Looking For Ex Ford Or Dodge Owners

[jro909]

I love my chevys past and present...but i've always wondered is the grass really greener on the other sides? im just looking for other folk's experiences with other brands, my family has always driven GM products so i've had little experience with other brands..... please no brand bashing i love GM trucks but i also like other american brands...

[jdubub]

I have had a 2003 FX4, and a 2005 Dodge Hemi Ram 2wd. I loved both trucks, the dodge was pretty quick for back then, but the rest of the truck seemed to just slowly fall apart. But never had any mechanical issues. Drove it for 115k miles(ish)

 

The ford I put a 6" lift and 35's, it was a beast and I never had any problems with it. Drove it for 140k miles(ish)

[Easytide]

I love my chevys past and present...but i've always wondered is the grass really greener on the other sides? im just looking for other folk's experiences with other brands, my family has always driven GM products so i've had little experience with other brands..... please no brand bashing i love GM trucks but i also like other american brands...

 

 

I had a 97 and a 98 F150...the 97 was 2wd 6banger 5spd and the 98 was a small v8 5spd 4wd havfta admit they both served well..i think about 230k on the 97 and over 300k on the 98...no problems with either truck. The ONLY gripe i could have about the 98 was it was a great "ride" but sorely lacked in pulling power..even when it was younger. The smalest utility trailer with a v8 engine loaded on it pretty much excluded 5th gear on a trip to NY state . I would never have considered pulling my boat with it. I also had an "01" Dodge 4wd..Laramie......total disaster,,,trans...rear..various elect components,,,fuel economy worse then any muscle car i owned as a youngster,,,,i tolorated that truck till about 53k and unloaded it,,,,never again will a dodge truck grace my driveway.

[Stevens03]

96 Ford F150 Extended cab 5.8L

98 Dodge Ram Extended cab 5.9L

 

Both trucks were great... no issues with either one. The dodge was a gas sucking pig... but otherwise a great truck

[cparks555]

06 F250 FX4 with 140,000 miles, never had one problem besides trying to find a parking space large enough.

[MikeNH]

My brother has an '02 Ranger with like 140k on it now and it's been very good to him. The usual fluids, brakes, etc. Only standouts were a ABS module that failed when the truck was new (this ended up being a recall anyway so it was repaired for free), the 4WD brain died a couple years ago as did the alternator. Only Ford I had was a 1988 F-150. I bought it when I was 16 in 2000/2001 with like 160k on it and it was pretty good to me. I had it till 210k I think. I had to do a clutch in it (granted I learned to drive stick in it...) and a brake line blew out in a panic stop (managed not to hit anyone/anything!). But both of those I figure were typical for the mileage. Only standout was the t-case let go and I ended up with nothing but 2WD low range. That was a very loud, slow drive to the shop to get repaired. No idea what happened and that isn't even a brand-specific part so I can't blame Ford on that anyway.

[11Silvy]

Never owned any dodge or ford trucks, but did own 3 ford fox body mustangs from 89-92'. They were ok, fast for their time but the interior was incredibly cheap. Still not a bad car however.

[Badbird2000]

I currently drive a 2002 F150 Lariat with a 4.6. I have owned it since it was a year old with 16,000 miles. I currently have 149,000 miles on it with very few problems. The biggest item replaced was the fuel pump about 4 months ago. The truck has been really great overall. It is the first Ford i have ever owned, been a GM guy my whole life. That said, my next replacement truck will be a GMC or Chevy.. no knocks against the Ford. The 4.6 is a little wimpy, but i added a programmer that pump quite a bit of life into it.

[jro909]

i was just curious on others experiences, i've never driven or owned anything but GM products in my 22 years of life, and i've always wondered if i was missing out

[Patch6713]

I have never owned a Ford, but my fire department has two of them that I drive on a regular basis, one a 2004 350 and the other a 2009 550. Both are nice trucks, but not as nice as my GMC. Both of them are diesels and have a lot of power. The 550 is always loaded with tools, fire pump, hose, 350 gallons of water, and other things and still gets up and goes. What I don't like is they don't have the little conveniences that my truck has. Things like auto headlights, adjustable steering wheel, and better display on the radio. While these are little things, to me it gives an overall cheaper feeling to the truck.

Also, the 350 had a new turbo put in it a few years ago at like 15-18,000 miles and is having problems again with the turbo at like 25,000 miles.

[redjewel2ss]

i owned a 5.9l 1998 dakota r/t before i bought my silverado. it was a fun truck... in high school! but over the 7 or 8 years i had it, it became a gas guzzling, sluggish mid size pickup. i can't really compare it to my current truck since they're 13 year models apart, but the silverado was a HUGE step up! i test drove the new rams and f150s before i decided to go with silverado, and for the price i was willing to pay, there was no competition!

[frdfandc]

I had an 88 F-150 4x4 with the 300 ci straight 6 backed up by the manual trans. That thing was a beast. Had over 200k when I got rid of it.

 

I worked on Fords and Dodges for a while. Dodges always had problems with rear differentials. Fords were a mix of issues. Fords were better on gas mileage than the Dodges.

 

After owning/driving all Big 3 brands here is my take.

 

GM - best fuel economy/really good power

Ford - good fuel economy/good power

Dodge - worst fuel economy/high power output.

[weymard]

I had a F450 2008 lariat 4x4, great truck with an awesome engine (lot of power and torque) but some lacks in finishes (plastics adjustment etc...) and really thirsty

I had a Dodge ram 1500 (2002) SLT 4x4 with the 4.7 L, not a bad truck but a really enter level. I run across Europe and Russia with it, he did the job on the terrible Russian roads.

 

But if I compare with the silverado 1500 (gmt900 vortec-max) that I owned , or the Suburban 5.3 , no doubt , Gm is better ! more reliable, more comfortable, better finishes (close to European standards) more power, better 4x4 system etc...

[Portdriver]

I had Ford trucks all my life until the "cash for clunkers" program came out, Ford dealers didn't want to match any deals then so I went with GMC. I've had a Bronco, F150s, and 250's. All of them 4wd, 351s except the Bronco was an inline 6 - 300, great motor! I was younger then and beat the snot out of all of them. Thinking about how I beat them I was lucky I didn't have more problems. Just when you'd start thinking you didn't break anything after wheeling it you hear a pop or bang. I really like the NBS Sierra now.

 

 

PS - any time you talk about the Ford inline 6 - 300 you gotta say "great motor"

[tbhuge]

My 2nd truck was a 1984 f150 long bed 2wd. It had the 300 ci straight 6 and 4 spd manual tranny but first was a granny gear. It was a great truck. My dad still sees it running up and down the road. I have nothing against any of the big 3 trucks. It just comes down to preference.