Looking for some advice for a used truck (GM, Ford, Ram). Any models / features to watch out for?
This will be for my son & to have another truck around here. Occasional local pulling but not much.
Thanks in advance.

Really happy w my 19 F250. Towed a 45 HP tractor dual axis trailer w a front end loader and shredder like a dream. Looking to take a travel trailer to west Texas in early June.

Love the Cummins in my 2500

Not sure about Ford but compared to our GMC the display on the RAM is bigger and higher resolution- makes hooking up a dream

I have a 2018 F350 long bed for my ranch truck. Super comfy for the family and I tow a lot with it. I live at 8000' and it's been a beast. Pulling trailers with animals and kids in the cab over mountain passes in the winter has been a breeze. I also use 4x4 ~ 75%+ in the winter and no issues. Where I live all vehicles have to be 4x4 so I put them to the test.

If it was my daily driver I'd consider not get the long bed but I can't tell you how many times that 8' bed has come in handy. I live in a small town so the long bed is worth it but I'm in the minority there.

2017 F250 with 207,000 miles on it.

Bought it brand new.

Best truck I've ever had.

4 said:

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2017 F250 with 207,000 miles on it.

Bought it brand new.

Best truck I've ever had.

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Dang. You do some driving, son!

4 said:

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2017 F250 with 207,000 miles on it.

Bought it brand new.

Best truck I've ever had.

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Same but mine only has 120k so far.

I wouldn't get a pre-2017 F250. The redesign is a massive improvement over the 2016 and older.

Chevy 2500 Hd is 100 percent smoother ride on farm/ranch/rural roads compared to Ford 2500. Huge difference in the front end. We have both on our place and the ride difference is very clear.

I trade in a 16 with 188k and got a 21 model
Huge upgrade!

Chevy 2500 with 6.0 gas. Best bang for the buck truck out there. As said, much better ride. Known for the longevity of the diesel but not near the repair cost. Downside is mpg is typically around 12.

4 said:

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2017 F250 with 207,000 miles on it.

Bought it brand new.

Best truck I've ever had.

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Have you turned off the engine since 2017???

2016 F250 KR short bed, best truck I have ever owned.

4 said:

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2017 F250 with 207,000 miles on it.

Bought it brand new.

Best truck I've ever had.

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200k on a 2017!!!! Wow that is logging some miles. Were you driving when you posted this?

Gm is the best all around. Much nimbler, better ride and still has plenty of motor/brakes. The interior is much simpler than the others.

If you are not heavy long towing, the gas 6.0 is weak but all modern diesels with def flat ****ing suck and get ****ty mileage and have terrible long term durability if you keep them commie legal.

The dodge has a good interior, the diesel is pretty good. They are cheaper. The fuel filtration sucks. All around a good truck.

The ford is nice but is very much like driving an old bus.

All are good but i settled on the gm after driving all 3 each time.

I actually prefer the work truck trum in all three. If you can find a good 2016 gmc 2500 awd work truck with low miles and good maintenance, delete it and get a fuel pump setup and you have probably the best all around truck ever made.

mm98 said:

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4 said:

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2017 F250 with 207,000 miles on it.

Bought it brand new.

Best truck I've ever had.

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Have you turned off the engine since 2017???

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Haha. I'm in it right now. Will drive about 650 miles today pulling about 6k lbs.

Almost all of my miles are loaded or pulling. As I said, best truck I've ever owned. Diesel, of course. Gasoline engine could never handle the work load. Agree about 2017 models and after. The aluminum bodies make it so much lighter. It drives like a half ton with so much more power.

If you saw this truck, you'd think it only has about 40-50k miles on it.

Had no luck on finding a 2500HD. Looking at a 2015 RAM 2500 with Hemi with 90k. What is a realistic expection on mileage before major mechanical issues?

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/d/fort-worth-2017-chevrolet-2500-wt/7306281069.html

Can you get reliable service history on the Hemi? I think service frequency and consistency matters a lot when trying to make your best guess on that question.

TX_COWDOC said:

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Had no luck on finding a 2500HD. Looking at a 2015 RAM 2500 with Hemi with 90k. What is a realistic expection on mileage before major mechanical issues?

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what's your budget?

Ive had all three & they are all three great trucks if you maintain them well

Personal preference I drive a f250, i just like the interior better.

Ram's rambox tool box is really nice

Chevy/gmc are stupid fast

4 said:

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2017 F250 with 207,000 miles on it.

Bought it brand new.

Best truck I've ever had.

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I thought I was stacking miles with 93,500 on my 2018 F250

It's been solid. My dad has an 04 Duramax that is at about 500k & it's been good to him.

All 3 big boys make a good heavy duty these days. I went with the best deal I could find.

I have a 2016 f250 King Ranch with the 8' bed and 117k miles. I love this truck and the benefits of the long bed far outweigh the drawbacks. I do a lot of driving in town and have had minimal problems fitting anywhere. They're long trucks even with a short bed.

15/16 GM are different Duramax's than the 17-20.

The 15/16s are an LML Duramax made by Isuzu
The 17-20s are an L5P Duramaz made by GM. Easiest way to tell is by the hood. L5Ps have a hood scoop, LMLs don't. The L5Ps are significantly harder and more expensive to delete. (DPF and EGR)

I have a 2015 Duramax that I did a DPF delete on. Fantastic truck.

Not to hijack the thread.. as i'm somewhat in the same boat. Looking to move up to a 3/4 or 1ton for pulling my 35' TT. Anybody have experience with the 7.3L Godzilla in the super dutys, or should i just stick with the 6.2L? 90% of the time it'll be my DD to and from the office.

I havent owned a diesel since the 2008 6.4L F250 I had. I still get cold sweats when i think about turning the key on that one.

The 6.0 and 6.4 were disasters.

The 6.7 diesel is as good as those were bad. It's the best diesel engine since the 7.3.

As long as you take care of it and perform your maintenance, it'll take good care of you.

My first vehicle was an 85 F250 with the 6.9L IDI diesel. That thing was a rock. Sadly she was lost to hurricane katrina.

I used to crap on the 6.0 guys until I had my first cab off repair on the 6.4. Ugh.

Went with the 2015 Ram 2500 with the 5.4L Hemi. It had just shown up on trade and I happened to find it on my way to look at another truck in San Antonio. Local, single owner with service / maintenance history. Truck has a couple of dings but is in otherwise great shape in and out.

Made for a very happy 15 yo.

Watch out for the 15-16 duramax. Might be a few years in there added. But they have an issue with the lifter pump or something going out and causing a 5 figure fix. Happens about 100k in. Maintenance is key, but if you weren't the original owner, I would shy away.

On a side note, my dad is finally selling me his 01' duramax with 360k on it. Got a few years to get it ready for my oldest.

TopFlightReject said:

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Not to hijack the thread.. as i'm somewhat in the same boat. Looking to move up to a 3/4 or 1ton for pulling my 35' TT. Anybody have experience with the 7.3L Godzilla in the super dutys, or should i just stick with the 6.2L? 90% of the time it'll be my DD to and from the office.

I havent owned a diesel since the 2008 6.4L F250 I had. I still get cold sweats when i think about turning the key on that one.

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No personal experience, but everything I've heard the 7.3 is a beast, just a gas guzzler when towing.

AgsMnn said:

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Watch out for the 15-16 duramax. Might be a few years in there added. But they have an issue with the lifter pump or something going out and causing a 5 figure fix. Happens about 100k in. Maintenance is key, but if you weren't the original owner, I would shy away.

On a side note, my dad is finally selling me his 01' duramax with 360k on it. Got a few years to get it ready for my oldest.

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The injector pump can go out (CP4). It can be mitigated by adding a lift pump so it doesn't have to work as hard to pull a vacuum. You can also swap it out to a CP3 but it's almost 4 grand to disassemble the front end to do the swap

I have a good friend that owns a business in the oil and gas industry that ran all brands of diesel trucks. He tows heavy and all the time, but in central texas so no mountains to deal with. About two or three years ago I was talking to him and he switched his fleet to gas trucks. He has been using the ford 6.2's, and swears by them. Told me they pull as good as the diesel but just takes some getting use to the high revs. He did mention to get the 4.11 or 4.56 gears, whichever is the highest they offer. Long story short, I would go with the 6.2 gas instead of the 7.3. Another note, I owned an 18 f250 and thought it drove like a school bus. Only way I would own another one is if I was hooked up 10k+ lbs all the time. The chevy diesels have a much better ride.