Tow Vehicle - what to do

[Adiredneck]

I just traded in my 2001 Dodge 2500 Cummins w/5 spd stick on a new 2015 Ram 3500 with Cummins/6spd stk. I put 110,000 miles over 16 years with the old Dodge - everything from farm work to hauling my '14 27FB Classic with only oil changes and routine maintenance. I'd've kept it, except it rode like a truck - fine for farm and off-road but a little rough when pulling the AS cross-country. Loved the old Cummins - plenty of power and a satisfying diesel sound that I have not found in any other year Dodge. The new one is a tricked-out Laramie Crew Cab with all the bells & whistles. I can't render judgement yet as it is only a week old with 450 miles. I looked hard at Fords and GMCs but went with the Dodge (sorry, I mean RAM!) for 3 reasons: 1.) the great experience I had with the old one; 2.) I much prefer the I-6 Cummins to the V-8 Duramax and Powerstroke; and, 3.) The RAM/Cummins combination is now the last pickup offered in the USA with a standard tranny. I'm just not ready to be "shiftless". My $0.02 worth - good luck on your decision!

[slowmover]

2004 CTD 305/555 motor with the man trans. 200k miles at 5000 hours. Have replaced ujoints outside of scheduled maintenance. Tires last 100k plus. 21-mpg average last 54k miles. Best vehicle I've ever owned.

Will start replacing systems this year so as to stay ahead. No reason to keep original clutch any longer, and HVAC system is tired. Etc.

The 2014 and later RAM is worth the upgrade as changes took ten years to be significant. The entry price and greater complexity is the barrier.

[VT Wanderer]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. They were extremely helpful.

[JimGolden]

I have basically the same truck as Slowmover: 2004 1/2 Ram Cummins 4 door long bed 4x4, only I have the heavy duty automatic. Bought it new, and to date have had absolutely zero problems with it. The body on mine looks new. Not sure why others are having body issues but I've not experienced that. Almost all driving with my truck is towing either the 36' Avion or my 22' equipment hauler. I once pulled my flat bed trailer with sides on it and a big tarp inside like a burrito with 13,000lbs of river rock on it (plus the 3000lbs of trailer = 16,000lbs....I was over weight by nearly 3000lbs). The big Dodge pulled it with no complaints at all.

I used to work for Grove Crane, and we used two of the 5.9 Cummins in our cranes...one to drive it down the road, the other to power all the hydraulics and stuff. They are a great engine. My truck was one of the later ones to have the 5.9 without all the "stuff". I really like it.

If you read "Diesel Power" magazine, you'll see guys in there that strip all that junk off, get chips to fake out the computer so it won't cut the engine back to 3 horse power if it doesn't sense all the "stuff", and they seem to get 24mpg with them whereas they were lucky to get 16 with all the "stuff". Only you can decide if you feel ethical or whatever doing that. But the guys in the mag say it's a totally different beast when you remove all that.

For me, the 305/555 has been enough to hold me

That being said, you will also see in "Diesel Power" guys running hopped up Cummins powered Dodges that run 9 second quarter miles with street legal trucks. Pretty amazing for an 8000lb vehicle to run the quarter at over 130mph. They apparently launch in 4x4 and once they get up to about 60mph or so they bang it into 2wd. It's not uncommon to make nearly 1000hp and over 1300 ft-lbs of torque with that engine. Of course, they have to beef up everything else to take it. You'll also see guys putting Cummins engines into Ford trucks, as they say the Fords are fancier than the Dodge but they prefer the Cummins engine. I was kind of partial to the Duramax powered Chevelle that made 800hp, 1200 ft-lbs, got 30mpg, and would run a 9 second quarter very easily.

That being said, a buddy of mine bought a GMC with the 397/765 Duramax and the Allison. He said it would cruise at about 90mph at about 1900 rpm in top gear. It is a nice truck.

Now, if diesel would just go back to being 30 cents less than gasoline like it should be, things would be better in the universe

[r carl]

Originally Posted by mefly2

Not such good luck going from a Ford to a 2013 Ram CTD due to EPA mandated computer upgrades and front end recalls never completed on the Ram... however, exceedingly happy with the new Chevy Duramax ... similar power and even more comfortable.

Especially noteworthy was this test ... for us trailer haulers ... downhill grade control; page down on the link:

2015 Silverado 2500HD: Heavy-Duty Work Trucks | Chevrolet

Makes you wonder why ford bothers putting on the ineffective exhaust brake.

[Moflash]

My exhaust brake works great on my 2015 F350 6.7 diesel.


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[RedSHED]

Meh, I've seen one with 2,000,000 (two million) miles that was still pretty well stuck together.

I have no intention of keeping a truck that long. I wouldn't let the body hardware scare me away if I liked the truck.

[tjdonahoe]

My 07 dodge cab is as good as the others, I've seen latter model fords have the doors with cracked sheet metal , my transmission is a wholly owned subsituary of Allison , the old dodge cabs and the 4 speed autos weren't that good in my opinion.

[jcl]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

My 07 dodge cab is as good as the others, I've seen latter model fords have the doors with cracked sheet metal , my transmission is a wholly owned subsituary of Allison , the old dodge cabs and the 4 speed autos weren't that good in my opinion.

Are you running the 68RFE or did you change it over to an Allison 1000 yourself?

[tjdonahoe]

JCL; I was told the ram tranny was part of Allison , I looked it up on the iPad this morning, it is not. The aisin was asin (Japanese ) and Borg Warner until 1987, now it is toyota and aisin,one of the largest transmission builders in the world,the 68RFE is Chrysler built ,one difference I see is it has no power take off capability like the aisin has, check out their websites,it is interesting,they are all working together to get some of your monies,or maybe all of it..

[Ted S.]

I am in the same boat. I have a 2005 Ford Excursion with a 6.0 Powerstroke. I had all of the parts replaced that were known to be problematic, so I am in the camp of shoveling parts into it. I don't know what else I could find that would tow a 30' AS with a family of six, 2 dogs and cargo.

[jump]

'06 Dodge Ram Megacab w/5.9 Cummins - I have loved it from day one. Biggest issue was with a/c - the dealership couldn't seem to get it right for nearly 2 years. I was throwing good money after bad when I finally went to my indie mechanic and swore off the dealership ... My mechanic solved the problem.

Have had no issues with the body other than those that were my fault or my sons.

Interior has been replaced with 2014 Laramie leather seats which are more comfortable.

140,000 miles

Still love it ... Would not trade my troubles for others.

[GCinSC2]

Jump,

Slightly off topic, what was the AC fix?

Gary

[tjdonahoe]

If it helps ,after 4 so called ac fixes,Wayne's in Casper fixed mine, it was a loose crimp on a wire near the compressor, the ac would work fine then shut down, may be it would work in a few miles maybe not until the next day,it is fine now..

[jump]

Gary - Problem was that the dealership replaced the compressor & dryer ... Should have replaced entire system ... Compressor failed six more times & they only replaced the compressor each time cause that's what failed. Went to indie mechanic: entire system replaced with a lifetime warranty from 800-RADIATORS. We ll see how things are through the summer.

[Ampman]

All of the trucks built now are extremely sophisticated. Just look under the hood. Started in 2007 when all of the diesel engines had to get cleaned up per the EPA. The big three have been using the customer as a test lab for trying out all of the different pollution control methods. Most have been a failure until recently. Prior to 2007 the biggest problems were just poor design or quality that never seems to go away. Ford 6.0 for example. I don't own a diesel but have driven all three for work for the last two decades. Most of my co-workers who own their own diesels won't give up their older units but can't wait to get rid of their newer ones. Most of our current newer work fleet can't stay out of the shop. Most of the problems are from the sensors and relays that are part of the pollution control stuff. My current work truck, a 2011 diesel is on its second long block. It has left me stranded more times than I can remember. I prefer gas myself mainly because I'm cheap and like to work on my own vehicles. My towing truck is a 2012 F250 CC Lariat 6.2L gas model. Stayed with gas because I don't need the power of these diesels. If I towed a bloated fifth wheel or a 40 ft. cattle trailer then yes I would be sharing the pain. Not as quick up the 7 percent grades as a diesel but we get were we are going every time. I can work on most of it myself. Plus if I wear out the motor I can get a new replacement for about the cost of a diesel injector pump and set of injectors. A few more years and Detroit may finally get all of the pollution control stuff squared away and I might buy in. Also, don't just think its light duty trucks going through this mess. Most of our real heavy duty bucket trucks and semis are just as unreliable due to the same pollution control equipment. Warranties are great but they eventually run out. Can't imagine owing a diesel out of warranty.$$$$$

[pappy19]

Same here Ampman, I went from owning diesels for many years to my 2008 V-10 which I ordered new in 2007. At 151,000 miles, no major problems, and I love the $19.95 oil changes. I don't have to worry about dirty fuel, winter additives, long warm-ups, tank algae, injectors and pumps. I work in the oli & gas industry and many of the welders have Dodge-Cummins with manual trannies. Everything but the engine seems to wear out very quickly under harsh work conditions. Chevy's are a little better, but the F-250/350 with the 6.7 diesel seems to hold up way better under these conditions. For me, a gas rig like the Ford 6.2 with a 4.30 rear axle will do it all.

[Ampman]

I'm very fortunate to have a great job where the company eats all the repair cost for our fleet. I wish the diesels were easy and cheap to work on like they should be but they aren't. I wish they would have carried on the the awesome V-10 in the F250/350, even considered the F-450 to get it but couldn't justify it. There's something for everyone, I just like the gas rig.


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[GCinSC2]

Jump,

Thanks, sound like they were using compressors as trash filters.

Ampman,

Looks like you're a lineman and your rigs get worked, maybe overworked. My neighbor is a lineman in SC and they have started using, no more like over using a cab chassis putting a work box on it, lift bucket with stabilizers, tools and supplies and it most likely starts in the AM and runs almost all day. Its what they wanted and it works 'em hard cause his company expects medium duty truck work out of a HD PU.

I'm lucky enough to have stumbled into a 2005 Dodge Cummins, its pretty amazing at doing the job its rated for.

See ya round the campfire.

Gary

[Ampman]

GCinSC2,
Most of ours are F-450/550 units. Some dodge 3500-4500 units. Regular cab and service bodies, small buckets etc. We really don't work em that hard or overload them. Being a municipal utility I also get to see all the ambulances and fire equipment and hundreds of other units from the fleet using the same platforms. Most new stuff goes back to the dealers for warranty work and they use all of the local dealers around here. Depressing to see the back lots of the dealers service yards loaded with downed trucks from our fleet. Before we got diesels twenty years ago we ran gas one ton Fords and Chevys. Those engines would run forever. Trouble is they wouldn't replace em till you had over x amount of repair dollars spent on em. So you had em a long time. We've been getting diesels replaced every 5-7 years because they cost so much to keep up. It is what it is I guess. That's where my experience comes from on light duty diesel trucks. And that's why I couldn't afford to own one myself past the warranty period.


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