okay, my wife and I  just purchased our livable rv. I now have to get rid of a great 97 f 250 gas super duty. I need a diesel for more pull and better pulling fuel mileage. I work in the automotive bizz, but own older vehicles. Any issues with ford or dodge cummins,duramax?. I know it is a personnel choice,but friends are steering me away from ford . trans. problems,mileage.,etc 

I have an 06 Ford F-350 dually and absolutely love it. I have not had a moments problem with it. I pull a 38 ft toyhauler. I was getting 10 mpg but added a Banks system and my mileage has increased to 12 to 13 mpg while towing on flat land. In the mountains it has increased from 8 mpg to 10 mpg. I wouldn't hesitate to get another Ford.

For info from owners about their GM trucks Look at this forum www.dieselplace.com Lots of good info about GM diesel trucks light to medium duty. Some of the info will also apply to Ford & Dodge trucks. I went from a 1986 Chevy crew cab C3500 2wd dually longbed with a 454 gas engine and 3 speed auto to a 2007 Chevy Kodiak crew cab C4500 2wd dually longbed with duramax and allison 5 speed auto. We Kept the same trailer. Our fifth wheel weighs loaded about 15,000lbs. All I can tell you is the C4500 makes the 5th wheel seem like it's half the trailer it was when pulling with the 1986 C3500. Acceleration is better, towing fuel mileage is 12MPG vs. 6MPG, it stops a lot better and the overall stability is a lot better. The Kodiak is a medium duty truck, medium duty (MDT) and heavy duty (HDT) trucks are built to last 500,000 and 1 million miles respectively. Light duty trucks are designed to last about 200,000 miles. So a used MDT or HDT with 200,000 highway miles would still out last a light duty truck.

We love our 07 GMC Duramax.....the ride is comfortable and we have more power than we need (we have a smaller 5th wheel than most). 

It is also pretty fuel efficient (for a truck)...We get 20 mph with just the truck and 12 mpg towing. 

-Colleen

-- Edited by pierreandcolleen at 11:54, 2008-12-12

One consideration might be that Ford is often projected to have the best chance to be the lone as-is survivor of the current Detroit debacle. This may be a factor for you. 

Good point RV Dude.

Other considerations aside it is pretty hard to beat a Cummins.

Thank you for all of the advice. I guess the battle is with the decision maker. (wife) Thanks again. I will let you know how it turns out. Looking forward to meeting on the road soon.