Most construction companies also use F-series  

Ford's prices on fleet cars and trucks kills Dodge and Chevy, thats why you see them a lot. They sell so cheap when you come in for several and when you buy every year or so.  

You will NOT beat the Cummins in durability. That engine will last longer than the chassis will. Isn't that what you want in a truck? My first gen cummins has never left me stranded anyhwere, whether I took it in the woods to rescue a friend's dirtbike on a gnarly logging road, or whether its -20 degrees. Starts everytime and always begs for more. I've grossed 26,000lbs up my mountain in western massachusetts (The Berkshires), and never once had a second thought about the engine quitting. You'll break a driveshaft before you throw a rod. We can tell you how durable this enging is until we're blue in the face, if you have your mind set on a 7.3, good for you. Most likely it's brand loyalty than it is anything else. If you alread have your mind made up, then why ask?

Cummins is a meduim duty engine, Duramax and powerstroke are light duty. As I have said before, when you find a duramax or powerstroke in an excavator or bulldozer, you let me know. Straight 6 is the way to go.

Thats my .02  

Don't get caught up the 6.0 Powerstroke issues, calling a Powerstroke junk is misleading.....The 7.3PSD was/is a great engine. I work with 2 techs that have over 30 years of IH dealer experience and they said the best years to buy a 7.3 was the 97 and newer trucks. Great engines with very little trouble...Lets not forget the 7.3 is used in 5-ton trucks, under powered -yes - but long lasting. The same cannot be said about the 5.9 in a 5-ton, severly under powered and typically I'm dropping in 5.9 recon's at 250,000KM or less. The 5.9 VP44 pump is a P.O.S and expensive to replace or rebuild. The early mechanical injection 5.9's were good, not much to go wrong with them. Personally I would look for a 94 or newer Powerstroke with a 5spd if possible to avoid the E40D and 4100. The chevy's are lucky to have the Allison trannys, they work good.  

the cummins isnt that bad in a 5 ton truck heck i drove a f650 with a cummins 5.9 with a bobcat trailer for my CDL test and it did alright, granted it wasnt the gutsiest thing i have ever driven but nonetheless it was decent.  

I see them in 5-ton dump trucks and propane bottle trucks quite often, totally gutless...Mind you the ISC isn't much better....LOL...Just maxed all the time and they don't last because of it. The IH 444 and 466 are gutless too but they seem to last a lot longer, especially the older 466's....Bullet proof.  

If you feed your VP-44 with a proper lift pump, keep a clean filter and use Howes fuel lubricator it will last a long time.  

but howes is pretty expensive... some might not be able to afford it... yes it is a awesome lubricator and it gives you 1.3 mpg better (4 me it did) but it is still pretty expensive... like 16 buxs for... well im not sure how big it is but it is 16 buxs for not alot...              nevermind i remember it will treat 375 gallons for just the little *** it says it will i dont let it... i go through a little jug in about 7-8 fuel ups.  

My 96 F350 crew cab 4x4 dually build is about to start. We got the truck cleared to take last week. I pulled my old 6.9 out of the cubevan yesterday to complete my 1/2 of the trade and my co-worker started pulling his 7.3 from the freebie truck. I'll start working on the 96 this week prepping it for the Dana 60 front end swap....Can't wait to get my $1500 97 7.3PSD in there, it runs like a champ and still pulls strong as it only has 377,000KM on it. I got a air/air from an M2 freightshaker for it too.  

Was your 96 a diesel? I had a buddy that wanted to do that same swap. It's doable but a s.o.b. You need everything from that "freebie" truck, even the fly by wire gas pedal and complete dash, wiring ect. The trans tunnel is larger on diesel models so trying to stuff the 7.3 power train into an ex gaspot body might be a tight squeeze. I'm pretty sure you need the rad cradel as well( for the large rad that you will need) battery trays and cables should be on the grab list too. After my friend talked to a guy that had just done this swap he said "forget it" and sold everthing. Anyway keep us up to date on this project, I know there are other people out there wanting to do the same swap.  

thats because the 6.0 is a high reving diesel better for racing the cummins had you at the start because it has alot more torque in the low rpms  

The truck I got for free is a 1996 2wd diesel F350 crewcab so it's just getting a 1997 7.3 installed in it to replace the missing 96 7.3 PSD. the 89 dually 4x4 crewcab donor truck is only a donor for the 4x4 dually driveline. I'm using both the front and rear axles from it as well as the front springs, hangers, driveshaft, t-case, swaybars and etc. The engine in the 89 is a 351W but the tranny is an E40D so I'm using the 89 t-case on my 97 E40D....I should have this on the road for $3000cdn or less and that includes the $1500 I paid for the 97 E350 diesel van for the good engine. Between my junk and my buddy's boneyard it should be fairly cheap to build. I'll keep my 96 F150 4x4 daily driver until the F350 4x4 is done so there's no rush to get it done....This makes it cheaper to do...LOL  

hey i have an old pan w/ a 4-71 detroit in it that is parked for good plus a f-250 with a 6.9 in it. i think it would be awsome if i could do a swap for that old detroit. i herd about one of our neighbors who had one in a ford truck but that was before my time. how dificult would this be and what would you have to buy to do this (fly wheel, adapters, ect..)?  

I look at it this way. Either brand you get the truck itself is going to fall apart, Dodge, Ford or Chevy. You are going to have to replace the truck before the engine (at least with the 5.9 Cummins or 7.3 Powerstroke the D-maxs arent getting much over 250,000-300,000 miles out of them without an overhaul).
What sold me on the Cummins is, out of the 3, who has a MILLION MILE CLUB? Ill give you a hint its not a Powerstroke or a D-max.
Get the Cummins, do it right the first time.
If you are really set on a Ford, find a clean 7.3 because the 6.0 is a piece of junk and the 6.4 seems to be following in its footsteps. Just ask Ford, they are the ones who have a lawsuit against International.
Cummins=Longevity
Powerstroke=Trade in in a few years
D-max=Early overhaul.
Just my opinion.  

i hope one day i can join the million mile club, got a long way to go though at 101K on the odometer. ill probably buy a new truck before i reach a million miles though