We have had some financial issues crop up like medical stuff etc so I we are selling our sequoia and going back to the commuter car I drive and my 2000 1500 ext. cab chevy that had been relegated from the daily driver to a work/fun truck.

I am looking at selling that truck as well and getting a crew cab to better fit my 2 growing boys and had been wanting to upgrade to a 3/4 ton. We are selling the slide in camper (which is why I was wanting to upgrade) and hopefully replacing it with a pull behind but nothing large. I could get away with another 1/2 ton in that capacity but kind of want the flexibility for towing, especially in our mountainous terrain, of a 3/4 ton.

Anyway have been looking at the 7.3 powerstrokes and the duramaxes as well as the 6.0 gas in the 2000-2006 era. Ford's options for gas in that era where either the 460 or the V10 which I don't need that kind of rig for what I am doing and the 5.4 which seemed to me a little on the small side for a 3/4 ton. Don't have any experience with it so I may be misjudging.

Not looking at the dodge as they only had an extended cab until 2006 with the mega cab and if those have the cummins they are still out of my league price wise.

Thoughts on which truck, known issues to look for, etc.?

If you indeed have some financial problems, stick with a gasser.Anything diesel cost a lot more to repair.

5.4 runs out of steam pulling a trailer in mountains. Been there with f-150. Lot of 2nd gear and occasionally 1st gear. 22ft bumper pull with gross at 7000 lbs capacity.

Definitely skip the 5.4, especially in an F250. I drove one for work for a summer and it could barely get out of its own way, I can't imagine having a trailer behind it. The Ford v10 is a thirsty SOB, but pulls with the best of them.

I really enjoy my '97 460 F250. It is thirsty but I really only drive it when pulling my RV or horse trailer. It is a tiny % of the miles I drive so I don't worry about it. I have a corolla for my daily driver.

Mine only has 83k. I don't go fast but I've pulled our little 24' 5th wheel RV over some of the steepest highest passes in Wyoming.

Mine is an extended cab, but there are plenty of the crew cabs. My friend had a '96 crew cab F350.

I really like the 5spd manual in mine, but they can be hard to find.

The 460s are tough, dependable, and relatively easy to work on. I hear good things about the V10 too. I think there is a spark plug issue in certain years to be aware of.

I have an '05 GMC 2500 quad cab with the 6.0 gasser. I picked it up two years ago for less than $15,000. In '05 GM put the floating wrist pins in the 6.0 which eliminated the piston slap so familiar with the earlier engines. My lifetime mileage is 12.5 which isn't great if you want prius mileage but it tows my 28' bumper pull with ease and takes me hunting where I want to go. The wife says it's so comfortable and easier to see out that she'd rather we use it for our road trips than her car. There's my $.02

I drove a 99 Crew Cab Short Bed 4x4 F350 with the 5.4 and 4.30 gears for a couple of years..it worked just fine. It got 12mpg whether loaded or empty, and was stone reliable. I pulled several decent, not extreme, loads with it, and while it wasnt a rocketship, I never felt like it was incredibly weak.

That being said, I am a Ford Mod motor fan. They are incredibly reliable and long lived when treated with even a modicum of preventative maintenance. Im currently in an 02 F150 Supercrew F150 with the 5.4, and am quite happy.

Get a Chevy or GMC with a 6.0 LS gas engine. Stoutest gas engines made. mtmuley

I agree. Unless you plan to do some heavy towing, a diesel isn't the way to go. Fuel is more expensive and they don't get the super mileage since the feds screwed them up.

Here at least the cost differential has diesel less than gasoline. Switch was about six months ago.

Around here diesel is about .40 higher than gas right now. It hasn't been cheaper in many years.

I agree with this. 5.4 with deeper gears in a superduty chassis. I'd want to be higher ratio than 3.73 for sure, I would think low 10's would be about right.

I've owned superduties before, a 2000 model and an 06 model.

I now own an 03 chev 2500HD and it is the sorriest excuse for a heavy duty truck... I mean seriously man, this thing is a big stupid car, it's no kind of truck at all.

Every single thing about this chevy is weak and fragile. I absolutely hate it. Electrical problems, mechanical problems, interior problems... It is a horrible machine.

The exhaust manifold bolts on the 6.0 are famous for breaking (all by themself), most of mine are broken so it sounds like a demo derby car. I've replaced throttle body, drive by wire accel pedal, plugs, wires in order to reduce the amount of codes the engine was throwing. The last code was difficult, I had to find a shop that could perform a camshaft position relearn due to a little stretch in the cam drive system. I have the truck so it rarely throws codes anymore but there is still an engine vibration at cruise speed. The hubs up front of course were bad, I replaced them.

I can tell you honestly having owned super duty fords and now owning this "HD" chevy, there is no comparison under these trucks when looking at axles, springs, steering joints, driveline components etc. The chevy does not fall into the same "robust by design" catagory as the Fords.

Do you ever experience a tiny bit of ice crust or frost on your side windows? I do, I've been driving for 30 years and I've never had a power window fail on me until this chevy. I had a very small amount of ice crust on my side window, I hit the down button and instantly heard a "pop!" inside the door. I've had this floppy saggy, have to slam it to get it shut piece of crap chevy door apart to see what broke. Like everything else chevy, the power window drive system is very dainty and fragile. a wimpy little cable snapped inside the door. (the door that you have to slam because it sags sofuckingbad even after installing new hinge bushings.

If you want to engage 4 wheel drive, come to a complete stop before hitting the button or else it sounds like you drove over an IED.

Steering... Get used to the various popping and groaning noises that come with steering.

These are just a few of the highlights of my chevy 2500 HD experience.

120 thousand miles for those wondering.

I'm pretty sure it was a heap of chit from day one though.

Get a superduty, 5.4 would be fine with deep enough gears. As with any choice, look for an unaltered truck hopefully from a responsible middle age or older adult.

Stay away from lifted with big tires, fifth wheel and goose neck hitches can be a red flag but they can also be a good thing. Some old guys will buy these trucks just to pull their camper to the lake in the spring and then back home in the fall.


Good luck in what ever you choose, I for one will not recommend anything chevy.

Jeez. And you kept it for 120K? An uncle has an oilfield business in Northern Montana and and after using many different trucks says the 5.4 Fords are the most underpowered 3/4 ton trucks made. mtmuley

No, I purchased it at 120k, I drive it very little because I don't trust it.

My super duty experiences were trucks purchased at around the same miles.

Comparing the 2 trucks in my experience is like comparing a safe door to a floppy old wooden screen door.


If I didn't know any better I suppose I would be ok with it.

But it's like taking a long time owner of glocks, Sigs, S&W and springfields and giving them a taurus. They might not like the taurus, because they have owned and used better stuff.

dont think a good 7.3 ford or an early duramax would run you any cheaper than a dodge cummins from that era


id probably look for a ford v10 or maybe a3/4 dodge with a hemi if you want to keep the cost down....either of those choices will give you alot more get up and go than a 5.4 ford and really no penalty in gas milege.....the 5.4 3/4 tons are known to be plenty thirsty

The best truck you could put together (in my opinion)

An F350 with a 12 valve cummins, backed up with an allison trans.

I have a 4x4 2000 3/4 GMC extra cab long box with the 6.0 liter engine. The only thing I ever had a problem with was when the power steering pump went out. The mechanic said that it never happens. Well until mine. That was 7 years ago. It always starts. The auto 4 is real nice too.

I have towed up to 4 tons of hay at one time with it, but now just do 3. It pulled it fine, but with the trailer I thought I might be pushing it and the terrain isn't the best until I can get to the road.

It is 16 years old and the the only reason I think of getting something newer is a growing family. Can't fit them all in it since it has bucket seats and only carries 5 people. I hope when that happens I can afford to keep this one too. It has never let me down.

2011+ gm/chevy 2500/3500's are a different beast than the 2010 and below. They redid the frame/suspension/brakes, etc. while leaving the body the same. The 2011+ is substantially more solid that pre 2011 trucks and anything the competition put out that year. Ford and ram had to redo a year or two later to keep up, which they did. They are all good/bad/ugly depending on your point of view. Gasser are cheaper but don't hold their value like a diesel. If I didn't tow many miles I would get a used gasser and let someone else take the big depreciation hit.

I've had 4 Fords with the 5.4 and while it's no diesel I wouldn't discount it for occasional towing. My current pickup is an 04 F250 with 5.4 and 6sp manual transmission, best truck I've ever owned. Zero trouble out of it ever, gets 18-20mpg highway if I refrain from driving like a Texan, and will pull and stop a boat or travel trailer of reasonable size pretty good.

Mine has tall gears and don't pul as wel as one with a 4:10 gear set would, but for the 95 percent of the time I'm not towing it gets good mileage. I'd look for a F250XL trim crew cab with the 5.4 and the 4:10 or 4:30 rear end. It wil do okay towing and they can be bought cheap if they're the XL without all the leather and lace

I still say the LS engines are the best. Built since 99 while Dodge and Ford are always searching for a "better" engine. You can get a bad truck with any maker. I have an 03 GMC with 160K. Never babied here in Montana. General maintenance is all I've done. 15 mpg in general driving. These claims of high mpg in a 3/4 ton gasser make me wonder. Get the one you like. mtmuley

I used my 03 2500 HD today.

tried to open the back door and ripped the door handle off.

Sucks for you. We have a few Fords as work trucks. Not immune to trouble I can assure you. mtmuley

Just sharing my experience with the 2003 3/4 ton Chevy that I own. Which is the HD version.

one of our work trucks was a '95 Chevy one ton with 6.5 diesel. everybody hated it until we got a brand new F350 CC gasser.

now they miss the chevy.

They have lost their damned minds...the 6.5 was a turd. The only thing it has on any modern gas motor is fuel mileage.

Don't know about that. Those $Hitty 6.5's pulled like crazy and ran forever even when abused. Lack of electronics maybe. mtmuley

Every 6.5 I ever drove was an absolute dog...and was unreliable as hell. We, at one time, had a 6.5 GMC, a 460 Ford, and a 454 Chevrolet, all within the same generation, and all 5 speed..the 6.5 was easily the weak sister, and in the shop considerably more.

that 6.5 would have smoked the F350. the ford drops two or three gears and screams it's guts out just climbing the Bozeman hill while the Chevy cruised over in OD. the overloads are ~1/2" from full contact, so every piece of road gravel makes them slap the stops. sucks what seems 2X the fuel of the old 6.5...

Put me on the list. I'll take one. Make mine a 4 door 4x4....I'm not picky either. '95 or thereabouts body style would work.. I miss my '95 1 ton. I was 21 when I bought this one:



'96 cummins with a 12 valve pulled pretty good:


But when I think of "old" 3/4 tons, I think of my '79 Powerwagon that I restored:

Thanks for the opinions. I think the 6.0 is at the top of my list if I can find one without a ton of miles. I see more diesels available or seems so wanted to keep the option open but wondered if the Ford was worth looking at vs sticking with gm. You guys confirmed my suspicions on the 5.4.

Nice power wagon!

I'm looking at dumping my 6.0 chev and replacing with a F350, 5.4 or V10 will work for me.

I'm trying to keep the weight down up front since I will be mounting a Boss V plow so I'm thinking 5.4 would be best for me.

My 6.0 chev 2500 HD has 4.10 gears, our 09 F150 with 5.4 has 3.55 gears and it pulls as good as the chev. So I'm thinking a 5.4 in a super duty will likely have 4.10 or deeper. I don't pull 15,000 lbs in the mountains. We are flat landers and I pull car trailers or campers, boats.

Dave, it sounds like you definitely got a lemon in the chevy category. We have a 6.0 at my work and so far it has been pretty dependable and is 10 years old and well over 150k. It has had some minor typical chevy issues but nothing like you experienced. I like the superduty's but just wasn't impressed with the gas offerings and it seems like after the 7.3 is the last good diesel until the latest round. I know people say once tweaked the ones in beteween are good, I just don't necessarily want a diesel and especially don't want one that will be a headache.

I really don't want a diesel period, unless it was something small like a 4bt.

G'damn deisel trucks are so freaking heavy up front.

I'd build a vintage 4x4 truck with D60 or bigger axles with a 4bt and a bunch of manually shifted gears. But that is really the only way I'm interested even slightly in a diesel these days.

I've had so many Ford trucks over the years, I think it's been about 12 of them if I count the vintage ones. I think it's been about 8 or 9 in relatively late models (1990 and up, lol)

I've not had troubles like this with any of them, in fact I liked them all.

This is my first and only Chevy, I picked it up last fall. Previous owner was a Chevy guy, he loved it and was quite proud of it. (check engine lights were normal, nothing to worry about)

It will be my last Chevy, I will never own another one and I can't wait to get rid of it.

Good call buddy. The only thing that lasts in the gold mines of Nevada are the Ford trucks. I'm surprised you bought a chevy over a ford. I have owned my 04 GMC 1500 sierra 4x4 for 7 years now and it has needed a lot of work. Part of it was under an extended warranty that I purchased separately because I knew the tranny was weak. That also covered a complete front end rebuild. However, it did not cover the stuff I've had to do to it:

Transfer case
Rear end (G80 locker failure)
Power steering failure
Pitman arm and idler arm (as per usual with these trucks) failure: Replaced with Moog parts...

Electronics:
4x4 selector switch
Front actuator
4x4 encoder motor

These trucks are more for highway cruising, than offroad use as far as I'm concerned...

My old Dodge powerwagon would stomp this damn 04 GMC into the ground, but sucked down the fuel...

in a moment of desperation, due to an impending divorce, I need a crew cab that day, talked to the local dealer, who had just taken a '96 K3500 Crew Cab long bed in on trade, they had sold it new to the lady that traded it, and they had done all the work on it for the last 20 years, not the prettiest truck, had taken a trailer to the bed side, and needed detailed really bad, but only had 120,000K on the 454, they sold it to me at cost, at 4:55 on a Friday. I've had it for 3 weeks now, put about 1500 miles on it, other than the radio, multifunction switch, and door hinge pins, nothing seems to be wrong with it. I'm getting about 13 MPG, and can pull a grade loaded in 5th gear, torque is amazing.

Wow a 96 crew cab long bed? It must take a 40 to turn that thing around. Our work trucks were chevys of that era and just extended cab short boxs and I thought their turning radius sucked. The next generation turning radius improved some.

If it has a bunch of damage on the bed I would slap a flatbed on it. There are times I wish I had a flatbed.

you sound like me with dodges. i had a '05 1500 that was an unbelievable POS. by 2012 and 80k it had rotted fuel tank, rotted oil pan, rotted cab and bed, worn out balljoints, blown rear end, interior falling apart and intermittent stalling at low speed which seemed to be the torque converter and/or tranny. i took a bath to the tune of about 6k on that POS on tradein but was never so glad to get rid of a vehicle in my life.

a Ford V-10 will easily outpull a 6.0 Chevy while still getting the same gas milege

a 454 Chevy is a good workhorse , albeit on the thirsty side

lots of them never break 10mpg...

Have several 2500 HD Chevy crew long beds. Never in the shop. I just bought a 15 but didn't really need to. One I was driving just broke 300,000 and the ac quit working but everything else is good to go. It doesn't use a drop of oil between changes.
6.0's are bullet proof.

Like a school bus to turn around, the beds got a few good wacks, and the tail gate is done, once money is built back up, it gets a flatbed, it wasn't exactly want I wanted but it was what I needed. I spent a couple of nights last month sleeping in the back seat, and all I could think was why didn't I buy a crew cab years ago.

I had that happen to our 02 Impala when it was well below freezing. Its first few years were in MN. Maybe there's a correlation.

13 years ago I had a mechanic volunteer to me that he hated Dodges. Said they were always in the shop. He said Fords weren't much better. GMs were rarely in.

I talked to a different Mechanic last week about if one of the big 3 is better than the others. I have never seen him drive anything other than Dodges and Fords. He claims they are all good now, not having more issues with one over the other.