let me just start by saying i love well used to love my 06' dodge 4x4 dually... (if yall have time read and reply to my emergency post and it will explain what happened to my06' better detail) i have been pulling with this truck for a yr now and have loved it... however i am in the truck market as of recently and am considering switching from dodge to the chevy 4500 kodiak...i saw one at the dealer and i gotta say if u spend some time behind the wheel this thing is like driving a caddy.... i used to say that fords king ranch was one nice interior but his thing had every option known to man....im sure yall have seen them... i have heard a few reliablity issues with the new cummins but i just cant get over how nice it would be to have the kodiak.. i could use the extra load capacity as well..do yall think the kodiak would hold up like my good ol bulletproof dodge did? or should i save money and go with the new 5500 dodge is coming out with... i just cant help but think it wont be nearly as comfortable and have half the extras.. any advice on the kodiak would be appreciated as well as my my post on the emergency forum as well thanks

 

I don't know what was different about the Kodiak that you drove, but I rode in one last fall and It only had like 4000 miles and that was the worst riding truck I have ever been in. 1 step above walking in my opinion They must have different suspension options or something.

 

Go get the little Freightliner truck.

 

What kind of 4500 were you driving? I am a Dodge and a Chevy dealer and sell both type of trucks you are talking about. I have also owned and towed with both. I wouldn't take another 4500 Kodiak if they paid me to take it! First off fuel mileage is horrible. I would get about 5-6 mpg towing a 10-15k load. The ride was the worst thing I have ever experienced. After about 30k miles the interior trim in the 4500's basically starts falling out as it gets beat to pieces and just becomes a rattle trap. I just traded in an 05' 4500 crew cab 4x4 from a customer that had two of them. He had always ran Dodges and got the idea he needed bigger trucks. So he bought a pair of em and after one year traded one back on a Dodge 1-ton pick-up and after another year traded the other back on a new Dodge cab & chassis. He says the new cab & chassis rides like a car compared to the 4500, gets twice the fuel mileage doing the same job, and has a lot more useable power. Please take my advice and STAY AWAY!!!!!!

 

There have been a couple of them traded in for Dodges at the local dealership. These were pretty spartian, and I think rode rough.

I think there are outfits that uprate the interior and put air suspension on them, which might make them a little better.

If you had the $$$ though, I think I'd look at an M2 Freightliner, unless you absolutely had to have 4x4...

 

What about that international truck? It seems capable. Its like a little big truck!!!lol

 

remember those trucks are beam axle/leaf sprung and weighs alot more than the regular trucks, even the F450 and 4500 dodge.

 

I've never rode in one but here's some very good advice from Luke who has some great personal experience with both. I'd take his advice and stay away.

 

I rode in a Binder with a DT466 and it wasn't anything to rave about and it was gutless as could be. I've never seen any mods for IHC and I don't think they can take very much anyway. From what I've read, most DT530s are only 275hp and no oil cooled pistons. Their tq. is also low. It looks like a decent 5.9 would outdo a DT530. I'd much rather have a C8.3! Craig

 

Must have been one of the lower HP rated DT466's. I have run several over the years and even the 230hp version feels stronger than a 300hp 5.9, mainly cause the torque is way up there and they are a lugging motor. A 530 on the other hand would whip two 5.9's put together. That is a good medium duty truck and light single axle tractor engine. I am a Cummins fan tried and true, but in a medium duty truck I'd take a DT466 or 530 over a 5.9 any day of the week.

 

I'd also choose a 466 over any other engine. Once you work on one you'll never look at another MD the same way. Can do a complete rebuild in frame. As far as the kodiac's I've seen 3 personally that have had engine faliure with the d-max(all under 100K mi.)

 

I htink they are completely different trucks...you can use the dodge as a daily driver, take it anywhere and get decent mileage. The Kodiak is only useful if you want to be legal and stable when towing a really heavy load...otherwise i think they are butt ugly and don't they have a duramax?...might as well get a 1 ton chev with the duramax

 

I sell Freightliner Sportchassis trucks and International Western Haulers. I will tell you that the Kodiak 4500s are VERY easy to sell against... all they have to do is ride in one!

Like others have said, it is the worst riding truck I've ever been in. Same engine and transmission as a one ton so you can't says you're getting any more power either.

 

I only know one Kodiak owner and that one owner has had nothing but trouble with the truck... injector issues galore with his D-max.... as soon as the warranty period is up on it, he'll be purchasing a Ram 4500/5500.

fwiw, I don't think all of the Kodiak's are POS's... just the one I personally know the owner of .

 

The DT 530 E is a hard-pull true medium-duty engine, and at the upper end of the medium duty range. If you look at the actual plate on the engine of a 275 hp unit, it's likely rated between 1100 - 1300 lb-ft of torque, depending upon the calibration the ECM is programmed with. They are not, in any manner, intended as a "rapid acceleration" engine.

The DT 466 E is quite similar, indeed externally on the production line it's nearly impossible to tell the two apart without looking at the engine plate. Typically the 466's are 190 - 250 bhp, 650 - 1000 lb-ft of torque.

With either of these true medium duty engines, it must be remembered these ratings are NOT peak horsepower & torque. Instead, they are rated to operate at the specified torque & horsepower all day, every day, for the life cycle of the engine. Application specific needs dictate different ratings, and with weight being less of an object in a medium duty truck, an 1800 lb engine is not a problem. It's a little more than a pickup truck would like.