Ford vs. a Dodge...... (Gooseneck Tow Vehicle)

[lantraxco]

My buddy has a new Superduty and yesterday it had to go back to dealer. Six modules in the transmission and they all went. Ford has none in the parts supply at all. Told him his truck will be down for a month. So they gave him a shiny new Focus to use, LOL. Wonder how well that will carry class 8 truck tires on the roof??

I'd get a lawyer and a new Dodge, but then I wouldn't have bought a Ford to start with. Don't care what you drive, not trying to convince anybody of anything, I just like Dodges, always have. Six modules failed and none in the pipeline, too new.... nuh uh.

 

[chevota84]

The dodge death wobble is usually a loose track bar and other wore out stuff. I've never been a fan of those front ends, way too many moving parts. The newer ones use a trailing arm setup like the 06+ fords.

 

[RonG]

I guess I can't argue much,my avatar pic gives it away....yah,I like Cat too.I have had two Dodges in 35 years.Ron G

 

[Canuck Digger]

Mhhhh, so seems like no matter what you buy it'll be a crap shoot.? Looks like less of a crap shoot with a dodge. Sure wish some of the older stuff put out 600 ft.lbs of torque.

 

[chevota84]

It doesn't take much of a tuner to get that and they'll usually pick some mileage up too

 

[lantraxco]

It doesn't take much of a tuner to get that and they'll usually pick some mileage up too

Yup... the Cummins engines will put out WAY more than they do stock, with little work and usually very little trouble as long as you use some sense. Throw in an exhaust retarder or jake brake (depending on model) and you'll be way ahead on braking too, whichever way you go. Some form of splitter is really nice when towing heavy too.

 

[87silvert]

My buddy has a new Superduty and yesterday it had to go back to dealer. Six modules in the transmission and they all went. Ford has none in the parts supply at all. Told him his truck will be down for a month. So they gave him a shiny new Focus to use, LOL. Wonder how well that will carry class 8 truck tires on the roof??

I hope this is not true. There is no reason a truck should he down for a month. Get another transmission, or another truck. I got a tour of the Komatsu factory a couple years ago and the guide pointed to a new 450 excavator and said 'well we can't ignore the elephant in the room, we had to remove the final drive on this new machine to send to a dealer to get a customer up and running asap.'
I guess the point is, no matter the problem, get the guy back on the road, and now.

 

[Paystar]

Yes, our class 8 truck dealers do that for us. They will take parts off a new unit on the lot to get you going. But our Ford dealers don't offer that kind of support.

 

[Wes J]

Mhhhh, so seems like no matter what you buy it'll be a crap shoot.? Looks like less of a crap shoot with a dodge. Sure wish some of the older stuff put out 600 ft.lbs of torque.

If you need a bigger truck, buy a bigger truck. Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.

 

[movindirt]

I have always been a fan of the Cummins engines, the newest dodge I have had is a '95, can't really speak for anything newer than that, it honestly sounds like to me you should get a bigger truck if you are planning on getting a larger excavator you might be better off looking into a 2 ton size truck, would be much safer pulling a 8 ton hoe. Did you see the thread about the guy who lost control of his 1 ton and overloaded trailer? :my2c

 

[diver]

I towed a 25K triple axle beaver tail gooseneck with my '97 Dodge 3500 4X4 extended cab with Cummins 5.9 and five speed, only things I ever wished for was a gearvendor splitter and the exhaust retarder. Common loads were six to ten ton with a slight overload condition now and then, though I didn't know it until I scaled it one day, lol. Newer rigs seem to have more stuff to go haywire, but still good. I have always had excellent service from Dodge trucks, and while I am not religious about it, I have just never liked the way Fords are put together and drive. YMMV.

I ran a gear vendors behind 1100 rear wheel HP drag car and never ever had a problem . They are tough azz overdrives

 

[Dozerboy]

Boy and I think he is getting to much truck since a 3/4ton and a HD 20 foot trailer would be more than enough for what he normally hauls.

 

[lantraxco]

Boy and I think he is getting to much truck since a 3/4ton and a HD 20 foot trailer would be more than enough for what he normally hauls.

I was thinking the same thing, though he did mention a 9 foot deck, so hauling solo may be a payload issue. A 3500 diesel will quite easily handle ten ton on the trailer, but like any combination the trailer brakes have to be in good condition and work every time. My gooseneck had three single axles, all with brakes and with the gooseneck ball ahead of the drive axle the duals had plenty of bite as long as the trailer was loaded properly. 4X4 was a must for me though btw as with an empty trailer it was pretty helpless on anything remotely soft or slick, had 245/70R-19.5 motor home tires on it.

 

[Dozerboy]

True

 

[Canuck Digger]

I have always been a fan of the Cummins engines, the newest dodge I have had is a '95, can't really speak for anything newer than that, it honestly sounds like to me you should get a bigger truck if you are planning on getting a larger excavator you might be better off looking into a 2 ton size truck, would be much safer pulling a 8 ton hoe. Did you see the thread about the guy who lost control of his 1 ton and overloaded trailer? :my2c

Mhhh, I'm a little lost. The topic is re a Ford 450/550 or Dodge 4500/5500. That's excatly what I'm trying to do, is not get a 1 ton truck that'll "do it" but looking for a reliable truck that's designed to do it.????

 

[CM1995]

I'll add my $.02 and it doesn't even cost 2 pennies.

Bought a 2013 F350 6.7, 4x4 crew, single rear wheel in 2013. Currently have just shy of 60K miles on it and it's been one helluva truck. The only thing I've taken it to the dealer for is the drivers side seatbelt wouldn't retract.

It's the strongest stock truck I've ever owned, can't imagine what it would be if I let it breath a bit and got rid of the emissions BS but it does everything I need it to and it's still under warranty.:cool2

The truck pulls a 14K pan trailer and 14K gooseneck on a regular basis fully loaded. At one time I had at least 18K behind it on the gooseneck, it was too much for a single axle truck with that much weight on the trailer but it did it's job.

I have nothing but praises for the 6.7 Super Duty's and will buy another one.

 

[chevota84]

I hear both sides with the 6.7 ford, some guys have had great luck and some have had nothing but problems. I know a guy with around 250,000 mi on one with zero issues whatsoever, but a buddy of mine is a road mechanic for Halliburton and he just drops his off at the Ford dealer at the end of his 2 week shift almost every time. The 450/550 use a regular turbo and not the staged compressor like the 250/350 too.

 

[lantraxco]

Mhhh, I'm a little lost. The topic is re a Ford 450/550 or Dodge 4500/5500. That's excatly what I'm trying to do, is not get a 1 ton truck that'll "do it" but looking for a reliable truck that's designed to do it.????

And that's your choice, which I applaud. I guess what we're saying is, either will probably be overkill but we don't have direct experience so we can't be any real help? There must be some owners/drivers out there of those models, but a lot less than the 3500 crowd.

Cheers

 

[movindirt]

Most of it will be 4 ton or smaller, but looking to get one larger excavator such as Kobelco SK70 or similar. Consequently, my platforms will be either Ford F450/550 or the Dodge Ram 4500/5500. They're both rated to two about 24.5k out of the factory, and the 550's are a bit more.

Just real life experiences in TOWING pretty heavy loads with the brands/models mentioned above. Reliability is my no. 1 concern.

Thanks

Unless I am mistaken a sk 70 is close to if not more than 8 tons, if you are digging with this size machine wouldn't you be better off with a larger dump truck anyway? Just my 2¢ I prefer to be as safe as possible when I am pulling a load with any truck, anything from a 3/4 tons to semi's. I have had brakes fail on skid loader trailers with 4-5 tons on them, that can get hairy pretty quickly. Just my own person opinion but I wouldn't pull that machine with anything short of a air brake truck and trailer. Sorry for getting off topic...

 

[Canuck Digger]

Unless I am mistaken a sk 70 is close to if not more than 8 tons, if you are digging with this size machine wouldn't you be better off with a larger dump truck anyway? Just my 2¢ I prefer to be as safe as possible when I am pulling a load with any truck, anything from a 3/4 tons to semi's. I have had brakes fail on skid loader trailers with 4-5 tons on them, that can get hairy pretty quickly. Just my own person opinion but I wouldn't pull that machine with anything short of a air brake truck and trailer. Sorry for getting off topic...

Not off topic at all. The sk70 is about 7tons/16,600lbs. dry. Probably18K by the time it's all set and done. (extra bucket/thumb/fuel) A 19+5 gooseneck will be about 7k by the time it's all set and done, so 25k total. Looking at the factory specs of the 450/550 trucks, they're rated from the factory to tow anywhere between 24.5k to 30k on a goosneck. I know a few guys that tow 75 hitachi and 88 volvo respectively with a ram 5500 on a gooseneck. Perfectly legal and w/o any issues/liabilities as the truck is designed and rated to tow 30k. It's amazing the difference in tow capacities in the 2010/11 trucks and the 2013 and up. Guys towing loaded toy haulers are pulling about the same if not more, and most of them don't have 450/550 trucks. Yes, brakes can fail, on any truck I think.

I've now talked to a few guys that own the 450/550 Ford series with the 6.7 and mainly good news. Also talked first hand to a ford dealer mechanic that's family member of a friend. Pretty much sumed it up as "it's the best truck by far since the 7.3 See hardly any at the shop. Can get a lemon in any brand. Still would prefer a dodge with the aisin I think but if the right truck came up in a ford, don't think I would hesitate.