Don't worry about offending anyone on this site...it's done on a regular basis...LOL! Your experience with the three trucks in a WORKING situation is a fairly common one. I have read very similar stories... every once and awhile someone gets a bum Dodge and has problems, but for the most part it's a pretty bullet proof drive train.  

I have documents you might want to see, a fuel log.log book entrys,and a fuel receipt,I was able to get 11 mpg out of my cummins. It was loaded a wee bit past the max..
82.000 lbs or so
OHH, BYE THE WAY, IT IS A 15 LITRE CUMMINS.
so yes , ide say you CAN get a big rig to pull double digit numbers,you only have to drive smart.
thank for the time!  

hahaha ya if yuor easily offended youre in the wrong place you should go and hang out on the martha stewart webpage lol.  

Hahahahahaha very true.... thats the way it rolls around here.

Did anyone else notice that the fender flares on the 6.7 Power Wagon didnt really fit..... They are all poked out on the fronts.... Better not come from the factory like that or I'll have a schit fit. LOL  

Yea thats because its Dodge junk and a worthless pile. They had to put 40 tires on it just to get it to sit high all you have to do on a GM is raise the torsion bars.  

Damn 40 tires you say? Thats alot of tires and rubber.... You are so dumb. Thats a custom suspension set up that allows 40 inch tires and wont be too tall. I think it loos beefy and good. Yea and i hope you dont bust your idler arm and pitman arm from crankin those torsion bars all the way up. On a gasser you can get away with havin them cranked because there isnt the kind of wieght that a diesel has. Oh and btw my Cummins leveled out fits 35 in tires and your duracrap fits 33s leveled out.... stooge.  

My idler and pitman arm are fine the dealership said so.  

Oh i see. Well the mechanic at the Dodge dealer also said that you can straight pipe a 5.9 Cummins for my 06 because it would throw a "backpressure" code and it wouldnt run right. Hmmm thats funny i straight piped it and no codes ever popped up.  

i wish they would have dieseled the power wagon back in the 5.9 days. before all the emmissions came along  

I'll swap out the 6.7 and drop in a modded to piss 5.9 but i want one from the factory that has the 40" tires like the one in the mag this month.  

you can buy the same suspention that truck has on it they make bar none the best dodge suspention systems and run the baja 1000 in those trucks look it up (KORE) kroker offroad http://koreperformance.com/ thats the company that built the truck in my avatars  

Oh nice.... I might just have to do that. Thanks.  

its only money right?  

OK, here's my take on the DMax vs. Cummins thing. Stock vs. stock, I feel most DMax-powered trucks will be faster than a comparable Dodge/Cummins truck for a couple of reasons.

1) The GM trucks are lighter in general than the Dodges.
2) The V-8 configuration and lighter internal components of the D-Max allow it to rev faster and to a higher RPM than the I-6 Cummins. Kind of like the old small-block vs. big-block gasser wars. In identical cars, with both engines producing identical hp numbers, say 400hp, the small-block will almost always be faster than the big-block, at least off the line, due to it's quicker rev, higher red-line and lighter weight. Though, in theory, the big-block's torque should allow it to run down the small-block if the track is long enough.

Now as far as towing goes, I feel the Cummins has the upper hand, especially in the hills. It's lower torque peak allows it to lug along when pulling heavy without the need for downshifting. Sure the D-Max is a good puller, but it needs to keep it's RPM's up higher to stay in it's power-band. Higher RPM usually spell higher engine/transmission heat and increased fuel consumption.

Now as far as modified engines go. I feel the Cummins has the D-Max beat hands down. Sure there are some damn-strong running D-Maxs out there, some pushing over 1000hp at the wheels. But how much coin was dumped into them in order for them to survive?

Most people agree the D-Max's Rotating assembly (bottom-end) isn't as strong as the Cummins (the crank alone in the Cummins weighs over 125 lbs.) and most D-Maxs approaching the 700hp mark are bending rods. There are numerous Cummins trucks out there over the 1000hp mark on the stock crank, rods, pistons and block.

Another thing to look at is, of all the high horsepower (700+ hp) D-Max's out there, how many are doing it on straight #2 only? Nearly every one I've read about need massive amounts of nitrous in order to compete. There are numerous Cummins engines, especially the old 12-valvers using the p-pump that are over the 1000hp mark without the nose candy, Just a lot of fuel and a lot of air.

To me, it seem the Cummins is the better choice when it comes to making ground-pounding power, or towing that heavy trailer in the hills, but the D-Max ain't no slouch and with a little (or a lot) of massaging, can give the Cummins a run for it's money. Just my $.02  

Great dialgue in this thread.  I am new to the Diesel world, i bought a used 2004 D-Max after much consideration of all the big 3.  I don't use my truck for much work it's more of a daily driver for me.  I have hauled and towed with my truck and found it to be great for what i need it for.
What i found with the Dodge, was it felt like driving a tank.  On and off road. On some of the logging roads it felt like my teeth were going to fall out.  
With the Ford, I'm not sure what's with the Powerstroke but to me it seemed quite loud.  I took a Powerstroke on a hunting trip 900 km from home, and went through a hell of a lot of diesel.  wasn't impressed at all with the lack of power and fuel economy, and that was only towing a 12 enclosed trailer with a couple quads and gear in it.
When i took my truck for the test drive i was amazed at how quiet this truck ran.  And the comfort was amazing.  I have used this truck through last years hunting season and any hunter knows, to get to the big moose, you have to drive through some pretty crazy stuff.  
It's just my opinion but i prefer the D-Max over the others for those reasons.  I'm sure if i had to haul heavy loads every day i would have put a lot more time into all trucks, but it's a daily driver and for me driving 100 km a day, nothing will beat the Silverado.
cheers