Informal Comparo, Dodge, Chev, Ford

[BHolm]

I burned through my first tank of fuel in five days. I racked up about 13. 5 mpg, mostly empty. I did hook it up to my "comparison load" to see how it pulled vs my other two work trucks. I have tried to attach a picture of the load I use. Truck and trailer come in at about 15,000lbs (not including the tow vehicle) and you can see that it is pretty tall. This is the load that gave my Duramax fits. It would not hold top gear at 65 mph. It ran in fourth and got 5mpg over a 900 mile trip, that is a lot of fuel stops I has an Allison transmission rep come through for me with a computer update. The truck will now pull the load fine in OD.



So anyway, my admittedly green Cummins did an admirable job of toting this down the road. The Dodge and Ford actually seem to pull it in a similar fashion. The Dodge is a little better with the duals in back but as far as power and transmission performance they seem very similar. The Chev is the "fastest" puller if you time it on acceleration. It is also the least confident with its lighter suspension (9200 GVW).



I am pretty confident that the Cummins is going to loosen up a little with time and prove to be the real grunt of the group. It actually seemed to pull better towards the end of my 30 mile loop. That might have been me getting aclimated too. I am pleased with this truck

 

[BHolm]

The fleet

It is Monday morning so all three were here at once. I snapped a quick pic

 

[JGarcia]

You've really given some great objective reports. I know each of the big three have their advantages, and it's refreshing to get your type of analysis. Thanks.



Regards. JRG

 

[David Muench]

LOVE the 'Mog.

 

[Fireman]

What David said



Fireman

 

[BHolm]

Maybe I am speaking too soon but, I am impressed with the members on this board. I have been on both of the competitors boards and I must say, those guys take offense at comparisons like this. The Chevy guys get down right rabid



I think that each manufacturer has a niche they play too. In 1999 the Ford was the latest and greatest, it was the one I chose. In '01 the Chev was the new powerhouse on the block, I tried one of theirs. Now Dodge has put the big power in front of an auto trans and updated the rest of the truck. I had to run with the Dodge. My opinion was that the Chevy was not a heavy enough work truck. Maybe their 1-ton dually would have been better than the 2500HD's I have but, I doubt it. I was really close to getting another Ford. That has been a really good truck for me. The new 6. 0 five speed auto has tons of promise. I just can not afford to take a chance and get one of the problematic ones. The Cummins is a known quantity, the price was right. I found the exact truck I needed and took the plunge.



I am happy to see that you guys have a bit of an open mind. Each one has its merits, each its downfalls. All in all, they are each very impressive. I don't like seing people take uninformed pot shots based on who built it. I say, who cares, get what you want, what you like and, what you need. I doubt you could go wrong these days.



David, THE MOG RULES That old 5. 7L MB diesel has over 10,000 hours on it. It still starts and pulls like a champ. Sure it is a little cramped and noisy, sure it tops out at 53 mph but, you ought to see what it does off road. Definately a cool toy.

 

[smartineau]

Nice comparison, but I really!!!!!! like the Unimog. They are great vehicles, I saw one on a trailer going down the road yesterday. I really would like to have one, but I am not mechanically inclined enough to fix one up.



steve

 

[JGarcia]

I know at least until 2001 MB was still making one, but $$$$$$$

 

[BHolm]

Yep, You can roll on down to your local Freightliner dealer and pick up a new U500 Unimog for about $130k:--)



Otherwise the old military versions are about $7-8,000 with really low miles and generally excellent condition. I've been looking to sell mine , with a 10ft western plow, for about $10k. I want one of the four door versions for family wheelin'

 

[robobx]

Yeah, very cool mog.

There was a guy over on POR looking to unload one last fall, didn't get any bites I saw...

 

[lndscpe]

Just have to agree with a few of these post, sure love the 'Mog

 

[CKimball]

... . what David and Fireman said. !!!!!

Cameron