Really Crap man I better throw my 2 Dodge's away I can't believe I put 110K miles on a piece of junk If this is true then I would have a bad time even trying to give the trucks away
DM01

 

A Duramax would be an all around smoother, more comfortable truck than the Dodge would. I have owned and driven both and I can tell you the Chevy is more comfortable inside, nicer interior, and it rides better than my Dodge. Oh yea were in the car business too, and have sold coutless Duramaxes with over 100,000 miles that had no problems what so ever. Come to think of it, almost every duramax I run across at sales, other dealerships I buy from and get to sell have 80-120,000 miles on 01.02.03 and ocassionally an 04 model. I like my Dodge but I have personally not seen any faults in the Duramaxes and I have seen more than most will in a lifetime.

 

IFS and heavy duty do not belong in the same sentence. The dmax engine is nice and the tranny is too, not the IFS.

 

Some of you here called me a "Liar" last time I mentioned this, but I'll say it again......................

I have a 1994 Silverado Z71 (1st Year they came out) extended cab-stepside V8 GASSER - Automatic that I bought brand new 11/93 that has 468,000 miles on it and have never never never had to dig into either the engine or tranny for any reason. It has had 3-4 alternators, few tires and brakes replaced, and minor mish mash stuff done over the years, but that's it. It is now sitting up in Wichita Falls at a friends body shop in storage, and stills starts and drives just as perfect as it did when I bought almost 13 years ago.

Also, I've had many a 100K +++ Chevy V8's over the years with no problems, and a couple of Pre-Powerstroke Ford diesels that surpassed 100K with no problems.

Don't believe me, don't care, but I bet there are millions of Chevy V8 owners out there with 100-200-300K miles that have never had problems either.

If you get a chance go read "ExpeditorsOnline".com and read about all those 2-3-4 year Chevy V8 Vans with 200-300K +++ miles on them and see how happy those owners are.

 

This is a fairly useless question. My truck, his truck, their truck, yada yada. Bottom line is both companies make nice trucks and they also make lemons. There are both cummins and chevy duramax's that have run to over 400,000 miles. IFS when towing holds up well, and there are dodges with straight axles that have had ball joints go south around the 30-40,000 mile mark. To ask this question on a Dodge or Chevy forum will tend to favor the vehicle in the forum obviously. Besides it doesn't matter what you think your brother would like, he has to make that decision. Both trucks are an excellent choice but one will fit his needs better and that will be the one he buys.

 

I have a 1994 Silverado Z71 (1st Year they came out) extended cab-stepside [b]V8 GASSER - Automatic


Sorry but 1989 was the first year for the Z71. It was actually around before, but was little known off road package sold under the same RPO-Z71 but in 89 they started puting the stickers on and it became what people think of today.

 

I will give you that, the IFS is not a great design, but if left stock, they hold up fine.

 

that wasn't very helpful. the reason I'm on here asking is that he knows I've done a lot of research and talked to a lot of owners, wrenched on a lot of friends trucks, driven a lot of other trucks, trailered a lot of friends and customers broken trucks and if anything of brand loyalty, I've been accused of not being loyal enough to any particular brand; the reason I'm here is that he's going to base his decision heavily off of what I recommend...I make a good living turning wrenches, he makes a good living 'neutralizing' bad guys, with large weapons and explosives, so for fighting and shooting I consult him, for trucks, cars and airplanes he consults me.

I asked the question on here because there are quite a few guys on here that have very helpful info and very knowledgable experience with multiple brands and are able to say what they don't like about the holy grail dodge and what they do like about the 'other' brand...btw, THANK YOU to all of you that have replied, I really appreciate the feedback.

I have no problem believing the 468,000 mile chevy truck, those TBI engines weren't the greatest injection but a majority of them run for a very long time, along with the rest of the truck, a very large percentage of my gearhead carier has involved being in just about every position possible in and around a 90's chevy trucks as that's what everyone drove when I was in high school, I built a lot of engines, added a million bolt-ons and troubleshot countless gremlins, most of which were owner/operator error. I've owned a '93tbi and a '96 vortec, both of which had well over 200k miles and the 96 still drives like it's got 20k miles- it's now my parents extra truck for light farm work/extra commuting and it does better in the snow in the mountains than their '02 tahoe...which makes me wonder if the newer Dmax is a good way to go or not with a light duty diesel...I really like the 90's 1/2 ton chevy trucks, but I can't stand the newer ones as far as suspension/steering and wheelwell clearance.

I know the gmc doen't compare straight across to a dodge as far as diesel trucks and I'm very familiar with the weak points and crappy designs that are very carefully engineered into both; I'm just looking for feedback from people that have owned both and I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE those that have shared their experience!!!! please keep it coming.

 

One of my cousins owned an 03 d-max. My uncle owns a 04 cummins. Both used on the farm. No real problems out of either. I would of course, buy a dodge, but I am pretty loyal to the CTD because i am a firm believe that if you are gonna have a diesel, it needs to be an inline design.

Eric

 

Jon96,
It may not of been helpful, but it was honest. Now from all you expierence you know either one will be fine. It boils down to specifically what he wants to do with the truck. If he wants to lift it over 6" and go off roading take the dodge. If he wants a slight lift for a more aggressive look, but wants a softer ride then go chevy. There is no right or wrong answer. It's a choice and ultimately the person who ends up owning the vehicle needs to make that choice. Give him pro's and con's of both, then take him to both dealers and let him drive both. I'm sure after that, one of the trucks will tickle his fancy more then the other. Everyone will give you input from their own personal experience, but that probably won't help him. Example: I own a 2006 GMC crewcab dually, why? because it fit the bill. Ford still has to many problems with the 6.0 diesel for me to consider it. Dodge crewcab was to small and the mega cab only came in a short bed. I pretty much use the truck for pulling my 5ver and didn't want a short bed and slider hitch(my preference). GMC has a bigger crewcab and the 8 foot bed and that fits the bill best for me. Everybody has a preference, and so will he.

 

Thats right. It's all about application. Off road: dodge. On road little off road: either, chevy will ride better. Both great trucks. Just don't let him buy a ford.

 

haha, I jokingly suggested a ford 6 oh-no; he replied "I already play with grenades at work, I don't want one for an engine"

 

Example: I own a 2006 GMC crewcab dually, why? because it fit the bill. Ford still has to many problems with the 6.0 diesel for me to consider it. Dodge crewcab was to small and the mega cab only came in a short bed. I pretty much use the truck for pulling my 5ver and didn't want a short bed and slider hitch(my preference). GMC has a bigger crewcab and the 8 foot bed and that fits the bill best for me. Everybody has a preference, and so will he.[/QUOTE]




Well the LBZ fit the bill for me as well. I don't need a dual wheel truck anymore, I combined both a truck and a car with the chevy. I didn't want to have to shift gears in heavy city traffic any longer, so the dodge was out. Overall the duramax fits my needs the best I feel. I will go on to say this, if I were only used a truck for heavy work all of the time it would be a dodge again. But with my mixed uses this was the truck for me, at least for a few months.

 

and we've come to a conclusion, on his way out to the east coast he stopped at a dealership in AZ and picked up an '05 crew cab long bed 4x4 auto with 20k miles for $29, SLT with the almighty cummins! FYI trucks in AZ are going for roughly 7k cheaper than CA.

so now he's all excited about putting a good converter/vb, a box or two, turbo upgrade, loud cold air intake, straight pipe and leveling kit.

thank you guys very much for the feedback, my bro also appreciated it. he almost went with a dmax but decided he wants an all out truck. this insatiable love for the cummins is spreading to everyone we know. My dad got his 91 new, then I got mine, now he's got the '00, one of our employees got an '04 cause he like ours, bro-in-law got an '04 and now my bro's '05, along with several of our customers. dodge should be hookin' us up with somethin...

 

Sounds like he got a good deal. Tell him to join and show us the progress of his truck. YOu know how much we like pictures of new stuff