First Post -- 2500 on order (kinda long)

[DCornelius]

Hi all. Just posting to introduce myself. I'm David Cornelius from Winston-Salem, NC. I've been a lurker for about two months, and finally joined up yesterday. My wife and I ordered a 2500 a couple weeks ago from Kernersville Chrysler Dodge here in NC. It's pretty well loaded and we can't wait to drive our first diesel.



We have a 2000 Durango 4x4 with the 5. 9 (the other one. ) We pull a 26' Springdale camper that weighs around 6,600 fully loaded for the beach. The D does a great job handling the load, but we're 600 lbs below our GCVWR so we really had to watch what we carried with us. Twenty-six feet may seem long for a Durango, but we have the incredible Hensley Arrow hitch to keep things in line, and a Jordan Ultima brake controller to slow things down. We've pulled our camper from the mountains to the beach. We've pulled up 8-9% grades (at 35-40 mph), and descended down (at the same speeds) and have had no problems.



We ordered the Ram so we can REALLY start towing. Seeing as how we will have almost twice the towing capacity, we will now have room to one day get a larger camper and carry more of the essentials with us (like water, firewood, etc. )



Everything I know about the Ram and the Cummins, I've learned on great boards like this one, DTR, DodgeTruck.org, and others. And, I've only learned about them in the past two or three months. Thanks for all the great information!



I'm also a member of the Durango Owners Club, so I'm well aware of how membership has its privleges. Thanks for reading and I look forward to getting to know some of you.



David

 

[StephenThomas]

Welcome to TDR and congrats on your upcoming purchase. I once towed a travel trailer that weighed 6000lbs with Jeep Grand Cherokee (5. 7). I traded the Jeep in for my first Ram Diesel --- all I can say is "WOW" when i towed the same trailer. Fuel mileage doubled while towing and increased by almost a 3rd when not towing.

 

[RobertBolinger]

David,



Congrats on your purchase. I drove my first Cummins at Kernersville Dodge, however ended up purchasing from Smith Stokes in Reidsville. I also considered tomeygun in St. Louis. I have 500 miles on mine and love it. I'll be hooking up my TT to it soon and pulling up the mountain on I-77 as a "test" pretty soon.



My old tow vehicle was the "other other" 5. 9-a 1970 Ford with 5. 9 360 V-8-the Cummins ought to totally smoke it, as it had 170 HP from the factory! I'm selling it for $500-I used it to pull the trailer twice-it was a "bridge" vehicle until I got the Cummins.



Robert

 

[DCornelius]

Originally posted by StephenThomas

Fuel mileage doubled while towing and increased by almost a 3rd when not towing.

Yup, we get right around 7. 5 mpg with the Durango when towing. I can't even make it to Myrtle Beach without filling up, and it's only a bit over 200 miles!!



We didn't buy the Durango for gas mileage, BUT it will be nice to get to the beach on less than a tank with the Ram.



Robert, nice to meet someone from my neck of the woods. I have been following your posts. I look forward to the same excitement you must be feeling now. You definitely ride on a high for the first few months with a new vehicle--might be the new car smell (or the diesel fumes in the Ram's case )



I didn't go to Smith Stokes, though I hear it's a good dealership. I wanted to buy from my Durango salesman at K'ville. Thanks to Tomeygun and the leverage from his quote, they gave me 2% below invoice plus incentives--not quite the 3% Mr. Chaney offered, but I believe in giving folks repeat business if they treat you right the first time (BTW, Thanks Tomeygun!!).



David

 

[RobertBolinger]

Originally posted by DCornelius

Yup, we get right around 7. 5 mpg with the Durango

I was getting 6. 1 MPG with my old Ford pulling-and it used $Premium$ gas



Oh, and I had already made my deal before I heard of tomeygun, so I did not get a deal that good -so you have the advantage of lurking before buying

 

[jlasich]

Welcome DCornelius. I'm sure you're going to be extremely pleased with your CTD when it arrives. Most likely, you'll never buy another gas engine vehicle again. I also ordered a new one several weeks ago and can't wait.



This site is great and the quarterly magazine (or should I say book) is fantastic. Well worth the $35 membership fee.

 

[RobertBolinger]

Originally posted by jlasich

This site is great and the quarterly magazine (or should I say book) is fantastic. Well worth the $35 membership fee.

I think 4 copies of the book are worth $35.

 

[NSperduto]

Welcome aboard. I was kind of in your spot. I have a 23 ft camper that I towed with a 98 Dakota Club cab, 4wd, 5. 2

It was ok to tow with, the most annoying thing is the small gas tank and having to make the whole caravan of diesels stop every 180 miles or so for me to fill up.



Well let me tell you, once you tow with the RAM, you will never put a hitch back in that Durango. It's awesome.



I still have my Dakota and after driving the ram for 6 weeks, I drove the Dakota, it felt like driving a go-kart, man it was fun to drive. at 160k I'll keep it since it's not really worth anything. It's nice to have an extra vehicle and I'm hoping to put a plow on it for my driveways.



Good luck and you'll never go back to a gas truck.



Nick

 

[DCornelius]

Originally posted by NSperduto



I still have my Dakota and after driving the ram for 6 weeks, I drove the Dakota, it felt like driving a go-kart, man it was fun to drive.

We're keeping our Durango too. I LOVE that truck, and I just can't part with it. It will be strange turning in my current hitch bar (Hensley) for a "more dropped" one, and uninstalling my Jordan Ultima from the Durango. It has been a trooper pulling that camper. It's strange that I won't be hooking it up anymore. Ah well, onward and upward!



Thanks for all the replies!

David

 

[klenger]

Leave the Jordan in the Durango and get a BrakeSmart for the RAM.



http://www.klenger.net/dodge/brakesmart/slide01.html