TRANSMISSIONS

modellfarms

IM TRYING TO DECIDED BETWEEN CHEVY AND FORD ONE TON DULLY TOP OF THE LINE LOADED TRUCK. CHEVY DEALERS RAVE ABOUT THE NEW ALLISON AND FORD DOESN'T OFFER IT. WHAT IS SO GOOD ABOUT THE ALLISON AND SHOULD IT BE A FACTOR IN DECIDING BETWEEN FORD AND CHEVY. I WILL BE USING MY TRUCK AS AN EVERYDAY VEHICLE AND ALSO TO TOW A 38FT HORSE TRAILER MAYBE 25 TIMES PER YEAR

kg11

Chevy silverado/GMC sierra with 8100/Allison?If not,do it now.You'll buy the Ford,or better yet,look at Freightliner's or Isuzu's medium duty.Both have Allisons that WORK.
kip
BTW:Ford PSD=400k mi engine in a 150k mi truck.
GM duramax ???mi in a 100k truck.But Duramax has been succesful in the Isuzu.

modellfarms

TRUCKS ARE NEW TO ME. IVE NEVER OWNED ONE AND HAVE ALWAYS RELIED ON OTHER PEOPLE TO TRAILER MY HORSES. WHAT ARE THE FREIGHLINERS AND HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM

kg11

Manufactures BIG trucks.There best known for tractors that power 18 wheelers.The medium duty FL50 and FL60 are commertial/recreational towing and hualing vehicles.A friend of mine uses a FL60 to tow his 40' 5th wheel "camper"all over the continent.(13,000lb)Do a word search for "freightliner"it should be easy to find their website.You can find a local dealer in the phone book.
kip

mullins87

You know, in this part of the country, the Ohio and Tennessee Vallies, I'm beginning to see a lot of those rigs pulling rv's. I guess as they get bigger and bigger, the trucks needed to pull them get bigger. I've seen some very nice rigs going down the road. Recently I came across a London Aire 5th-wheel with dual wheels on tandem axles, never noticed that before. I looked at the GW rating, 23,xxx lbs!!! No wonder that guy used a Freightliner. The only drawback I see to using one of those would be the hassle of driving one around after you have set up at the campground. They don't look very inviting to drive to the grocery or Wal-Mart, much less into a crowded downtown area.

modvptnl

"The only drawback I see to using one of those would be the hassle of driving one around after you have set up at the campground. They don't look very inviting to drive to the grocery or Wal-Mart, much less into a crowded downtown area"

Yea, a crew cab, dual rear wheel 1 ton is soooooo much easier!!! LOL!

Kg, I agree with you on the truck selection. As was said on the other topic of this same question, either 1 ton (Ford or chevy) would be overloaded for this combo.

catam

Don't jump too soon. While I agree that the medium duty trucks listed make much better tow vehicles, they will decidedly more cumbersome when not towing. The cost of the medium duty trucks is also prohibitive, usually well into the $60K range.
As for the difference between the Ford and GM autos, you should also read up on the F350/250 sites. Ford has had many troubles with their auto trannys, as have all trucks in this line from both GM and Dodge.
The easiest and best solution is to get a manual tranny. From either maker the manuals are as rock solid as the engines. If you plan on keeping the vehicle for a long time get a manual tranny, if you are going to replace it within 7 years get an auto tranny and an extended warranty, and expect a few tranny related headaches.

modvptnl

The GCVWR goes up to 26/30K which is up from 20K. The towing goes up nearly an equal amount and the size of the truck is basically the same as a 250/350.

And I don't believe the price is $20,000 more than a 40k 350, 7-8K more???

mullins87

A Taurus they are not, but duallies aren't that bad. I use mine as a daily driver in an appraisal business. Of course, I do not live/work in a metropolitan area either. My comment as to driving a medium duty truck around town is based on my experience with a local trucking company from a few years ago. While I have never driven a medium duty such as the Freightliner in question, I do know driving an International 9610(?) around town is not what most people would consider enjoyable. That's why I think my dually is a breeze. I guess it all depends on your personality and what you get used to.

I looked at an F-650 at the Ford dealer some time ago. They were asking $75,000 for that truck. It was sweet though. I think the 450/550 does run within $10,000 of a comparable 350.

v12power

You do not need or want a medium duty truck. A one ton Ford will do the job just fine. How heavy would you say your trailer is loaded? I pull 15k lb loads with both chevy and Ford. Before that I had a Dodge, all diesels. The Dodge had a manual trans. Contrary to one other posters opinion, I put FIVE transmissions in that truck, pretty durable huh? My '99 Ford has 160k miles on it, it plows snow, a 10 acre lot at my business and hauls big loads daily. It is on its original trans despite all the hard use. The Chev is a nicer daily driver and will likely work with your intended load. With a big load the allison trans is programmed poorly and will not stay in fifth gear. I pulled 15k from GA to MN in fourth gear with that truck, 5mpg with a diesel. Get the Ford. The Dodge is a great engine in low rent housing, the Chev is more car than truck, the Ford has been dead reliable under pretty extreme conditions. BTW the Ford and Chev are single rear wheel trucks. There is no reason to get a dually unless you use the extra bed capacity that set-up offers. I have been pulling big loads with pick-ups for nearly 10 years now. The guys that tell you duallys tow better are just trying to justify to themselves that the need the biggest baddest pick-up, there is no functional difference. In fact I much prefer running the SRW trucks as they are more manuverable. DRW trucks are intended for towtruck and dumptruck duty, not towing.

modvptnl

While I agree on the SRW vs DRW comment for the most part. I can't agree on your recommendations.

This guy wants a 10K trailer EMPTY and with 6 horses and tack I could see well over 16-17 pounds JUST IN TRAILER. With a 20K CGVWR a typical Ford dealer will laugh at this guy if he breaks something and can't hide his load.

I'm sure there are plenty of stories of VW micro busses pulling cabin cruisers to the lake.....still doesn't make it smart or legal.

F-450 at a minimum!!!

v12power

Towing that much every other weekend is not overburdering that truck. I pull 15k daily with mine. Smart and legal is to make sure your equipment is in good condition, especially trailer brakes. Lots of guys pull more than I do, have been doing it for years. Be careful going to a larger truck, you may need to upgrade your drivers license classification, to be all legal you know.

kg11

If you're involved in an accident and you're rig exceedes the GCVW IT'S YOUR FUALT !
kip
v12 could be right about the drivers license,but here in CA you need to upgrade if you exceed 26k.

mullins87

I believe the 26k lb limit is national. While I was working for a trucking company, I remember when the DOT would show up to randomly weigh some of our OTR and service trucks, there was one certain wash truck that we had to be very careful about. It had a 1,000 gallon water tank along with the necessary pumps and water heater to wash the trucks. We always had to grab the skinniest guy we could find in the shop to come in under 26k. Then we would have to convince the officer that only one person would be in the truck when driving across town.

jcave1

Not long ago, a buddy waved an F-650 flyer in front of me. Think I stuck the flyer pages together. Man o man. That 75k price tag though.

Future will be interesting particularly for fifth wheel RV folks. Big rigs are really becoming popular with the RV crowd. Ford, GM, and Dodge prices are approaching 40k, often more, and with the potential headaches. 75k may not be out of line for the serious trailer dragger. Service on the big rig should never be an issue. Comfort, capacity, mileage, longevity, for a mere 75k. Serious bucks for a serious truck. And they're only geting better.

modvptnl

I have no doubt you pull what you say. But as I have said and now kg's point, it's neither smart(fighting to get warranty work handled) or legal(max CGVWR's are there for a reason, liability being one of them)

This guy would be 5000 pounds over when fully loaded with a 1 ton. A 450 would make him legal and still non-commericial(26000# CGVWR) Why is there even a discussion???

sebring95

didn't say how far he was towing this large trailer. He could get by fine with a 1-ton if he's not hauling too far. There is a liability issue and I'd read the insurance policy very closely. I'm guilty and know others too that overload these trucks on a regular basis. They seem to handle it fine, but you know one at-fault accident (regardless of why) and you may use up that $3M policy right quick if the insurance even covers it. The more miles you're driving the more exposure.

The medium-duty trucks are expensive but you can finance them much longer (15 years) if you buy one with living quarters. You could actually sell your 38' living quarters trailer and buy just a horse trailer with a dressing room which would be much cheaper. Then use the medium-duty truck for towing the big load. If you're talking cash it would still be cheaper because a medium-duty is going to have much better resale, especially with less than 50K miles per year.

That just leaves you maybe needing a truck for general farm duties if you need that. You can pick-up any truck to do that cheap and drive a car daily. Our trainer recently did something like this. He took a loan on a Freightliner with living quarters and also included his '97 F-350 in the loan payments. He traded his 40' trailer with living quarters on a 40' 6-horse with dressing room and the payment between everything is less per month. I'm not big on financing stuff, but if you have to you have to. In his case he was running 50K per year overloaded and didn't have enough room in his F-350 for everyone so they were driving extra vehicles. In lieu of the extra cost and liability exposure, I think the interest expense is worth it in that case.

xyz71

I though this limit only applies to commercial vehicles that are used in a business - if it's a personal use vehicle the limit does not apply. But then I live in Texas where it was - up until a few months ago - legal for a driver to have an open beer in his hand as long as you were not above .1 BAC.

mullins87

I'm fairly sure there is a farm exemption on the CDL issue. But I'm not for sure as to the personal use question.

kmkmak

I have an '01 2500 w/auto trans and Cummins diesel. The trans has been in 3x already for service (25k miles to date) and the dealers seem unable to fix the problem. The trans appears to slip and vibrate under towing predominantly but will also have lesser issues with just minimal bed weight going up hills. The towing weight is pretty minimal, around 3500lbs. The dealer seems baffled. Anyone have similar experiences? TYIA

catam

Good show by the dealer.
Your tranny is going to self destruct soon. My brother in law owns a concrete business. He owned 2 Dodges, 1 cummins/1 V10, both with autos. He routinely towed an 8,000lb trailer. Both trucks had the same problem as yours within 20,000 mi. Problem got progressively worse. After much argueing both trannys were replaced under warranty. Both trucks were then traded on F350's. He loves those and has bought 2 more since for his growing business.