You know, getting back to the Ford versus Dodge thing, I just don't know. I grew up a die hard Ford fan because my family drove them. However, all of them literally fell apart at 100,000 regardless of how they were taken care of or what type of Ford you were driving. I never understood that.
I bought a light duty 98' F250 with a 5.4 Triton and wasn't impressed at all with the truck. The engine was gutless and the suspension didn't seem much more than a 1/2 ton. Every time I'd get into the truck, I'd find a spot of chipped paint on the outside. The hood was aluminum and the sides were really thin metal-really poor quality.
When I bought my 03' Dodge 1500, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It seems the trucks most in stock were the SLT with all the power items-it's almost their base model;not many SL models out there. With the Ford, everything is the XL versus the XLT. So, you're already getting a more plush truck from the start with the Dodge.
I went to the largest truck dealer in Ga. today(right down the street) that sells Ford and Dodge and they have rows and rows of trucks including about 20+ used trucks. They know trucks. I looked at several Ford trucks, including some 450's, and everyone of them rattle when you shut the door. They're just like my old 250 with the cheap metal and sound like they have hollow doors with no insulation. It just surprises me to see so many Fords out there when they seem so cheaply built. The F450/550 is a heck of a truck, suspension wise, but it still has that Toys-R-Us body and no options. My Dodge is nice and plush and sounds really solid when you shut the door, even with over 105,000 miles on it. It's all metal too and doesn't have an aluminum hood. I'll take aluminum cans with Coke in them but I want metal with my work truck. I looked at several Fords with a lot less mileage on them than my Dodge and the interior was already showing a lot of wear. My Dodge has one small tear on the back of the center console and that's from kids in the back seat. If not for that, the inside would be perfect. Most people think it's a new truck. The Fords just don't add up. I even liked the Chevy interior better.