ok, it may be heresy to ask about a dodge on a chevy forum, but if i ask on a dodge forum i may get less critical feedback. btw, i ask as a long-time chevy owner. i am looking into a new one ton diesel, and have never owned a dodge. a friend is encouraging me to look into one, but i am hesitant. how does a dodge diesel, one ton, compare to the chevys for durability (both engine and front end, shocks, etc), SERVICABILITY (like headlights, oil changes, etc), fuel mileage, ride, etc? i've heard dodge one tons are good trucks overall, but they ride a bit rough and shake themselves apart. any experiences with them are welcome. thanks. john

 

I can only relate to an earlier model Dodge, had an Allison, ran great, pulled great, but the body was not "great", alot of rattles, and body issues.

 

I worked for gm for 10 years and now dodge for 4.
cummins is a better engine hands down imo
chevy ride smoother unloaded due to the front independent suspension vs coil and link design of the dodge. loaded they are ok...they do not shake themselves apart.
the dodge front end design is more like a heavy duty truck. the toe setting will not change with loading. It does go thru parts faster than the gm set up imo. balljoint, draglinks and trackbars.
working on the cummins is a lot easier due to accessibility of a inline engine. inline design is also a less complex design...which is good. diagnostically, the Duramax has the ability to monitor flow rates of each injector which is a great help.

both are great trucks...you will have issues with the emissions systems on both if you excessive idle and putt around town a lot.....drive it.

 

thanks. that is the kind of stuff i need to hear, and is encouraging about the dodges. i've only priced one so far, but it came in thousands less than the chevy, both basically dressed the same. my wife has been nagging about "not a noisy dodge! every time we pulled up to a dodge (in our duramax) we could hear it rattling away; way loud." i'll have to fire one up and listen.

 

Hey, one other thing that tech2 didn't mention is that the dodge has two engines and two transmissions. The higher output Cummins comes with the Aisin transmission and the lower output engine comes with the 68RFE. Now from what I have read, the 68RFE has had some issues but is still a decent transmission. The high output and Aisin will cost you over $15,000 extra as of the last articles that I have seen. I wanted a dodge as they come in standard cab, Standard mega cab, extended cab, Quad Cab, Crew Cab and Crew Mega Cab. The back seats fold down to provide a flat surface as the Chevy seats fold up.

I-6 engines tend to have more torque due to the placement of the connecting rods. They are in six location around the crank shaft verses four locations on a V-8 crank shaft. I drove 855 cid 250 hp and 400 hp Cummins for years and I will swear by them. When it comes to comfort and dependability, I love my Chevy!

Hope this helps!

2015 Chevy 2500HD Duramax with Allision Transmission.

 

thanks loucaniac! VERY important info on the engines/trannies; i had nfi about all that. good God! why so many cab configurations? i am not doing any heavy hauling; the heaviest thing i will haul is an 8,000 skid steer, maybe 20 times a year in fairly short, but sometimes steep, hills. would you be concerned at all about the lower torque engine/tranny for hauling that? i've hauled it with my 6.0 chevy in the same hills, and it did ok, but it is no duramax. thanks. john

 

They may try to talk you into the high output, but the other will do just fine for that load

 

thanks again. i assumed that the "little" diesel would do fine, as my 6.0 chevy gas does the job. but, assuming sometimes gets one in deep shinky. i am looking around at reviews (car magazines, etc) to try to get a handle on dodge reliability; whether or not you have to dump special poison into a separate tank for the fuel (or with each fill up); etc. so far, they dodges look about like the other two, and i don't think anyone can argue with the cummins if someone has not given it a major tweak lately. having owned a duramax, though, i have a prejudice in their favor. cheers. john

 

My brother owns a 2004 Dodge 1 ton with the Cummins mill. Pulls real good, and not too noisy. I always liked the Caterpillar motors much better in a semi, but they got out of heavy truck market due to all the emission control BS. Just Cummins and Detroit Diesels now, all using that blue, overpriced DEF fluid.

As for diesel cars and light weight vehicles like an SUV , they are much too noisy for my tastes, with all the clatter that you simply don't hear in a class 8 heavy vehicle.

What I'd like really to see is someone shoehorn an old CAT 3408 into a pickup truck.

 

if other people are servicing your truck its irrelevant, if you work on your truck...you don't want a ford due to the cab forward design. Some gm tech are now removing the cab to do Duramax heads. If I had to pick a truck I could service in my driveway ie no hoist. Dodge would win.