Thread: New TV
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Old 08-26-2014, 09:13 AM   #6
Mr. Ham
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Join Date: Aug 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K.Regester View Post
After our last trip to Western NY we needed a change. Our 2011 Ram 1500 Hemi 2WD was a good truck but the 26 gallon tank was killing me on gas stops. We were getting about 8-10 mpg or 180-230 miles between gas stops.
The Hemi had plenty of power and in some cases too much. More than once I have lit up the rear tires on the on ramps LOL.

We finally found a 2014 Ram 1500 Crewcab 4WD, EcoDiesel, 8 Spd trans and air Suspension and took it for a test drive. I have to say this is a very nice combo. We looked at 2500 6.7 Cummins rigs and it was way too much truck for our TT. Besides the XYL couldn't get in and out without a step stool.
The EcoDiesel is a nice balance. It is a lot less HP than the Hemi (240 vs 397 HP) but has more torque at half the RPM. (420 vs 410 FtLbs) and I have always heard,"In towing, torque is king" The 8 Spd ZF Trans is nice match, it keeps the diesel in it's power band and not buzzing it brains out.

We haven't towed with it yet but for commuting unloaded it is great.
I can drop the air suspension for easy entry and exit and the 3 liter diesel is smooth, quiet (fro a diesel) without the drama of the Hemi. I miss the Hemi sound until I look at the fuel gauge. So far my best is 28 mpg and worst is 25 mpg commuting. The Hemi was 15- 19 mpg.
We didn't buy it to save money, it will take years to break even.. We got it to stretch the distance between fill ups . I expect to about double the distance between fuel stops while towing.
It is a compromise but I think it makes a lot of sense for us..
Diesels are nice when it comes to towing, but they hurt when you take it in to have the maintenance done.
Although they will go further between oil changes, the cost of all the filters and stuff offsets anything that you save on fuel and the cost of the diesel engine - $10,000 - $15,000 does nothing to save a person money - unless they travel 50,000 miles a year.

I have found that it is better to just have a decent tow vehicle for towing purposes and park it in the yard when you aren't towing then to drive it all the time. The cost of having two vehicles offsets the savings on fuel in the long run.

For two years I hauled my race car trailer up and down the east coast and I found that one of the best haul vehicles was a dump truck.
The dump truck already had dual wheels, a heavy suspension, a heavy duty transmission and radiator and could haul the trailer - like there was nothing behind the truck.

My next trailer will be a 5th wheel, no more tag along trailers for me...
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