They are referring to the ring gear diameter in inches.

 

Funny you should ask this question. I had some free time on my hands today. I drove all three today. First, the GMC 2500HD, longbed, quad cab, Dmax, Allison auto. The ride was nice and smooth. The truck seemed to have good power.<br>The interior was comfy, felt like all instruments and controls were easy to read and reach. Was a little overwhelmed by so many buttons on the steering wheel, but nothing that you couldn't get used too. Transmission shifted good, liked the tow/haul mode slowing the truck down. 4 wheel disc brakes stopped well. <br>Dislikes, transmission filter is cartridge type which, without a skid plate is prone to damage if venturing off road.<br>oil filter is about 1.5&quot; from front driveshaft, chance of driveshaft actually hitting it, slim. Would always be thinking about that. <br>Overall, not a bad truck. I am partial to a solid front axle, so the torsion bar, wisbone setup is not for me. not saying that it is bad. <br><br>Second truck, Ford F350 reg cab, longbed, 6.0 PSD, 5 sp auto, od lockout, 4 wheel disc, loaded, extendable towing mirrors, heated w/directionals. <br>Was very impressed with the power for a stock pickup.<br>trans shifted well, stopped very well, the ride was a little harsh, due to the solid front axle, leaf spring setup, but that's expected. Controls were very simple, well laid out. Vision was the best of the three, just my personal opinion. Brakes worked very well, tried the tow mode, worked well, felt like the GMC with the trans assisting in stopping.<br>Dislikes, open the hood, not a very easy engine to work on. very cramped in the engine compartment. <br>Road noise was the highest of the three.<br>Canister type oil filter, mounted on top of the engine. Oil changes must be done with care as not to make a mess.<br><br>Third truck, 03 Dodge 2500 4x4 24v Cummins, longbed reg cab, 47RE auto trans, loaded. This truck was very nice to drive, ride was good. Solid front axle coil spring setup. Power was very good on takeoff, noticed a bit of turbo lag but nothing serious. Vision was very good, A- pillar is smaller than 2nd gen trucks, definite improvement. Interior is quite comfy. Controls and instruments were easy to read and reach. Trans shifted predictably and smoothly. Interior noise was not bad at all. Under the hood, very easy to work on. Engine being inline makes this much easier than the other two. Fluid and filter changes would be easy. <br>Dislikes, Trans, would have liked to drive one with the new 48RE, none on lot.<br> White faced gauges seemed out of place compared to the rest of the interior.<br><br>These are just my personal opinions of these trucks. <br>I am not going to play favorites with any of them.<br>They all have their likes and dislikes<br>It all comes down to personal preferance, component durability, and just plain common sense.<br>If you are in the market for a truck, drive all of them. <br>Then you can make a well informed decision about which truck is for you.<br><br>Rich

 

[quote author=Hummin' Cummins link=board=17;threadid=10572;start=0#101002 date=1044470638]<br><br>I am a lifetime Chebby guy gone Dodge Cummins.<br><br>One thing I will say is GMC has very low financing on the heavy duty series trucks (2500/3500). Play that against your dodge salesman. I did and got 3-1/4 on my 2500 purchase. Given DC doesn have &quot;financing incentives&quot; and only &quot;cash back&quot; the two together could work in your favor.<br><br>Keep in mind I himmed and hawed for about 75 days prior to the dodge dealer folding in my favor.<br>[/quote]<br><br>Same here - and I'm even still quite fond of GM products - BUT for towing NOTHING beats that inline six pot. Look under the hoods of dang near every newer medium duty and heavy duty truck around and what will you find??? 6 Pistons...<br><br>My $0.02

 

I'm with Richard. Buy the one you like, the difference from worst to best in any category is probably less than 10%. Any rational person can find things they like and dislike in any of the three. I chose Dodge/Cummins, but I am sure that I could be happy with any of the three. I just do not understand the fanatical loyalty, at the end of the day these are pickup trucks we are talking about, not our grandchildren.<br><br>Just make mine a soot puffer.

 

I've done a lot of travelling from Boise, ID to Port of Fourchon, Lousiana. For pulling heavy loads over the road the Dodge Cummins combo is what I have seen the most of. It is not uncommon to see a Dodge with 500+ thousand miles on it and running as strong as it was new. The most impressive was one driving north of Utah on I84 that had on his back window &quot;1,068,000 Miles and still going strong&quot;. You could tell the truck had probably 95% of its miles were highway miles. Down in LA where there is a lot of offshore rig support you'll see mostly Dodges pulling 30' to 40' gooseneck flat beds loaded to the gills with pipe and shipping containers. I've never seen trucks so overloaded like these before. The Cummins inline six has been around for a long time and has logged a lot of miles. As for a fair shake to the D-Max and New 6.0 Powerstroke, we'll have to wait some time to see how far its longevity is. If the D-Max has had help from Izuzu that has got to be good, Izuzu has been building diesels for somthing like 65 years. The new 6.0 Ford is to new I think to be able to form much of an opinion. The Ford and Chev still provide the most room for a four door. I still don't know what Dodge was thinking by adding 6&quot; to the cab and installing virtually the same back seat as mine. But who knows. Cummins is hard engine to beat and I'm trying not to be too biased. When you travel keep your eyes open and ask those who pull for a living. They can give you the best advice. Another $.02, Lon

 

Hey, thought i'd give my 2 cent's worth. <br> I've been in construction for 20 years now. Have worked with a couple brothers during that time. First brother bought a used diesel 1 ton prob about a 90 model with the CTD in it. We used the heck outta that truck, had over 300,000k on it when he sold it and bought a new one a couple years ago.<br> The brother i work with now had a 96' CTD, sold it to another brother of his to pull a concrete pump. Now the guy i work with has a 2001, 1 ton CTD. Pulls 16,000 plus with it all the time. <br> Finally i have one now. I've been around these trucks for quite awhile, just haven't owned one myself. I have seen very few problems with them. Nut came off 5th gear on 89 or 90 model. Had a power steering/vacumn pump fail on the 96'.<br>2001 model had a wireing harness short in it, caused cruise control failur. Bout it.<br>Other than that i can't think of any major problems.<br> Alot of ppl where i live pull cattle trailors, machinary (DitchWitch) ect... most of them use CTD. <br> Really like the other replys say, test them all, before you decide, and try some of the used ones just to see how well they have held up. Higher the mileage the more you'll know.<br> Later.

 

Thank you for the information.<br><br>I need to find a dealer around here with what I want so I can test drive them...and I will but I will have to travel a ways.<br><br>My remaining question...in US gallons for Gosh sakes, running empty with the 03 HO/48/3.73/QC, what MPG can I expect at 72 miles per hour.<br>My old 5.9 gives me 16.8 to 18+ if I drive 45-49 mph but who wants to drive that slow. Once I speed up, it drops to 11.2-13.2 mpg highway at my normal 72 miles per hour.<br><br>I have searched high and low for data and no one tells you invoice on diesel or mpg on diesel. The guy who owns the skating rink Friday night told me his 02 Ford XLT 250 gets 21 mpg on heating oil all winter long driving around town. I have reservations about that one for sure but my buddy with his 3/4 ton Chevy diesel says 22 is regular mpg for him (his is a 98)<br><br>So, I just want as straight an answer as I can give. My 5.9 gasser gets 11.2-13.3 at 70 mph. What can I expect a 03 HO/48/3.73/QC? I know with more miles it will get better. I am thinking 3500 SRW or 2500 SRW (3500 not for towing but because ordering more than you need seems better than ordering just enough).<br><br>I am a DODGE RAM fan but I want a straight answer, please.<br>The other info has been straight and excellent. I will drive all three before purchasing but I sure can't trust anyone else to give me the straight scoop on MPG (NOT KPG)<br><br>Thanks in advance and I am having a ball picking this out. My wife sees me cleaning my fishing poles last night and putting silcone on them and all that ... tackle everywhere...and she just shakes her head. What is it with men and their toys. I said, what is it with woman and 50 pair of shoes...<br>Dan

 

Lone Ranger, I completed a 100 mile round trip last weekend with my truck(empty except my big ash!) at an average speed of 70 mph, and my truck got 20 mpg. My truck is a 2500 SO 47re 3.73 with about 2700 on the odometer. I was very pleased! ;D

 

Lone Ranger...<br><br>I've been getting between 18.5 and 19.5 according to the OH computer at 67-72mph.<br><br>Calucations at the diesel station are slightly lower at 17.9.<br><br>I wonder why the discreptancy and have the tendancy to trust my calculator more than Mr. Kom-poo-ter.

 

Well, mine is not an auto its a 6sp but at 80mph from vegas to los angeles, going I-15 thru baker grade (6%) for approx 20 miles and lots of ups and downs I get 17.2 mpg with 2500 miles on the truck. this is empty..should only get better as it breaks in...cant tell you at lower speeds...if Im not pulling I cant drive slow.. ;D

 

I don't believe your friends get over 20mpg with a chevy diesel or a for diesel. Most powerjokes I have been around get 15 maybe and thats with a hurricane at there back side.<br>As for the Chevvy. my uncle gets 16 empty and 12 pulling. his is a 95 chevvy 1ton. I get around 19-21 going 70 over the HW. ang like 16/17 around town. Pulling I get 14 or 15 depends on how much my foot is in it.<br>DM01