New Tow Vehicle - 2010 Dodge 2500

[sgray]

My 2005 1500 hemi quad cab 4x4 was too small on the inside for comfort (small back seat), and the towing capacity was right on the edge of what I should be pulling. It would do ok, but my mpg was about 8, with 10 possible with no hills. On hilly roads I was dropping well below 8. That, together with the intermittent electrical problems that had plagued the 2005, pushed me to get a new truck.

I bought a 2010 2500 diesel with the larger mega-cab. The truck is averaging about 17 overall, and I ran 22-23 mpg this past weekend on a trip to Dallas and back (~ 200 miles). I found that if I keep the speed at 70 I can run 23 mpg, but it drops off significantly the more I go over 70. Pulling the trailer, I am holding at about 13.5 mpg. This is a big improvement on the hemi truck (13 around town, 16-17 on the highway), and the room, comfort and towing capacity are much improved.

The only negative is the price - but I was able to get a good end of year sales deal.

[moosetags]

OK. Where are the baby pictures?

Brian

[JFScheck]

Second on the new pictures! You know it's mandatory...

Welcome to the "Diesel Club"!!!

[Silverfoxrae]

Now you're truckin'!!
Pix... Out with 'em

Rae

[flynmike]

I've been towing trailers all my driving life. I pulled my 65 Caravel with a Toyota pick up.

The power of the Cummins Diesel is awesome. I love not having to hold the throttle wide open on every hill and I average around 15/16 mpg towing and 22 empty but I have the 5.9 engine.

I'm on the fence for a new truck with the 6.7 and the new cab style. My daughter just gave me another grandkid so a bigger back seat in Papa's truck might be just the excuse I need.

Mike

[THEPILL]

Congrats on the MPG.

Shane

[sgray]

Poor quality - from my phone. You can see the larger rear seat/cargo area. And it was 65 degrees today (dash photo).

[THEPILL]

Congrats!! Beautiful truck. Makes you feel great huh? Be proud. That back seat is HUGE, BTW.

You did good.

Shane

[sgray]

Originally Posted by THEPILL

Congrats!! Beautiful truck. Makes you feel great huh? Be proud. That back seat is HUGE, BTW.

You did good.

Shane

Thanks - but it doesn't make me near as proud as the sunny day driver I restored last year:

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by sgray

Thanks - but it doesn't make me near as proud as the sunny day driver I restored last year:

DOUBLE WOW!!!

My girlfirend in high school had a mint 1965 Mustang ALL original with the 289. This was in 1985. If that mustang could talk...I lOVE those cars.

Shane

[JFScheck]

Love that Stang...

[crispyboy]

Congrats on the new truck. The mega cabs are HUGE!

You will find that the mileage calculator, others call it the lie-o-meter, is about 2 mpg higher than what you will actually get. (I have yet to see an accurate mileage calculator in any vehicle).

I have the same motor in an 09 4x4 2500 QC SB truck purchased in Sept 2010 and my hand calculated mileage here in the hills of KY is as follows: in town 14.5 - 16 mpg. Highway makes it jump up. We just took a trip to Atlanta over the holiday and drove the truck solo. Cruise control set at 70 mph was 17+ at 20 degrees outside. I hope this will go up in the warmer months.

In October we pulled the Airstream from KY to the western side of South Dakota and back. Mileage was 11.5 to 13.5 towing running 65 to 70 mph. With the exhaust brake and 6 speed transmission I have been very impressed with the manner in which the truck will handle a load. The other thing you will enjoy is the lack of noise and lack of diesel smell from the truck. As much as I hate emissions equipment these are two things to be celebrated in my book.

Got any pictures of the front seat area? Did you get any of the goodies such as the MY Gig radio or back up camera?

Post a few more pics if you have any.

[slowmover]

The FE readout can vary, expect a percentage difference from true mileage. I've found that at my usual highway speed of 58-mph that the "meter" reads 7/10's of a gallon high. Thus I find that meter useful to re-set at various points to spot check instant mpg to account for a different load, a different road, changing winds, etc. Keep careful records, IMO, and you;ll soon be predicting true mpg at a glance . . . plus, as the engine loosens up (over 20-30k miles), FE will rise.

One of the pleasures of a Cummins is the low-end torque. You and your buddy with a V8, gas or diesel, can set the cruise control to the exact same number, matched following distances . . and over a number of miles you'll find that you've pulled ahead, sometimes considerably depending on terrain. (Same was true with big trucks: V8 versus straight engines). A CTD is relentless. There's a reason the guys who work for a living choose these again and again. Hope you enjoy yours the way I've enjoyed mine.

[sgray]

This is my first HD truck - and 4th pickup overall. The mpg on this truck is by far the best, and two of those previous trucks were smaller Dakota 4x4s.

My truck is an SLT - but only has the sat. radio (not the optional touch panel radio or backup camera). I am no fan of satellite radio, so I just use my phone with Pandora for music.

The comfort, ride, towing ability and mileage are great. The technology advances that allow better mpg are encouraging - and give me hope that I will be able to drive a decent truck (with even better mpg) 10-15 years from now as the price of diesel continues to rise.

As for the mustang - that is my attempt to point out that I can't be proud for just buying something off the lot (as anyone can do). I can only take pride in something that I built or rebuilt with my own hands.

We are planning out a 2K mile trip this summer pulling the Airstream. The new truck is going to make it a lot more comfortable - looking forward to the drive now.