What is the most dependable truck?

I once had an opportunity to ask the head mechanic of a major state agency what was the best pick-up. Said agency ran hundreds of pick-ups and the brand changed with who ever won the bid that year, so these guys ran all the American brands.

His opinion? He hadn't found one his guys couldn't tear up.

The reason I want a diesel is two fold. 1) the diesel's have less maintenance. 2) I plan to have a large diesel tank on the farm for the truck, tractor, and a backup generator.

1. Diesel maintnance is actually alot more per year-- especially the newer ones with the added emissions.
2. That is "off-road" diesel not for use in highway vehicles

I have had BAD luck with 3 6.0s. Turbos went out on all three of them and often. One had less than 7,000 miles on it and the turbo blew off the engine and put a hole in the hood. We took it to the dealership and told them -"The tubro is bad." Was told by service rep - "Now we don't know it is the turbo." We had danced this dance before and had to have three previous turbos replaced. Finally got the call the next day that the turbo was bad and would need to be replaced. So we asked about the hood damage and was told "That is what you have insurance for." Quickly told them that when part of the engine blows off of a new engine and goes through the hood that it is a warranty issue and they would be fixing the hood. I don't think the paint was dry before that truck was gone. You don't even want to know how much it costs to replace the turbo.

That turbo blew off while we were in Iowa. We had to buy tools and stop about every hour on the way home and tighten the turbo back down to get home.

But, on the other hand, I know people who had the same truck and never had a problem. But I have never been much of a gambler, so I would never own another 6.0.

Oh and on maintnance check with your shop if they even work on diesels. Alot of shops dont, especially newer models.

Been a Ford man all my life. Go with the 7.3 Diesel. On the 6.0 they down sized the motor and increased the hp which meant pouring more fuel to it which means the fuel mileage stinks.

I have a 1995 Ford F-350 7.3L Turbo Diesel Crew Cab 4x4. [ I love saying that!! ].

This truck is a BEAST, and I LOVE her dearly! Longest wheel base available; a towing MACHINE. Walks away with a steel 4-horse gooseneck trailer with 4 1200lb mares on board plus another 1200lbs in the bed in the form of a 150 gallon water tank filled to the brim!

278,000 miles on original engine & tranny, made 2 hauling trips Texas-Wisconsin, and 3 hauling trips Delaware to Florida, and every other hard farm job in between for the last 6 years.

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...'o shame on the mothers of mortals, who have not stopped to teach; of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes; the sorrow that has no speech... from -'Voice of the Voicless', Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Forgot to add: I paid 10k for her 6 years ago, and blue book on her right now is over 5k, so I feel I've gotten HUGE value out of her!

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...'o shame on the mothers of mortals, who have not stopped to teach; of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes; the sorrow that has no speech... from -'Voice of the Voicless', Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Hmmm, number one is debatable and number 2 is confusing. Are you planning on running non-highway taxed farm diesel in your truck?

I have a 1987 diesel F-250 with a 6.9 IDI and Banks Turbo for the farm truck and a gas GMC 2500HD for the Sunday go to church truck and project truck and they are both useful for what we use them for. I do like diesel for the longevity (mine has almost 300K miles) and the fact that I can let mine sit for long periods with the same fuel with no issues (a tank can last me for 3 months or more) but if I was buying new I would go with gas just because of the cost of diesel and the premium you pay for a diesel rig. I just dont put enough miles on a rig or tow enough weight to benefit from a diesel and I only have mine because it was bought old and cheap and I got a great deal.

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I've never seen that stop a farmer yet.

Once I get where I am going, yes, I will be using farm tax diesel.

how could you be an american and buy a Dodge or a Chevy Ford till the Goverment taes them over .

$10,000 fine last I heard when you get caught. It takes more then one tank of fuel to get the dye out of your tank too.

Can you tell me more about this?

depending on the state you're in, you can run off road IF you pay the tax. (well at least you could ten years ago) check your states laws. and you can definitely buy road diesel cheaper if you buy it 500+ gallons at a time from the distributor.
ETA
if you burn the tank down below a gallon then fill it w/ road diesel you will not see the off road dye 9X out of ten. also some batches of off road aren't dyed if it's intended for use as home heating oil. i used to deliver diesel for an oil company to both gas stations & farm/construction tanks. sometimes we would clear the line by dumping the off road into the truck fuel tanks and printing a ticket for it. the company would then pay the state the taxes on it and have me carry the receipt in the truck incase the DOT stopped me for a spot check.

ArmyDoc
Off road diesel is dyed red so it can be distinguished from clear diesel aka road diesel that federal road tax is paid on. Around here traffic stops will be set up and diesel tanks checked for the precence of the red dye that is in the off road diesel. Never ben checked so I don't know exactly how they test for it.

raod deisel is usually dyed yellow. if it's not dyed it has a ugly brownish tint from the heavy lubricating oils in the diesel. generally undyed diesel is sold as home heating oil in old furnaces. most new ones only burn kerosene (which you can use in small amounts in your diesel engine as an "octane booster."
they pull a sample from the tank in a clear tube unless they can just look in & see.

Depends on the jurisdiction. Some use a tube to draw diesel out, some use a long swab. Some engines also have sight glasses in the fuel system that stain if you used dyed diesel in the past, then they'll watch you pretty closely.
Here I believe it's up to a $5000 fine plus they can charge you up to 7 years back taxes if you can't provide receipts for the amount of road diesel they estimate you should have used in those 7 years.
Some jurisdictions do allow dyed diesel in trucks with farm plates but I don't believe Missouri is one of them.

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The internet - fueling paranoia and misinformation since 1873.

Mix in drain oil with it. There is no way anyone will be able to tell what color the fuel is. I had an old 83 Ford F-250 diesel that I ran mostly on drain oil and farm diesel. When I had to bleed the injectors the fuel looked a bit like motor oil. I also ran old gas mixed in with it too if I could get my hands on it. Indirect injection tends to be pretty tolerant of different types of fuel. Other than changing my fuel filter more often I didn't have any problems with burning drain oil or old gas. It would run on ATF and hydraulic fluid too.

Back on topic, most of my trucks have been Fords. They have been anywhere from 20 to 45 years old. I haven't had much trouble out of any of them. When I get rid of a truck it is usually because I just want something different or need the money. I have yet to get rid of a Ford truck over a mechanical failure. My current truck is a 65 F100 and is my only transportation for the moment. I like Fords because they are usually cheaper than everything else and the parts are cheap. Really though I don't think you could go wrong with any of the domestic full sized trucks.

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............The 7.3 production ending in the 2003 model year , the 6.0 production Started , in the 2003 year model ! So , IF your heart is set on a 7.3 I'd look for a LOW milage truck between 1999 and 2003 ! The F250 , 350's all received disc brakes on the rear axles starting with the 1999 year model .
...........Also , don't forget that the 5.9 Cummins engines between 1991 and about 1995 were equipped with an Injector pump and were alot simpler too work on and IF maintained should be good for 300,000 miles easily . DONOT but a truck with an Automatic until about 2002 because the Auto's were very weak ! , fordy