Dodge CTD last place AGAIN, Fordwheeler Magazine

[dnitzel]

I see in the August 2003 "Fordwheeler" (Fourwheeler, I just can't read it right) the Dodge Ram 2500 placed third behind the second place GMC Sierra 2500 HD and the first place Ford. They proclaimed the Ford Superduty F-250 is "King of the Diesels". Quote: "Check it out if you are looking for a beast that can tow and haul better than the rest". In their opinion, the ford had the MUCH better engine, transmission, the most tow capacity, weighed more. They didn't really have anything nice to say about the Dodge. I guess DC just does not spend enough money with them advertising. I know furd and toyota does, and they are always touted the most. Any suggestions on a better 4x4 magazine? After subscribing to it for a long, long time, this one's not getting renewed.

 

[CKruse]

I saw that too. I really couln't get too worked up about it. They weren't smart enough to turn the "OD OFF" going downhill! I guess since it wasn't called a tow/haul mode, it couldn't be used.



They also forgot to mention the huge number of guys who gambled on the 6. 0 and lost miserably. I bet those that are on their 3rd or 4th reflash, crankcase full of diesel, rear main seal leaking, or a replacement truck really took pride in that article!



I did my homework before I ordered a truck, and feel wonderful about what I've got. I sure don't need a magazine to justify my purchase.



One thing I did get a chuckle out of was the quote regarding the d-max. " Avoid it if you don't want your friends asking if it's 2 or 4 wheel drive" LMAO

 

[Blue2002]

Tonight, I was in one of two lanes accelerating from a traffic light that had just turned green. I head this darned * awful sound that seemed like a cross between a a bad clutch bearing, a bad fan belt , and a high pressure air leak over the normally sweet sound of my Cummins. It went away. Worried I tried to figure out what it could possibly be, then I heard it again. I looked over and saw a F*** truck. Then I immediately knew and all was well again. Poor Guy!!!!

 

[Steve M]

Cummins ain't made to be fast. They're made to last.

 

[gsbrockman]

I think they can be fast AND last, too. The one thing I miss about my 2000 RAM 2500 HD 4x4 Quad Cab CTD w/Auto and 3. 54 axle and LT285/75R16 Bridgestone Dueler A/T REVO's was how that thing cruised on the interstate. A corrected mph at 83 mph netted only 2000 rpms or so if my memory serves me right. That truck, with 4" Magnaflow exhaust and 275 injectors, would top out around a corrected 120 to 121 mph. Lots of fun to have a Chebby or Ford pull up on your a$$ and let them by, only to blow them off the road again and only see them in the rearview mirror as a fading dot... .....

Greg

 

[Pit Bull]

If it is printed in a Magazine it must be true.

 

[Dean Upson]

Any suggestions on a better 4x4 magazine? After subscribing to it for a long, long time, this one's not getting renewed.

I feel the same way. Not only truck magazines but the Trailer Life articles seem biased to the big advertisers. Almost as bad as watching Rather or reading the NYT .



Dean

 

[Hammerhead]

I read" Peterson's Four-wheel & Off-road. " They had the four wheeler of the year competition a few months back and the 3500 SRW 4x4 just barely missed winning the whole thing!!! They usually have several anecdotes that make me laugh in every issue. I would recommend trying it out at least and see if you like it.

 

[JHardwick]

I ain't buyin it ... ... . I stumbled onto a Ford message board and a lot of the threads mentioned the CTD, including the guys who put the CTD in their Fords, lol.

 

[Steve M]

Not to forget too soon... My Ford loyal (not any more) buddy drove my SO/auto Dodge Cummins and wasn't impressed. He then drove a HO/auto Dodge Cummins and while it was more impressive than mine, he wasn't excited about it. He then drove an F-250 6. 0/auto. He said it wasn't bad but no better than the HO Cummins. He then drove a 2500 QC LB with HEMI. He bought one and has been happy as a puppy with two peckers since!

Two seconds slower on a mountain grade towing 12,000 lbs is a very small price to pay for having the best engine available in a pickup truck. How much of your time are you actually going to spend pulling 12,000 lbs up a grade? Run the same test with 250,000 miles on the clock. Better yet, hook up 12,000 lbs to both trucks and run 'em 'til they drop dead. My bet is the slower Cummins will be running long after the PSD has fallen to it's knees. My SO will tow our 5th wheel 70mph+ with power to spare and I seldom use full throttle to accelerate. I don't needs the extra power the 6. 0 has when and if it's running and not in the shop scattered about the shop floor.

 

[ralphr]

I don't know about the magazine you are talking about but it seems to me about the same as asking Hilliary to rate bush!



I am seriously thinking of replacing my 99' and one place I checked was kelly blue book (kbb.com) in addition to providing pricing for both my used 99' and the potential 2003 they also alow you to do a comparison. the dodge ram was overall the best when rated against either ford or chevy in resale quality, etc.



or maybe kbb.com is like bush rating clinton.

 

[Kilby]

Check out page 32 at the bottom under "Performance". Dodge showed first place in acceleration in a lot of their findings, including a quicker 1/4 mile run at 16. 96 vs. Ford at 17. 56 and Chevy at 17. 75. They just forgot to mention that part I guess. The PSD only came into play when towing the trailer. The Dodge also stopped 21 feet quicker than the PSD and 11 feet quicker than the Chevy.



What also amazed me was their comment on how the 3/4 ton Dodge ride was "definitly firm when compared to the other two". I test drove all 3 trucks before buying my Dodge and found the Chevy to ride the best and the Dodge to come in second. It is a truck yeah, but definitly not "definitly firm" as they put it. You wanna see firm? Try driving my '74 Ford F250.

 

[Snow man]

I never take a magazine test seriously anyway. They are just puppets for the their biggest advertisers(Ford). Id like to see how they are all doing in 1 yr,2 yrs,3 yrs exc. I dont buy a truck based on a 4 day observation from road testers and editors who dont have a clue as to how to work on them,or what is important to use buyers. I didnt hear once in there test about how tight the PSD is wedged into the Ford chassis,or how easy the CTD is to work on in comparison. They didnt mention how much safer the Dodge is with its 14" brakes, The sure did make a big deal about how the Ford out pulled the Dodge,but no mention of how they stopped the load,or whose brakes fadded first. No mention of how the Cummins is the heavier duty,and longest lasting of the diesels. No mention of all the problems Ford is having with the 6. 0 either. And the part about grade braking they talk about the awesome braking a diesel gives? What planet are they from,diesels have hardly any braking without an exhaust brake. With the money they saved with the Dodges 48RE transmission(its over 1000 cheaper than an Allison),they could have bought an exhaust brake and had real engine braking. I know what truck is the best for me, and there results dont affect that one bit.

 

[DocDetonancour]

An old friend just stopped by after moving back to Idaho from Denver. We were talking trucks and he knew of a trailer company that DC gave ten Cummins to test and rate. He said 350000 was a common mark. He further stated that Ford did the same thing for the same Company and the Powerstrokes were major breakdowns with less than 100000 on average. This guy was always a Ford man himself. The facts don't lie. :-{}

 

[JSchutz]

Longevity is the biggest reason I bought a diesel. They never test for that but even the vast majority or Ford and Chevy guys grudgingly admit the Cummins is number one in that regard. After my Duramax crapped out on me after 100k I'm trying out the Cummins. The Ford 6. 0 is lucky to get off the dealers lot without problems at the present.



The Allison is smooth but "quirky". The grade braking feature was not all it's made out to be, at least for me. It was constantly downshifting when I didn't want it to (like at the very bottom of a hill) and once it downshifts it refuses to upshift until nearly redlined for half a mile. When I would want it to downshift frequently I couldn't get it to do so. I'm happier just pushing the O/D lockout or selecting a lower gear.



Jeff

 

[Pit Bull]

I was reading some of the posts over at the Diesel Stop Ford site on the 6. 0. WOW you got to feel sorry for these guys. Ford must have their heads in the wrong spot. Makes you wonder if Ford makes one more product mistake I wonder if they will continue to be around. Based on the TDR article about diesel market share Ford is tanking very very fast. Now how does the Truck magazines miss what is going on with the buyers and the market place I wonder if the truck magazines are hiring guys like the information officer for the Iraq government.

 

[krabman]

I dont care what they say in some magazine in the real world my truck is a winner. Every dedicated ford and chevy guy that has gone for a ride in my truck has commented that they would have givin it serious consideration if they knew how good it was. A couple have commented that they made the wrong choice. To be truthful I think there are things to like about all of em and I did test drive em. In the end though I liked the dodge the best and that means it was the right choice for me.

 

[RHogge]

You need to check out Feb, 2003 Motor Trend which state that THE TRUCK OF YEAR IS Dodge Ram Heavy Duty. Oo.

 

[ETomasic]

Well, If I were a Ford owner, I could take comfort in one fact. With the advent of the 6. 0, it is unlikely that the transmission will be the first major failure.



I did a set of heads on a buddy's older ford diesel, and was appalled to hear the amazed comments by my machine shop. This engine can't still have the original heads on it at 220,000 because they are not cracked! Not only did they expect the heads to be cracked, but figured they had already been replaced by the 220K mark. Anybody driven a FORD lately?

 

[dnitzel]

Why do people say "Fords" diesel and "Chevy's" diesel, but when they address the Dodge diesel, they say "Cummins"? It's clear that the magazines like the V-8 diesel over an I-6, but in all reality, for what we do, a big I-4 would suffice, but it would not be very manly!



Most of us all know that Ford's diesel is made by International, or Navistar, and GMs in an Isuzu product. Why are not the real sources of these engines talked about in advertising and mag articles?



We know that if a problem with our CTD arouse, it would be a Cummins problem. I think it would be safe to assume that if Ford had so many problems with their International engines, then wouldn't it reflect upon International and International would want to fix it? I like to think that that would be the case with Cummins? When they speak, all you hear out of International is how superior their V-8 engine is and how inferior the Cummins I-6 is. Maybe it really IS Ford who didn't do their home work on this new PS engine!



Many of us proudly display Cummins badges on our Dodges, and Dodge seems to happy with it.



But in reality, it's the entire package that makes the truck. It takes a good overall design to allow a truck to last, say over 200,000 or 300,000 miles, and still be useable. We know we've seen a few Dodges do that that, both gas and diesel. Many of us like to think and believe that Dodge tries harder to make a more dependable and long lasting truck.