Looking at new TVs, Input please

[starcraft]

Quality is the least of there concerns, bought new malibu what pile of junk used honda I traded is worth more today with twice miles. I would take new chev pickup only because I have seen some serious cheap prices in AZ on 2wd brand new work trucks $11k I would consider one. For diesel hands down Cummins is right motor, another issue with Chev silverado is weak poor design front suspension on 4x4s. Apply to much power with your diesel and crap happens. New fords look pretty good on paper.

[slowmover]

Don't know why any of you are worried over DEF. The trade-off of a bit more complexity is offset by higher fuel mileage. The non-DEF trucks are cheaper to buy, but the cost difference comes back out in re poor fuel mileage. DEF has the advantage.

Availablity of DEF is no bar. Even Wal-Mart has it.

This sounds like the 12V versus 24V "worries" of fourteen years ago when that change was underway. Or with the change to the 3rd Gen HPCR motors . . which wound up being more reliable than the 2nd Gen, and with the same or better mpg.

Of course, anyone who trades a CTD prior to 300k miles or 15-years isn't too serious anyway. New for the sake of new can't undergird the transaction when analyzed.

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[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by starcraft

New fords look pretty good on paper.

......and off road and towing,,,,and with a Airstream in tow.

I have 36,000 miles and love my 6.7 diesel the same as I did driving it off the lot. Ford hit a homerun with these trucks. VERRY happy and satisfied Ford guy here.

Also I agree def is a non issue.
Shane

[JFScheck]

Concur with "ThePill"...

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by REDNAX

I'm getting 16+ mpg towing the trailer.

What is your travel speed?

The number is consistent with at least a half-dozen others using 2nd & 3rd Generation Dodge diesels, pulling 28-34' A/S, Avion and Silver Streak trailers.

Glad to hear of your good fortune with the truck (knock on wood). DTT and a couple of other shops seem well-regarded if the transmission ever becomes troublesome.

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I tow at just under 60mph - between 57 and 59 mph with cruise on.

The lead diesel mechanic at our local Dodge dealership is a long-time personal friend. His advice was don't mess with the engine - no chipping - as the additional torque will shorten the life of the 4-speed auto tranny. The truck is equipped with a transmission oil temp gauge, and it is pretty much steady at 140 degrees, but does rise some when in stop and go city traffic.

All in all it was a good purchase (makes up for all the times I screwed up).

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by REDNAX

Don't know why any of you are worried over DEF. The trade-off of a bit more complexity is offset by higher fuel mileage. The non-DEF trucks are cheaper to buy, but the cost difference comes back out in re poor fuel mileage. DEF has the advantage.

Not seeing a higher fuel mileage in the many rigs of DEF diesels owned by friends around here. They are envious of the fuel mileage we are getting. I must add that we are using a fuel addative ($tanad^ne) that might partially offset any cost saving of not needing the DEF; but friends put the same addative in their diesel fuel as well as DEF. We certainly did NOT find the non-DEF Dodge Ram cheaper to buy than a DEF added GMC, Ford, or Chevy! Equipped the same, the Ram 2500 was a couple of hundred dollars more - but we really liked the features and got a great deal! Of course YMMV and we are driving in a higher altitude area of a cold weather state.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by blkmagikca

I tow at just under 60mph - between 57 and 59 mph with cruise on.

The lead diesel mechanic at our local Dodge dealership is a long-time personal friend. His advice was don't mess with the engine - no chipping - as the additional torque will shorten the life of the 4-speed auto tranny. The truck is equipped with a transmission oil temp gauge, and it is pretty much steady at 140 degrees, but does rise some when in stop and go city traffic.

All in all it was a good purchase (makes up for all the times I screwed up).

That's a consistent number, then, and I thank you for the context. It is the highway speed I run as that is the "fastest" slow speed one can attain just prior to the onset of aero resistance. (The resistance curve shoots skyward). Also, CUMMINS indicates best mpg when engine is at 1300-1500 rpm, so the closer we are, the better.

The CTD is one heckuva truck. Much the best vehicle I've ever owned. And, while I agree with your mechanic, depending on the model year, a CTD can have retarded engine timing. FYI, a SMARTY JR used on or one step up from default configuration "restores" engine timing without adding extra fuel (where the problems of transmission longevity arise). There is no free lunch, one is not, IMO, "free" to use the additional umph so much as letting the trans shift early as the engine rpm rises that much more quickly. IOW, that "the truck is quicker" is not quite to the point . . it is that the engine does not "hang" prior to a shift (if that makes sense). And there is a measured FE benefit of around 1-mpg for average mpg.

One does not have to a boy racer to use some tuners for effectiveness (where burning less fuel is rightly understood as "performance").

But I don't have on either. And for the same reasons as your mechanic cites (in principle: potential reduced component life). But I'm tempted since with a manual transmission I might achieve just that much more control. About $600 USD. A reduction of about .5/gl per 100-miles (22/gls per 10k miles) for my truck & use. But better quality shifts might make the long payout worthwhile.

Thanks again. That makes about an even dozen owners of CTD trucks with 28'-'34 (8k-11k) aero aluminum trailers (Avion, Airstream, Silver Streak) who achieve that fuel mileage while underway with otherwise stock trucks.

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