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Old 01-15-2019, 02:02 PM   #1
Msmith2054
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GM or Ford?

Looking at getting a TV just for my camper, so not looking for a daily driver. I have narrowed it dow to these three.
2005 GMC Sierra Crew Cab SLT with 6.6 Duramax, 155k miles
2003 Ford F-250 Lariat Crew Cab with 6.0 diesel, 174k miles
2006 Ford F-350 DRW XLT Crew Cab with 6.0 diesel, 133k miles
All 3 are $12k to $15k
My camper is 2013 Laredo 291tg, 6500 lbs dry, and I plan to carry my golf cart in the truck bed.
I fully expect unbiased opinions, as I have never even seen biased ones from Ford, Chevy, or Ram die hards. I have read and heard good/bad/ugly things about each of these vehicles and each of these engines.
Please justify your response as to which you would go with.
The GMC is bright red, and as we all know, red is faster!

Thanks in advance! Ready to receive!
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Old 01-15-2019, 02:08 PM   #2
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I would go gas. Diesel does not do well sitting for long periods. Gas is much better for that. I am a ford guy. But really all the brands are good these days.
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Old 01-15-2019, 02:29 PM   #3
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I don't have experience with either engine but I do know I've not heard any complaints about the Duramax to speak of. On the other hand, I have read complaints about the 6.0 - some comments recently on the forum but I've been unable to find them with a search. I'm sure others with direct experience, good or bad, will chime in and help you out.
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Old 01-15-2019, 02:47 PM   #4
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From experience with both the Duramax is hands down a much better diesel than the Ford 6.0 diesel. I would be very hesitant to buy either Ford with those mileages for that much $$ & need head bolts soon, the well known problem with the 6.0s, which is about a $5-6k job. I've had 2 Duramax diesels for a total of 300k, '05 had 176k when wrecked & replaced with the current '13 that has 131k, both with only minor issues that were recalls.
From past experiences I'll admit I'm not a Ford fan so my choice would be the red truck.
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Old 01-15-2019, 02:59 PM   #5
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I don't have personal experience with either engine. From listening to friends, and reading on different Ford forums the 6.0 was a troublesome engine. As previously mentioned the head bolts were a common problem. I've also heard about EGR coolant problems. If the previous owners had them "bullet proofed" by a good diesel shop they might be ok.
When looking at any make diesel of that age the service records would be essential to scrutinize before a purchase.
JMHO, YMMV
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Old 01-15-2019, 03:06 PM   #6
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There's not nearly enough history on any of the three trucks to make an informed choice. I won't use brands, just years, because brands on 10+ year old trucks is so far down the list of important factors that it really doesn't matter nearly as much as how the truck was used, maintained, stored and cared for. Any of the three may have been abused, wrecked, rebuilt and "look" fantastic but ...... and any of the three may look a bit ragged but be far better mechanically than the other two.

The 2005 is red. Having had a red truck, I know that it causes "those guys that park behind the billboards" to look closely...

The 2003 and 2006 may have already been "bullet-proofed" which would negate much of the concern about "OEM engine reliability"....

The mileage on any of the three is "barely beyond breakin" assuming maintenance and repairs have been accomplished per manufacturer's recommendations. On the other hand, any truck that's got that kind of mileage on it and still has the OEM factory oil filter...... ( I know, but it's a valid example) ...
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Old 01-15-2019, 03:34 PM   #7
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My concern for either of the Fords would be if the 6.0 has been bullet proofed. If not I’d pass ...

Here’s a bit of history on the 2005 Duramax....

2004 - 2006 GMC SIERRA, CHEVROLET SILVERADO
For 2004, the LLY was introduced alongside the LB7 before replacing it indefinitely. 2004 - 2006 models often suffered from overheating issues while towing. The aftermarket has responded with a variety of fixes, though buyers should be aware of the issues when searching. For 2006, the LLY underwent many changes, including a stronger cylinder head design, newly designed fuel injectors, a new VVT turbocharger, reduced engine noise, and performance was boosted to 310 hp and 605 lb-ft. For 2004 models, the 5 speed Allison automatic was available, while the Allison 1000 was upgraded to a 6 speed unit in 2005 (the 6 speed version being more desirable).

And yes.... I’m a Duramax fan. The newer Ford diesels seem good and the Cummins of course is good as well.
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Old 01-15-2019, 05:11 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Msmith2054 View Post
Looking at getting a TV just for my camper, so not looking for a daily driver. I have narrowed it dow to these three.
2005 GMC Sierra Crew Cab SLT with 6.6 Duramax, 155k miles
2003 Ford F-250 Lariat Crew Cab with 6.0 diesel, 174k miles
2006 Ford F-350 DRW XLT Crew Cab with 6.0 diesel, 133k miles
All 3 are $12k to $15k
My camper is 2013 Laredo 291tg, 6500 lbs dry, and I plan to carry my golf cart in the truck bed.
I fully expect unbiased opinions, as I have never even seen biased ones from Ford, Chevy, or Ram die hards. I have read and heard good/bad/ugly things about each of these vehicles and each of these engines.
Please justify your response as to which you would go with.
The GMC is bright red, and as we all know, red is faster!

Thanks in advance! Ready to receive!
I would do the Ford dually. 3 reasons:
1) Newest
2) Fewest miles
3) Dually, and you stated you want to carry your golf cart, so that will give you the payload you need to haul the cart.

That said, I am admittedly not familiar with the engine issues others above have stated regarding the 6.0
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Old 01-15-2019, 06:07 PM   #9
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The Duramax, just be sure it is not a LLY engine which a late 2004 and 2005 which unfortunately are, then the Ford 6.0 is not something anyone should buy as a first diesel. Properly bullet proofed 6.0 are a good engine. The fact that they are for sale most likely means they have not been bullet proofed, or they would be keepers.

Start looking again.
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Old 01-15-2019, 06:17 PM   #10
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I know you're looking for a Ford or GM, but you might want to consider a Dodge with a Cummins engine.
Here in Idaho, there are probably more 2500/3500 w/Cummins in them on the road than the the Ford, and GM combined. These farmboys, and cowpokes love their Cummins powered Dodge trucks
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Old 01-15-2019, 08:08 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
The 2005 is red. Having had a red truck, I know that it causes "those guys that park behind the billboards" to look closely ...
I can definitely vouch that red trucks go fast. Nicely fast. But after driving them for 20 years, I can’t say they attract any extra attention. Black cars on the other hand...

The only input I would have is to check if the Fords have been “bullet proofed”. If so, not a worry then. If not, I would think long and hard before putting down money on one.

The GM I would want to know if it’s a 3500 (or whatever their equivalent is) only because you are wanting to put a golf cart in the truck bed. The payload of a 350/3500 *should* be larger than a 250/2500, which would give you the ability to haul the golf cart and TT around within the trucks limits.

So, I guess same goes for the Fords. If you end up choosing between one or the other, I would personally choose the F-350 which should have a bigger payload.

And, I don’t remember seeing, but are they long beds so you have room to fit a golf cart in?
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Old 01-15-2019, 11:18 PM   #12
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I'll weigh in having recently purchased a truck to tow our TT.
I went with a Ford. Why? Simply because a friend has one and he's had good service out of it. However, there is light years difference between his and mine. His is a 20005 E-250 and mine is a 2015 F-250. His has a 5.something L engine and mine has a 6.2L. Both are gas.
I did some research on the Ford trucks and found that there were sufficient problems with the Diesel engines of a certain vintage and size that a whole industry has sprung up to "bullet-proof" them. That put me right off! I decided to go with a gasser because a) I understand gas engines, and b) it meant I would be buying one kind of fuel for everything, not diesel for the truck and gas for the generator, and c) I didn't need the extra pulling power of a diesel for my TT (Keystone Outback 272 UFL).
When researching trucks (or any vehicle) it's a good thing to head over to carcomplaints.com and see what issues there have been for your prospective trucks.


Finally, remember that if you're going to tow a bumper pull type trailer of any size, that you'll likely need a WDH hitch. This is important because if you intend to carry a golf buggy in the back of the truck, a WDH distributes weight BOTH WAYS. So some of the weight of that buggy is going to be reflected back onto the trailer's axles, so you'll have to watch that you don't overload your trailer axles. Given how marginal the ratings are on most trailer wheels, tires and axles, you could easily overload them by having a lot of weight in the back of the truck.
https://youtu.be/lVg8QgIFJoU
In this video, Dave talks specifically about single axle trailers, but using a WDH on a multi-axle trailer does the same thing, it distributes weight both ways.
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Old 01-16-2019, 05:38 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Msmith2054 View Post
Looking at getting a TV just for my camper, so not looking for a daily driver. I have narrowed it dow to these three.
2005 GMC Sierra Crew Cab SLT with 6.6 Duramax, 155k miles
2003 Ford F-250 Lariat Crew Cab with 6.0 diesel, 174k miles
2006 Ford F-350 DRW XLT Crew Cab with 6.0 diesel, 133k miles

All 3 are $12k to $15k
My camper is 2013 Laredo 291tg, 6500 lbs dry, and I plan to carry my golf cart in the truck bed.
I fully expect unbiased opinions, as I have never even seen biased ones from Ford, Chevy, or Ram die hards. I have read and heard good/bad/ugly things about each of these vehicles and each of these engines.
Please justify your response as to which you would go with.
The GMC is bright red, and as we all know, red is faster!

Thanks in advance! Ready to receive!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hankster View Post
I know you're looking for a Ford or GM, but you might want to consider a Dodge with a Cummins engine.
Here in Idaho, there are probably more 2500/3500 w/Cummins in them on the road than the the Ford, and GM combined. These farmboys, and cowpokes love their Cummins powered Dodge trucks
So the only one on your current list I would consider is the Duramax. The Ford 6.0 is the reason I went to a Cummins/Dodge!
The year range you are looking in is a sweet time for Dodge/Ram, DD picked up a nice 2004 Ram 3500 DRW for less than $20K.
The size of trailer you are looking at you could also go gas.
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Old 01-16-2019, 05:58 AM   #14
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Question: What is this "bullet proof" process everyone alludes to for the 6.0L engine? What does it do to the engine? I ask for educational purposes only as it doesn't apply to me (I have the 6.2L). Thanks.
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Old 01-16-2019, 06:12 AM   #15
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Question: What is this "bullet proof" process everyone alludes to for the 6.0L engine? What does it do to the engine? I ask for educational purposes only as it doesn't apply to me (I have the 6.2L). Thanks.
You can start reading about it with this search. There are videos and write ups.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...hrome&ie=UTF-8

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Old 01-16-2019, 06:47 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by SummitPond View Post
Question: What is this "bullet proof" process everyone alludes to for the 6.0L engine? What does it do to the engine? I ask for educational purposes only as it doesn't apply to me (I have the 6.2L). Thanks.
Simply it was hardened head bolts with better head gaskets, something you couldn't/wouldn't notice when looking under the hood. Also from my son's experience the bullet proofing was no guarantee, his Excursion blew head gaskets several more times after the "bullet proofing".
After looking back at the 3 you posted they are all fairly low mileage (10 to 11k per year) for 12-14 year old diesels, so if they've been maintained should be ok mechanically as long as they haven't been chipped or deleted.
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Old 01-16-2019, 06:50 AM   #17
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Bullet proofing includes ARP studs to replace the torque to yield head bolts.
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Old 01-16-2019, 11:36 AM   #18
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Also there's quite a lot of info on YouTube about bullet proofing. That's where I got a lot of my info. Also it's worth just doing a search for
"Problems with .........." Put in truck year, make model. You'll be amazed what comes up. I did that for the Ford 6.2 and found some issues, but nothing like the earlier models, nor as much as the 6.0 diesels, or the "trident" engines that spit spark plugs.
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Old 01-16-2019, 05:44 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snoking View Post
You can start reading about it with this search. There are videos and write ups.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Chris
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin texans View Post
Simply it was hardened head bolts with better head gaskets, something you couldn't/wouldn't notice when looking under the hood. Also from my son's experience the bullet proofing was no guarantee, his Excursion blew head gaskets several more times after the "bullet proofing". ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckster57 View Post
Bullet proofing includes ARP studs to replace the torque to yield head bolts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingAroundRV View Post
Also there's quite a lot of info on YouTube about bullet proofing. That's where I got a lot of my info. ...
Thank you all for the links and info. I don't know why I didn't think to Google it - brain fart on my part.
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Old 01-16-2019, 06:32 PM   #20
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I am a ford guy and will likely buy another. The only diesel ford truck I will purchase is the 6.7, when I sell my 7.3. There is a very important reason ford had the 6.0 for only about 5 years and never upgraded or continued it. It was trouble. I think the rest of the truck is fine. That engine turned more ford owners into GM, Dodge and Ram owners. If you want to know why? There is no enough space on here to list the reasons. Go to ford trucks web page, be willing to spend an hour.
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