2011 - 2012 Diesel Trucks - Opinions/Experiences

[MT rydn]

So would people weigh in on opinions/experiences with the lastest big trucks?
Interested in:
1. power / transmission / drive train / braking / vehicle control
2. reliability
3. exterior fit/finish
4. interior fit/finish
5. interior wind / road noise levels / creaks / rattles.
6. dealer / manufacturer experience / warranty experience.
7. what you think the manufacturuer should change on the vehicle.
8. would you buy again or get another make.
9. mods you might / have done when the warranty is up.
10. best looking brand opinions.

This will be interesting.
Dealers / Salesman need not apply

 

[Ford428CJ]

Here is some info for you!

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182482

 

[Ford428CJ]

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292066&highlight=Duramax

Try using the search.... I see you posted in some of these...

 

[Ford428CJ]

This will be your best bet right here!

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/?

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/

 

[MT rydn]

This will be your best bet right here!

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/?

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/

These are good.
Still be interesting to hear what snowest members think about each of the manufacturers new diesels compared to each other, and now with a few more miles on these 2011 models especially.

 

[Ford428CJ]

All its going to be on here is a brand war. Thats why I posted those other sites.

 

[MT rydn]

Kind of like brand warfare with our sleds.
We can take it.

 

[polarisfornow]

pickuptrucks.com did a great test of all three duallys pulling a 19000 lb trailer up in the mountains and back down. I think like 2200 miles all together.

I can give you the summary. basically said the chevy has the best motor trans combo but has the worst interior and styling. ford was second and dodge was third but the dodge had the best styling and interior.

myself I'm a dodge guy and have owned a bunch of them. all have been great so thats what i would buy.

the only real world experience i have on newer stuff is my friends 2011 dmax pulled a 8.5 by 24 trailer out to rabbit ears last year. pulling was effortless but damn the new diesels get crap mileage. averaged about 9 round trip, 1500ish miles.

 

[MT rydn]

pickuptrucks.com did a great test of all three duallys pulling a 19000 lb trailer up in the mountains and back down. I think like 2200 miles all together.

I can give you the summary. basically said the chevy has the best motor trans combo but has the worst interior and styling. ford was second and dodge was third but the dodge had the best styling and interior.

myself I'm a dodge guy and have owned a bunch of them. all have been great so thats what i would buy.

the only real world experience i have on newer stuff is my friends 2011 dmax pulled a 8.5 by 24 trailer out to rabbit ears last year. pulling was effortless but damn the new diesels get crap mileage. averaged about 9 round trip, 1500ish miles.

How's that new cummins doing now with the higher torque numbers? That crew cab now looks preety good/roomy.

I have the 6.7 Ford. Pulls everything with no effort. Have not had any engine/trans/powertarin problems like some have. Interior noise level kind of inferior to GM for wind noise/creaks but I like the Ford interior looks / function better and more rear seat leg room.

I think the 'crinkled tail gate' on the Ford vs Chevy test when Chevy did their frame test was pretty interesting but I have never actually known anyone that has ever had that happen to any truck. I heard the Dodge did pretty well on some parts of those tests Chevy put out (braking, frame strength) but that never made it on the Chevy youtube video. But who can fault a duramax engine for performance - not me.

Anyway it sounds like all the big three have excellent trucks and each have their individual weakness but each also have their individual strong points.

 

[polarisfornow]

How's that new cummins doing now with the higher torque numbers? That crew cab now looks preety good/roomy.

I have the 6.7 Ford. Pulls everything with no effort. Have not had any engine/trans/powertarin problems like some have. Interior noise level kind of inferior to GM for wind noise/creaks but I like the Ford interior looks / function better and more rear seat leg room.

I think the 'crinkled tail gate' on the Ford vs Chevy test when Chevy did their frame test was pretty interesting but I have never actually known anyone that has ever had that happen to any truck. I heard the Dodge did pretty well on some parts of those tests Chevy put out (braking, frame strength) but that never made it on the Chevy youtube video. But who can fault a duramax engine for performance - not me.

Anyway it sounds like all the big three have excellent trucks and each have their individual weakness but each also have their individual strong points.

I agree they are all pretty close. that test was pulling a monster trailer compared to what most sledders will ever deal with. our 8.5x24 prob weighs in at 8000lbs max loaded with 5 sleds. thats a breeze for all the new iron with 800 ft lbs on tap. they are all so close that if i was gonna buy new i would just get the cheapest one with the best warranty and be done with it. although I absolutely love the new long horn edition dodges with all the little touches in the interior. like the belt buckles on the seat backs and super heavy leather floor mats. but thats just me.

 

[Xcelerated performance]

it really doesn't matter what brand you buy, because they are pretty much the same. what really matters is how good of service you get from the service department, you will be there i don't care what brand you drive. and there is nothing worse than a crappy sevice department.

 

[greg81]

I just traded my 06 F350 dually for a '12 3500 single wheel Laramie. I just love it so far! I have been a Ford driver for many years but after the crappy experience with the 6.0 ford, I decided it was time for a change. The Dodge, I felt, has a nicer interior than the ford. I am very pleased with the power of the cummins motor. I haven't found anything yet that I dislike about the dodge. Also, the dodge has a 5 year 100,000 warranty and the fords was only 60000. I am happy with the ride of the dodge too. The truck is so much quieter than my ford. And I love the heated steering wheel!!!

 

[milehighassassin]

I work for a GMC dealer and to be honest we get a LOT of Dodge guys trading their trucks in for a GMC because they don't like the ride of the Dodge. The GM Motor/Tranny is tough to beat. I don't think anyone else has a transmission that competes with the Allison. Paired with the brake controller, anti-sway, engine brake and Transmission it does the best job of controlling a load going downhill.

I also think the GMC interior is nicer than the Dodge for sure. I would argue the Ford but that is personal preference. Go drive them all, if possible hook a trailer up to them and hit a hill.

 

[MT rydn]

yep when I win the lottery I'm getting one of each! I can see pro/cons in all of them.
Still - has anyone ever crinkled the Ford tail gate?! Ridiculous unless otherwise proven wrong in real world driving!

 

[Jaynelson]

Has Dodge fixed their truck seats in the newer body style rams? I just drove an 07 Ram for the first time in awhile and immediately remembered how ridiculously uncomfortable the seats were (at least with the cloth interiors). I don't know how anyone could comfortably log miles in those trucks...

 

[revrider07]

The seats or lack there of no seats dodge took the seats out of old plymouths on the scrap yard to cut down on cost hence way cheaper trucks glad to see my dodge gone. wish ford had cummings

 

[polarisfornow]

Has Dodge fixed their truck seats in the newer body style rams? I just drove an 07 Ram for the first time in awhile and immediately remembered how ridiculously uncomfortable the seats were (at least with the cloth interiors). I don't know how anyone could comfortably log miles in those trucks...

in the test they did they said the dodge had the most comfortable seats of all the trucks tested. whats strange is that I've always liked my dodge seats the best and thought the chevy seats were horrible. I'm sure it depends on your size but I've always thought the chevy seats were too low to the floor and almost no lumbar to be comfortable. I'm a little taller guy at 6'1 but not a giant at all. IMO anyone that says anything about seat comfort should be taken with a grain of salt as body size makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Jaynelson]

in the test they did they said the dodge had the most comfortable seats of all the trucks tested. whats strange is that I've always liked my dodge seats the best and thought the chevy seats were horrible. I'm sure it depends on your size but I've always thought the chevy seats were too low to the floor and almost no lumbar to be comfortable. I'm a little taller guy at 6'1 but not a giant at all. IMO anyone that says anything about seat comfort should be taken with a grain of salt as body size makes all the difference in the world.

For sure....I have NOT driven a newer body style Dodge (2010+) so I was curious if they changed. I also agree that it's personal preference.....but I work on a car lot and have heard and experienced a lot more negative than positive from those previous-gen Dodge seats. If you don't like the GM seats, I can see how you would like the Dodge one's, as they are basically polar opposites.

As for the Ford tailgate thing.....it's one of those things that's a big deal on the internet, but really means nothing in the real world. I love a good chance to bash Ford, but even I can't put a lot of weight into that one.

 

[Datdude]

I think the newer Dodges are better than the older ones in terms of interior comfort, but they still seem a little on the cheap side. My buddy traded a 2011 Powerstroke (transmission failed) on a new 2011 Ram dually the day before we left for Alpine, WY so we got to break it in with 3000 miles on the highway. We stopped at Diesel Labs in Idaho Falls on the way home to wake it up. They deleted the DPF and installed the H&S MiniMaxx tuner. After that it was a fun truck to drive. The front seats are comfortable, but it still feels cheap inside (SLT with bench seat and NAV). The Laramie seems a little nicer with buckets

I usually buy a new truck every year. So far I have owned....

2005 Ram 3500 SRW Quad/Short 4x4 Cummins (decent truck)
2006 Chevy 2500HD Crew/Short 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2007.5 Chevy 2500HD Crew/Short 4x4 Duramax LMM
2009 Chevy 2500HD Crew/Short 4x4 Duramaz LMM
2010 Ford F-250 Crew/Short 4x4 King Ranch 6.4L (cool truck/motor is a pile)
2011 Chevy 2500HD Crew Short 4x4 LTZ Duramax LML

So far, the 2011 Chevy is my favorite. The LML gets great mileage and is a very solid truck. I wish it had the interior room and the AWESOME NAV system of the 2010 Ford. I did drive a 2011 Ram 2500 SRW Crew/Short 4x4 Laramie before I bought the Chevy, but the deal was not right so I passed.

 

[NDFARMER95]

My ole man has a 2011 LML. Its quiet, has plenty of power, and gets pretty good mileage. Just the basic cloth interior and its pretty comfy and im 6'2" and bout 180. Headed to West Yellowstone in a couple weeks so I'll have to see how it goes for pulling and mileage. One downfall when he bought it was the urea but after running it for about 20,000, it really isnt that bad to but that fluid in. I guess like some guys are saying, whatever your preference is and whatever deal you can get your hands on.