I am new to the diesel market and trying to decide on an 05 Dodge 3500 dually or the F350 superduty dually....I will be using the truck to pull horses...
Thank you.

Dodge Cummins pulls better,hands down,the Cummins makes its peak torque 600RPM sooner,and it makes more of it. Less downshifting on rolling hills,and into headwinds.The Ford has a nicer crew cab,and the 05s have an intergated brake controller,and a 2.5" receiver,very cool.I do not like the 6.0/torqueshift as much as the Cummins/48RE,and feel the cummins is a much more solid, reliable and much easier to service/work on package.The Dodge auto isnt as hi tech as the torque shift,but it has a lot less problems,its a very well refined version of the orignal 727.Drive the 6.0PSD for yourself,then drive the CTD,the 6.0 has some weird quirks to the drive by wire, it acts funny at times,the power isnt tractable or smooth its not very linear,it is like all or nothing.Theres plenty of power, the delivery isnt very good though.if your in the salt belt, One last thing,the Dodge will last longer,Ford rust something terrible,it is typical for a Ford owner living in the salt region to have a 3 yr old PSD with a leaking oil pan,rotted thru,brake,and fuel lines rotted out,and power steering lines rotted.Whatever materials they are using are very cheap.Dodges do much,much better in this respect.

Excellent info...thank you.

I have heard of problems with the tranny in the Dodge...is the new tranny still experiencing probs, or is it significantly better?

Did you not consider the duramax? At least compare it to the dodge. The dodge maybe a lot cheaper, it is around here, but the chevy is twice the truck everywhere except the motor. The duramax has not been around long enough to prove itself like the cummins, but it is getting there. Just drive one and if you still want the Dodge, get it. Just dont buy the Ford unless you hobbies included "diesel mechanics".

I would love to consider the duramax...I have drive GM all my life. Cost is just too high.

I'd take a look at Dodge, the Cummins still seems to be the bench mark for Diesel Engines. Would be nice if Dodge put a 5 spd auto behind it, especially with their Mega Cab coming out. Ford seems to be dealing with their 6.0 issues, but looking at the The Diesel Stop.com (Ford Site), I would have to say it seems there are still alot of posts of problems. A buddy that works with me has a new Dodge 3500, put 60,000 miles on it in 5 months, thats crazy miles, and not a stitch of trouble.

Scott C,I was wondering what would make you say the GM is twice the truck in every other respect than the engine?I run Dodges,and older Gm's but wouldnt hesistate to buy a DMax if GM ever got the injector issues worked out.

Scott C,I was wondering what would make you say the GM is twice the truck in every other respect than the engine?I run Dodges,and older Gm's but wouldnt hesistate to buy a DMax if GM ever got the injector issues worked out.
Tranny, chassis, interior, fit and finish are all better on the chevy. What I meant is the duramax is equal to the Cummins, and that is saying alot. I love my duramax!! If the engines are equal yet everything else is better on the chevy, then it seems as though the chevy is a better truck IMO.

My understanding is that the 05's have a 5spd auto....

Thanks Scott. After driving both I have to disagree on a few things. The auto trans I agree the Ally is better,but the 6 speed is better in the Dodge.Chassis in my eyes goes to Dodge hands down.The frames are a wash,both very strong.Rear axles are identical,with LSD/G80 being the only difference.Up front, the Dodge is clearly beefier,solid AA front axle,5200lb rates Vs the GM IFS around 4670 rated.Ive seen CV joints grenade ,and tie rods bend on the GMs nothing on the Dodges.Brakes arent even close Dodge uses 14" rotors a full inch bigger than GM, the feel ,stopping power,and fade resistance are far superior.Thes trucks work hard,great brakes are a must ,the Gms are good, but the Dodges are superb.Refinement of the Dodge is about the same as Gm IMO. Gm has a nicer crew cab no doubt.I like the fit on the GM better,but accessabilty and ease of service belong to the Dodge as well, the I6 is just easier to work on.I preffer the white guages of the Dodge, i think they both have nice interiors,way better than the school bus style dash in a Ford.Both great trucks overall.

For what its worth my 2500 cummins is finally starting to get better mileage (still on cut fuel). It's around 17.2mpg and still climbing. It just turned 12,000 miles. The 70 mph vibration was cured with a new rear driveshaft. I am finally getting so I like it now.

Good posts guys I'm a d-max guy myself, but it's nice to read a good post no real ch!t slinging.

I like and own both of them.
By my seat of the pants (stock to stock both autos) the dodge is more driveable than the DMAX (it is too surgey) the dodge feels like it runs a little faster unloaded and loaded. But the Chevy is much more fit and refined on the inside and rides smoother and the real crew cab is nice. The bottom line is that they are both great trucks and both have a great warranty so which ever you pick you win.

I have an 05 dodge with a 5 speed automatic. 4000 miles and no problems yet. I understand this is the first year for it so I guess Im a little nervous about it. But I love the cummins.

I have an 05 dodge with a 5 speed automatic. 4000 miles and no problems yet. I understand this is the first year for it so I guess Im a little nervous about it. But I love the cummins.
I have a 2005 Dodge with the Auto but the window sticker says 4 speed not 5 speed.

The 5-speed is news to me, but I'm no expert.

I have a copy of my window sticker. If i need to I can post it. The five speed is available only with the hemi. After reading further. I see that with the cummins option I get a credit for the 5 speed auto. And then end up with the 4 speed. I failed to read the entire sticker. *feels like dumbass*. I checked just last night. I thought for sure it said 5 speed. But after close inspection I screwed up. Sorry guys. No 5 speed with the cummins. If you want the girls motor then you can get the 5 speed auto. This is the first year for it. From what i know.

I am new to the diesel market and trying to decide on an 05 Dodge 3500 dually or the F350 superduty dually....I will be using the truck to pull horses...
Thank you.
I OWNED a 05 PS with the auto trans. Forget it, the 05 Dodge CTD is the hands down winner. I dynoed both vehicles with the same combination of mods. The CDT was 20 HP better and 120 ft/lbs of tq better than the PS on tow mode settings. On higher settings the PS was not even close at any point of the HP and TQ curve. On another note my CDT and Duramax were close on HP but again the CDT was the torque king hands down.

PS is very heavy on fuel. The auto will not withstand any power adds. The trans is simply "junk". The Dodge 48RE is now the best of all the auto trans missions availble. The CDT is only slightly below the Duramax on fuel consumption. I hope this helps.

All I'll say is that the GM 6 speed trannies have Clutch and Flywheel problems. Some run okay, others don't. I think more than 75 percent of the people have problems with them. I've had my share.

2wd or 4wd? Both Ford and Dodge still use a solid front axle. Ford has manual hubs which are definately more reliable. GM's front end doesn't even compare. If you use it hard everyday it won't last more than a month. I know this from past experience. Cummins is by far the best engine of the three.

I think manual locking hubs are definatly the strongest way to go, but don't be afraid of GM's or any one elses auto engaging front ends. We have a duramax that has 155,000 hard miles on it...it's basically a hunting, logging, and farm truck, so it's in 4wheel drive all the time, and we have yet to touch it. If you don't want to "ever" touch it though, manual is probably the way to go. I personally haven't heard of very many problems with the IFS on the newer HD GM rigs. Most of the fish and game, and forest service guys around here are driving new heavy duties and say they have held up much better than any previous tucks. They have driven all brands. Early IFS GM rigs didn't hold up very well, the new ones are a different story. The new ford front suspension sure looks strong though. I think every four wheel drive unit works, not matter what brand. If it didn't, it wouldn't be sold.

J-HEFF