2017 Ram 3500 vs 2016 Superduty

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So as I read and and read and read some more, I am in the market to upgrade my 1500 and go to a 1 ton SRW. I am not a fan of the GM styling, plus the price tags never seem to be reasonable. I have tested the Ram's and quite like them but am still looking at the Superduty's. I am really leaning towards the Ram but the deals do not seem too great. I would be financing a large portion of either truck and the 2017 Ram's appear to only have the 0% for 4 years or move up to 3.49% for anything longer. I tried to find a 2016 but everything decent is gone. I have to check what Ford's incentives are for the 16's still. I am having a hard time justifying 3.49 as I surmise waiting a few more months that rate will come down once the 18's are announced and start rolling out. I find it hard justifying paying more interest and more sticker price on a truck that has very little difference then the 16's.

I love the Ram's still. The interior and gauge layout is great plus I am wanting the Aisin trans for a decent medium duty truck. I like the crew cab but the Megacab is the one I want. I am not a big fan on the Ford styling and interior design but the cab volume and solid chassis/drivetrain are a real plus.

Some friends of mine run the new Ram/Aisin's for their cattle business and run them hard with great success. Some other friends in the same business run the Ram/68RFE with mixed results.

I keep flip flopping on what I want to spend my hard earned money on but I figure a solid truck could last a few years of hard use. I also am interested in a full delete when the warranty is up/nearly up. Once that unit is paid for I will start looking at a decent 4Runner for old Trailblazer replacement.

Just soliciting some input from guys that run these type of trucks.

thanks
 
What are you doing with the truck? Daily driver, or constantly towing?
If towing/hauling, how much?
Dead-set on a diesel?
 
I bet you could get a sweet deal on a 2016 super duty right now. I still see them on lots next to the new 2017s.
I'm happy with my 2011 f250 so far, In 68k miles only major issue was egr cooler replaced under warranty.
 
Super Duty is a great truck. Don't know much about the Dodge. How long do you plan to keep it? A lot more Super Duty's on the road for used parts if keeping a real long time. I work for a supplier to KTP in Louisville which is considered one of Ford's best plants.
 
This will be a mixed driving truck. I will use my TB for daily trips to town and grocery getting. The Ram will tow a lot all summer and be used for long trips with the family.

I would really like the diesel option for the following: Better mileage loaded/unloaded, stronger transmission for heavier towing.

When my wife is showing the horses she will tow approx. 10,000lb max if loaded with client horses. But normally would be closer to 8,000lb. She will clock anywhere from 500km to 1800km round trip loaded. When getting hay we use a 10 round bale self unloading trailer. I plan on pulling at least 15,000lb with that and will do even more if the trailer rating is up to it. The more 1600lb hardcore round bales per load is less time and cost.

I realize that the diesel pulls a big premium over the gas and it will take a long time to ever recoup those costs but the diesel has the better tow rating as I do not feel it necessary to run around in a gas with 4.10 gearing. The gas do not have a big enough tow rating over my 1500 Outdoorsman.
 
There is a reason Ford sells more of them all than anyone else. There is a reason they pretty much own the "work truck" category. With GM bringing up a close second and Dodge/Ram bringing up the rear. Ask yourself why that is? Fleet buyers tend to go on lowest TCO (i.e.: fewest repairs and downtime). When that counts they chose Ford or GM....

Heck, U-Haul whose trucks are used hard, abused to the moon and back, and generally beat on day in and day out uses Ford and GM exclusively. Ask yourself why that is....
 
Why a 3500? A 2500 should be able to do that without breaking a sweat.

My dad pulled a 10k pound gooseneck with an 04' Duramax just fine for years. And once 15k pounds. That was about the max, but that truck would now be 13 years old. Today's stuff tows way more.
 
If you plan on keeping the truck well past warranty....

The Dodge/Cummins is far easier to work on, Just look under the hood of a 6.7L Ford, I just thought the 6.0L & 6.4L are hard to work on......Ford likes to top things, Good & bad.

Look up "Death Wobble" before purchasing a truck with a solid front axle.

Ford still uses steel fuel tanks that condensate & puts water into your fuel, GM & Dodge use plastic tanks & water is virtually eliminated. Fords water separator is not very good, As in.....It doesn't work!

Ford uses a Bosch CP-4.2 injection pump, If it fails.....It takes all 8 injectors with it, Dodge uses a Bosch CP-3, Not only is it a better/longer lived pump, If it fails, The debris is sent back to the tank.....Not to the injectors.

The Aisin AS69RC is a good unit, But so is the Ford 6R140. The 68RFE isn't a bad transmission.....But the AS69RC, 6R140, & Allison 1000 are better.

All the big 3 offerings are good these days, Good luck on your decision!
 
I don't know why anyone would buy a SRW 3/4-ton truck when a 1-ton SRW truck is what, less than $1,000 more? More capability for not a lot more dough. Seems like a no brainer for those who actually use their trucks as tools.

With respect to Ford vs Ram, I've heard that the oil patch is predominantly Ford with Ram in second place. My uncle drove all over western Canada for years delivering parts to oil rigs. His company drove Ford Superduty's with the Powerstroke diesel engine exclusively. Not because of brand preference, but because they could stand up to tremendous abuse while offering the lowest cost to operate vs the competition. You hear of guys buying Ram for the Cummins engine, but with all of the exhaust treatment [censored] on all diesels I'd go for the best overal truck - Ford.

Having said that, I think they all have their pluses and minuses. I'm a Ford guy but you probably can't go wrong with any of the big three.

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Why a 3500? A 2500 should be able to do that without breaking a sweat.

My dad pulled a 10k pound gooseneck with an 04' Duramax just fine for years. And once 15k pounds. That was about the max, but that truck would now be 13 years old. Today's stuff tows way more.
 
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Originally Posted By: BrianF
I would really like the diesel option for the following: Better mileage loaded/unloaded, stronger transmission for heavier towing.

When my wife is showing the horses she will tow approx. 10,000lb max if loaded with client horses. But normally would be closer to 8,000lb. She will clock anywhere from 500km to 1800km round trip loaded. When getting hay we use a 10 round bale self unloading trailer. I plan on pulling at least 15,000lb with that and will do even more if the trailer rating is up to it. The more 1600lb hardcore round bales per load is less time and cost.

I realize that the diesel pulls a big premium over the gas and it will take a long time to ever recoup those costs but the diesel has the better tow rating as I do not feel it necessary to run around in a gas with 4.10 gearing. The gas do not have a big enough tow rating over my 1500 Outdoorsman.

With a six-speed auto and 33" tires, 4:10 gears aren't like the days of old (crazy-high RPM's on the highway). With that said, it's still a naturally-aspirated gas engine, so you do need some RPM to get in the power band. Here's a good review: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-ram-2500-hd-crew-cab-4x4-hemi-test-review

As for towing...
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I know the diesels are very appealing; Motor OPS up there in Canada is doing some very nice tuning on/for full delete trucks.

Not trying to talk you out of one. Just giving you something to think about...
 
I was edging towards the 3500 because it really is just a couple thou more than the 2500. In the case of the Ram it was for the Aisin. Would the 68RFE do me fine? More than likely but I plan on keeping this truck for many, many, many years and plan to tow heavy the whole time. As well I will get more payload and then will not have to **** around with air bags for the loads I will be towing. While air bags on a 2500 will ride really nice, I am thinking long term maintenance. My wife is also thinking of upgrading the trailer in a few years. going from a 5 horse to a 6.

If I go the Ford route I would rethink the 1 ton as the Ford engine/trans is the same throughout the whole lineup.

Food for thought is the high pressure fuel pumps and metal fuel tanks. Again, I am biased to the Ram for those reasons and the ability to work on the [censored] thing without lifting a cab.

I am all to familiar with death wobble, thankfully it never ended tragically. The 09 gas F250's I had driven were down right dangerous and there was no telling what would set them off. I recall having to come to a complete stop before the thing would steer again. A friend running a 2013 F250 has had no issues so far.
 
Originally Posted By: itguy08
There is a reason Ford sells more of them all than anyone else. There is a reason they pretty much own the "work truck" category. With GM bringing up a close second and Dodge/Ram bringing up the rear. Ask yourself why that is? Fleet buyers tend to go on lowest TCO (i.e.: fewest repairs and downtime). When that counts they chose Ford or GM....

Heck, U-Haul whose trucks are used hard, abused to the moon and back, and generally beat on day in and day out uses Ford and GM exclusively. Ask yourself why that is....


Because dodge doesn't make a van cutaway chassis is why uhaul doesn't use it. I did see a ram promaster uhaul van yesterday.
 
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Well this probably will not help but my wife has a since new 2002 Ford F250 with the Power Stroke motor. She uses to tow her and my daughters horses around to do things with and it has been a very good vehicle.I have probably only put 100 miles on the truck driving it myself. Back to my opinion which related to the engine, 6 in a row vs V-8 I prefer the feel of the inline 6 over a v engine because years ago I used to work out of the line drivers local in the SF bay area and a company had Cummins VT 903 engines in some of their tractors and yuck! I liked the inline Cummins feel and pull better The trucks were always at least 78,000 lbs GVW. . I have friends with late model Rams with the Cummins and the engines feel so good That being said I would get the one you like the best. Take both on a long test drive, they are expensive . The cost of the diesel payback or not it may come down to do you want and like the diesel? My wife loves the diesel engine in her trucks. The gas engine would be cheaper but dealing with horses you know you know why Ferrari used a Horse for it logo. Look at the reliability etc. Report back.
 
Originally Posted By: itguy08
There is a reason Ford sells more of them all than anyone else. There is a reason they pretty much own the "work truck" category. With GM bringing up a close second and Dodge/Ram bringing up the rear. Ask yourself why that is? Fleet buyers tend to go on lowest TCO (i.e.: fewest repairs and downtime). When that counts they chose Ford or GM....

Heck, U-Haul whose trucks are used hard, abused to the moon and back, and generally beat on day in and day out uses Ford and GM exclusively. Ask yourself why that is....


Once again posting false information. RAM 2500/3500 normally splits the 2500/3500 sales with the GM offerings 1 for 1. In recent history RAM has a slight edge in sales for this segment.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/01/2014-pickup-sales-recap-and-2015-predictions.html
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Wait a year and buy a low milage used one at 1/2 the cost.


Lol show me an example at half the cost.

We were looking at 350 trucks for oil delivery, and we're looking used. 150k+ miles and you can still see $10-15k for a reasonably aged truck.
 
With 2017 being a new body style for the Superduty, I am surprised there are not some crazy deals on the 2016s. My 2015 was 10K off sticker before the deal with 0% financing for 72 months. Easily made it a no brainer for me and with the discount, the diesel was "free". Shop a bit...
 
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