Chevy 2500 crew cab duramax gets about 17-20mpg hwy.

Hello jfswelder, are you trying to start a war? (just kidding), although some folks get pretty worked up over makes, if you're strictly trying to come up with the best mileage, you may find that the Fords and Dodges are actually a bit better than the Chevy in the mileage department, you may also find that the 1997 Ford and probably the same year Dodge may have the best overall mileage. All of them have had their share of transmission woes and the Dodge has had injection problems in the newer 24 valve versions of the cummins diesel up to around 2003 or so, the Chevy in the earlier duramaxes had some serious head problems although the brand new ones I believe have that worked out. What I'm really trying to say here is that of the three, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, you may want to look for the best overall deal, mileage on the vehicle, overall condition mechanically, how it looks aesthetically, number of options, gearing, how comfortably you sit in the cab, how well you can see out of it when you're driving it, things like that, because the very minimal differences in mileage will take a really long time to make up if you look at the cost of the vehicle and make this kind of comparison. Frame wise and such, I believe the Ford and Chevy have the stoutest frame and running gear, the newer Chevy's are probably the most expensive so you ought to take that into consideration. Personally I drive a Ford, it's an "87 diesel 3/4 ton 4x4" and it has over 300,000 miles on and it still gets from point A to point B. This thread is going to be a Lu Lu so hang onto your hats folks. Power wise I'm pretty sure they're all pretty comparable, argueably. Good luck and have fun, Regards, aevald

I had very bad luck with ford powerstroke.i welded with an supercab 4x4,dually.2 engines,2 transmissions later......i would stay away from the powerstroke.i got 9 to 12 mpg.my truck weighed in at 14000 lbs.

My stepdad has a 95 F-250 4x4 manual-shift with the 7.3L turbo Powerstroke. I think he said he gets about 15 MPG, and it's usually empty.

For comparison, my 96 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 dually (automatic) gets 13 MPG (city) from its Cummins, and it's always loaded with welding machine and lots of tools.

This was a recent upgrade from my 95 F-250 2WD with a 460 and an automatic which got 10.9 MPG city and 9.9 MPG highway.

it depends on what you want and what you need and what you can afford . my nephew works on the north slope about 3 years ago they got a fleet of new diesel chevys but had not turned in their fords yet they had to get rid of all the new chevys because they had trouble with all of them . they had to put drain pans under the exhaust because they could not keep the oil from leaking out of exhaust . arctic conditions are harsh . another friend bought one chevy diesel in idaho and drove it up had no problems that i've heard of yet . another friend w/ chevy diesel drove up from ohio didn't have trouble till the trans. went out at pink mountain (400 miles or so on alcan hwy.) then pulled into gas station later on his trip and was gassed up instead of diesel. we have a 2004 f-350 power stroke diesel it must get around 22-25mpg 2wd 5spd. w/od with 100gal. tank in bed we use to fill our equipment was special order geared real nice . it has old style halogen head lites which are very important they will melt snow off of them from the heat of the lamps the newer ones with plastic lenses do not . i have a 87 e-350 has about 300k miles haven't drove for a while got around 20 mph also have a 96 f-250 gas 4wd gets about 7-8 mpg has 238k miles wish i would have got the diesel because they get better mileage and last longer . good luck with your choice of truck .let us know what you do . willie

Chevy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/jwright650/junk%20folder/my2004Silverado.jpg
John Wright

thanks for the advice guys there is still plenty of reseach i would have to do before i make an upgrade thanks

I'd go with the Ford. Although, the earlier (2003 & some 2004) 6.0L PowerStrokes had some problems, the later models seem to be great. Heck, there's several of these trucks in Iraq right now, and those that are driving the Super-Duties swear by them, talk about a harsh environment. Truck for truck, I think you'll find the Fords to be the best out there. Since you already drive a Chevy, have you compared the low frame height to that of a higher Ford or Dodge? To me, it's scary how low to the ground the Chevy frames they are, plus all that weak independent front suspension stuff. I don't think you could go wrong with a Ford PowerStroke, as long as you avoid the 2003 6.0L.

Hope it helps,
K.N.