Just for reference!

[AClayton]

For those of you who think the hemi-powered Ram 1/2ton will render acceptable mileage while towing, please read further.



My 01' Dodge pulling my 40' Toyhauler-17k plus trailer weight.



Friends 10' Hemi-powered Ram 1/2ton pulling his brand new 34' Cougar-11k trailer weight.



We both filled up before taking off on our camping trip down to the Shenandoah KOA... both hold very close to 35gal. About a 3 hour drive through the mountains on I-81. He wanted to stop to take advantage of the cheaper fuel in Va so we stopped at the exit to the campground. He burned 3/4 tank of gas just coming down! It took $80 dollars in gas to fill up and when I filled my tank, I only took $38 in fuel. Fuel was $3. 79 and 89 octane was $3. 49! Which meant I averaged about 10mpg... which is about what I have been getting anyway. My guess was that he was avg about 6 or maybe 7 at best.



And to make matters worse, he was floorboarding his Ram going up grades that my truck just cruised up in OD with nothing more than a slight increase in boost pressure. A couple of the steeper grades had him falling back a bit but for the most part, he was surprisingly able to keep up. At the expense of burning a lot of extra gas!



I think I will keep my truck for a while longer. I pondered the thought of maybe purchasing a 3/4ton Hemi... ... ... but not now!!



Alan

 

[HBarlow]

That's good info for some who are seriously considering dumping their faithful old Cummins-Dodges for a fancy, gimmicky new gasoline Ram. I think some have pulled trailers long enough with their Dodge-Cummins to take the pulling power and relatively great fuel economy for granted and want a shiny new truck. Some, faced with the awesome price tag on a new Cummins-powered Ram truck, deceive themselves into thinking a new gas V8 will replace one and deliver similar fuel economy. It won't happen.

All a prospective truck buyer has to consider when shopping for a truck is the manufacturer's stated power specs on the engine. The horsepower rating is of little consequence. It can be ignored. The spec that matters is maximum torque and the rpm at which it is developed.

A V8 gasoline engine that develops around 400 ft. lbs. of torque at, for example, 3500 rpm is going to downshift on every grade and buzz the engine at between 3500 and 4000 rpm. Fuel consumption will be off the charts.

I am unwilling to pay the price of a new Cummins Ram and don't honestly need one anyway. The choices are a less expensive gasoline Ram or keep the old one I own. To me that's a no brainer decision. My current truck has 118k easy miles on it. I'm completely satisfied with it and help myself remain satisfied by ignoring the new Gen IVs. I carefully avoid going near them to avoid the temptation.

 

[RustyJC]

My last non-Cummins powered truck was a 1996 Ram 3500 with the 8. 0L (488 cid) V-10, 47RE automatic and 3. 54 gears, bought off a dealer lot because we were in a hurry (also the last truck I haven't ordered. ) The V-10 was rated 300 BHP @ 4000 RPM and 450 lb-ft @ 2800 RPM. Towing a 13. 5K GVWR 5th wheel, it got an "outstanding" 6. 5 MPG. :-laf When we moved to a 2002 3500 with Cummins HO, 6-speed and 4. 10 gears, mileage towing the same 5th wheel jumped to 11-12 MPG, and towing performance on hills was far superior with the diesel.



In its defense, though, the V-10 never broke, never used oil, etc. It was a good, reliable engine - for a gasser. After all, it was really just a 360 Mopar with 2 additional cylinders and a 0. 300" increase in stroke.



Rusty

 

[champspa]

when I got mine fuel was 10 cents a gallon less than gas and remained that way for the first 100k but that was only about 700 dollars in cost pay back for that 5500 I paid for my diesel engine extra . Since then I've paid more for fuel than gasoline . I doubt if I will ever recoup the cost in mine but I'm not worrying about it either . My truck gets about 19 on the road and my brothers 1500 gets 16 with a 4. 7. the diesel easily gets the nod on trips when we need to go get something for the mill .

 

[BDaugherty]

After selling my '01 Cummins, I drove a Chevy 1500HD for about 8 months. It was 6. 0 gas/4L80E, 4x4, 4 door, leather, loaded AND it got 13MPG under the most ideal circumstances AND it was a dog on hills or with a load. As nice as the inside was and as good as it rode, I'm very happy to be back in a 6spd Cummins. Now I average 18. 5MPG and have plenty of extra power for pulling trailers or dusting gas Chevys.

 

[AClayton]

I was actually surprised that he was able to keep up on some of the grades. That hemi seems to have a lot hp but not a truck engine at all. I thought the truck handled the load pretty good also... ... . the 'old style' 1/2tons wouldn't have faired so well. I was impressed until I saw how much fuel he used.

The 01' is going to be in my driveway for a lot longer now. It's noisy and rough but renders exceptional towing prowess and excellent fuel mileage.

 

[HBarlow]

Alan,

Foot to the floor, the engine screaming with the tach near redline, I suppose they can keep up pulling a modest weight trailers but your buddy put 10,000 miles on his hemi gasser and automatic while you may have put 1000 miles on your old Cummins Ram.

If he goes with you many more weekends he'll soon be asking serious questions about Dodges with Cummins engines and be nosing around at the dealer.

Towing like he's doing would be very stressful for me. I could "hear" and feel the wear and damage he is doing.

 

[MLee]

ACayton, I look at what you describe as noise, and rough Cummins engine as-- "THE SOUND OF POWER"

My little o'le 12 valve just sits there waiting to be used and deliver that SOUND OF POWER. One just has to respect that. Long live the RATTLE of power.

 

[RustyJC]

The more I tow with my 2011, the more I appreciate the "sound of silence" with all the Cummins diesel power I need. I lived with the "sound of power" for 9 years with my bombed 2002 ETH/DEE.



But then again, when I was young, I thought the sound of reverse cone megaphones on my motorcycle was "cool" as well. :-laf



Rusty

 

[KYOUNG]

I am very pleased with my 2011 also, it is my 6th Dodge diesel, and the most comfortable and the quietest. I am pulling a big honkin Toy hauler with it and it does a fine job pulling and stopping... .