Need help new truck decision, F250 vs. GMC 2500

Looking at a new truck, always been a Chevrolet person, had this one 16 years, so trying to make a wise decision on the next truck.  I want a decently comfortable ride, getting the 3/4 ton 4x4 diesel, crew cab/long bed, I'm finding the color I want in the Ford, not in the GMC, so weighing that option.  What is the best thing about the Ford or GMC, what is the worst thing about each, and what is the reason I should choose one over the other in your opinion?  Both are capable, reliable, better than what I've got now, so just trying to figure out if there's something I don't know to take into consideration while making this purchase.  Thanks!

You migh as well asked favorite color or glockvs1911, or AR/AK.... 

I bought a 2021 F-250 earlier this year after comparing with the Chevy.  I'd had a couple of GMT800 Duramaxes before, but for me the three deal breakers on buying a new one were:

A) no adaptive cruise on the Chevy.  They have it on the 1500, but not the 2500, dunno why.  I was buying as a tow vehicle and adaptive cruise is a huge benefit there.

B) the Chevy is ugly

C) I could get a Ford at invoice with a factory order, Chevy dealers weren't taking orders, had very limited inventory, and weren't going below sticker.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

I bought a 2021 F-250 earlier this year after comparing with the Chevy.  I'd had a couple of GMT800 Duramaxes before, but for me the three deal breakers on buying a new one were:

A) no adaptive cruise on the Chevy.  They have it on the 1500, but not the 2500, dunno why.  I was buying as a tow vehicle and adaptive cruise is a huge benefit there.

B) the Chevy is ugly

C) I could get a Ford at invoice with a factory order, Chevy dealers weren't taking orders, had very limited inventory, and weren't going below sticker.

 

 

Similar situation here, but I was comparing the Ford and GMC, which iirc had adaptive cruise.

I went with Ford because of C above mainly, in addition to Ford having the aluminum body, I wanted the Tremor package or would have created similar in aftermarket parts on the GMC, and the Ford cab ergonomics fit me better.

In reply to bobzilla :

But if they tell you why they like it better, you may learn something you didn't know. I hadn't even thought about the benefits of adaptive cruise while towing. 

Either way it's a big dollar decision.  I'd want to take it town the highway with a real load behind it to see how it feels pulling.

I've towed a 9,000 lb trailer with 3/4 ton late model gas and diesel dodges and fords.  There is a definite difference to the way they handle loaded vs unloaded. (Dodge was the best for it btw)

I am a diesel fanboi.  I love diesels.  I wish I could drink it like coffee.

I'm not a fan of diesels after about 2008.  DPFs, DEF, EGR coolers, regen cycles.... they can be a nightmare to keep the CEL from remaining permanently lit.

Having said that, I much prefer the Duramax to the 6.7L.  The 6.7 is a great powerhouse, but not quite as reliable or resaleable as the Dmax.  Ford is still recovering from the 6.0L/6.4L debacle and they likely won't shake that for a while.  As far as the truck is concerned, I would MUCH rather have the Ford.  It's not just that the Chevy is fugly, but Ford's fit/finish/assembly/quality of materials is light years ahead of the chevy.

I review new cars and trucks and have driven the current-gen Ford, GM, and Ram 2500/3500 offerings. Looks are subjective but the GM twins are particularly heinous to me. Regardless, GM's seats in the current trucks are dreadful so they're a no-go for me. I found Ford and Ram build quality to be better as well.

Ram leads on interior and unloaded ride quality (coil springs), Ford redid the F-150 interior for '21 but the Super Duty has not been refreshed yet. Regardless, it's a close second to Ram and both Ford/Ram seats are pretty good. 

Happy to chat more, of course.

In reply to Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) :

Ok, that's information that's very influential.  I'm not happy with my '06 Silverado seats, but blame it on being 15 years old.  I want to be able to take this truck on 16 hour tows to Watkins Glen and Road America, so I want comfortable.  My opinion of Ram has been based on the '90's & early '00 trucks, which had pitiful interior quality.  If it holds true to form, I'll be driving this truck for 15 years or more, so I want something that will hold up, and be comfortable.  I didn't realize Ram had coil springs, I'll have to add them to the list.  In outright honesty, my biggest demands outside of 4wd, crew cab & diesel are heated/vented seats, remote start and Apple CarPlay.  I hate Subaru's voice recognition so freaking badly, any thing has to be better.  

HoserRacing said:

In reply to Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) :

Ok, that's information that's very influential.  I'm not happy with my '06 Silverado seats, but blame it on being 15 years old.  I want to be able to take this truck on 16 hour tows to Watkins Glen and Road America, so I want comfortable.  My opinion of Ram has been based on the '90's & early '00 trucks, which had pitiful interior quality.  If it holds true to form, I'll be driving this truck for 15 years or more, so I want something that will hold up, and be comfortable.  I didn't realize Ram had coil springs, I'll have to add them to the list.  In outright honesty, my biggest demands outside of 4wd, crew cab & diesel are heated/vented seats, remote start and Apple CarPlay.  I hate Subaru's voice recognition so freaking badly, any thing has to be better.  

 

Anything with CarPlay will use Siri for voice recognition so no real worries there. Every Ram 2500 is coil sprung on all four corners, and rear airbags are optional. Their newer interiors seem to hold up well as do Ford's. The Ford F-250 will be on a more traditional truck suspension (i.e. leaf springs) and it's not bad, but definitely harsher unloaded. I have towed my enclosed trailer behind a Ram 2500 Laramie (diesel) and an F-250 Tremor (7.3 gas) and both handled it just fine. I am not the most well-versed in diesel drivetrains from a longevity perspective given I only get a week with each vehicle and they're all brand new with like 5k miles at most. But, having driven the Cummins and the latest PowerStroke (in a friend's truck) they're both fine and the tow/haul transmission logic on both is pretty smart, with Ford's taking a slight edge.

Ford has had trailer blind spot monitoring for several years now, Ram just added it in 2021. It's really slick. The rest of their driver assistance stuff, should you care, is all fine and neither really beats the other.

FWIW I thought the seats in GM's GMT800 trucks were fantastic and everything since has been worse.

Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) said:

FWIW I thought the seats in GM's GMT800 trucks were fantastic and everything since has been worse.

I have a friend who says the same thing, but personally I find the seats in my 2021 F-250 to be far more comfortable than either of my GMT800s were (an '02 LB7 and an '07 LBZ).  Perhaps it's because the Chevies both had > 125K on them when I bought them, while the Ford is new?

Towing my trailer (24' TPD enclosed, somewhere around 8000-9000 pounds loaded) is noticeably less tiring than doing the same in my Chevy.  Nicer seats, quieter, more power, adaptive cruise.  One frustration is that the rear suspension sags a lot more than the LBZ did with a 1200 pound tongue weight.  I think they softened up the first leaf to make it ride better empty, which is fine and all, but my goal with this truck was towing.  Aftermarket springs fixed that, but it would have been nice not to have to spend the money on them.  It's got the Android Auto/Carplay, heated/vented seats, and remote start.

Supposedly the Ram has air springs from the factory.  At the time they were even scarcer than the Chevy, so I didn't even bother going there.  I'm also just really leery of the Chrysler reputation, and being owned by Fiat now doesn't count as an improvement. :)

You should really look at the Ram offerings. The few truck comparisons I've seen they place well, usually win. IIRC the towing behavior and comfort are top reasons why. 
I can't see myself driving a GM truck. They went down the lexus road of ugly. I genuinely don't think they could have made them look worse if they tried, though I suspect they put effort into that level of ugly. 

My question about the Dodge is the transmission and noise levels.  I haven't really paid attention lately, but I seem to remember that the Cummins was always a little louder than the Duramax and the Powerstroke.  Also, the Ford & GM have 10 speed transmissions as opposed to the 6 in the Dodge.  Any real downside other than spaced further apart?  

HoserRacing said:

My question about the Dodge is the transmission and noise levels.  I haven't really paid attention lately, but I seem to remember that the Cummins was always a little louder than the Duramax and the Powerstroke.  Also, the Ford & GM have 10 speed transmissions as opposed to the 6 in the Dodge.  Any real downside other than spaced further apart?  

This is just one datapoint and it's not the exact truck that we're talking about but my 2015 has the 6.7L Cummins, the 68RFE six speed and 3.42 final gears.  It's pretty quiet in the cab.  At 80MPH you can converse with people in the back seat without raising your voice.  The 6-speed seems well matched with the Cummins.  This is the first automatic transmission truck I've owned in several decades and I was concerned that I'd hate it.  I don't, in Tow/Haul mode it's excellent and I never shift it manually.  It's less excellent in normal mode but I just switch to Tow/Haul whenever I'm towing or hauling, on winding roads and if I'm going to drive aggressively.

This truck has also been really reliable.  I put front wheel bearings in it at 60k miles and front shocks on it at 90k.  It needs rear shocks as well but the ones I want are on national backorder.  Other than that it's just been tires, regular oil changes and fuel.  Lots and lots of fuel.  It get abysmal fuel mileage. 

Ok, so sharp right turn Clyde, just went to drive a used F250 to check it out, and then the salesman showed me a new F150 to show me what the interior would be like.  Turned out it was a 3.5EcoBoost Hybrid with the Max Tow package, good for pulling 12,500 lbs, and 590 lbs. of torque.  The largest thing that I will be pulling is a 22' enclosed Haulmark with a 2500 lbs car and less than 1000 lbs. of gear most likely, so I am highly tempted.  The ride on the F150 is so much better than a 3/4 ton truck, may end up pulling the trigger on this.  Anyone have any reasons why I shouldn't?  Thanks!

HoserRacing said:

Looking at a new truck, always been a Chevrolet person, had this one 16 years, so trying to make a wise decision on the next truck.  I want a decently comfortable ride, getting the 3/4 ton 4x4 diesel, crew cab/long bed, I'm finding the color I want in the Ford, not in the GMC, so weighing that option.  What is the best thing about the Ford or GMC, what is the worst thing about each, and what is the reason I should choose one over the other in your opinion?  Both are capable, reliable, better than what I've got now, so just trying to figure out if there's something I don't know to take into consideration while making this purchase.  Thanks!

 

I've been a loyal Chevy buyer for 22 new cars plus more used.  Last time my pickup lasted 20 years and 379,000 miles and only cost $1000 in repairs. ( not including maintenance) 

   But I couldn't pass up the Ford this time.  That aluminum body saves serious money on fuel costs and promises not to rust like my steel Chevy did. 
   It's now got 70,000 miles and like my Chevy before it no trouble.  Plus it was easy to deal with the Ford salesman. He went down thousands  (8) below the Chevy dealers I visited  even with the same specifications.    Granted that was a last years model ( new)  but when I went back to the Chevy guys they couldn't or wouldn't match it. 
 PS yes get the tow package from Ford!  I hauled a 4664 pound Jaguar across the mountains on a U haul trailer. Plus had close to 2000 pounds of spare parts etc.  averaging 70+ mph I still got 17 mpg.  V8 4x4  etc.  

 22 mpg highway typical.  20+ mpg Commute to work.  get the flex fuel option. It saves you a $1 a gallon using E85  ( it's a $99 option)  I wind up saving $1 a gallon $20 per tankful  and once you figure the loss of mileage I'm still $10 a tankful ahead.  
plus the engine runs cooler  and wow! Does it add power!!!!!!!! 

In reply to HoserRacing :

Nope. No reason to avoid the Ecoboost. It's a fantastic ride. My dd is a 2012 Platinum eb, and I enjoy driving it 1000 miles a week. 
I'm very happy to no longer have the drone of a diesel in the background. 
 

2 caveats. I think the tow rating is optimistic. I CAN tow 13,500, but I don't like it. If I towed heavy regularly I would care.

And when they get older, the repair shops are still skittish on the Ecoboost.  It's a more refined engine and many shops aren't comfortable working on them. Repairs are expensive.  But mine is 9 years old with 200K + on it. I bought it for $17K with 100K on it, so I'm really not complaining. Considering it's a $70K truck when new, I've got plenty of margin. 
 

It's a great highway cruiser.

Oh, one more thing...

Its not unusual to see 26 mpg on a newer Ecoboost.  That's hard to beat. 

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

I kind of figured that 12,500 was really stretching it, but I figure I should be really good at 10K max.  And the 22mpg on gas instead of diesel?  Yes please.  One thing I just thought about, does it require premium?  That would be worse than diesel.  

In reply to HoserRacing :

I misprinted that. It's more like 26 mpg. 
 

Mine runs on regular. 

The Ecoboost is still nimble enough to weave through traffic when it needs to, and there is a real kick in the rear when you punch it and the twin turbos kick in. 
 

It handles much better that it's 3/4 ton brethren. 
 

Having said that, if highway cruising with a trailer is its primary duty, I'd rather drive a diesel. They drive like a frieght train, but are fantastically stable highway towing. 

I had to make an evasive maneuver a few days ago. I just punched it and swerved without any question or hesitation. 
 

I never would have done that in a diesel. 

Primary will not be towing, but hoping once a year to either Watkins Glen or Road America, got to get my butt down to the Challenge, but that's a small percentage of it's life.  

In reply to HoserRacing :

Then don't rule out the Eboost. Drive one. 

Also...

If you want to consider used, there are some great bargains out there on Ecoboosts. 
 

Many of them came in "gentleman trucks" (like my Platinum). They are lightly used their whole life, and well maintained. They have lots of extra creature comforts. 
 

But they don't hold their value. There is a stigma about the 6 cylinder that scares some buyers away. 
 

My truck had depreciated about 75% by the time it had 100K on it. 
 

It was a great deal.