Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I really love this truck. I was an early adopter having got my EcoD off of a lot in Apr14. It was intended to be primarily a tow vehicle for a 24' enclosed trailer, 7400-7800lbs. The daily driver back then was an semi-restored 80's classic that I tried to keep out of the rain, so the tow vehicle usually went to work on rainy days.
What happened tho is that I so completely fell in like with the EcoD that it became the full time daily driver.
It's a fabulous tow vehicle. Vastly nicer to tow with then the 2000 F-250 Powerstroke diesel that it replaced, even tho the EcoD is right at the limit of it's theoretical tow rating.
I used to buy into the idea that one should have much more tow vehicle then the load calls for, but I've gotten over that. The tow rating test has a couple stages that involve drag racing up mountains pulling the trailer. The EcoD's 240hp just isn't gonna win the day. Folks can talk about torque all they want, but power really is power. All one has to do is look at the Hemi's addtional ~2000lb towing capacity to understand that the EcoD's towing limitation isn't about handling and safety.
I've never found the EcoD wanting for power. If I towed over mountains, I might feel differently, but there's not a mountain to be seen w/in 1000mi of Savannah, GA.
What makes the EcoD such a better tow vehicle then my old F-250 diesel is that it is quiet, comfortable, and "sure." It's like towing with a big comfy sedan instead of a roaring, kidney punching, ferry boat. And in DD mode, the F-250 was just awful.
The mpg of the EcoD is amazing. I get month after month of 24.5mpg in 50/50 mixed city-highway. On the freeway if I keep the speed down I can get 30mpg. I shop aggressively for good diesel prices so get it at a price very close to unleaded gas. In fact, I've been using (grocery store) Kroger's fuel points program and getting 80cents - $1 off per gallon. I have a small aux tank on the EcoD so I can easily get the 35gal that Kroger will give me with my fuel points. As a result, I routinely get 35gal of diesel for under a buck/gal and, excepting the monthly tow, that's enough to last me all month. Consider that....a fuel budget of $35/month.
There were some dealer visits in the first year. It took several visits to beat Check Engine Lights (CEL). Each time the dealer had to get more aggressive, and each time there were more technical docs from RAM. Eventually they had to replace my cat converter and the problem went away.
My first 4 oil changes were free, so the relatively expensive oil has not been an issue. I sent a sample of the oil to Blackstone for analysis 2 of 3x and all seems well.
Shortly I'll be getting an aftermarket warranty so the 100% coverage that would expire at 36k miles can continue undisturbed. I'll get the warranty from either RAM or USAA. It runs about $2200 to get you to 100k miles. This truck is a keeper, but like all modern vehicles, all it takes is some bad luck and the repair bills can go thru the roof.
What happened tho is that I so completely fell in like with the EcoD that it became the full time daily driver.
It's a fabulous tow vehicle. Vastly nicer to tow with then the 2000 F-250 Powerstroke diesel that it replaced, even tho the EcoD is right at the limit of it's theoretical tow rating.
I used to buy into the idea that one should have much more tow vehicle then the load calls for, but I've gotten over that. The tow rating test has a couple stages that involve drag racing up mountains pulling the trailer. The EcoD's 240hp just isn't gonna win the day. Folks can talk about torque all they want, but power really is power. All one has to do is look at the Hemi's addtional ~2000lb towing capacity to understand that the EcoD's towing limitation isn't about handling and safety.
I've never found the EcoD wanting for power. If I towed over mountains, I might feel differently, but there's not a mountain to be seen w/in 1000mi of Savannah, GA.
What makes the EcoD such a better tow vehicle then my old F-250 diesel is that it is quiet, comfortable, and "sure." It's like towing with a big comfy sedan instead of a roaring, kidney punching, ferry boat. And in DD mode, the F-250 was just awful.
The mpg of the EcoD is amazing. I get month after month of 24.5mpg in 50/50 mixed city-highway. On the freeway if I keep the speed down I can get 30mpg. I shop aggressively for good diesel prices so get it at a price very close to unleaded gas. In fact, I've been using (grocery store) Kroger's fuel points program and getting 80cents - $1 off per gallon. I have a small aux tank on the EcoD so I can easily get the 35gal that Kroger will give me with my fuel points. As a result, I routinely get 35gal of diesel for under a buck/gal and, excepting the monthly tow, that's enough to last me all month. Consider that....a fuel budget of $35/month.
There were some dealer visits in the first year. It took several visits to beat Check Engine Lights (CEL). Each time the dealer had to get more aggressive, and each time there were more technical docs from RAM. Eventually they had to replace my cat converter and the problem went away.
My first 4 oil changes were free, so the relatively expensive oil has not been an issue. I sent a sample of the oil to Blackstone for analysis 2 of 3x and all seems well.
Shortly I'll be getting an aftermarket warranty so the 100% coverage that would expire at 36k miles can continue undisturbed. I'll get the warranty from either RAM or USAA. It runs about $2200 to get you to 100k miles. This truck is a keeper, but like all modern vehicles, all it takes is some bad luck and the repair bills can go thru the roof.
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