Forced to buy a Ford

[thechevyhdman]

I dont know what GM thinks when they make new trucks....Lighter diesel engine, stronger hydroformed frame yada yada yada. For 10 years weve been able to buy 84" cab to axle length. Regular cab, Cab and Chassis. Now GM will not offer a Snow Plow Prep package on a 84 C-A truck.So that leaves me with no option but to buy a dang Ford..or Get the 8.1 or 6.0 litre gas guzzlers. To be honest Id rather go with the stinkin Ford....GM seems to be steering more and more away from customers with heavy duty truck needs. 12,000 GVW limits alot..The C4500 what a joke that rig is....Yeah I can imagine plowing snow with that truck, Id hit every limb there is.GM needs to design a truck with a SFA that can handle a 9 ft plow,but no the front end in an 84" C-A cant handle the extra weight. When is GM going to realize customers want higher GVW ratings, stronger front end designs....In a rig that isnt 9 ft tall(C4500). Gm put the most money, time, and research into the C4500 it doesnt take a genius to realize how big of a gap GM is leaving between a 3500 to a 4500. Nor how obnoxiously worthless a C4500 is. For the sake of 4,000 pounds in increased GVW GM goes out and designs a ridiculous rig....Instead of taking the current 3500's and building the heck out of them. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood but does anyone else see that GM is steering more and more away from common sense. I mean trucks without a hood light, pencil thin tie rods, low hanging frames, light duty front ends, limited GVW ratings. I think these trucks are the best for light duty work and towing thats all. When it comes to GVW and overall ruggedness Im thinking Ford is winning hands down. Sorry for my rudeness..I had to vent....Those new GMC's got me dreaming of a nice new truck...looks like I will end up being a canidate for a lousy unreliable PS 6.0. Bill

[technician]

ChevHD,

I am going through the same thing! :mad:
I am ready to replace my 86 this year & I need the extra carrying capacity along with the plowing capability. I've been ticked that GM went with the elephant sized 4500/5500's If I wanted that sized truck I'd buy a 6500 and really carry weight and a big 10' plow. I did something yesterday that I have never done in my life... I drove through a Ford dealerships yard. I was looking for a F450 :rolleyes: Never thought I'd do it but am actually considering the F450. It's going to kill me I love my D-max....but ya gotta work.
I know that a lot of guys RV their trucks and that's OK but how about a 3500 HD that has a 15,000# GVWR. That would work :D

[GMCTRUCK]

Who knows it might be the best thing you've ever done. I can't wait to take a die grinder to the fancy, painted, front end on my GMC in order to mount the plow. That was sarcasm.

[Burner]

C-Man,

I see your point. GM makes a truck for "drivers" not sloppers. You will know the difference when ya get the Ford. Yes, the ford has more ground clearance. The Ford also has more capacity on the nose. The Ford will also clean out more easly. You will be able to wear bulky clothes, tool belts and such in the Ford. The mirrors have more surface and you can use the dead spot between the footwells.

However, there are some (many) bad points as well. My short list : No locking chunck; rigid axel bounces on washboard roads, makes truck "slide" off flat roads; brakes are good but can be tricky because they stick on rt or left depending on the day; once "out of alline, always out of alline"; high speed and a "rigid axel" are not a good combination; tires seem to "cup" before 20k; they will flip more easyly; resale value a little less; the seats suck for long drives; the bed floor is thinner; 4x4 means one wheel on each axel moves; I hit the "seat heater" button 40% of the time, getting in and out; the steering does not work at low speeds with the brakes on; hitch will not handle heavy weight-- the steering becomes "very" loose; unless you'er off-road 80% the truck is too high......... but hey, that's just my opinion. tongue.gif


--- I wish that GM would offer "heavy" TQ bars and rods for the DMax.


Burner ;)

[DURA-MAX3]

Have you tried a Dodge hd. I test drove a 3500HD QUAD CAB on saturday and i liked it a lot. I would not trade my Duramax for it but the 305hp and the 6 speed tranny was pretty impressive i thought. Just my opinion but i like the dodge better than the ford...

[1BADDMAX]

I know what you mean Dura-Max3. A Buddy of mine just bought a 2003 2500HD Dodge Ram. It has the high output cummins and 6 speed tranny. I couldn't believe how solid this truck was. And by the way, he was able to get leather with the 6 speed. Not to mention how good those trucks look with the Sport package! Come on GM get your act together. I can definitely tell you I will be looking at the competition when it comes time to trade in about a year or two. Don't get me wrong my truck is great, but GM is doing too many stupid things to keep me as a customer.

[Toddster]

Technician, could you shoot me your e-mail address...I may be interested in your 86...

[Rebel_Horseman]

I've been saying this same thing for a long time. GM in it's infinite wisdom is catering to the panty wast city folks that use these truck as commuter vehicles. They are trying to go for the soft cushy car-like ride, and in doing so they are sacrifice load capacity. Bottom line is, these trucks are by far, less of a workhorse as they were 5 years ago. If there was some way to retrofit a D/A into one of the old K3500 trucks I'd be in line to buy one. I love the old trucks becasue they were built "Like A Rock." They were damn tough and you bought one because you wanted a tough truck and not for the comfy ride. GM needs to take notes from Ford IMHO.

Sorry for the rant. :D

Reb [><]

[hoot]

Reb,

I was saying the same when they first let us know what the new HD's would be way back in 2000, before they hit the roads.

Needless to say, those topics didn't get a lot of responses.

Why did I buy one? Because I don't use my truck in farm/construction.

GM needs to compete head on with Ford F450/F550 SFA diesel trucks. So far they have nothing.

I agree, it's stupid on their part but obviously they aren't interested in that market.

[DMAX Daddy]

One of my troops just bought a Ford 6.0. Its quiet and he doesnt want to race despite all the crap he talked before buying it, but there is NO room under the hood on those things. Even the air filter canister looks like a pain in the butt to get to.

I just cant stand Ford interiors....

[IndigoDually]

My Fire Co has an '01 F-450 Brush Truck. The truck rode nice and has some nice power until it got a little load on it. Now with 300 gal of water, a skid mounted pump and 300-400 lbs of equip. mounted to an alumonium body the rear is sagging. It sits low in the truck bay. The truck squeaks and groans with only 3000 mi on it. Forget about locking the hubs and not driving in 4wd, the front end shimmys like my old '88 SuperDuty did.
All in all I am NOT impressed with the 450 at all.

John

[hoot]

Why didn't they buy a GM HD?

[thechevyhdman]

I still love my GMs...looking out my window of my house right now I see 7 GM work trucks. Im not a Ford person in the slightest believe me. The last Ford my family used for work was a 69' Its just GM leaves such a gap. I like IFS front ends they hold up pretty decent.(even better than our 88' with a Dana 60 in terms of tirerods BJ's etc)But GM should offer a SFA in a 3500. The 3500 should be available as is(same body etc) with GVW's from 12,000 pounds upto 18,000 pounds like the Ford. From 18,000 pounds on up the C4500 with its immense size should be the next step. 12,000 GVW is just not enough...And the front ends are maxed out with a 9ft plow. Now there are certain things you sacrifice with work trucks. Ride, interior "neatness" N-V-H are at maximum allowable acceptance. But those are things you sacrifice for heavy dutiness. I will say though...looking at the Fords. A F550 optioned identical to a GMC. The Forfds sticker is around 46,000 while the GMC is around 38,000. For $8,000 difference in price Ill slap a Dana 60 in the front of a 03' GMC :D :D :D

[technician]

The City that I have my business in has one of THE coolest trucks you ever want to see. It is THE truck that GM should have built. :(

It's a conversion done by a company named Monroe. What it basicly is, they took a late 90's 3500HD with a big block. Monroe adds a solid front drive axle complete with 19.5" hubs. The rig is a total BEAST :D I need to take pictures of it. I was all excited when I heard about a new desiel being designed. (pre Silvereado)I had it in my head that GM would build this Monroe conversion as a factory engineered package. But nooooooooooooooo. Oh well, we sit and wait..........

[BobW]

Maybe the General should think about making a real difference between the Chevy and GMC rather than just the cosmetics. They could let the GMC be a REAL "Professional" grade.