What Happened to Dodge???

[Dutch & Di]

Perusing the forum for my brand of RV. I came across this info:

Here are the October 2010 YTD sales for pick up trucks,

Ford F series 29. 9 % inc Volume 434,920

Chevy Silverado 15. 6 % inc 301,998

Ram 2. 0 % inc 158,205



That lead to more research to this article:

Chevy vs. Ford in Heavy-Duty Rumble in the Rockies - PickupTrucks.com News



I was shocked to see that Dodge couldn't keep up with the others.

I don't understand why Dodge can't offer the GVWR towing capacities that the others have. Sure would just hate to have to go over to the dark side when we need a new truck!

With so many RV'ers out there, Dodge needs to get on the ball.

We absolutely love our Dodge but she does have 286,000 miles on her and most of that is towing. Is there any hope that our next truck will be a Dodge????? Diana

 

[Road Dog]

Clearly Dodge isn't buying enough ad space in Diesel Power.

 

[RVTRKN]

I was on a big dealer lot that is known for their truck sales, there were only two new 2010 trucks left on the lot, and that was in November. The sales rep said that they were sold out, and until the 2011's arrive in bulk, they would have no trucks. If this is true, then production is at fault, I guess Fiat is not willing to gamble like Ford and GM which flood the market.

 

[Grizzly]

Diana, does your Dodge truck with a Cummins diesel I6 do everything you ask it to do? Does it tow your RV with the greatest of ease? Is it reliable? You already said you're happy with it. So what's the problem. I really don't care how much HP and torque Furd and GM have, I'm sticking with the proven and reliable Dodge/Cummins.



My Dodge/Cummins will pull my 5er anywhere in the Rocky's I want to go and that makes me a happy camper.



george

 

[RustyJC]

Perhaps I'm just getting old, but 350/650 and over 17K+ towing capacity meets our needs just fine. The new truck (see signature) is comfortable, quiet, loaded with features and creature comforts and handles our 5th wheel with no problems. My wife has driven it towing our rig more than I have and feels comfortable - she refused to tow with our previous 2002 HO/6-speed.



It's a free country, and everyone has the right to pull out their checkbook and buy what they want. That's what I did, and I'm perfectly comfortable with our decision.



Rusty

 

[GAmes]

... ... ... . she does have 286,000 miles on her and most of that is towing.

Spend a little time at any Flying J or go to an RV transport holding lot. Check out what over 70% of commercial pickups are, you guessed it, Dodge/Cummins.



Ever heard a legitimate story of a GM going over 500k miles, or a Ford---other than the 7. 3? There are hundreds of million mile Dodges. The three owners I have met all were driving '96s by the way.



Then remember there are no industry standards when it comes to towing weight claims. The Dodge can deliver, can the others?

 

[Grizzly]

Perusing the forum for my brand of RV. I came across this info:

Here are the October 2010 YTD sales for pick up trucks,

Ford F series 29. 9 % inc Volume 434,920

Chevy Silverado 15. 6 % inc 301,998

Ram 2. 0 % inc 158,205



That lead to more research to this article:

Chevy vs. Ford in Heavy-Duty Rumble in the Rockies - PickupTrucks.com News



I was shocked to see that Dodge couldn't keep up with the others.

I don't understand why Dodge can't offer the GVWR towing capacities that the others have. Sure would just hate to have to go over to the dark side when we need a new truck!

With so many RV'ers out there, Dodge needs to get on the ball.

We absolutely love our Dodge but she does have 286,000 miles on her and most of that is towing. Is there any hope that our next truck will be a Dodge????? Diana

Diana,



Of the 435K F series trucks Ford has sold in 2010, most are F150 gassers. The F150 is the most sold vehicle on the planet and has been for many years. I believe something like 35 years. I remember a few years ago, when the economy was good, that Ford would sell more than 700K F series pickup trucks per year, most of which were F150's.



On the other hand, Dodge sells more 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty trucks than they do 1500's.



Other statistic;



Most Dodge HD owners are former Furd HD owners.



In 1993, the last year of the Dodge 1st generation, Dodge sold only about 80K pickup trucks.



Dodge best year, when the economy was good, they sold approximately 250K trucks.



george

 

[Dutch & Di]

Griz-Yes, yes & yes. Here's my issue. While our truck will potentially last forever,after 14 years and 286,000 miles it would be nice to have a shinny new Dodge.

With the weight we are towing, I do think along the lines of this statement:

I much prefer the Ram and the CTD over the other engines but for whatever reason, the Rams don't have nearly as high a GCWR which really comes into play when towing the bigger, heavier, 5th wheel and goose neck trailers. Yes, I'm aware that the Ram will pull just about anything you hitch it up to, but there are many of us that don't want the potential liability that one is exposed to when towing overloaded. The Rams are definitely deficient in the rated GCWR when compared to the Fords and GM's.



We've pulled our 5th wheel just about everywhere for the 14 years we have been fulltiming. Do I worry about it? No because we feel that with our hydraulic disc brakes and our Max Brake Controller we can stop anytime we need to. BUT it would be nice to have our cake and eat it too--a shiny new Dodge that is capable of our towing needs. Diana

Diana, does your Dodge truck with a Cummins diesel I6 do everything you ask it to do? Does it tow your RV with the greatest of ease? Is it reliable? You already said you're happy with it. So what's the problem. I really don't care how much HP and torque Furd and GM have, I'm sticking with the proven and reliable Dodge/Cummins.



My Dodge/Cummins will pull my 5er anywhere in the Rocky's I want to go and that makes me a happy camper.



george

 

[Jim W]

Diana,

This is a marketing game that is played every year that the new pick-up trucks our introduced. One manufacturer will have slightly higher numbers then the other just to say they are on top of the mountain. The numbers are constantly changing. Take for example the 2010 pick-up trucks. This information is from the 2010 "Guide to towing by Trailer life". These are all diesel engine trucks, that I have listed.

1. The Dodge 3500 regular cab, LB, DRW, 2WD, with 4:10 gears and a 6SPD auto, the tow limit (as trailer life states) is 18,500 LBS.



2. The Chevy/GMC 3500 regular cab, LB, DRW, 2WD, 3:73 gears and a 6SPD auto, the tow limit is 16,500 LBS ( 4:10 gears are not offered per Trailer Life with the diesel engine).



3. The Ford 3500 regular cab, LB, DRW, 2WD, 4:10 gears and a 6SPD auto, the tow limit is 18,800 LBS. With a cooling and or other accessory package required.



To me the Dodge is more than adequate for the intended job required. To me 300 LBS is not that much difference between the Ford and the Dodge, to worry about in payload ability. Also with the $10,000 difference in selling price between a Ford and a Dodge, I will buy a Dodge any day.

Jim

 

[Newt]

Di

The big three diesel PU's were tested by Diesel Power magazine. The Chevy won, Ford 2nd and Dodge 3rd. They did say that the Dodge exhaust brake was superior. We recently towed through the mountains. We really appreciated how well it worked. 8% grade, tow haul, it maintained 50-55 MPH, ~21,000#. They did infer that the Dodge was a superior tow vehicle.

In a subsequent issue the Editor had an editorial on buying a new truck. His picks were the Ford and Dodge. Notice the #1 Chevy wasn't one of his picks.

I was always a Ford guy. At the time we bought the Dodge, there were two Ford products in the garage. Just couldn't bring myself to spring for a Ford diesel.

If you and Dutch have been happy with the performance of your 96, you'll be very happy with the performance of the 6. 7 with the 68RFE.

Newt

 

[RHestand]

IMO, the "medium duty" Cummins I-6 diesel is made to work longer and harder than either of the other two's "light duty" V/8s. And that would be while doing exactly what you'll be doing with it. For me that would be the end of any indecision.
Ray

 

[Grizzly]

Diana, I don't believe the towing capacity numbers published by Furd and GM. Dodge, on the other hand, has always been more realistic in their published numbers.



About three years ago when I still had my 1998 11' 3" Lance truck camper my wife and I went camping to a high mountain campsite in Northern New Mexico. My son and his wife went with us in his father-in-laws 06 Ford F350 dually with a Powerstroke diesel and a 9' 6" Lance truck camper. The two trucks were similarly equipped with the same rear axle. The 06 Furd had a higher Payload capacity than my Dodge. But when we compared the the two trucks with the camper on side by side, the Furd squatted a very noticeable amount more, even though the camper on the Furd was almost 2' shorter and had a smaller onboard generator than my Dodge. My son drove the Furd and and was following us. He noticed that on a 15 mile long steady grade he was having a hard time keeping up with my Dodge. I set the cruse control at 65 mph and left it there and had no problem holding that speed.



What I'm saying is that Ford exaggerated their numbers. I can't say about GM since I have no experience with them, nor do I care to.



george

 

[Mhannink]

well you know the old saying 90% of fords are still on the road today the other 10% made it home.



ford and gm are selling more trucks is cause the owners have to replace them more often, due to the fact that they arent built as well and not as reliable. meanwhile us dodge owners have trucks that are 10+ years old in some cases cause the truck runs gets us everywhere we need to be and anywhere we dont. always without a hiccup so why buy a new truck every year, not to mention that are trucks can relieably stay with the power curve. our trucks will handle power upgrades just fine and so a 10 year old truck can make as much or more power then the new ones all with better fuel milage.



what im trying to say is dodge is up on the game the sales arent there because the old trucks are still running so why buy a new one.

 

[rrl989]

HD Rams are set for a "Major Modification" in 2012. That alone will keep me in my 98 for at least until then. I'll take any added power and payload increases I can get as my 98 can't get out of its own way hauling my truck camper in the mountains.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I don't give a rats hole about popularity numbers.



If I wanted to be like everyone else, I'd drive a Ford.

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

Who cares about the #'s?? FACT is that there are multiple people doing conversions to WHAT??? Cummins... of course!!! :-laf



I have no brand loyalty to anyone but Cummins. ALL of them have their strong points and competition makes each one of them improve over time.



I like all three for different reasons and wish that I could buy the perfect truck speced out to what I want like you can with a class 8



Chevy has the best ride with the IFS, but it doesn't hold a candle to a solid axle... Ford did a WAY better job of connecting the front axle to the frame than Dodge and has an awesome and almost indestructible auto trans... And Dodge has the Cummins!!!



Dodge also has the best looking one out of the bunch since they all went with the buck tooth, big eyed, bubble nose look!

 

[jeepit]

Nothing will ever sound like a legendary Dodge Cummins. I can identify a Cummins coming down our road from quite a distance. There is a cattle farm down the road and when he is running his Cummins with a loaded trailer; well, the sound is awesome. I love my truck and will probably own it a longgggg time. I am not concerned about the flashy numbers being thrown out by a magazine.

Look under a hood of a ford or chevy. Just think of ever trying to repair anything under there. Then open your Dodge hood and smile. :-laf

 

[Dutch & Di]

Well with us being fulltime RV'ers we need do to be mindful of the numbers. Drive out of the lot, load up and head down the road and you are overloaded. We're just noticing that the Chevy-which neither of us cared for-had the best numbers for people pulling large 5th wheels like us. I just feel Dodge is missing a large and growing audience of RV'ers who want a Dodge but also has the numbers needed for those of us who tow. Diana

Who cares about the #'s?? FACT is that there are multiple people doing conversions to WHAT??? Cummins... of course!!! :-laf



I have no brand loyalty to anyone but Cummins. ALL of them have their strong points and competition makes each one of them improve over time.



I like all three for different reasons and wish that I could buy the perfect truck speced out to what I want like you can with a class 8



Chevy has the best ride with the IFS, but it doesn't hold a candle to a solid axle... Ford did a WAY better job of connecting the front axle to the frame than Dodge and has an awesome and almost indestructible auto trans... And Dodge has the Cummins!!!



Dodge also has the best looking one out of the bunch since they all went with the buck tooth, big eyed, bubble nose look!

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

I agree to your statement a little... I feel that the truck is more than adequate to pull just about anything than you can hook to it. However, I think my Freightliner will do a better job with the weight of the RV I have now.



I think Chrysler is doing the right thing with keeping the #'s low to prevent the possibility of future lawsuits from people that overload them and try to point a finger at them when it all goes south.



Sure it may hurt sales a little, but the only thing that DOT really looks at is if the weight capacity of the tires is exceeded.



Everyone that pulls an RV with a 1/2 ton is over the weight rating and is the reason for the invention of the equalizer hitch... 3/4 and 1 tons are all about the same when you look at the actual components involved in mounting the drive axle to the frame and it is simply a matter of which of the three has the ***** to say they can handle a given weight.



If you are questioning the capabilities of the Dodge pickup, upgrade to a 4500 or 5500 and then you will have a truck that will never break and you will still have a Dodge!! :-laf

 

[CROW]

There are now SAE standards for towing capacity. Read this about a year ago in a couple of places. Think one place I read this was in Autoblog. I do not remember many of the details, but the standards address both getting a certain weight to a specified speed and stopping it as well. Best I remember the automakers all had a hand in establishing the standards. Toyota reduced the capacity of the Tundra because of the new standards if I remember correctly. This might make a good article for the TDR magazine.