As a 28 year service tech/ shop foreman with GM In 1995 it took me 6 months of debate to buy a Cummins wrapped in a Dodge.
I have been a GM nut all my life.
All I can tell you is, I am so happy I bought my First Dodge in 1995. It was a 1996 club cab 4x4 auto CTD with 4.10`s
I drove that truck 85K and had to listen to all the B/S from my co-worker`s, boss, dealership owner and sale`s staff on a regular basis.
Well the new CR/CTD came along in 2003 so, I sold that one and bought the 03. Same crap at work, but my truck`s never had any problems.
I made a mistake in 2005. I sold the 03 and bought a new Chevy Colorado as part of a down size of my personal vehicle`s. Well needless to say, after 7500miles on that pile O crap. I`m back in a Dodge CTD and will not make that mistake again. After owning, driving and learning what the Dodge/Cummins truck is all about. NONE Compare.

 

I have not had any problems with my dodge personally; but at the end of the day buy what you want. If the truck is going to do what you want it to do than that all that matters right? As far as the Dodge part goes I am not a big fan of the stereo systems in these trucks but the again that is a minor issue.

 

Uhh... What exactly do they have figured out? They keep changing everything.
Either way I've got a 77 Chevy and a 05 Dodge so I got the best of both worlds

 

We just recently bought a 2006 3500 Laramie 4x4 SRW SB. So far it is great!

Our thoughts:
1. Originally preferred Ford King Ranch 250 or 350. Their engine issues removed this from the list. This decision hurt because we had our heart set on the Ford.
2. Liked the Chevy Duramax/Allison very much.
3. Preferred the Dodge and got it. Dodge was about 5k or so less than an equivalent Chevy.
4. Got 3500 vs 2500 because for no more than $700 we got the 3500 to give us a bit of extra payload for towing a yet-to-be-bought 5th wheel.
5. Decided to get new 2006, rather than wait for 2007's with new engine, because we did not want to be the guinea pig for model changes.

Time will tell if we did the right thing.

Whatever your decision is, enjoy!

 

The Chevy and Dodge use nearly the same front unitized bearing, so that is a wash. You have mentioned the 6 speed, but the 48RE has turned out to be a really dependable transmission. Between my father and myself we have had about 15 of these from 1996-present, all I can say is that they have been much more reliable than the Chevy fleet that I managed during the late 90's early 2000's.

 

I'll throw in my 2¢ worth...............

Chevy man all my life.......

Owned a couple of "pre-powerjoke" Ford diesels, they were good work trucks. When I bought my Dodge Cummins (2004 Dually) I bought it for the "Cummins" and the price. In my opinion, Chevrolet has the Dura-Max way way overpriced.

Absolutely loved the truck for the first 40K or so. After that it became the worst riding POS I have ever owned. The CUMMINS was absolutely flawless though. 2 years and 176,000 miles and I never had a problem with it all. Only had to replace 1 front wheel bearing at 80,000 miles, but nothing else under that hood ever gave me a problem. Hell, I never even had the Lift Pump problem that so many have had.

Pros' on the Dodge CTD - The CUMMINS TURBO DIESEL is the only "positive" there is. If it wasn't for that motor, Dodge wouldn't even be in the truck business. "HEMI"??? My A......................

Cons' on the Dodge - Poor ride, rattle-eee **** interior, poor poor seats, bad paint, very poor re-sell value, feels and sounds like you're riding in an old WWII tank, so on so on so on............................

If you're a Chevy guy, you will HATE the Dodge Ram as a daily driver, trust me.

I sold mine a few months back, bought a 2006 F150 Gasser, hated that also, so I went back to my true love, a 2006 Silverado Quad Cab(gasser). Again, D-Max is overpriced in my opinion. Plus, I don't really need a diesel right now. Boy am I in Hog Heaven!!! I love "driving" again after that horrible experience with my Dodge Ram.

Think long and hard before you decide. If you're not going to be towing 12,000 lbs continously and are only looking for a daily drivinn' play diesel, and money is no object, then stay with your love and get the Dura-Max, you will not regret it.

I'll keep waiting til they put the CUMMINS TURBO DIESEL in a real truck before I buy another one. In other words, if CUMMINS and Dodge keep their agreement, then I'll never have the opportunity to own another CTD.

How sad..................................

 

Wow, going back through your posts, you must have had a really hard time with your truck. I also had a 2004, and I had no issues with it. Drove the crap out of it and it was flawless the whole time without a single rattle. I sold it this year because I made a career change and made quite a bit of money on it. Sold it for over blue book value. Like, a lot over blue book because the guy was willing to pay for it. My experience has been totally opposite of yours. Sorry to see that you had such a hard time.

 

I don't think you should get one!! Why buy a truck if you can't decide? And why buy a Dodge if it makes you puke?? Don't buy one!!!!!!!!!!

Someone else will come along and give that Dodge a good home. They'll cherish it, be proud of it and they'll laugh every time they pull a grade in OD. Give them a chance to have that truck.

Wetspirit

 

Sorry to add to the topic so late, and probably rehash a lot of whats already been said, but... I'm bored on a friday nite

Here is the deciding factors I used when I chose my truck (2nd gen dodge). Simply put, you have to buy the truck thats right for you. I can only tell you why I chose the Dodge and what I disliked about the other vehicles, your views can be drastically different.
The Dodge:
Good: Cummins 5.9 proven long living and reliable, plenty of pep.
Interior is simple, no bells and whistles, Transfer case and front axle have mechanical engagement (some 2nd gens do have vacuum engaged front end). Easy to work on and repair. Plenty of room under the hood and under the truck. Solid front axle, antiquated technology some say, but its simple and reliable and holds weight better than I feel IFS does. Tall, tough looking stance
BAD: Weak auto tranny, (not app in your situation). The lift pump on 24v is weak, and some say the injection pump leaves more to be desired. Some potential areas of rust concern, lower doors, rear quarters, and behind the taillights (at least on 1st gen body styles). No wheel well linings make for more of a mess under the truck when you hit mud.
The height does have a drawback when loading/unloading the bed. When your heaving a couple hundred pounds up...inches seem like miles!
The Chevy:
Good:Smooth comfortable ride. Engine is showing itself as quite reliable, and loves being "hopped up." The Allison auto is STRONG. Lower stance eases loading the bed
Bad:Has IFS, which I dont feel holds up as well with heavy hauling and snowplows. Lower stance, increase the chances of body damage offroad. Way to many bells and whistles on the interior, I feel like I should have a preflight checklist before starting the truck. Computer controlled everything, difficult to fix in the field or "rig" to get home. Very cramped under the hood.
Ford:
Good:Solid Axle. Mechanical engagement 4x4. Simple and rugged interior. High stance.
Bad: bad engines! weak auto tranny

With all this being said. I have several friends with chevies, and a few with Fords, and they all love their own trucks as much as I love mine. I have yet to be stranded or been out of work because my Dodge has let me down. The same can be said about the Chevy owners I know. The Ford guy has had a few "quirks." but he's a quirky guy anyway .
I can say that I have by far the easiest time with routine maintence on my truck than any of the other guys.

 

If you like making 3, 4 or 5 point turns driving around town or backing into a parking space don't buy a Dodge cuz they will out turn the other two hands down. I know people buy these for towing, hauling but you still have to drive it around town. Or in the hills make a switch back turn and do a 3 pointer in a F/GM.

If Cummins makes the engine then what does Dodge make? hmmmmmm Good question best answer I've got is if Izusu makes the DMax and IH makes the Pstroke then what do F/GM make?

If cool interior gets you wet then get a GM. If stop light to stop light is your action get a GM.

OK I've tried to find a reason to buy a Ford sorry no luck.

I drove a DMax for a week 1k plus miles really cool truck drove around town with the auto great shorter wheel base than my CTD so worked ok. Down side no legs on the highway small fuel tank worse mileage then my CTD. Nice truck though.

Good luck