[mwarner]

My wife and I are currently shopping for travel trailers. We are new to camping and are trying to learn as much as possible before we make the purchase. My current problem is my tow vehicle. I have a SUV with a max tow rating of 5,000#. Of course, that is limiting us to what we can get in a travel trailer. We are thinking now that we should trade in the SUV for a 3/4 ton diesel so that we can safely tow a trailer with a GVWR of around 8,000#. Being on a budget, we're looking at used trucks around 5 years old with less than 100,000 miles.

My question is which of the big three (Ford Powerstroke, Dodge Cummins, Chevy Duramax) have the best rating for tow ability and dependability for the money? Also, I understand that there are certain years to stay away from in certain models, what are those years?

Thanks...all advice is appreciated.

 

[ZombieSoldier]

you cant go wrong with any of them. only thing i would say is stay away from the 6.0 diesel due to the small nuances with them. best thing to do is go test drive each one and see what you like the best. They are all very comparable in power and torque as well as towing capacities, so the only real decision will be which has the features you want, and drives the way you want. I personally love my old 1999 F250 Superduty with the 7.3 powerstroke.

 

[Rustin]

If your on a budget my first question is what is your budget range? And to rebut zombie most of the 6 liters have had there problems fixed. Any 7.3l is a good power plant. If it under 150,000 that truck is just broke in! it's 250,000 you might have to do an overhaul, might!

 

[Rustin]

I know some 7.3l into the 400,000 mile range without an overhaul. One I know for sure went 700,000 before it finally died, but you really have to have a meticulous preventive maintenance schedule if you don't you will be left with expensive injector repairs on the 7.3 and 6.0l.
Any of the cummins are solid workhorses. They're just built in a sub par truck platform. No offense to the dodge owners some are holding up nice but you really have to look. I will say any of the older Dmax power GMs have a good spot in fuel economy and performance tuning potential then any of the later. They're just expensive to build up and repair if things break, GMs are quite sensitive.

 

[mwarner]

My budget is right around $25,000. I'm looking at trucks that are about 5 years old with around 80,000+ miles. Autotrader and Carmax are loaded with Fords and they all seem to be the 6.0l. There is one specific truck that I really have my eye on. It's a 2007 Ford F250 Crew XLT 4wd w/ 56,000 miles on the 6.0. Carmax is asking $26,900.

Consumer Reports seems to rate the Duramax Diesel somewhat higher than the other two for the year models I'm looking at.

Thanks for your replys.

 

[Rustin]

My budget is right around $25,000. I'm looking at trucks that are about 5 years old with around 80,000+ miles. Autotrader and Carmax are loaded with Fords and they all seem to be the 6.0l. There is one specific truck that I really have my eye on. It's a 2007 Ford F250 Crew XLT 4wd w/ 56,000 miles on the 6.0. Carmax is asking $26,900.

Consumer Reports seems to rate the Duramax Diesel somewhat higher than the other two for the year models I'm looking at.

Thanks for your replys.

That one, would be the one to get. And then saves some cash and take it in to get it looked over for all the weaknesses make sure all of the recalls have been done. If it's stock? I know all of the mods need for that rig, to keep it reliable. you might not have to do any of them. But just have the assurance that your taken well care of on this forum.

 

[mwarner]

Thank you very much, Rustin. Are there certain specific issues I should look for with the 6.0?