1/2 ton dodge diesel

[New Englander]

12 minutes ago, jimw said:

I deserve this

Yep! You can't take it with you so drive what you want if you've got to spend a lot of time in it.

[Mudfly]

32 minutes ago, New Englander said:

Will they give you another engine if you only get 80k out of that one?

I don't know.  The warranty I bought was 3 year unlimited mileage bumper to bumper, so I would think yes (??)  I will probably trade trucks before I get to another 80k as for work I'm required to have a vehicle less than 5 years old and less than 100k.  You can stretch those a little, but I don't think they would let me go too much past 120k.

I completely agree with some of your points, just that they aren't as big of a deal as you might think (oil changes, noise, heating up, fuel filter, def).  Again would I recommend a diesel to most people.....  absolutely not.  You need drive a little different and be aware of more things.  Also if you don't change your own oil, they are like $200 to $250 at the stealer... i meant dealer... so again just pointing things out from my perspective.

[New Englander]

27 minutes ago, Mudfly said:

stealer

Yeah, except for warranty, which all of our vehicles are out of, NEVER!!!!!!!!

[jass1660]

Be only electric ones by 2030 for new trucks Bribem says....

[DR.EVIL]

9 hours ago, WESnIL said:

My vote would be a Ram 1500 with the 5.7L Hemi engine.  Last year in a trip to NY I averaged over 22 mpg.  It is, by far, the best truck I have ever owned.  If you want/need to hook up to a trailer, use Reese anti-sway bars,  put it in tow/haul mode, lock it out of the top gear, and head down the road.  Like Dr. Evil said the 3.6L V-6 is gutless and the 6.4L is an expensive option IMHO.

My '18 Ram has the tow package, 3.92 axle gears and with the wild overdrive gears in the 8 spd ZF trans, still runs only 2000 rpm @ 80 mph.  I drove from LaCrosse to Madison on I-94 drafting a similar Ram at 80 and my MPG creeped up to 22 mpg also.  Only towing I've done is a U-Haul 6 ft by 12 ft tandem axle enclosed trailer 6 ft high.  We had 5000-6000# in it, ran 70-75 mph from Davenport, Iowa to Waupan, Wi. Some of those hills in SW Wisconsin it dropped into 5th gear and 3500 rpm and held it's speed.  I got around 9-10 mpg.  After that, my normal mpg actually increased. I used to get 14-15 mpg on 5 mile short trips to town, Now I get 17.   My only complaints, wish I had a block heater for winter, and a locking rear diff,  but the transfer case with 2wd, 4wd, and "Auto", 2wd till it senses slippage then engages the frt axle wet clutch for 4wd, after 38 years of locking frt hubs and shifting gears in the T-case in my Ford's, this Ram is nice.

    I priced out a new '18 F-150 from the salesman I bought my '96 F-250 and SON's '93 Lightning from the day I found this RAM sitting on the dealer's lot. It was built in Sept, '2017 in Warren, Michigan,  I bought it mid-January, '18.  It's been interesting seeing how RAM does things differently than Ford did for decades, 1978 to 1996.

[oleman]

10 hours ago, vtfireman85 said:

Another trait of diesel proponents is to talk about diesel vs gas mileage like diesel is free, it costs more than gas, by about 40 cents here, no ne seems to want to calculate that in. 

 Remember that, no one ever purchased a ROLEX watch to tell time, its  all about the value perceived from the ownership.

With the vehicles breaking constantly  the GM/GMC dealerships pushed and sold the fine Oldsmobile diesel. Worked with a guy who saved his pennies and got a new 78 Chevy 1/2 T d350 he always bragged about how he got better mileage than my V304 IH, even after the crankshaft broke on  his  trip home one day. Where ever that V304 crank is today it is still un-broken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vtfireman85]

7 minutes ago, oleman said:

 Remember that, no one ever purchased a ROLEX watch to tell time, its  all about the value perceived from the ownership.

With the vehicles breaking constantly  the GM/GMC dealerships pushed and sold the fine Oldsmobile diesel. Worked with a guy who saved his pennies and got a new 78 Chevy 1/2 T d350 he always bragged about how he got better mileage than my V304 IH, even after the crankshaft broke on  his  trip home one day. Where ever that V304 crank is today it is still un-broken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a golden era for diesel, and personally I believe we are past it, which is sad, theoretically they have the potential to be reliable, efficient and powerful. They are too heavily regulated however. The old 7.3 power stroke, the 5.9 24v cummins, even the early 6.6 duramax were good engines capable of 100’s of thousands of miles with few to no major repairs. Currently large V8 seem to he relegated to HD pickups and medium duty and are either flying under the radar, concealed by the hybrid offerings of their respective brands or maybe they have just found out how to get it right, but i hear very few horror stories about naturally aspirated  gas engines widely available today. They are cheaper, require less maintenance, and seem to get better and better with each iteration. 

[Lazy WP]

Shoot, last summer when we went back to Ohio, my Dodge dually averaged 19 mph. It has never been plugged in, and starts well at 20 below. If  stay under 65 mph, I would bet it would bump 30 mpg. 

[New Englander]

2 hours ago, oleman said:

Oldsmobile diesel

I came sooo close to buying one in a GMC pickup. I was based in Philly but living in Blue Bell. The '76 Ford 390 I was driving was getting maybe 7 commuting down the Schuylkill (Sure Kill)  Expressway. Since gas was going up a nickle a week and diesel was way cheaper and steady I was specing a new GMC 1/2 ton. The salesman and I weren't getting along too well and the deal fell through when I wanted to up the tire size and he quoted a price to exchange them that was higher than I could buy 5 new Michelin, keep the take-offs and have a hundred left over.

Boy, what a favor he did me by being an arrogant disagreeable prick.😁

[hobbyfarm]

Only one ram eco diesel here in our immediate area that I know of.  I'm a big diesel fan but if I were in the market I would only buy what I see as the most reliable engine trans combo.  The fact that there are reports of these pooping out scares the heck out of me.  

[hardtail]

Buddy just some lifters and camshaft on his 5.7 hemi, I wouldn't say they are totally without their problems 

[searcyfarms]

id buy a 6.0 ford thats been bullet proofed - i miss my 03, it was a great truck just got too rusty and my wife wouldnt ride with me anymore on long trips - it would get 18mpg empty all day long at 72mph. 

 

[jimw]

Test driving it tonight, it has good power for what it is. Very quite and comfortable. My credit union can get me almost same warranty for 1850$, probably end up with it. Side note took it to Applebee’s. Haven’t been there in a few years. Hope I’m not as disappointed in the truck as the food I had 😳

[jingles1928]

14 hours ago, Lazy WP said:

Shoot, last summer when we went back to Ohio, my Dodge dually averaged 19 mph

C'mon Nick. You were doing at least 20 mph when you left the restraunt parking lot. 😁

[vtfireman85]

14 hours ago, jimw said:

My credit union can get me almost same warranty for 1850$,

Be careful with that, my friend had a Credit Union Warranty on a used diesel, cost a fortune and the shops that would honor it weren’t qualified to work on it, and the shops, including the dealer that were qualified wouldn’t accept it. Make sure you read the fine print and make sure the dealer will accept it. 

[Lazy WP]

3 hours ago, jingles1928 said:

C'mon Nick. You were doing at least 20 mph when you left the restraunt parking lot. 😁

Might should have been awake when I posted. Mpg