings for the Ram.
Found this, and if it was "tagged" in 1977, I was 27 yrs. old and still never heard of it, but it appears it's talking about a TV show and it going downhill due to quality issues???
I guess I get the drift, but I'll stay with my "jumped the shark" diesel truck anyway. Seeing as how the thread was about diesels anyway, how did we end up talking about sticking with gas engines.....sounds like the thread just "jumped the shark"
" The phrase jump the shark comes from a scene in the fifth season premiere episode of the American TV series Happy Days titled "Hollywood: Part 3", written by Fred Fox, Jr.[4] and aired on September 20, 1977. In the episode, the central characters visit Los Angeles, where a water-skiing Fonzie (Henry Winkler), wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, jumps over a confined shark, answering a challenge to demonstrate his bravery. For a show that in its early seasons depicted universally relatable experiences against a backdrop of 1950s nostalgia, this marked an audacious, cartoonish turn towards attention-seeking gimmickry and continued the faddish lionization of an increasingly superhuman Fonzie. The series continued for nearly five years after that, with a number of changes in cast and situations. However, it is commonly believed that the show, out of ideas and even trapped in its own success (largely due to the disproportionate popularity of the "Fonzie" character and the show's (executives') intense desire to continue "milking" that), began a downhill slide, becoming a caricature of itself often filled with little more than its popular catch phrases and character mannerisms.
Hein published his list of approximately 200 television shows, and the moments each jumped the shark, in 1997. The site soon became an internet phenomenon, and as the phrase quickly spread all throughout pop culture the site grew exponentially in users and renown. Hein subsequently authored two "Jump The Shark" books and later became a regular on The Howard Stern Show around the time he sold his website to Gemstar (owners of TV Guide).
In a 2010 Los Angeles Times article, former Happy Days writer Fred Fox Jr., who wrote the episode that later spawned the phrase, said, "Was the [shark jump] episode of Happy Days deserving of its fate? No, it wasn't. All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not Happy Days' time." Fox also points to not only the success of the episode itself ("a huge hit" with over 30 million viewers), but also to the continued popularity of the series.[5]
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Considering where Dodge was a few years back and where they are now....It's looks inside and out, IMHO, are better looking than Chevy or Ford, tows as well...I mean I can only tow at the speed limit, and I can do it all day in the mountains or on flat land..not drag racing anywhere, not towing over my weight ratings, and actually not running over 62 mph because I get my best mpg when towing between 55 -62 mph...
, Ford has maintained it's number one ranking in new HD truck sales. It is easy to understand why. To most, it is a great looking truck with a plush and roomy cab. It makes great power with good fuel economy. All the crowing about the Dodge can not change these facts. Even after all my battles with a shameful Ford Motor Company, I still enjoy driving and towing with the 6.7 Ford. As long as this HPFP stays together, I will be happy with the truck...I will never be happy with Ford Motor Company...Shame on Ford
