I have to go with Jon on this one. The gas gets horrible mileage with a
load. At least the diesel will maintain over 10mpg. My friend owns a
lawn business and tows about 11,000lbs with his trailer and tools. He
averages 18mpg around town with that load from the older Cummins without
even the computer ('94 ram). This should do much better. Diesel maint.
being expensive compared to gas engines is a misconception. Maybe a
while ago they were but now you can usually go 10k between oil changes
and even though the change is more you do it less often. The major thing
is for towing all of the time a diesel is going to handle it and last
much longer between rebuilds than a gas engine does. My friend, again,
has over 300k on his truck and the things that needed rebuilt were the
tranny and the rearend (twice). The engine still runs strong and doesn't
burn any more than a 1/4 quart of oil between changes and it's been
doing that since new. One other good option with a diesel is you can put
a transfer tank in the bed without the worry of the explosiveness of
gas.
Jeff Durling
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dakota-truck@bent.twistedbits.net
[mailto:owner-dakota-truck@bent.twistedbits.net] On Behalf Of Jon
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 2:12 PM
To: dakota-truck-moderator@bent.twistedbits.net
Subject: Re: DML: Help, Dad Needs "Convincing" To Go Dodge!!
Sorry, but I've got to disagree. A big block, Hemi or V10 would get
10MPG
or less pulling loads that the Cummins does, at 20MPG. When you hook a
heavy load to a gasser, economy goes down the tubes, quickly.
The Cummins doesn't even notice a load that in most cases would make a
gasser strain.
-- -Jon jonsdak@midmaine.com http://jonsdakota.tripod.com 1996 Dodge Dakota Sport 4X4, 3.9L V6, 42RE, 3.92:1 8.25 axle, "BackRack" Headache Rack, Dodge Motorsports decals, steering wheel cover, and front license plate, diamond-plate bedrail covers, Lund VentVisors, Lund BugShield, Jensen MP-3310 CD/MP3 Receiver, Pioneer TS-G1347's in front, TS-A5713's in rear, Bulldog RS-82 Remote Starter<raymond.irons@gm.com> wrote in message news:OFBA85862A.F64D9B74-ON85256CCD.003AC6E3@mail.gm.com... > > > <snip> My Dad is going to buy a new truck to replace his trusty '91 F-150. > He's > gonna buy one as well as a large 5th wheel travel trailer to do some > traveling (he's a retired CHP Officer) Anyways, we're looking at about > 10-13k > lbs trailer weight, but he's looking at the new Ford Power Stroke. I'm > trying > to get him into a Ram 3500 single rear wheel, he does not want a dually or > a > crew cab, just a extra cab. He's really set on that new Ford/IH diesel, but > what can I tell him to sway him at Dodge? > > Ed, > My Dad is a retired rural letter carrier and he has had several 5th > wheel travel trailers. His first tow vehicle was a 69 Dodge with a 318. His > trailer was really too big for the 318 to pull safely. He wanted another > Dodge to replace it in 79 but by then Dodge had quit making the big block > motors and the largest engine you could get in a truck was the 360. So he > went to Ford to get the 460. He owned 2 Fords, one 79 F250 Supeer Cab and a > 89 F350 Crew Cab dually. In 95, he traded the Ford in on a Dodge Ram 3500 > Club Cab dually with the V-10 and he couldn't be happier. He and I had the > opportunity to take a road trip in December and we got on the subject of > truck and towing. Dad just turned 78 and he said he is getting too old to > tow his big 5th wheel around so he is selling his trailer. He told me he > read an article, I think in the magazine Trailer Life, that in order for > any diesel engine truck to break even for the additional initial and > operating costs you'd have to drive the truck over 180K miles. RIght now > with fuel costing what it does, its probably more mileage than that. The > diesels just do not get that much better gas mileage, in most places fuel > actually costs more then regular unleaded gas, you have a greatly different > maintenance schedule, there are more filters to change, it takes more oil > to fill the crankcase, there is a whole list of things you could go into. > Tell your Dad to do some more research and look at getting the Ram 2500 > Quad with the Hemi or the V-10. If he is dead set against the Quad cab, > tell him to start looking around for a used Ram Club Cab with the V-10. I'm > sure there are quite a few around in good shape that could be bought for a > reasonable amount. > > HTH, > > Ray Irons > Dover, DE > >
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