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F550 vs. Dodge 5500

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strawking

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Does anyone have either of these and how do you like it? The new 6.7 is what I'm looking at and have heard a few bad things about turbo going out on the ford. I'll be putting a hydra bed on it. Thanks and Merry Christmas
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I ordered a Ford F550 4X4 in December 2002, and took delivery in January of 03. It has the infamous 6.0 diesel which never really gave me trouble until last spring. After months of fix this and then fix that, and at a price north of $9,000, I finally got it on the road, hopefully for good, this past week. But, I will say, probably 80% of the problems I had were electrical in nature...up to and including the battery terminal & cables giving grief. It has 160,000 miles, all under load on it, and it runs just as strong now as it did when new, and doesn't use a drop of oil. I use Royal Purple synthetic 15/40 in it. The Torq-shift automatic works like a champ. It's never been touched only to have it serviced with the BG products every 35,000 or so. Average mileage, under load, is around 11-12 mpg. I did drive it to Omaha once with the bed bareback to pick up a bunch of flooring, and empty it beat 16, barely. With the 4:88 rear end, 60 mph is about fast enough, but you can wind it a lot tighter if you want.

When I say under load, I mean with close to 10,000# on the bed in liquid feed, tanks, skid, and pump & motor. Going through all kinds of pastures, stalk fields, bad roads, etc. in all kinds of conditions. Almost abuse, but not quite. If the engine & tranny stand up, I don't think you could EVER wear one out. They should work plumb fine under a bale bed and last forever. I would not hesitate to get another F550 if I needed one. I've stated here before, though, that I would probably go with a gas engine next time, due to the fact that gas is over $1.20/gallon cheaper than diesel right now, and there is probably no difference in mileage with the way I use one. I will say that what warranty work was needed, my Ford dealer stood behind it 110%....no issues there. My truck is an XL, rubber floor, vinyl bench seat, AM/FM radio, and crank windows.... I wanted it that way...less crap to give me grief. And remember, FORD NEVER TOOK ANY BAILOUT MONEY!

All I know about a 5500 is it's a Doodge. I couldn't bring myself to drop the hammer on a Doodge no matter what, but that's just me. I think Soapweed has a relative or a neighbor that has a 550 with a Hydra Bed. I'm also not a fan of the 19.5 tires, cause they ain't cheap & you need six of them, but whatchoogonnado? You won't be disappointed if you go with a 550. I sure haven't.
 
Do you need a 550, or would a 350 be enough? My old 1998 3500 Dodge is a dually cab and chassis with the eleven foot Hydra-Bed. It had 80,000 miles on it when I bought it in 2003, and I've put another 50,000 miles on it since then. Most of the time it is going slow, idling a lot, and hauling up to 1500 pounds of cake along with two 1500 pound bales of hay. It has been and still is a good outfit, and gets right at ten miles per gallon on diesel.

I have a 2014 gas Ford F350 cab and chassis, single wheel rear end, with the 9' 9" Hydra-Bed and 1500 pound caker. It is a nice pickup, but only gets five or at the most six miles per gallon of gas. To my way of thinking, the 450 or 550 is not needed, as a 350 handles a big load well enough.
 
jigs said:
the Dodge front ends are more grief than anything on a Ford
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That's a matter of opinion. We have driven Dodge since 1998, hauling big loads. Never had a problem with the front end. Our friends, however, have had Fords and they've had lots of problems. We have never had to walk driving our Dodges and he's had to walk more than once driving his Fords.
BTW, we were die-hard Ford people til we bought the first Dodge. Then we
felt like traitors......but that went away..... :D
 
jigs said:
the Dodge front ends are more grief than anything on a Ford
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I have heard that too, but my 06 had over 180000 miles on it, My 85 had over 300000 on it, and the ranch 1ton Dually has 90000 on it and other then the ranch pickup, never once had front end issues. The ranch pickup will try to do the death wobble, if you don't keep good tires on it.
 
I've had two Dodge one ton diesels. My last one and my first one. Same truck. :shock:
 
I wore out a 1981 Chevy one ton 4X4 hauling LOOMIX. And that was back when they were built a lot tougher than they are now. And I mean wore out. One tons, for what I do, are a joke. When my 550 was new, full coverage insurance on it was like $225 for the year. I've got an 04 F150 that costs more than twice that. If you.think a 550 is overkill, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

FWIW, the shops here are LOADED with Doodges needing front end work, and the dashes seem to go to hell and crack & break with no effort.
 
that's my theory. 1 tons are made about like half tons used to be. I have drove a 550, but I just worry about the turbos in them. Better to have more pickup than not enough. And they don't cost hardly any more than a 1 ton and get the same milage.
 
If ya want a truck, then get a dodge. That four letter word thing you are considering isn't in the same universe.

I have an 01' dodge heavy 2500 with only 305000 miles on it. Best truck I have ever owned. Had a F%#d once, but then I sobered up! :D :wink:
 
Had and been around all 3 Chev, Ford, dodge. Doesn't matter what kind if you use them they will need repair.
 
4Diamond said:
Had and been around all 3 Chev, Ford, dodge. Doesn't matter what kind if you use them they will need repair.
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I agree. I drive a dodge my dad drives Chevy both come from a small town dealership that's owned by the same family. The only ford I have owned was. 1974 with no power steering which was my first vehicle back in 1994. I can't say I don't like them or really have anything against them. Just don't like the dealer that well.
 
Oh I know they all break down, unless you park them in the garage. Can't break if you don't use them. I am a die hard Chevy guy but the last two duramax I had were junk all the way around. I'm leaning towards the ford but a friend of mine has one and the turbo went out at 48000. They told him from now on it will go out every 20 k. And my cousin the works at prema said they just had one go out of their 6.7 ford at 22k. Does anyone have a 6.7 ford with some miles on it.
 
Warranty should cover the turbo up to 100K miles, no?

There's a guy in Texas who only deals in Fords with the 6.0. He knows the weak points and goes through them before he offers them for sale. Surprisingly, if you do a search for F550's, there are plenty of used ones out there. Plenty in Texas and in the Denver area. Depends on if you want a single cab, super cab, or a 4 door. Last I looked, there were a bunch of single cab 4X4's in Denver that were for sale with or without service or bucket bodies. Some REA outfit must have gotten a bunch of new ones.
 
strawking said:
Oh I know they all break down, unless you park them in the garage. Can't break if you don't use them. I am a die hard Chevy guy but the last two duramax I had were junk all the way around. I'm leaning towards the ford but a friend of mine has one and the turbo went out at 48000. They told him from now on it will go out every 20 k. And my cousin the works at prema said they just had one go out of their 6.7 ford at 22k. Does anyone have a 6.7 ford with some miles on it.
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I have a 6.7 with 130k on it...zero turbo troubles. I have taken off all the emissions control stuff and added on a performance kit. I love the thing.
it is for sale though!! looking at a new truck....
 
was it 2006 or 2007 Dodges when they started problems

I bought a 2007 Dodge Cummings quad cab 3500 with 45,000 miles in it for 25,000 at the time it was only two years old
I called Cummings not Dodge and the vin said the truck had been in the shop 14 times in a year and a half. I sold the truck for 24,000

been driving a 2009 GMC single cab 4x4 with a 9 foot bale bed on it an had to replace ball joints this pat year had to do that with my old 2000 Single cab Dodge ton Cummins when it was at 100,000 miles as well
We only have a Ford Dealership in this county some are starting to buy the bigger 2014 2015 Fords this year.
My nephew owns a 2013 Ton Ford with every bell and whistle and no power in will not even pull a empty camper up at hill 40 mph tops if not lugging lower yet Ford can not seem to fix it so far
 
Hay Feeder said:
My nephew owns a 2013 Ton Ford with every bell and whistle and no power in will not even pull a empty camper up at hill 40 mph tops if not lugging lower yet Ford can not seem to fix it so far
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My brother-in-law was in the oilfield up by Williston, ND. He found the very same thing you are mentioning here. New Fords have no power.
 
I've got a 2009 F350 with a V-10 cost per mile is less than a diesel it's very quiet and it does'nt stink. You can actually hear inside it. It has plenty of power for what I need it will haul a load of cows 70 mph thats 17 cows in a 8x28' stock trailer. Thats fast enough if I need more truck than that I'll hire a semi.
 
I would recommend a ford. I have an F450 with a bale bed on it, but it has a 6.4 not the 6.7. For every anti ford story there are just as many anti dodge stories. My dad has a brand new F450 with the 6.7 and he loves it. For those saying a new Ford doesn't have any power reminds me of the days on the playground when we used to argue about whose shoes were faster. They will all break down regardless of who makes them. Go drive them both and get what you want.
 

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