I prefer Chevy/GMC or Ford (not much of a Dodge fan)...if I have my way it will be an automatic 1 ton regular cab dually with turbo.

But which has more power the 7.3L Ford or the 6.5L Chevy/GMC?

Any pro's or con's to each of these trucks?

Anything particular that I need to be looking for or looking out for?

Also, I've never owned a diesel anything...so what is TOO MANY miles on it?

I've always heard that 100,000 miles on a diesel means it's just getting broke in...is that true?

I already have a 1/2 ton 1996 Chevy 1500 Silverado 4x4 (gas) swb regular cab and plan to haul a 2H steel bp straight load horse trailer with about 3,000 lbs of horse and gear....is the current truck I have enough to pull this set-up?

Should I save my money and NOT get a diesel for this type of trailer set-up?
Any advice is appreciated...Thanks

Answered your own question... "Should I save my money and NOT get a diesel for this type of trailer set-up?"

You already own what you need. Some small improvements will help out, but you won't need to send in more monthly coupons.

Gard

I live in the mountains of Arkansas...so will my truck have the power to pull this up and down, up and down, up up up, dooowwwnnn.....?

Also my truck has 170K miles on it for a gasser.

Edited by Killrail 2009-04-09 10:44 AM

The diesel is overkill for what you are doing. Save the money and add a tranny cooler to your existing truck if it doesn't already have it. 

What you are looking at on the diesels, if you were to do it...the 7.3 is a much better engine than the 6.5. I am a Chevy fan and had a 6.5 and switched to a Ford until the Duramax came out.

I have everything fixed when it does go bad. This truck has the 3.42 gear ratio, with this gear ratio its tow limit is 6,000 lbs.

But this truck (per Camping Life's website)would have a 7,000 lb tow limit but will need engine-oil cooler, tranny-oil cooler, distribution hitch/bars, braking system, Z82 trailering Special package and 3.73:1 axle ratio.

Edited by Killrail 2009-04-09 11:57 AM

I pulled a U-Haul auto transport trailer with a VW dunebuggy on it yesterday up a few grades of hills...it pulled OK but got slowed down quite a bit on the inclines. I know my buggy (if it's lucky) might weigh 1500lbs and not for sure what U-Hauls trailer weighs. But I would hate to see what this truck would do on some of the bigger mountainous inclines around here.

I don't think this U-Haul trailer and 1500lb dunebuggy should have slowed it down...but then again I don't mash on the accelerator any more than what I was while on a flat straight stretch.

But mainly LOVE going to the National Chuckwagon Races in Clinton ...I usually take Hwy 9 to go that way though. A little mountainous but not as bad a Hwy7.

1) What you have will continue to do the job.

2) Regular cab DUALLY trucks are hard to find!  I have customers looking for them all the time and the only thing I have been finding is flatbed work type trucks!

3) Both are really good engines, but for soemone that does not know diesels that well the 7.3L would be the way to go.  Or have a change of heart and buy a DODGE!  

    pros and cons: Pros both would have enough power and both are actually easy to work on.  cons: 1 tank of bad fuel will ruin you entire weekend!

4) Check for blow by (remove oil cap and dip stick while truck is running) some trucks will have a little haze of smoke which is normal.  You need to pass on one that looks like a train smoking out of the oil cap.

5) On a well taken care of truck miles mean NOTHING!  I buy truck every week with 200-k plus and most are better trucks than ones I have bought with 100-k.

6) KEEP you truck and spend a few bucks to fix it up and upgrade a few things. ie: intake, exhaust system and maybe a tuner of some sort.

My cousin works at the GMC dealership here in town (also owns his own shop)..he does all the work on my truck. He has checked the codes on it and says it the O2 sensors trying to go out on it...and told me not to worry too much on it.

I myself am a Ford person (though as of the past few years and to the present don't own one)

But my mom has a 2001 Ford F350 diesel CC dually and had to have ALOT of work done to the front-end and she doesn't abuse her truck at all. I've heard from other people too that they had to do they same thing but yet there is no recall on it.

So this had me worried about looking at Ford's.

I asked my cousin (works a GMC dealership for years) if this was normal and he told me that for it's model and year that it was unfortunately pretty normal.

So I might be lucky if I get 8 mpg when loaded...don't know yet, but will find out sometime.

Sometimes it's hard to NOT find a reason for a new one.

I am selling 1 toy that I've lost interest in to get either:

1) a new-to-me, little-to-no-work needed used 2 horse trailer and put the rest in the bank.

2) a new-to-me used diesel 1 ton truck and no extra money left.

3) split the money on a new-to-me, a-little-more-work needed used 2 horse trailer and hope-I-can-get-lucky-and-find a decent used 1 ton or 3/4 ton diesel truck in the $2500 to $3000 range.

Also, does anyone have an idea of how much it would cost to change out the rear axle on a truck? My truck has the 3.42 gear ratio and I have looked on the internet and it says I need a 3.73:1 gear ratio.

And a rough estimate on how much it costs to have a braking system installed?

Or if you know how much (round-a-bouts average for everything my truck will need to haul, which is...

engine-oil cooler, trans-oil cooler, gears changed out,weight distribution hitch, braking system install (it says a Z82 Trailering Special Package - but I think this is the braking system).

Edited by Killrail 2009-04-10 10:21 AM

Since I've been looking around I found a...

1993 Ford F350 ext. cab 7.3L diesel with some dents and dings and needing glow plugs failing but still started...price was $1200 -SOLD

1995 Chevy 3500 6.5L Turbo 4x4 170K miles reg.cab dually, nothing needed...$4800 -Still for sale

1996 GMC 3500 6.5L Turbo 4x2 220K miles reg. cab dually, nothing needed...$4500 OBO -SOLD

And a few other Fords but haven't been looking at them much...but I am going to start.

You're getting a lot of good advice here. Having owned two, I would echo the "stay away from the GM 6.5 diesel". If I was trying to buy something to do what you're looking at, I'd look at any of the big three's big gas engines built from 98 or so and later. If you want to go the diesel route, the 7.3 Powerstroke(as opposed to the naturally aspirated 7.3) or the 5.9 Cummins in the Dodge would be my pick. And I wouldn't overlook the heavy 3/4 ton trucks for what you're doing. As someone else said, the care given to the truck makes more difference than the miles on it. Just my opinion. Good luck whatever you do!

By this do you mean just the 7.3 Powerstroke and not the 7.3 Intl.?What do you mean by "naturally aspirated" ? Is that just the 7.3 without the Turbo?

I seen a 5.9 Cummins 1993 Dodge for sale...are those good engines/trucks?

What years were the 5.9 Cummins made?

Do they have Turbo and non-Turbo versions of the 5.9 Cummins, like Ford and GMC?

Reminder: I have NEVER owned a diesel and I don't really know much about them.... which are duds and which are the better trucks with good powerhouses.

You don't need a one ton diesel to pull a 2H BP trailer.

Buy any one of the big three gassers in a 3/4 ton rating, with their largest gas engine if you're worried about the power. They're less expensive to buy and maintain, and there are thousands available country wide.

Gard

The 7.3 liter engine in the Fords was built by International. It first came out in trucks and vans as a naturally aspirated engine(no turbo). That engine is a good engine , and you can get a lot of miles out of it, but it lacks power and it will smoke. Then came the 7.3 Turbocharged version. Better, but not as good as the Powerstroke version. I think the Powerstroke was introduced in 94 or 95. I was working at a Ford place then, but I don't remember for sure which year. The 99 Superduty came out in late 97(wierd, huh) and it was a lot more user freindly truck than the 95 to 97s. More HP, better gearing, quieter in the cab(nothing like today's diesels, though). If I were buying an older Ford diesel, I'd be looking for a 99 to 2002 or 03 7.3.

As far as the 5.9- I don't think Dodge ever put a non turbo version in their truck. The older 5.9 in the Dodge is a great engine. A little short on the horsepower when you compare it to the engines in 99, 2000, 2001 pickups, but when you compare it to the gas engines of the day, it was a real step up. The older ones also get good mileage. My stepdaughter has 94 3/4 ton Dodge 5.9 diesel that she pulls a 4 horse Hart with. I'll out pull her on the hills with a 2000 Ford with the same load, but on a 100 mile trip there won't be 5 minutes difference in total travel time.  

90% of the 6.5L diesel with the SEL is a bad fuel cap!

The problem you are having with it stopping and then being able to restart is going to be the little black module that is mounted on the side or beside the injector pump!  This has been biggest problem GM had with the 6.5 diesel.  Look up heathdiesel.com they have a easy relocation fix for this problem.

If you are wanting a stout ol' work horse the 7.3L IDI (non powerstroke diesel) would be the weay to go.  Sure they are a little less hp, but they are REALLY CHEAP to work on and does not take much to keep them running.  And you could find one of them cheaper priced than a POWERSTROKE.

Yes, the 5.9L Cummins is must likely the BEST diesel built, however some of the Dodge bodies did not last as well as the engines did.

Dodge used the 5.9L Cummins from 1989 to early model 2007, they had a GREAT 12 Valve engine from 1989 to 1998, then in 1998.5 the cam out with a 24 valve engine more power and electronic injector pump. 

Dodge only had TURBO engines, the early models did not have an intercooler!

Last but no least, my opinion you would have to flip a quarter then pick the Ford or Dodge, both had good and bad issues, both are really simple engines, the "powerstroke" will cost a bit more to work on.... 

ie: 5.9L injectors $200 to $500 per set, Ford IDI engine injectors $90. to $175. per set, Powerstroke injectors about $900. per set.

Sorry to be so long, but if you are looking you need to know up front!