Which Truck Brand Tows the Best?

All right at diesel Laboratories, we are asked all the time on what truck should I buy? So what we’re doing today is we’re going to go out and we’re going to run. The three main animals got a Duramax, a 2024 Ford and a 2024 cumins we’re going to climb uh parley’s pulling uh 255 cat skid Seer. The machine itself weighs about 11,000 lb and the goose neck. Trailer is about eight, so we’re going to time them and see the difference between them.

Uh, it’s going to be kind of hard with traffic and stuff, but we’re just going to try to carry momentum as evenly as possible and see what the results are and then kind of give a review on what we like and don’t like on the trucks. All right we’re going to start with the 2020 Duramax and we’re going to time up parley’s and see how this thing does. Okay, we just started the time and it’s running like my truck now, the nice thing about the Duramax they’re, just smooth um, the shifting everything is just smooth and seems to work great couple things I really like about the Duramax is how you sit in the truck. The dash kind of sits up a little higher um you, you can sit lower in it. It’S probably because I I used to uh own a trucking company and with the big trucks you you kind of like sitting low and the GM um feels like you just sit down lower and your dash is up.

So I like that so we’re holding about 70 right now, egts are about 1350 up here, it’ll go down a little so I’ll, let off to get those EGS egts down for a minute. So far, I’m holding the speed limit. We always we always get asked what safe egts are, and I I say around 1350 – you don’t want to hold that for minutes on end. You can hold it for little moments at a time um, but you never want to keep it pinned above 1300. I and so like right now we’re holding about 1,200 um these trucks with emissions, it’s kind of a backwards thing.

We’Ve always been taught here: Heat’s bad, but with these emission systems, the heat actually re really helps clear and clean the uh. The entire system out the EGR valves, the DPF, your catalysts, so there’s some good and that evil, um and so getting these trucks up to Temp and running hot temps. Uh pretty often is a good thing on your emission system on these trucks. So we’re really really starting to make the climb right now and we’re dropping down on speed a little we’re in seventh gear right now. These 2020s have 10 speeds, and so that makes it nice all.
The different gear ratios a lot of people, don’t like the 10speed, because they don’t like how they shift I’ve had this truck for about a year, it’s 100 % stock and honestly, it’s never bothered me at all how how this truck shifts we’re holding it. It downshifted to sick egts are getting a little high 1,400. This it’s about to go in a regen too, which sucks for the test. But it’s part of these trucks we’re at 60 M an hour right now. Engine coolant, temp is 208, so nice and cool there look out people.

We’Ve got a timed event going on all right, we’re doing the final climb here over the top we’re going 80 right now. What are we at 6 minutes? Okay, we’re doing the final climb, we’re dropping down to about 60 miles an hour. Locked in sixth egts are about 1400. If this goes into a regen here, we’ll be uh, pushing probably about 1,600 on egts, I’m holding I’m holding heat a little longer than I like, but she’ll be fine.

Oh crap move people move, I’m coming over. You idiot just got caught fifth gear. Now I’m floored come on. Engine coolant is getting a little warmer. We’Re 2:15 just grab six as we’re cresting the summit, and we are at like 58 miles an hour and I’m going for it there all right right.

Well, that’s our Baseline, so we’ll see from  there all right. We got the old Ford power, stroke, machine hooked up and we’re going to see how this thing does. So what was our time 8:24 on the Duramax machine, this thing’s got some konas. If you will man, this thing’s got a lot of power. I don’t we’re.
Probably gon na have we’re probably G to have to just let off, because we’re going to be going mock. Jesus, oh man, I have to give it to Ford they’ve done a good job. It’S hard to say these trucks are put together very well really smooth. Oh boy, temps are all good. I don’t have egts, but I don’t think it’s working very hard.

I will say too, I think in the past Power Stroke machines, the seats are a lot more comfortable than the GM they’re real nice. So when you’re waiting for the tow truck, you can be comfy well, I can already tell our time’s going to be a lot better in this. We’Re cruising 80 miles an hour, no problem we’re starting to make the real climb here. So we’ll see all right. It’S slowing down, I’m going for it and it’s drop in holding 70.

One thing I like about my Duramax too: it’s an at4, so it’s got the heads up display and that’s like one of my favorite features that GM offers and it has the re the. What would you call that the camera yeah, the a camera for the rear view mirror? I thought I’d never like something like that, but I actually really like it so 7th Gear 68 mph. This thing is impressive. I just can’t sink to that level and get a Ford I’m just not one of those guys for a lot of us like Commons and Duramax guys for some reason, forts always rubbed us the wrong way, but man, these things are hard to compete against.

You can hear that secondary fan kick in okay. This is the main climb right here. I was going about 80. I think in my in the Duramax right now and we’re at 80 and it’s dropping down 77. I did get cut.
I did get caught in the Duramax, which sucked 74 engine coolant temps 208 holding 70. It’S crazy! How quiet? Like there’s L! You can’t hear any engine noise if that’s your cup of tea 214 transmission’s at 215, my the Duram Max only went up to 180.

Fords are known, they’ve got coolant to transmission fluid. The coolant is what cools the trans fluid and they just run hot and they run hot and they don’t seem to have failures because of it. It’S kind of crazy holding 67 so about 7 m hour faster than the durama max. What were we at 8, 840, 8:40 holy cow, all right, we’re just coming over the summit and we are holding 67 B, pretty impressive. Oh man, freaking Ford, they’ve done  it all right.

All right. We got the cumins turbo diesel machine hooked up and we’ll go from here. Do your best to keep up. This is a cumins. Oh I will we are off.

That is floor. That really is I’m not kidding all right, cumins, definitely not as smooth as the other trucks like all right. We’Re coming up to the sign so right here, the Ford hit 67 and we just hit at 56 man, I’m sorry, but the commment doesn’t compete Cap’s pretty comfortable. I just don’t like how low the dash and everything feels I know a lot of people like that, though cuz they feel like they can see more. The screen is cool.

You can see gauges just hopefully our transmission 68 can hold up. We checked fluids before make sure we were we’re going 80 right here. Weren’T we in the power stroke, yeah we’re going 68 and that’s like all she’s got the steering on the on the Rams too. I don’t know what it is. They just don’t feel as just smooth and tight yeah.

It is it like kind of like you can feel the weight. This is a 2500 and the Duramax and the power stroke. It are uh one tons 350s and a 3500. The 2500 Rams rear end on the the rear suspension on these are um coils and they kind of also have a weird feel. When you have a lot of weight on them, they they kind of go to the side.

It’S kind of a weird feeling haven’t really felt it pulling on this, but I have before yeah we’re dropping down to 58 miles an hour right here and I’m pushing this thing. Hard like this is all she’s got the Ford. We were going 80 right here like wow all right. This is the final climb might have to put our hazards on. I am this thing’s giving it all she can we’re dropping in speed.

This is going the slowest. By far I don’t know on time. We kind of got, I think, when we did. The Duramax traffic was kind of harder on a lot of those flat spots to carry that much speed, 58 M hour, see in the Duramax. We got cut off back there and I had to slow down to like 40 and then get back on it, and I was able to get up to what was it 60 they’re doing good bud.
I’M really surprised that it’s performing it’s not great power. Stroke already came and stole your girl did it beat the Duramax, then cut off a good amount, and that was on, like the steepest part too, to where I had to desel and then get back on it and even doing that on the final grade. That’S the steepest the Duramax speed um was faster across the line, so the 2020 Duramax it being my own truck. Obviously I like it just because I’m used to it and how it drives. But overall the things I like about the Duramax are the the l5p in uh.

Engine itself is a solid platform. There’S not many failures that we see with them. Um they have little things like injector pigtails that go out and then obviously the emission issues, the the l5p um emission, the emission system on the lfp is a lot better than the LML. We see a lot less issues with them, um all all three brands. When it comes to the emission side of things I would say, they’re all pretty even cumin probably has the least amount of emission problems.

I don’t know why that is, but it seems like deaf heaters de pumps and um def injectors things like that are more common on the Duramax and power strokes, but the Duramax uh engine and uh transmission always have worked great together. The 10-speed on the 2020 plus Duramax, they are prone to failures. We we haven’t seen many come through our shop, yet my truck is higher over 100,000 miles on it and it hasn’t had any transmission failures um, but they do have valve body issues that that cause problems. But overall the performance of the Duramax is just great um. Smooth great power – and I would say this application is best for somebody.

That’S going to pull fifth wheels boats uh weekend, warrior use it as a daily driver, they’re comfortable. They don’t feel overly big. When you drive them, they turn sharp, and so the only the main complaint that I have with the Duramax is the braking power anything over 20,000 lbs. They seem to my brothers own, an excavation company and that’s actually the other two trucks, the Ford and cin. They are their their companies and they’ve.
They found that with the Duramaxes. They have a problem with them pushing through and they actually start bucking too, and this is with like 25 to 30 2,000 lbs of weight behind them. They don’t hold as good as the the the braking power isn’t as solid and as the RAM and Power Stroke uh. Besides that, the Duramax TPMS sensors going out um the Duramax is a solid platform, the 67 Power Stroke machine. They are very impressive.
I I’ve never really been much of a Ford guy, but I have to give it to Ford they’ve nailed it on this platform, the 10-speed uh, the the Allison and the Ford uh transmission on the 10p speeds, they’re very identical uh. Supposedly they work together on building it, but there are a few components on the Ford like the valve body and a few other things that seem to have a lot less issues than the GM. The 67 power stroke. Engine itself is a pretty solid engine uh with us building engine. I I I believe that the elf I I I think – and I believe Colin, who is our engine builder, believe that the the structure and the the actual unit put together is better on the Duramax.

But then again we don’t see too many failures on from the 67 power stroke that you, I would say, I’m overly concerned on uh gear slip. Uh the timing gear slip on it, not very common um. They do have the cp4 injection pump, the cp4.2 and on the 20 on the 19 or on the 17 power sh and newer they’re they’re, not as common to fa, and you can put a disaster kit in them for uh 450 bucks. And so that’s a that’s.

A simple solution on a one of the main problems that these have so overall, this truck, I will say, is probably the best overall truck, especially if you’re going to be Towing heavy with it. The the Ford power stroke is the way to go the braking capabilities. The exhaust breake they handle the weight much better than the than the Duramax and cumin yeah. That’S about it all right. The 67 cumin turbo diesel machine, I’m going to be honest, I’m not impressed with them.

In 2019, they went to the fifth gen and well, it’s considered the fifth gen and a lot of the things that Cummins had going for themselves on the engine. They got rid of um, they went to hydraulic lifters that we have seen failures on just overall the engine itself – I I don’t think is put together as well as they previously were Towing. This was our this. I this is by far the slowest truck pulling the weight uh the the truck and trailer came out to about 20,000 lbs, and this thing it. It has a hard time holding its momentum and keeping the gears where it wants to be uh.

I noticed with on the very lowend stuff. There was one point where I had to turn and start going up a little steep grade to get on an onramp, and this thing would not move uh. Overall, I would say this truck definitely took last place and then that’s not even mentioning the transmission cumins has always had the the problem of transmission. This truck is a 2500, so it has the 68 RF. If I were to get a cumins, I would personally go with the 68 RF due to the fact.

The tuning capabilities are there and also you can build them. Um, the isin it’s supposed to be the heavy duty transmission, but it it still doesn’t match what Duramax and Power Stroke have put together. I don’t have much good to say about the cumins um. I never. My high school self would be very disappointed in future me, but but overall I just don’t have a lot of compliments for this unit.

So, overall, if I were to rate these trucks, this is hard for me to say I would definitely say Ford wins they. They have their stuff figured out the power delivery. Everything on it, uh how it rides. The seats are more comfortable little things like that. When you’re spending $ 100,000, it matters and the Ford power stroke it it it’s the unit, I would say de uh Second Place goes to the Duramax, and these two, I would say, are very comparable: either either one of those you’re you you’ve got a safe bet And then last place is the cumins.

By far I like for me, uh there’s not much of a comparison right now, so hopefully they get their stuff together and come out with a better transmission and some better better power delivery. Um thanks for watching this was fun. Putting together and running these trucks, let us know if you guys have any other questions um, you guys can always feel free to even give us a call if you’re looking at a truck or have concerns about a truck we’re here to help, and we love what We do and we’ll we’re more than more than uh willing to share our knowledge that we’ve gained over the years being in this industry, make sure to like And subscribe and we’ll see you guys later.