All modern diesels are requiring strong maintenance on the fuel supply side and DEF…no different that what you already experience. I change my fuel filters every 2nd oil change on my 2016.
with all the emissions etc, they all stink to work on anymore. This is why most businesses etc are going back to gas engines in their work trucks. It’s also why Ford designed a new big block gas engine in 2021….the 7.3 gas v8.
Actually the Cummins 6.7 engine requires very little maintenance.
I bought a new Ram 3500 cab and chassis in 2008 and drove it 235,000 miles. I changed the fuel filter every 15,000 miles as suggested by the maintenance schedule. I sold it to a friend back in Texas about 2 - 2 1/2 years ago and strongly advised him to do the same. Over the past weekend his son took it to Douglas, WY to deliver a late '60s Plymouth Barracuda and he picked up a '39 Ford convertible with small block Chevy on the way home. He sent me photos including the instrument panel. My old Dodge had over 292,000 miles on it when he got home to Lubbock.
The truck has had two water pumps replaced and NO other maintenance. Just routine preventive maintenance. Oil and filter changed every 10k and fuel filter changed every 15k. Cummins turbodiesel engines are extremely rugged and reliable.
If you say you prefer Fords that's your business. It's simply nonsense to claim the Dodge platform is not reliable. I've owned three of them for a total of almost 1,000,000 miles pulling trailers. I've replaced a two water pumps, two ac compressors, shock absorbers on each truck one time, and brake pads on one. I've never had a failure of a truck or cab part.
Oops, I forgot one. The second Dodge Ram, an '06 3500 pickup with MOPAR automatic transmission, had a rear seal failure that was replaced under warranty by a dealer.