My wife got run off the road last week and flipped our horse trailer, which totaled our 2016 Lone Star. We’re shopping for a replacement truck, preferably newer and similar equipment. Our neighbor is a Cummins guy and suggested that starting in 2023, the blocks coming in had weak castings, mostly due to Covid-era manpower and supply issues. He recommended 2022 and older model year trucks. Whatever we purchase will be left stock and will be used for pulling another four horse trailer.

Any input is greatly appreciated.





-Joe

 

I cannot speak to the weak block,
what I can speak to is the roller lifter failures,
def sensing unit issues, grid heater nut failures, repeated free rides back to the warranty department... and I only see a small sampling of trucks.
Thinking back, I believe 21 is the last year where you can interface with the ecm. After that they’re locked to outside intrusion, unless you buy an older model ecm and swap it in.
Sadly, these trucks are definitely not what they once were. Now honestly, none of them are, but this brand had the farthest to fall engine wise, and they’ve done a spectacular job of it.
Looking at newer trucks, and having run all of the big three brands, ford is the one to beat these days. And having really poor experience with them in the past, I never thought I’d ever say that. But here we are..

good luck with whatever replacement you end up with.

how bad is the 16, did the frame get twisted, or just lots of sheetmetal damage?

 

Unfortunately, the frame twisted. We're really bummed since it's been the best truck we've had by far. Our first Cummins was a 1995 Ram 2500 that we bought in 1998 with 30k on the odometer. The twelve valve was a solid workhorse, but in stock trim, you weren't passing anything. I didn't know enough about them at the time or I would have changed the governor spring and made it more user friendly. The replacement to that was a 2001 Ram 3500 2wd. I replaced the VP44 on it and overall it was a good truck, but the 5 speed was becoming an issue for the wife's bad knees. We swapped that one for an '03 Ram 2500 4wd that is still our farm truck when work needs done. The silver one that was wrecked was absolute luxury by comparison.

It was a dealer ordered and owned truck before we bought it. Lone Star package with dark brown cloth interior, full power mirrors,, heated seats and steering wheel, power sliding rear window, factory tow package, back-up and cargo cameras, U-Connect with the larger screen, rear air bags, Amp Research power running boards and the Ranch Hand Bambi smasher on the front. Last year, we spent $4k to delete the truck after the DPF aged out, and in October, I spent $1k doing all the brakes with new rotors, etc., so replacing it is going to be a tall order. Realistically, it will likely be a Laramie package and then we'll put Carhart seat covers over the leather.

Thank you for the input. I was trying to get as new as 2022 due to financing, but based on your experience, 2021 seems to be the cutoff. I have to admit, the Ford trucks are very nice, and quite well equipped, but I know nothing about the Powerstroke engines. Anything after the 7.3 IDI is beyond me, so I'll stick with the known evil that is Cummins.

-Joe