Need advice in picking out my FIRST truck...and my first DIESEL truck!

Alright guys, this is what's happening. I'm in the market for a used truck between the years 1995 to 2007.

Focus
* Ford, Chevy, GMC, or Dodge
* 3/4 truck (will consider 1 ton)
* 4x4 optional

Desired Characteristics
* good towing capabilities
* good transmission (manual prefered)
* good engine dependability
* good fuel mileage (if gas mileage can be tweaked....I'm all ears!)

And if there is a good particular year to help refine my choice, all the better.

I just don't want to buy a piece of junk and I want it to be something I want to keep for some time to come. I won't be doing too much towing. I'll be towing a horse trailer from time to time and plenty of city driving.

Any thoughts, really appreciate your feedback.  

sorry but the ctd is going to be your all around choice  
I burn more diesel and run more miles in a week the most of you people do in a month. ctds that have been used 97 3500, 98.5 3500, 98.5 3500,01 3500, 03 3500. those that are being used 06 3500, 07 3500. and yea these trucks earn their living

Okay so you know what you want, and let's use your post to help refine your (new to you) truck.

Focus
* Ford, Chevy, GMC, or Dodge
* 3/4 truck (will consider 1 ton)
* 4x4 optional

Based on this criteria, all three are good choices.  Depending on where you live and what activites you like doing will decide if a 4x4 is a better choice or the 4x2.  This can easily be answered with the following questions:

- Do you see yourself going off-road, like in national parks and/or forests where there are no paved roads (example: national forest fire roads)?

- Do you go camping?  Where do you go camping?  What will you take with you?

- Do you go hunting?  Where do you go hunting?  What will you take with you?

- Do you have/own/want to get into four wheelers?   Do you see yourself towing a toy hauler style RV, or a medium sized trailer for the four wheelers?

- Will you be towing from the Class IV hitch, or will you look at a gooseneck or fifth wheel?  This will determine your choice for 3/4 ton or 1 ton trucks.

- What kind of bad weather do you experience (example: minor seasonal flooding, snow, areas with history of wash outs, etc.)?



Now using the same questions as above, this is where we start finding the gaps between the trucks and your second set of criteria.

Desired Characteristics
* good towing capabilities
* good transmission (manual prefered)
* good engine dependability
* good fuel mileage (if gas mileage can be tweaked....I'm all ears!)

- They all have good towing ability.

- Chevy offers a manual in their base model only, while this continues to be an option in the Ford and Dodge lines.  This means you can get a manual with leather and it's not a Porsche.

- If you're serious about owning a Ford find a good one with the 7.3L engine, otherwise the Dodge/Cummins combo is what you'll want, with Chevy a distant second and the Ford being loaded on a flatbed truck for another trip to the dealer.  Ford has been messed over in their deal with Navistar and I know there are alot of us here that hope the new Ford Scorpion engine is what they need.

- Fuel mileage is great with the Cummins, so-so with the Chevy, and horrible with the Ford.  You can tweak all three but the Cummins is easier to do this with.


Based on the year models you're looking at, the 2005 through early 2007 Dodge with the Cummins 5.9 will be your best bet.  The lack of a manual in the Chevy kills any chance of it being a choice, and the issues with the Ford/Navistar engines just makes the Dodge the obvious winner.



Kris  
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 QC 5.9L - No Mods Yet
2008 Dodge Ram 3500 QC 6.7L - Titan Fuel Tank Owner