Drove all three brands while I was employed with the oilfield service company the past few years.
Started out with Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton trucks. I liked them, til two of them left me stranded out in the boonies. All of the Cummins trucks in the fleet pretty much stayed at the dealership having one thing or another fixed.
The Ford Powerstrokes had nifty features like the back up cameras, but the four trucks all had to visit the dealership numerous times to have the front suspension rebuilt.
I ended up in a brand new 2013 Chevy 2500HD Duramax in October of 2012. I had heard bad things about them, but have to say that of all three brands that company had in service, and that I used on a routine basis, it was my favorite. At the same time that I got the new truck they issued me a new travel trailer, bumper pull, that weighed in about 1500lbs heavier than the one I was hauling around with my previous truck, a 2012 Cummins.
Where the Cummins was struggling to get up to highway speed, and was all over the road at 60-65 mph, the Duramax just kept on going and going. First time I got on the highway with the Duramax and the new heavier trailer, being used to the Cummins having to struggle to pick up speed, I looked down and was at 85 mph and still climbing. Had to remember to always set the cruise at 65 when I had that Duramax to keep from going over the limits of the tires and the speed limit.
The Dodge truck, well pretty much all the new trucks I think, had an issue with idling. Idle for any length of time and you had to go for a drive to clean the DPF or "regenerate" as the Dodges called it. The 2012 Dodge would require several drives a day, sometimes after only an hour of idling. The Duramax would require similiar drives, but far less frequently.
The only thing the Chevy ever saw the shop for was the switch on the brake to allow you to shift out of park.......I had no problems whatsoever with it other than that.
When I decided to go into business for myself, I ended up getting an older Duramax, a 2003 model, as they have little or no emissions equipment to worry about.
My only complaint about this truck, and it's one I could have avoided by getting a two year newer model, is the lack of a 6th gear. I got so used to cruising at 70-75 mph with the engine between 1500 and 2000 rpm that this truck just sounds busier......took a while to get used to it. It pulls everything the 2013 model did (actually, my fifth wheel weighs in at 14500, where the bumper pull the 2013 pulled was just under 11K) and gets similiar mpg.
Just my experiences with the domestic diesels. Your mileage my vary............
