adios 12 valve, Hello 04.5!

[BNH4221]

Hi all,



I guess I'll be hanging out here a little more. Sold the 98 12v QC and purchased an 04. 5 600.



WOW. What a machine!



Nothing but good things to say about it so far (a whopping 300 miles). After 170,000 wonderful miles with the 98, this is a world ahead an almost all areas. The most notable exception is the payment book but I will get used to making the nut again. :{



I'll have questions I am sure, and hopefully an answer or hint or two every now and then. So, thanks in advance to all and happy motoring!



Steve

Was: 98 QC 12v 4x4 170,000 miles. SOLD

Is: 04. 5 "600" Patriot blue Laramie 4x4. All - and I mean ALL - the toys.

 

[Po' Riggity]

Congrats on the new toy, I know I love my 04. 5

Scott

 

[klenger]

Enjoy

 

[GCrowell]

Welcome!

Welcome to the club Steve. I too am happy with my truck. I know you will continue to have the grin on your face for many miles to come.

Fill out your sig a bit more so we will know what you have; ie, 2500? 3500? DRW? 4. 10? 48RE? you get the idea.



George

 

[PJ]

Welcome to the world of the 600. . You will find that your mileage isn't too great at first. Mine has only 350 miles to date and Im at about 13mpg in town. My 04 555/305 HO was getting over 16 on the first tank and seemed to have a bit more power than the 305HO. Both are Fed Emission trucks. I feel this will improve, (I hope), My 98 12v always got 18 to 22 with an automatic, My 1990 1 ton 4x4 got around 25 with a 5 speed. It was a slug for speed but what a workhorse. It felt like it had NO suspention but it would do anything I asked of it. I just hope my 600 improves. I am planning a trip with mine next month to central Calif pulling my 30' trailer. Im only going to take the trailer in I have 1000 miles on it by then. Otherwise, Ill be at the Holiday Inn. Hope you enjoy your new ride. Oo. Oo.

 

[BNH4221]

Fill out your sig a bit more so we will know what you have;

gotcha - 2500 QC SB 4x4 3. 73 48RE Laramie H pkg Loaded to the gills.....



Will update sig.



PB Johnson,

Knock on wood but my trip computer is showing 18 or so on the hwy and 16 in town. I am aware that they are notoriously inaccurate and will hand calculate when I get to the second fill up. Maybe I got a good one???

Slight vibration between 70 and 80, will monitor and see what our good friends at Dodge have to say. Certainly not as bad as some have complained of.



Anyone else getting the rattle around 1800 rpm's? Sounds like ball bearings in a coffee can. Weird.



Love the handling, tight transmission, and the power. Brakes? Holy God are they good! Light years ahead of the 98.



Best -

Steve

 

[Iwant1]

I love mine -the mileage might not compare to the 12v trucks, but It gets better mileage than my 99 1/2 ton with a 318 gasser. And the power!!!! The only problem... it drives like a sprint car when the road is wet. I dig that though :-laf

 

[bmoeller]

I got to drive a 600 w/ 6spd. at the Farm Progress Show this year. Even with such a short drive, I can see why you guys like the 6spd. Wish I had one. The rest of the truck is nice too. Great brakes.

 

[Wayne M.]

Congrats, Steve!! Patriot blue is a good color

I just turned 2100 Mi. and NO complaints except for the door seal rip and crappy chrome on the bumpers. I have seen no worse than 17. 75 MPG (figured) in combo of hiway and heavy city, overhead is pretty close.

Is yours a 6speed? the only rattle I get is from the transmission and that's only when it's lugged or in 4th gear no matter what. I say it's the nature of the beast.

 

[BNH4221]

Is yours a 6speed? the only rattle I get is from the transmission and that's only when it's lugged or in 4th gear no matter what. I say it's the nature of the beast.

Hey Wayne,



Nope, its an auto. Definately an engine noise, right around 1800 rpms. Like you said, probably the nature of the beast.



All the cool guys drive Patriot Blue.



Steve

 

[EBottema]

Hey-



That 12v is a forever truck. Sorry to see you upgraded to a electric rats nest LOL. Anyways, good luck with the truck, the quietness and comfort is a plus but it will never be as great of a truck as your 12V. .

 

[BNH4221]

That 12v is a forever truck. Sorry to see you upgraded to a electric rats nest LOL. Anyways, good luck with the truck, the quietness and comfort is a plus but it will never be as great of a truck as your 12V. .

Well, EBottema, you may be right. Believe me, I agonized over whether to sell the 98 or not. In the end, quietness, comfort, larger cab, bells and whistles and yes, emissions, won the day for me. With the legendary reliability of the Cummins, I am not worried about the electrical stuff.

My wife hated the old one because of the noise, smoke and a host of other stuff. She loves the new one. If you are married, you know how important this is. :-{}

I admit to feeling misty eyed when the 98 rolled out of the driveway for the last time after 170000 wonderful miles. :{ But, it went to a good home and the new owner will take good care of her.

So, time will tell. Nothing will ever replace the 98, but life goes on.



Steve

 

[BNH4221]

Hmmm,



Why doesn't my sig show up anymore?



Hmmm

 

[klenger]

Signatures only show up on your first post for any specific thread. That was added a while back to reduce traffic from the server and keep performance up. Enjoy the new truck.

 

[EBottema]

My wife hated the old one because of the noise, smoke and a host of other stuff. if you are married, you know how important this is.

Nothing will ever replace the 98

Steve

Yes, I know that you gotta keep the wife happy so you can bomb the truck later without to much fuss from her. :-laf Dont get me wrong, i drove a new truck and the thing is much more comfortable and storage is nice. Everything is great but it doesnt have that real truck feeling. Like you get into the old truck and it is your friend that starts forever and is there for you. That new one just doesnt have that touch. It doesnt smell like a smug pot either :{

Why were you worried about emissions? And, what did you get for your truck, who was the lucky buyer



Erik

 

[jsimpson]

The only complaint I have with the common rail injection is that it takes a few revolutions of the engine to start. My 94 always started before a single revolution. It got better mileage too, but it should: it's a five speed, my 03 is an auto. The 94 is a single cab, the 03 is a quad cab. The 94 is 2WD, the 03 is 4WD. The 03 SHOULD use TWICE as much fuel, but it gets better than 16, compared to the 94's 20. Reliabilty??? The 12 valver has killer dowel pin syndrome and a fifth gear that tends to come loose. We'll see about the 03. So far there's as much difference between my generation 3 and my generation 2, as there was between my generation 2 and my generation 1. I'm happy with it.

 

[Wayne M.]

Hey-



That 12v is a forever truck. Sorry to see you upgraded to a electric rats nest LOL. Anyways, good luck with the truck, the quietness and comfort is a plus but it will never be as great of a truck as your 12V. .

I wondered about this issue. I then realized that the WHOLE fleet of NYC sanitiation collection trucks are either Cummins M11 CELECT or Mack VMAC 3 equipped. This means that we have 2500 or so heavy trucks utilizing the same technology that we are weary of and that exists in our '98 and up Rams. The trucks that are M11 equipped are nearing the end of their time in our fleet (10 years), and while the truck as a whole is a rat and ready to go bye bye, the engine -mainly the electronics- were extremely trouble free with some logging upwards of 12,000 hard hours. This ain't no joke.

The electronics end (the cummins part anyway) of our rams are not too much like regular cars and light trucks. Though I will agree that there is great potential for trouble that can be inflicted with a set of diagonal cutters.

 

[Wayne M.]

The only complaint I have with the common rail injection is that it takes a few revolutions of the engine to start.

This cannot be helped, as it an issue with anything EFI or electronically controlled gas or diesel. The reason is that the engine must spin at least 2 revolutions so the management system can pick up when #1 cylinder will fire (sync) and then light everything off in firing order. It has nothing to do with one system being better than another- they're different.

 

[BNH4221]

Like you get into the old truck and it is your friend that starts forever and is there for you. That new one just doesnt have that touch.

EB,



I know what you are talking about. I miss the old gal tons. But I hope to have the same long term relationship with the new one. It will have the touch soon enough I am sure.

The old one went to a great guy in Ct who will take good care of her. I hope he will join the TDR soon.

As far as emissions, I want to be a good citizen and do my part for the environment. My personal opinion is that the diesel community has suffered a long term bad rap. Deserved or not, we need to do our part to work for acceptance of diesel engines as a viable economic, powerful, low polluting solution for our automotive and other needs. The technology in the new Cummins is a great step in the right direction.

My opinion only... . Soap box put back in closet.



Best -

Steve

 

[tschwab]

I agonized over whether to sell the 98 or not. In the end, quietness, comfort, larger cab, bells and whistles and yes, emissions, won the day for me. With the legendary reliability of the Cummins, I am not worried about the electrical stuff.

My wife hated the old one because of the noise, smoke and a host of other stuff. She loves the new one. If you are married, you know how important this is. :-{}

DITTO - ditto - DITTO, WE JUST BROUGHT OUR NEW '05 HOME THIS WEEKEND AND I HAD A TOUGH TIME GETTING MY WIFE OUT OF THE DRIVERS SEAT, I COULDN'T GET HER TO HARDLEY EVER DRIVE THE 12V.