My King Ranch is no more...Truck fire

I look out my kitchen window Saturday night to see flames coming out of my windshield. My truck is engulfed in fire. The fire dept. puts it out & the arson squad says it was a electrical fire started in the dashboard. Were, they do not know. When asked that question the arson detective laughed and said,"what are we CSI"?

Anyway the insurance company shows up today and totals the vehicle and comes up with a very generous settlement.

Now I need to replace the truck. I want to do it before the new emissions kick in in Janurary. All the sales people say they will lose HP and I do not want to be a guinea pig.

So I need opioins on the big 3

Chevy- 6 speed tranny, quiet motor, crappy outdated interior,small back seat (crew cab) took 1st in an Edmunds test.

Ford- 5 speed tranny, loud motor,higher towing capacity, nicer interior (my opinion), took 2nd in edmunds test

Dodge-4 speed tranny, real nice interior, cavernous back seat (makes the bed smaller), GPS nav.,factory installed
exhaust brake & the most expensive of the three.

I am pulling a 3500 RL, which the sticker says is 10,950 lbs. which I do not think is correct since they have not added for the larger double door ref.,slide draw & center island. I also plan on putting in the washer & dryer.

The pricing on the 3 seems to be close with the Ford being the cheapest & the Dodge the most expensive.

Thanking you in advance

You'll get a lot of opinions the only thing I can say is that the F-350 SRW has the highest GVWR of all of them, by about 1,000lbs.

Trap

Don't believe all the hype

I would get a gas powered TV. The chevy has then all beat in this category. And if you wait one more month you can get the new interior and new exterior. This solution is cheaper, quieter and there is no taking a chance on new diesel emissions which will affect you whether you get the new diesel or the old. Just my opinion. But if you insist that diesel is the only way to go then the Cummins is your best bet. The tranny is the weakest point. But I heard that a new tranny is in the making. Early January 2007. Good luck!

Sorry about the truck. Hasn't ford been having trouble with fires? Think there has been a recall on the Speed control module or something of the sort causing fires. Chevy-Out dated crappy interior. Guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think they have the best looking and plushest interior.

Sorry to hear about the truck. I would go drive all three with them configured how you want them, then buy the one you like.

Right now all three have some weak points, but are working to fix them. I talked to the Ford people at the Pomona RV show and they said the new motor is going to jump the cost $3,000 to $5,000 to the base cost due to the new emissions requirements.

Me I love my 2005 F350 6.0 L diesel.

Good luck in choosing a new truck.

Bill

Yeah I am leaning toward a F350 King Ranch Dually.

I did see the new Chevy interior on a 1500 REAL NICE, definately needed it. The new Chevy's have a wood grain interior and much thicker, richer looking dashboard, they also updated the instrument panel not to mention the chiseled body. The heavier trucks wont be out until Feb./March. Actually I have a close friend who is a Chevy salesman and his advice was not to buy the first year emmisions motor since it will be losing quite a bit of HP and the modifications are not yet tested throughly. Remember the LB7 & LLY motors.

I made an offer on this truck: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=002&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=120043290150&rd=1,1

Hope he goes for it

My friend has a Dodge 3500 with a GVW of 9400lbs and my Ford has a GVW of 11400lbs. Both are SRW 1ton 4x4. My F-350 is barely legal with a 3600RL. Plus a burnt Ford is still better than a Dodge!

Thats ashame to lose your truck especially from a fire. One good thing all your choices, Dodge, Ford and Chevy are all American. I had two suburbans. The last one was a 3/4 ton with a 454 with 5 kids I needed the passenger room and it pulled my travel trailer great. Now with 2 kids married I went to the Ford F350 which is a diesel. Its quieter and gets better gas mileage and has a lot of power, the best feature that I like is the breaking intergration.

I have a 2005 Chevy Pickup too its a 1/2 ton, the interior is like the suburban and it has more comfortable seats and a nicer intrument panel. My next truck I don't know which I will buy yet, but thats the fun part.

Sorry about the truck. This is the first time I have heard of an electrical fire but with all of the electronics these days I guess all vehicles are fair game.
I saw the new, 08, F-350 on the road last Friday, good looking and quiet. Living in Michigan we sometimes get to see test trucks and cars. A friend has been doing the tests on the new Ford engines since last spring and says they are strong and quiet. He works for an independent company contracted by Ford to do tests. In the beginning they could not keep cam shafts in the new engine but that has been ironed out. He says the emissions on all new diesels after Jan 1 will suffer somewhat on milage but not to fret. Ford's is coming out with a F-450 with a pickup bed instead of having to go after market for a bed. All AMERICAN vehicles are good, have fun shopping and I am sure whatever you decide on will be good.

tdharley,
sorry about your truck. I would hate to think I could lose mine. But I know anything could happen. Good luck on your hunt.When you get your new baby, post some pictures so we all can see.

we have a ford and a dodge.i am in the cattle business and tow alot. most loads are heavier than my bighorn. both trucks have good features, the ford is more comfortablebut the 06 dodge dually has more raw pulling power

nhunter said:

My friend has a Dodge 3500 with a GVW of 9400lbs and my Ford has a GVW of 11400lbs. Both are SRW 1ton 4x4. My F-350 is barely legal with a 3600RL. Plus a burnt Ford is still better than a Dodge!

Click to expand...

Thems fighting words....

Hey dieselengineer ...........you opened one big can of worms for me. I cant go for that Volvo or a HDT but I am checking out the Chevy Kodiak 4500.

Check it out

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/detail.aspx?OHID=1263821&guid=FB143D0CBCA246598FA689DE675ADAB9http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/detail.aspx?OHID=1260637&guid=FB143D0CBCA246598FA689DE675ADAB9

Fords bring out a really nice F-450 for the 08 Models comes with regular pickup truck bed, a nice looking unit. You can check them out at Ford.ca

Trap

Since I have been looking around I have found a lot of people having problems with the Ford tranny. One guy had it changed 3 times in a F450.

I think they use the same tranny & motor in all their models??????

Come to think of it my tranny was starting to slip & hesitate going into forward & reverse.

Anybody know more than me (not much) about which company makes a more reliable transmissions

The Allison is about as tough a transmission as you can get. Thousands and thousands in busses, 18 wheelers and motorhomes.

The GMC 4500 and 5500 series units are sweet. Roomy cabs and pleanty of power.

The freightliner M2 is a nice unit too, so dont count it out either.

Bill

If anybody is interested in seeing what happens if you do not sacrifice to the camping gods................

Go here to see pictures of my truck fire

http://community.webshots.com/user/tdharley