Daily driver or overkill????

[Diesel Dan]

Here guys is my dilema,



I love the 03's but i sold the 28' TT and the wife wants to camp in a motorhome. Not another trailer( didn't like the way it rode ) and wants to be able to use the toilet when required( has a bladder the size of your avg thimble ) So here is the dilema. The 03 would be my daily driver (8 miles each way to the office w/ some stop and go) and other errands etc. With the refinement of the 03's, can it be used as a daily driver as my 01 workes ok but is loud and obnoxious in the morning for my neighbor. His bedroom is 10 feet from where my truck parks. He is a good guy and i feel for him. the most i will be hauling now is my ATV trailer (2500 lbs) and this truck will tow 12k+ am i wasting a good cummins motor on a toyota job? i made the mistake of telling the wife that maybe i should sell the truck 6 months ago as it is built to haul a big trailer (DTT transmission and power mods etc. ) and we arn't doing that any more per her request She reminded me of this statement and can't imagine why i need a truck that is this big and brawny. Also looking at getting a HO/6sp ( i miss shifting from my first gen Getrag days) does that add to the lack of functionality of a daily driver as they are best for towing applications. The good news is that as we are expecting our second child in october i was able to convince the wife that we need a full 4 door vehicle : I have the tenative go ahead for the new truck but i just don't know if it is the right thing to do.



I understand that this is my decision but looking for imput on the daily drivablilty of the new trucks.



Best regards



DD

 

[davidclark]

I drive mine everyday 17 miles each way and tow a bass boat on weekends. Overkill for the tow job, but not a waste of a Cummins motor. Getting a Toyota would be a waste of a Cummins because it would sit on a dealer's lot and not in your driveway...

 

[rbattelle]

You only live once. Might as well enjoy the Cummins while you can. If you get anything less, you'll probably regret it forever.

 

[CATCRACKER]

say the words with me..... "I own a highout put cummins diesel with a bullet proof 6 speed that will some day have 400+ quiet horsepower and gets 18-20 miles per gallon and will last 300K miles" I think that is all you need to say, feels good don't it. now go get one, 3rd gen that is!HO ETH/DEE

 

[tpuig]

I bought my '03 to be a "commuter car" first, and a tow vehicle second. Last year my 10 mile roundtrip commute expanded to 35 miles each way, but all smooth fast freeway. Although I liked my Durango, I was getting 14mpg, and it didn't tow well. The '03 is already getting 18mpg, and I can tow a car trailer whenever I like.

For a very short commute and no towing, a gasser might be fine. But you've probably got a lot invested in your rig, and would be kicking yourself for not getting a diesel.

Once you drive the '03, you'll come up with a lot of reasons to own it. It's a whole different critter than your '01. If anything, it's just being nice to your neighbor...

TP

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Used my 2001 Cummins as a commuter vehicle for 3 years, 11 days now. Have 86,000 miles on my truck



3. 5 miles to work. Lots of short trips and driving at less than 140F coolant temp. Hardly ever plug in (4 times this winter).



Oil analysis results taken every 10K come back with not enough fuel contamination to register, soot level very very low w/DD2s, low metal counts, and virtually nil viscosity change after 20,000 miles on one oil change.



Can't say short commuting has hurt it. But our winters are quite mild (rarely gets colder than +10 at night).



Drive it to work guilt free!!!



Vaughn

 

[bighammer]

I feel kind of bad driving my kid to preschool in a long diesel powered limo, or getting a few bags of groceries. Sure it seems like overkill, but then I look around and figure it's probably getting better mileage than half of the vehicles in the lot.



My wife is really into safety (I think she likes me or she's planning to poison me and will never be on the list of suspects ) so less explosive fuel and 2 1/2 tons of steel is a plus. (side airbags too)



The times that I really like it are for pulling my trailer or boats. Probaly overkill for that too, but there's a better margin of safety because it is built to handle that. I also like being able to safely haul a load of lumber, gravel, firewood, etc. In fact, most of the mods on my old truck were necessary to make it safely accelerate into traffic.



I just told her a Harley would be a more fuel efficient way to get my son to school, but that discussion didn't go far. :{

 

[ntenna]

Get the truck!

Here's why:

The engine is so much quieter by comparison, your neighbor will be coming over saying "ThankyouThank you!".

Your family will be safer in it, since it's big, and it has door posts so the doors won't pop open in a side hit.

You will get better fuel mileage than with any gasser that size, and even many comfortable gasser cars.

The improved handling and comfort will make you think you are using a car to commute.

6 spd vs auto, your choice but get the HO. Obviously if your short commute is in stopandgo traffic your clutch leg will get tired.

When you take the family for a weekend trip, YOU will be happy and they will too.

But most of all,

BECAUSE YOU GOTTA HAVE IT!

Hey, you have to have some reward for all that hard work bringing a new addition to the family:-laf

 

[Ladders]

AND just think

that if the motorhome broke down - you could tow it home (altho getting to it might pose a problem)







\\BF//

 

[JohndeereG]

Drive the long way to work

I live 2 miles from work but I have 3,500 miles on the truck since Feb 6. Keep in mind I was without the truck for 4 days for service work/unable to pick the truck up.



Seriously, I'd get the truck but it is your money and you have to live with the little honey.

 

[4xquadrod]

Truck! Truck! Truck!

If it were me and it was once, I would get the truck. I went from TT to Moterhome two years ago and I bought the truck anyways.



Lovin every moment of it! No regrets, unless the Economy goes in the crapper and my business slows considerably.



But I think it is going to be OK.



Steve

 

[CATCRACKER]

one word "resale"

 

[EXSTROKER]

first off, stop messing around on tdr go pic your truck

out and drive it home...

second . . if it will fit in my truck I want your converter

before you sell it...

how"s that for thinking of my self...

good thing my daughter doesn't read this

 

[Prairie Dog]

You say "overkill" like it's a bad thing

Lets see now, my truck is rated to pull 13,600 and I pull a 4500 Lb TT 4K miles a year, I think that leaves me with just enough safety margin

 

[VietDoc]

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Get the truck

My wife LOVES our truck. Sooooo much better than our '99. She will tell anyone who askes, "This is the best vehicle she has ever driven!!" She has had motorcycles and a few sports cars. She is a speed demon, but rarely gets caught. (she was driving our '99 and doing about 90 across Nevada and a Trooper passes us no lights and he kept going. I'm driving back at 80 on the cruise and get pulled over. Radared at 88. She must have been going almost 100!!! with the speedo at 90. )



She loves the size, big, so she can see the traffic, loves the safety aspect too, much better turning than '99, quiet, heated seats (we are over 55 and them tired bones like heat) She loves the steering and handling, better than the sports cars she had ('95 Mistubishi Eclipse was the last one)

Of course we now have a 5er to tow, but she like fuel mileage compared to gassers. She loves the idea it will not need an overhaul for almost 500K miles.



This is our only ride and she drives it to work 2 to 3 days a week about 10 miles each way (tends grandchildren). I drive it when we go together.



She will also tell you it is more comfortable than her other cars too.

Get the rear seat platform!!! We went to Costco and $400+ later we went to the truck and it was raining. Folded down the platforms, put the bread and chips under the platform so they wouldn't get crushed and loaded all the rest in.



This '03 is one amazing truck... . You wife won't be able to live without it once she drives it!!!



doc

 

[VietDoc]

Forgot to mention

With the interest rates low, we financed a much larger amount and still have payments on our new truck that are $60 a month less!! The wife loves that toooo!!



doc

 

[Casey Balvert]

My wife says size matters. GET THE TRUCK.



Casey

 

[GHinton]

My $. 02... . Had a 97 CTD 4x4 5 spd, decided did not need and bought a 96 4x4 350 suburban 1500 to pull my 3000lb boat with the $ I sold the 97 for. It pulls the boat fine up until about 64 mph, and after that, the strain is evident. The problem is, on the way to the sacred duck hunting grounds, the speed limit is 70mph. @ 70-74mph I average about 11-12 mpg. So not a day goes by that I don't wish I still had "whitey. " Will be going to local dealer and trading the suburban in on an 03 HO 6spd at the end of the month. I know this vehicle will pull the hunting rig at speed with style, grace, dignity, and best of all, increased mpgs.

 

[VietDoc]

Casey,



It is not the size, but how well you use it

With the CTD you have both size and now how to use it



Get The Truck



doc

 

[Casey Balvert]

Got the truck and a happy wife. I will leave it at that.



Casey