first off - lifelong Chevy owner (I even work at a chevy dealership) considering purchase of an 06 quad cab CTD. and I'm a newbie. Any known problems with these trucks? How does the 4 speed stack up against the allison trans? I know the cummins is a hell of an engine, but I,ve been reading here and it seems like the 24v is more "problematic" than the old 12v. (for lack of a better term. help me decide please. (and for the record- the dodge dealers price is still 2-3k cheaper than what I can buy a similar duramax for, at the employee price - go figure) thanks for any input in advance.

 

my bad - wrong forum

 

I got my 06 in the middle of December. The auto works great towing my #6000 boat. The auto shift different when empty, it's not bad it is just not what I was use to. Put some weight and the tranny is nice. The tow/ haul & o.d lockout worked great when I was in the Ozarks. The stop & go, hills traffic & 90* heat and the tranny worked perfect, temp stayed pretty cool. I use to drive Suburbans, I hated taking it off cruse when it became hilly. It is nice now just set the cruse and roll. I could have held 75 all the way, but a couple of Missouri hills I backed off to 70. The EGT's were getting 1200+ with more hill left, I was'nt in that big of a hurry. Got 10k on the ticker, no problems yet . Mileage so far, combined 13-15mpg, towing 13.5. I DO NOT MISS THE SUBURBAN .

 

Make DARNm sure you check out the A/C on the specific (actual) truck you're going to buy. Some of them do not operate worth a flip, the fan may seem extremely weak (mega cab) others do not cool very well, some cool nicely at first then fade (freezeup perhaps?) while others work splendidly....
My 04 QC hemi was fitted with a new compressor at about 4000 miles, never really cooled up to expectations, and living in Texas is NO EXCUSE!! My 03 Suburban is suitable for hanging meat inside of 4 minutes on 100 degree days.
My 06 CTD (mega cab) has less than inspiring fan strength but does cool the cab after about 7 min. I was disappointed at first but after reading some of the posts on A/C I feel as tho I am one of the lucky ones.

 

The 48re auto isn't as nice as the Allison, but hey, is any auto as good as an Allison? A few people report some slipping under extreme loads, but otherwise it's a good transmission, and the slipping may just mean that the bands need tightening up. I can't answer first-hand since I have the manual trans. but I have a couple buddies with auto's in their CTD's and none of them have had problems.

As far as the 24v being "problematic," I guess I'd say that all the diesels have their problems, but I'd choose (and did) the CTD's problems over the DMax and PSD problems. CTD's have lift pump problems, DMax's have injector problems, and PSD's just have all kinds of problems! I'd rather be replacing lift pumps than injectors in a DMax, or engines in a PSD.

After 32K miles and 16 months of ownership, I still love my CTD! I shopped the DMax's, and while they're good trucks, Chevy is just way too proud of them, and the CTD is just a little better I think.

Go for the CTD. You won't regret it. Also, I'd suggest doing it quick before you get stuck having to buy an '07 with the newer "EPA friendly" 6.7L that burns more fuel (which is just crazy, to me..epa wants to save the earth by burning MORE fuel??? )

 

I have an 04 Dmax,and a 06 CTD. the Dmax is a good truck,but I love the dodge.I think the 48re is as good as the allison even though it has one less gear. the chevy has 96k. the dodge only 15k. I have always been loyal to chevy but this dodge really changed my view of mopar products. you will enjoy the dodge.

 

If you want an 06 you will have to take what is currently produced. I don't believe they are taking orders anymore. You can shop on Dodge's website for a dealers current inventory and in most cases pull up the window sticker. On my 3500 there are offering $3,500 rebate till July 7. Got to Edmunds and built the truck you want. It will give you the MSRP and the dealer invoice. I did that and offered them dealer invoice and they took it. I got the rebate too.