why dodge?

[JFirebaugh]

D9,



I've been driving mine for 3 days and 200 miles now. All I can tell you is that my impression is that this truck is that it is the "Mercedes Benz" of diesel trucks. The engineering "attention to detail" on the body and on the components & "goodies" along with the fit and finish are all outstanding! Daimler (Mercedes Benz) is obviously having an effect on Dodge, and it's all good! Of course the CTD is, well... . , it's THE CTD!



And to think this is coming from a guy who as late as February was going to order a Ford F250 SC 6. 0L PowerStroke! Thank Heaven I made the correct decision!



JF

 

[TPCDrafting]

If your an all highway empty man, I'd consider buying a GM. You can talk to those types at gm-diesel.com. My previous truck was a chevy 1500 350 4x4 5sp. I loved that truck and miss it for little run around trips, but the CTD is so much more superior for everything else. KDP problem??? Come on, that is ridiculous. There are two methods of preventive maintanence that will never let that pin fall out and both take less than three hours to do. All at a max cost of about $50. I am by no means a mechanic and I think changing the fuel filter is a very easy procedure. Try to change an oil filter lately on a gm? You can't do it without getting oil all over the place. Talk about pita. My bro-in-law has always had Fords. I think they are nice trucks, but he uses them pretty hard and has always had u-joint problems, 4x4 problems and the psd's don't sound the same after about 80k miles. He wonders why I'm always doing the maintenance on my CTD. I tell him it's so easy on this truck! I do have a tdr friend to help me for the internal stuff. It helps tremendously to have someone like him who's already been in there. Good luck in your search.

 

[Photoman]

My last diesel was a chevy. After spending mucho bucks upgrading and fixing the truck (purchased used with 80K) I decided to trade it quick while it was still running. I used the internet to research the new generations of Dodge, Ford and Chevy. I also talked with several diesel mechanics who work on these rigs on a daily basis. Since I am an RVer, I also talked with several owners at RV campgrounds. The most satisfied owners were clearly the DODGE owners. I think the Cummins is rigorously tested before being released. If you check this web site and others, you just don't see many complaints regarding the new "quiet" Cummins. The diesel mechanics told me that the jury is out on the Duramax due to the aluminum heads and the question of their longevity. The Ford engine and transmission speak for themselves. The web sites are full of SERIOUS complaints regarding these rigs. They may have the problems solved in a couple of years, but not currently. I love my 03' Dodge. It steers and handles like a car and does a great job towing my 9k fifth wheel. Hope this helps. P. S. I am (unlike most of the members on these forums) totally non-mechanically inclined. Lurking on this forum for several months was probably the main reason I went with Dodge. These folks are just nutty about their Dodges, for good reason.....

 

[greyghost]

Originally posted by Photoman

... ... I think the Cummins is rigorously tested before being released ... ... These folks are just nutty about their Dodges, for good reason.....

Just followed a convoy of test truck eastbound down I-70 just passed C-470. One 03 CTD 3500 SRW, One 03 Hemi 2500, and two 03 Hemi 1500 one Quad SWB and a Regular Cab LWB. They must have been running them over the passes ( two 10,000 ft plus hill climbs). How do ya get that job?



Nutty damn straight, admit one more to the Dodge funny farm. Damn its getting crowded in here.



Garrett

 

[d9]

IM CONVINCED!!!

Thanks to all here who have taken the time to respond. I'm now 99% convinced that it will be worth paying the extra $$$ for a dodge CTD. Photoman -- you're right. The diesel Ford and GM websites are full of complaints. The KDP and fuel filter location are really nothing to complain about. The fact that the CTD's are rarely seen on the used truck lots also makes it obvious that the F--D's and cheve's truly are an inferior breed.



So now the question is not whether or not to buy a Dodge, but which one to buy. (Which 5spd 2nd gen long box to buy... How the heck am I going to find one on the east coast... )



Thanks again everyone for clarifying the "Why Dodge?" issue!

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

Where are you on the east coast? There is a used truck dealer just north of Albany, NY that always has some nice CTD,s on his lot. Let me know if you want more info. Too bad it wasn't 4 months ago, a local dealer had a cherry 96 or 97 with 37,000 miles. Truck truley looked like the day it was new, plus on top of that I knew the previous owner. Only problem was they were asking like $20,000 for it but depending how you look at it, it might be worth it. Good luck on the search.

 

[PaulCreamer]

So now the question is not whether or not to buy a Dodge, but which one to buy. (Which 5spd 2nd gen long box to buy... How the heck am I going to find one on the east coast... )

Be patient! it took me 16 mos to find the one that I wanted then another 6 weeks to get the dealer down to what I wanted to pay



I use to sit and watch e-bay hoping to find my wet dream CTD and fly some where to get it. It turned out that a local dealership got 2 of em in and I ended up buying there.



Best of Luck

 

[AMF]

For me Dodge / Cummins is to pickup trucks What Harley Davidson is to Motor Cycles And there not noisey! They produce a sound a sound I enjoy listneing to.

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by AMF

For me Dodge / Cummins is to pickup trucks What Harley Davidson is to Motor Cycles And there not noisey! They produce a sound a sound I enjoy listneing to.

Amen Brother

 

[Elite1]

One thing that always sticks in my mind re: the Cummins. My brother-in-law runs a family trucking business. They have a large fleet of tanker trucks. His father started the business about 50 years ago. I was talking to his father about diesel motors, back in 96' when I was deciding between the Ford and Dodge. He told me that Cummins is a far superior motor to International. He said that when they price new trucks Cummins,CAT and Detroit Diesel are in the upper tier price wise, and for amount of miles between rebuilds. While Internationals are much less expensive, (especially when buying a fleet) but aren't nearly as heavy duty... . He told me that you get what you pay for and that in his opinion I should go with the Cummins. The Cummins has been great for me... As far as the rest of the truck (the Dodge part) I'm not as convinced that it is better than the competition, ford and chevy may have had better drive trains but I also think Dodge has made improvements in these areas, over the years.

 

[WadePatton]

I bought a Cummins and it came in a box with "Dodge" written on it.



Now I've had my truck for a few days over one year and have put 30,000 miles on it. The Dodge part ain't that bad. I put 9. 5 years in my previous ride, and still own a 1977 F150. The Dodge is no worse than a Ford as far as the truck goes. But God did not intend for diesels to be in V8 configuration--so that kicks the ford out.



I will not own a GM.

 

[jandtjil]

Ditto on the Cummins, couldn't be happier.

Price was the big seller for me, the Ferd guys couldn't touch the deal (gas or diesel), so off I drove in my 1st Dodge diesel.

My ONLY gripes with this 2001 4X4 truck are the window pillars (frickin huge), and weak steering components (which will be fixed with some aftermarket help).

When test driving, make sure you put it through the shopping mall test, try putting it into that killer parking spot.

When I was test driving, neither Ford or Chevy seemed to turn as nice as the Dodges.

Good luck!



JJ

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by Jandtjil



When test driving, make sure you put it through the shopping mall test, try putting it into that killer parking spot.

When I was test driving, neither Ford or Chevy seemed to turn as nice as the Dodges.

Good luck!



JJ

My '97 turns tighter than my '86. Figure that one out.



'97 w/ club cab vs. reg. cab.

 

[Blair]

I've had a 97, a 00, an 03, and loved them all. At work I have the access to drive all 3 brands and am happiest when back in my Dodge.



Having worked at a dealership from thru gen 1 and all gen 2 series trucks I got to see all issues as they arose. I havn't seen any paint problems at all since the 90 model. The 94's had a few too many recalls, though some of them were for some pretty dumb issues (642 was to install plugs in the holes in the back of the steering wheel because someone got their finger stuck in the hole and crashed). Generally they are a very stout unit and I wouldn't own anything but a CUMMINS, even if I had to put it in another manufacturers chassis.

 

[Mtngoat]

When a Ford drives by, its ok, when a Chevy drives by, seen em before. But when a Dodge CTD drives by, you look up and watch it. Something about it. When we bought ours, we went to different lots and got very good offers on some Powerstrokes and Duramaxes. But they just didn't have the "look. " Drove into a Dodge dealer and there it sat, had a deal on it that day, drove it home and now everybody looks when I drive by. (course, the 4" no muff exhaust helps!)

Now, with the bombs I have, none of my buddies driving the other trucks will hook up.

 

[daveshoe]

Brinks Truck

You ever see what is in a FORD chassis Brinks truck ? Cummins!

Best advertisement of what Ford must put in a dead reliable security vehicle.

 

[Mad Bomber]

Why a cummins

I drove a work truck that had a 7. 3 diesel for 5 years it was in the shop for a total of 30 days over that 5 years. I put 100k on the clock and this down time didn't include maint items. This down time was breakdowns on the side of road. The cummins is a medium duty engine,the power puke is a light duty engine. All you would have to do is go to some local diesel shop and ask what brand pays the bills from breaking down it's always the power puke.





BTW I own a 01 ETH-DEE and loving it,bomb on.



Eric

 

[SDDAVE]

I can tell you why I chose the Dodge. First and foremost it was for the engine. I was never an American truck fan. I had allways bought Toyota's. I eventually got tired of gas engines. I wanted a deisel truck because my wife drives a Mercedes 300SD. So that sold me on deisel engines.



Now to the reason I bought a Dodge. I read alot of information related to Chevy, Ford and Dodge deisel trucks. Two things that really stood out about the Dodge over the other two was, how long the Cummins engine has been around. The second was the Cummins produced the just about the same figures as the other two but with 30% fewer moving parts.



PS. Im not to happy about my paint job. I wish I had four disk brakes. The steering is a little sloppy and inprecise, but every time I fire up that Cummins all is forgiven and forgotten.

 

[d9]

I'm beyond convinced! I'm sold!!

Glad to see this thread is still inviting replies. Thanks agian to all who have responded.



I've now been a proud CTD owner for about 2 weeks!!!



I bought the truck "as is" and so far have had to replace the oil pan gasket -- lifting Mrs Cummins was a *****, but now at least she's a clean one!!



Have to now replace the power steering pump -- the adapter's cracked and fluid is leaking from the main seal.



Anyways-- thanks again. I can't tell you how satisfied I am with the truck, and am confident that she'll take me 500000 plus.

 

[fkovalski]

Tell us, d9, whatja' get? (year, auto? 4wd? etc... )