5.9 vs 7.3?

CTD735 said:
94-97 were club cabs(2 doors with second row seat)
98-02 2500/3500 quad cabs(4 doors but back ones are suicide)
03-present you can get a real 4 door
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cool, thanks!
i really want 4 doors, which is one of the biggest reasons i was looking at the ford.

having the ranger for so long has left me not wanting suicide doors on another truck, but they are nicer than no door at all.
 
215 pumps started in 96.

And pet peve of mine, there is a difference in a fifth wheel, and a gooseneck...
 
sasdranger said:
sorry..
educate me if you would please.
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A Gooseneck ball is mounted in or under the bed and the "Gooseneck hitch and locking mechanism is mounted to the trailer.

A fifth wheel is rail mounted in the bed (Mostly) and is your hitch and locking mechanism and the pin which is usually 3.5" is mounted to a plate which is then mounted to the neck of the trailer and slides into the fifth wheel.

But you can take the Gooseneck hitch out of the Gooseneck and slide in a fifth wheel pin and plate in it's place and then mount your Gooseneck to your fifth wheel hitch.
 
ok, so basically how it mounts, i understand..

I've seen the ball in the beds of trucks, and the rails for the 5th wheel, just never really gave it a second thought..

I have another possible myth.. My buddy was telling me that a longer wheel base would haul better?

I did a quick search and only really found wheel base discussions about sled pulling..
 
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do yourself a huge favor and take a look at the Duramax. For the money you are looking to spend you can get a very good truck, buy far the best ride of the three, best transmission and way more power than either the 5.9 or 7.3 in stock form. The 5.9 is a good engine but the dodge bodies on trucks that old are junk. 7.3 is also a good engine but they have tranny issues. Duramaxes are a little more difficult to work on but the beauty if them is you don't have to work on them as often. I've had all three and the Duramax is the overall best truck of the three. If I were going to have one with a camper then I'd have to go with the Ford. But for what you are saying you are wanting to do a stock dmax will more and meet your needs and you don't have to mod anything. If and when you want to add power that's a different story. Good luck.
 
IMO a gooseneck is better just look around the RV parks and you will see people are changing away from fifth wheels because a gooseneck does not take up all of their bed space, and does just as well.
 
sasdranger said:
My buddy was telling me that a longer wheel base would haul better?
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A longer bed helps move the weight in front of the axle and keeps the front end down while towing. Most RV's try to set the fifth wheel or ball of a gooseneck 6 inches forward of the axle. With a short bed pickup you will hit the cab when turning in some conditions, with a gooseneck you can get a offset hitch for the trailer allowing the ball to be set farther forward giving better weight distrubition.
 
Subman631 said:
do yourself a huge favor and take a look at the Duramax. For the money you are looking to spend you can get a very good truck, buy far the best ride of the three, best transmission and way more power than either the 5.9 or 7.3 in stock form. The 5.9 is a good engine but the dodge bodies on trucks that old are junk. 7.3 is also a good engine but they have tranny issues. Duramaxes are a little more difficult to work on but the beauty if them is you don't have to work on them as often. I've had all three and the Duramax is the overall best truck of the three. If I were going to have one with a camper then I'd have to go with the Ford. But for what you are saying you are wanting to do a stock dmax will more and meet your needs and you don't have to mod anything. If and when you want to add power that's a different story. Good luck.
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don't you need to go into the tranny or computer if you chip it or it will go into limp mode?

trans wise your talking about the Allison right? where do the manuals fit in there?

Later said:
A longer bed helps move the weight in front of the axle and keeps the front end down while towing. Most RV's try to set the fifth wheel or ball of a gooseneck 6 inches forward of the axle. With a short bed pickup you will hit the cab when turning in some conditions, with a gooseneck you can get a offset hitch for the trailer allowing the ball to be set farther forward giving better weight distrubition.
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thanks

Billysgoat said:
Longer wheelbase=more stability.
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thats what i figured.
 
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Subman631 said:
do yourself a huge favor and take a look at the Duramax. For the money you are looking to spend you can get a very good truck, buy far the best ride of the three, best transmission and way more power than either the 5.9 or 7.3 in stock form. The 5.9 is a good engine but the dodge bodies on trucks that old are junk. 7.3 is also a good engine but they have tranny issues. Duramaxes are a little more difficult to work on but the beauty if them is you don't have to work on them as often. I've had all three and the Duramax is the overall best truck of the three. If I were going to have one with a camper then I'd have to go with the Ford. But for what you are saying you are wanting to do a stock dmax will more and meet your needs and you don't have to mod anything. If and when you want to add power that's a different story. Good luck.
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and what do you mean they're junk? I'm looking at 03s and those are alight..
 
sasdranger said:
and what do you mean they're junk? I'm looking at 03s and those are alight..
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Hope you get a good one, bodies have a tendency to rattle off on rough roads. Fit and finish for Dodges didn't get decent till about 07 IMO.
 
sasdranger said:
don't you need to go into the tranny or computer if you chip it or it will go into limp mode?

trans wise your talking about the Allison right? where do the manuals fit in there? QUOTE]


The Allison is fine until you chip or tune to over 100 from stock, the 6 speeds Allisons are better. The manual tranny on the Dmax's I have no experience with. I've read were they are hard on clutches. The fact that GM doesn' offer a standard transmission anymore in the Dmax has to tell you something. Good Luck
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Subman631 said:
Hope you get a good one, bodies have a tendency to rattle off on rough roads. Fit and finish for Dodges didn't get decent till about 07 IMO.
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wait, are you comparing dodge quality to GM? sorry, but every GM I've been in was a rattle trap after a few years :eek:

how many bodies have you seen "rattle off"? LOL

for ultimate reliability w/ good power and mileage, a 12v 5sp is tough to beat, but if you want to be able to fit a human being (albeit a small one) in the back seat, I would get a 3rd gen Common Rail. You'll spend more money keeping it on the road than you will a 12v, but the 3rd gens really are much nicer trucks overall than the 2nd gens! And this is coming from someone who has owned three 98 12v trucks :eek:
 
Later said:
IMO a gooseneck is better just look around the RV parks and you will see people are changing away from fifth wheels because a gooseneck does not take up all of their bed space, and does just as well.
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Bed space doesn't matter when there is a trailer hooked to it. All the Goosenecks I have or have owned have been over 40' long and my first upgrade is a fifth wheel plate just for the fact it is much more stable. As for bed space, I got a B&W gooseneck hitch on my main hauling truck and the B&W companion fifth wheel hitch to go with so no loss of bed space when I don't need the hitch.
 
I converted my 5th wheel over to the Gooseneck hitch..Much easier and no need for different hitches..One for all trailers.
 
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