Ford/GM/orDodge

I am new to the forum and looking for some help. I am going to buy a one ton diesal pickup. I have always been a Ford guy, in fact I still have a 1968 Ford Camper Special my dad bought brand new, plus my 98 F-150. I was looking at the Ford F-350 Diesal, but now that I have done my research the negatives are running about 10 to one positive. Seems that reliability of the engine and fuel mileage are big problems for people who own them. Hard to always tell on the internet though because people are more likely to post a problem then a compliment.

I am looking at a 2009 model and I will buy it new just because I keep my vehicles for a long time. I am retiring next year and the wife and I will be buying a 5th wheel, maybe a 37 footer and I will buy a camper so I can tow my 20' boat.

I am just looking for some unbiased info on the experiences people have had with their 2009 F-350 Diesal or the Dodge and GM.

I appreciate the help.

Mike  

Mike...if you're really interested in a Ford, and are willing to wait a few months, I'd probably hold out for the 2011 Super Duty. It has an all-new engine that's supposed to be a major improvement over the current one in terms of reliability and power. It's supposed to go on sale sometime in Spring 2010. To be honest with you, a lot of the trucks that are '08 and newer are going to give you some headaches with the emissions stuff. Your best bet might be to get a truck a few years old with less than 50,000 miles on it, if you can find one. I'd recommend a 5.9 Cummins (NOT the 6.7. All the 6.7s have a DPF), or an LBZ Duramax (2006-early 2007) although these models do have a diesel cat, they DON'T have the dreaded DPF filter, which has caused a lot of problems on the newer models.

The main thing I've heard with the newer models with the DPF is you've got to run them hard every once and a while to heat up the DPF enough to blow the crud out. Hope this helps.