Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Spent some time this past week visiting some local dealers to get a feel for what 3/4 diesel trucks they have and the condition of those trucks. This being upstate NY, there isn't much of a selection, or rather there is a big selection, if you're willing to consider rusted out, high-mileage vehicles (which I'm not).
Focused pretty much on the pre-emission (pre 2008) Ford F250's and Ram 2500/3500's. Drove a few of them. One thing I noted for all the trucks is that despite their size and weight, they were relatively easy to handle and navigate, even in somewhat cramped quarters. Also, the torque, my god, the torque...I've never driven trucks with that much torque. I was dealing with the 5.9l cummins and either the 7.3l or 6.0 powerstroke (so I think torque maxed out around 550lb-ft-600lb-ft). For all their heft, these trucks really move when you put the pedal down.
Some general questions I had regarding the tow brands:
1) The Ram's, on average, seemed to be of lower build quality (especially on the inside). It was not uncommon to see ripped up seats, the interior seemed much more "plasticy" and cheaper, I saw what I assume was the firewall literally collapsing on the engine in one of the Ram's, another engine bay had wires that looked like they needed replacing, the parking brake for another wasn't working. The Ford's by comparison seemed nicer, more comfortable, better materials. Is that pretty much par for the course when comparing Ford's and Ram's? Or did I simply look at some bad examples for the Ram? If these trucks were truly indicative of Ram's build quality for that time, would I evade some of those issues by going to a newer (2013+) Ram? Are the newer Ram's better built?
2) What differences are there between the chassis of the Ram and Ford HD pickup's? The c-channel frame aside for the Ford, I remember reading somewhere that Ford's chassis development was a bit more advanced than Ram's for that time period.
3) I made a point of driving the Ram's down the highway to see if any had the so-called "death wobble." Aside from noting that the truck was just a bit more floaty and steering more vague than my 4runner, I really didn't notice anything that seemed like a dangerous wobble. Is the death wobble inevitable in Ram's of that era, or was it hit or miss? And is it an issue that can be solved by putting newer components into the front end?
4) I had a chance to try out the older NV 5600 manual for the Ram, but there were no newer G56 manual's. The NV just seemed like a sloppy transmission (that's relative I suppose), as it didn't always give you positive feel for getting into the gears, and sometimes finding the gears was a bit of a challenge (i suppose it gets easier with practice). For anyone that owns it, is the G56 much different from the NV in terms of feel?
Anyway, just some questions I had developed in my mind as I checked out these vehicles.
Focused pretty much on the pre-emission (pre 2008) Ford F250's and Ram 2500/3500's. Drove a few of them. One thing I noted for all the trucks is that despite their size and weight, they were relatively easy to handle and navigate, even in somewhat cramped quarters. Also, the torque, my god, the torque...I've never driven trucks with that much torque. I was dealing with the 5.9l cummins and either the 7.3l or 6.0 powerstroke (so I think torque maxed out around 550lb-ft-600lb-ft). For all their heft, these trucks really move when you put the pedal down.
Some general questions I had regarding the tow brands:
1) The Ram's, on average, seemed to be of lower build quality (especially on the inside). It was not uncommon to see ripped up seats, the interior seemed much more "plasticy" and cheaper, I saw what I assume was the firewall literally collapsing on the engine in one of the Ram's, another engine bay had wires that looked like they needed replacing, the parking brake for another wasn't working. The Ford's by comparison seemed nicer, more comfortable, better materials. Is that pretty much par for the course when comparing Ford's and Ram's? Or did I simply look at some bad examples for the Ram? If these trucks were truly indicative of Ram's build quality for that time, would I evade some of those issues by going to a newer (2013+) Ram? Are the newer Ram's better built?
2) What differences are there between the chassis of the Ram and Ford HD pickup's? The c-channel frame aside for the Ford, I remember reading somewhere that Ford's chassis development was a bit more advanced than Ram's for that time period.
3) I made a point of driving the Ram's down the highway to see if any had the so-called "death wobble." Aside from noting that the truck was just a bit more floaty and steering more vague than my 4runner, I really didn't notice anything that seemed like a dangerous wobble. Is the death wobble inevitable in Ram's of that era, or was it hit or miss? And is it an issue that can be solved by putting newer components into the front end?
4) I had a chance to try out the older NV 5600 manual for the Ram, but there were no newer G56 manual's. The NV just seemed like a sloppy transmission (that's relative I suppose), as it didn't always give you positive feel for getting into the gears, and sometimes finding the gears was a bit of a challenge (i suppose it gets easier with practice). For anyone that owns it, is the G56 much different from the NV in terms of feel?
Anyway, just some questions I had developed in my mind as I checked out these vehicles.
