Ok want someones else's opinion bout these two trucks I love both of these trucks and I'm tryin to decide which one I should buy.... But I'm tryin to keep it under 12000 bucks. I love the cummins cause I want a standard transmission but there transmissions aren't the best but I love there engines. I know duramax have standards but I haven't found many but there transmissions are the best so im kinda stuck to which one I should get. I want to beable to pull A 32 foot gooseneck hauling a 50hp front end loader and not have a problem with it. But I also want a good truck to drive back and forth to work that gets decent gas mileage so could someone help me out with this decision I would much appreciate it.
What's a better truck for the buck? 01-06 cummins or a 01-06 duramax?
Started by
08can-am
, Apr 18 2012 02:41 PM
68 replies to this topic
Posted 18 April 2012 - 03:08 PM
04.5 to 7 cummins is what i would recommend. 600 lbft of torque, solid front axle and the g56 6 speed is hard to beat. I believe chevy only put the manuals in 01. Each truck has there weak links. The cummins is proven reliable. The 48re can be built to be stronger then an allison, and the allison has its issues as well. They both have injector issues. Thr duramax has head issues. The chevys crewcab have alot more room in the back then the dodge quadcab. The chevy ifs is a huge weaklink especially when towing. They are both money pits and they both have issues. Drive each and see which one you like better. They are both good trucks if you keep up with the maintence. Im a dodge guy though.
Posted 18 April 2012 - 03:12 PM
im a chevy guy, but i do like the idea of a cummings but transmission is very important too, so since there is nothing wrong with the duramax and the tranny is better i would get the duramax.
Posted 18 April 2012 - 04:13 PM
cummins, u will be happy in the long run. build your trans and you have a very reliable truck, I'd get a 03 and up. i have a 06 and love it, its very fast with little mods
Posted 18 April 2012 - 04:54 PM
The 06 cummins is what I was lookin for but I want an extended can but I'm tryin not to spend to much so I'm trying to find a truck that don't have to be perfect small dents and stuff is fine just not any huge ones. But if it runs drives and stops fine then I'm interested so if anyone knows of someone that has either one forsale let me know and I'd take a look at it
Posted 18 April 2012 - 05:38 PM
How about a 7.3 liter power stroke....they are best bang for the buck
Posted 18 April 2012 - 06:24 PM
Here's the thing-
Dodge-Great motor. After that, well......
Chevy, Decent motor, good trans, better body and interior, but that IFS isn't the best setup for durability and abuse. Rides great though.
Really, it comes down to which problem's you're willing to deal with/fix/sink money into.
Dodge-Great motor. After that, well......
Chevy, Decent motor, good trans, better body and interior, but that IFS isn't the best setup for durability and abuse. Rides great though.
Really, it comes down to which problem's you're willing to deal with/fix/sink money into.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 03:18 AM
I know every truck has problems. I mean things do wear out and break I'm not to worried bout that I just don't want to find something already ragged out. Now what comes into play between these two truck is gas mileage. I've talked to people that owned both truck and the ones with the duramax says theirs get like 20mpg on 35s and I don't think that's right but I've had a couple people with the 5.9 and the 6.7 and they said 5.9 gets way better since they don't have that emissions crap on it like the 6.7. I would take that stuff off if I did buy a 6.7 anyways. I've herd tho that a 5.9 only gets 18 no load on the highway but a 4 wheel drive duramax gets 20 on the highway with 35s. I don't believe that much but what would be the better mileage truck?
Posted 19 April 2012 - 03:20 AM
And the 7.3 idk I know there good motors and I have a friend with a 7.3 and it's on 36s and I love that truck but I just have to find one I like and there aren't many if I did buy one it would have to be a 96 or around that area cause I don't like the early 2000s ford but I wouldn't mind a 7.3 if I found one for the right price
Posted 19 April 2012 - 05:09 AM
The engines itself are debateable, but when it comes to the rest of the truck, I think the Chebby wins hands down.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 06:17 AM
Well out of the chevys which would be the best year? Cause I know through out the years their has been different 6.6s with different hp and torque. I think if I'm not mataken 04 and down had the injector problems or was it 05 and down?? I haven't really looked into them so I don't know to much bout the duramax I was thinkin tryin to look for a 06 but i gotta do some research on which ones had the problems. And another thing unlike dodge and ford. Chevy has IFS how does that hold up against the solid axle trucks?? That's one thing I don't like bout Chevy.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 06:30 AM
Only thing to consider about a 94-97 Powerstroke is its not going to be a new truck. If you've driven newer trucks a lot it will feel like a turd comparatively. I have a 1996 F-350 dually and compared to my buddies 06 Duramax dually it is gutless. I will say I have always been a Ford fan, but I would buy a Chevy in that year range vs a Ford or Dodge. He uses his duramax for farm work and out of the 240K miles on it probably 95% of those have had a gooseneck behind it. Its fast, has been reliable and hasn't had and front end issues and every single mile he has put on that truck has not been easy. Also that truck has probably done about 25K miles in 4wd with no issues. It definitely changed my mind about Chevy.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 06:58 AM
The engines are NOT debatable, anyone who knows anything about heavy equipment will tell you the Cummins is far better than anything Isuzu or Navastar has ever put together! It's the truck itself that is. In the last 10 years Ive put many miles on all three, one for personal use and the other two as work trucks. Each has strong and weak points... As far as the other people's transmission comments, they all would pertain to automatics, and the original poster stated his preference was for a standard, of which all three have fine units.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 07:53 AM
E30 guy, on 19 April 2012 - 06:58 AM, said:
The engines are NOT debatable, anyone who knows anything about heavy equipment will tell you the Cummins is far better than anything Isuzu or Navastar has ever put together! It's the truck itself that is. In the last 10 years Ive put many miles on all three, one for personal use and the other two as work trucks. Each has strong and weak points... As far as the other people's transmission comments, they all would pertain to automatics, and the original poster stated his preference was for a standard, of which all three have fine units.
We aren't talking about Cummins and Izuzu in heavy equipment...we are talking about the engines they put into Dodge and Chevy pick ups. So yes, they are debateable, as they all have their fair shair of problems/weak points. And besides that, I think Izuzu has a pretty damn good reputation worldwide for their truck, industrial, and marine engines. I'm not a big fan of the newer Internationals, mainly due to lousy electronics, but the older DT 466s were pretty much indestructable with none of the electronic gremlins the newer ones have. I would take a mid-late 90s 466 over pretty much any diesel ever made as far as reliability.
Edited by urlosin, 19 April 2012 - 07:55 AM.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 09:21 AM
Y'all all have good points in the trucks I'm actually a big time Chevy guy but my truck is old so I'm used to the old look and feel but if I got a cummins is there away to put a Allison transmission if its a automatic or is there away to beef up the transmission if it's a standard to hold some hp?? I thought bout doin a few things to it to make it a little bit more powerful what's the best way to go for more power than a programmer?
Posted 19 April 2012 - 12:41 PM
The 01-04 had the LB7 motor which was known to have injector issues, but if you are mechanically inclined, you can replace the injectors by yourself and I wouldn't hesitate to pass up a good deal on a LB7. 04.5 and 05 had the LLY, ideally the engine to look for.
I agree the cummins is a great motor, but I would much rather have the GM body and everything else, and besides, the Duramax is a great motor, 11 years on the same basic design and it has proven itself extremely reliable.
I agree the cummins is a great motor, but I would much rather have the GM body and everything else, and besides, the Duramax is a great motor, 11 years on the same basic design and it has proven itself extremely reliable.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 01:22 PM
Your right there both great motors but I want a standard I can't stand automatics anymore lol I want something different and there more fun to drive
Posted 19 April 2012 - 02:33 PM
08can-am, on 19 April 2012 - 03:18 AM, said:
I know every truck has problems. I mean things do wear out and break I'm not to worried bout that I just don't want to find something already ragged out. Now what comes into play between these two truck is gas mileage. I've talked to people that owned both truck and the ones with the duramax says theirs get like 20mpg on 35s and I don't think that's right but I've had a couple people with the 5.9 and the 6.7 and they said 5.9 gets way better since they don't have that emissions crap on it like the 6.7. I would take that stuff off if I did buy a 6.7 anyways. I've herd tho that a 5.9 only gets 18 no load on the highway but a 4 wheel drive duramax gets 20 on the highway with 35s. I don't believe that much but what would be the better mileage truck?
Honestly, anything pre-emissions will be more reliable and get better mileage than anything post-emissions.
If you're planning on gutting all of it anyways, just go ahead and buy a pre-emissions rig. That saves you the work and expense of removing/bypassing/replacing all that garbage.
I think you'll find that mid to upper teens is the realistic number for fuel mileage driving around unladen.
Posted 19 April 2012 - 03:56 PM
08can-am, on 19 April 2012 - 03:51 PM, said:
What do you mean by pre-admissions and post-admissions?
Pre-emissions=engines that do not have EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) systems, DPF (Diesel Particulate filters), SCR (Selective Catalyst Reduction, aka urea injection, or other systems whose only function is to reduce emissions, while at the same time reducing mileage, reliability, power and reliability.
Post Emissions-engines with one or more of those systems.
The 5.9L and 7.3L are pre-emissions engines.
