Re: [ihc] Question on tow rig***DIESEL***

[John Hofstetter <hofs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Nov 19, 2004, at 6:38 PM, John Fleck wrote:

> Looking for some opinions from all who have experience with the New 
> Dodge,
> Ford, and Chevy Diesel trucks that tow with them and use them for long
> trips. I want a Dullie for stability, and am leaning towards Quad/Crew 
> cab
> for the longer length.
My Dodge Cummins is a 98 so isn't exactly a good arguing point for the 
new Dodge. However, my cousin, a couple of months ago, bought the 3500 
with the 6 speed tranny, exhaust brake, and the deluxe interior. It's 
the 4 door cab with the long bed. Lots and lots of truck.

Personally, I really like the extended cab that we have and I really 
like the short bed, as that makes the overall length much more suitable 
for off-roading. Our truck has done remarkably well, on some fairly 
difficult runs. Its only big disadvantage is its width. If we were 
hauling kids rather than the two mutts, we'd probably want door access 
to the rear seats, but they are irrelevant to the dogs.

> 1. Witch Truck do you like the best? Chevy Duramax, Ford Powerstroke, 
> or
> Dodge Cummings and why?
Any of the three would be a good choice. I'd go with the Cummins, but 
pretty much strictly on old affection for the brand. My son's company 
buys the Powerstrokes by the dozen at a time, and they have had a very 
good experience with these trucks.


> 2. If you tow what options are a must have for you on trips?
>    What options would you get if you had to do it over again??
>
> 3. Do you have an extended cab and wish you had the longer crew cab 
> option
> with 4 doors?
>
> 4. How many of you have bumped up the numbers with chips and add on
> performance/mileage accessories?
I have the Amsoil air filter, and I put a kit into the injection system 
that brought the power up considerably. If I had a manual tranny, I 
could have put in either of the two more extreme power kits. The 
feeling of diesel guys that I respect is that a Banks kit, or exhaust 
modifications on my particular truck would add little except cost.

> 5. Overall Thoughts on Towing car haulers all the time, and trips to 
> various
> Scout Shows?
Any of the three could easily handle the job. I, like Mark or Steve, 
would not go with the dualies. Just not necessary.

> Thanks and this should be a long and interesting thread
You know, I think the bottom line on which body configuration to go 
with depends on whether or not you will want to use it for much of 
anything besides towing. Our truck is dual purpose, make that three way 
purpose, and the configuration it is in is perfect for us.

My only real complaint is that our truck gets terrible fuel mileage. 
John Landry who has pretty much the same truck in 2WD and with a long 
bed gets half again as good fuel mileage as we. The problem with ours 
may be gear ratio, but I haven't looked into that.

I need to point out that any of the diesels we're talking about should 
go 300,000 miles or more. In the case of the Dodge (with which I have 
had experience) you can pay $60,000 for a 4WD truck that will go the 
300,000 miles, or around $25,000 for a truck that only has 250,000 
miles left on it. The math is easy,  I think.

John

> Fleckster
John Hofstetter
Ol' Saline
www.goldrush.com/~hofs