Thinking about a 2011 3500.

[orhusky]

Well I have been thinking about getting a new 2011 3500. I have been reading here that the trucks that are worked hard and not spend a lot of time doing short trips do well. 67% of the miles we drive are pulling our trailer, another 5 to 10% are on the freeway. The rest are in town. is that going to be enough to keep things cleaned out? Am I making a mistake even thing of trading in our 05?

 

[RVTRKN]

You should be fine. If you are going to go on a short trip around town, then I would warm it up with the high idle function first.

 

[Simplysmn]

Yes you will be fine I have over 90,000 and it's been a mix of everything from in town short trip's to long haul and she still run's like a top .

 

[DAN V]

awesome

I have had mine for a little over a week and just barely have 600 miles on her. I love this truck. You will not be disappointed.

 

[orhusky]

Dan V, I see you have a Arctic Fox, are you a member of the Northwood owners group?? Northwood RV Owners Association - Welcome to the new Northwood RV Owners Association

 

[DAN V]

not a member

No sir I am not a member. I have had the trailer for almost 7 years and only used it a couple of times. It is a great little trailer though. Has never leaked once from the roof. Even though it sits in my driveway it does have some faded/missing decals.

 

[DAN V]

Where you located

ORhusky where you located? I have always wanted a 5er like the Artic Fox.

 

[gtoli]

Well I have been thinking about getting a new 2011 3500. I have been reading here that the trucks that are worked hard and not spend a lot of time doing short trips do well. 67% of the miles we drive are pulling our trailer, another 5 to 10% are on the freeway. The rest are in town. is that going to be enough to keep things cleaned out? Am I making a mistake even thing of trading in our 05?

I have a 2010 that I drive on short trips around town , idle and run slower speeds when on forest roads camping or wood cutting about 40% of the time and the rest is highway loaded and empty. I have only seen a regen once and have had no problems so far. However, I am considering dpf and egr del. when the 2010 smarty jr. comes out. The fit, finish and quality of my 2010 is excellent and it is the most comfortable pickup I've ever driven. And the back seat of the CC is HUGE!

I love my truck and haven't had a single regret.

 

[RustyJC]

We've had our 2011 (see signature) since September and no problems at all. I miss the power of our BOMBed (remember that term??) 2002 HO/6-speed, but the 2011 6. 7L/68RFE is a whole different animal in terms of comfort, features, ease of driving, etc. - hey, that stuff is important to those of us who are getting up in years. :{ :-laf



Rusty

 

[CUMMINZ]

2011s are a great truck but I would wait for a 2012. Good talk about more HP and 8 speed auto.

 

[orhusky]

2011s are a great truck but I would wait for a 2012. Good talk about more HP and 8 speed auto.

Really, that is good information to know. It's not like we need to run out and get a new truck right away. I love our 05 and I do fine with the 6 speed. It's my DW that has problems with driving it. On our long trips it nice to get a break or 2 during the day and still keep moving! She drives it now but it is a struggle and she is never comfortable.

 

[orhusky]

We've had our 2011 (see signature) since September and no problems at all. I miss the power of our BOMBed (remember that term??) 2002 HO/6-speed, but the 2011 6. 7L/68RFE is a whole different animal in terms of comfort, features, ease of driving, etc. - hey, that stuff is important to those of us who are getting up in years. :{ :-laf



Rusty

What are you getting for fuel mileage pulling?? I know about the "comfort, ease of driving" I am ONLY 53 and those thing are starting to take more of a priority. :-laf

 

[SSchang]

I'm probably the poorest example of how to treat a new diesel. I have a 2011 Laramie I bought in September. Before that I had a 2008 Laramie. 5 days a week I drive to Starbucks (3 miles), then to work (4 miles). I drive home after work (1. 5 miles). On weekends, I might drive it 90 miles round trip to take the wife shopping, usually I just drive around town. A couple times in the winter I'll hook up the snowmobile trailer & drive 12 or 14 hours to ride in Quebec, where the truck sits for a week & then gets started at below 0 to drive home. Come spring, I load the camper in the bed of the truck & drive to Florida or New Brunswick for vacation. We'll camp maybe 10 or 12 times in the summer, driving anywhere from 100 to 1000 miles roundtrip. I live in Western NY where it hasn't been above freezing since the first of December.



I've never seen a warning light on either truck.



Do I need a diesel? Probably not, but I love it! Plus I work for Cummins.

 

[RVTRKN]

It's my DW that has problems with driving it. On our long trips it nice to get a break or 2 during the day and still keep moving! She drives it now but it is a struggle and she is never comfortable.

Thats the only downside to the NV5600 as well as the G56, although its easier to shift, its not wife friendly, unless their into them.

 

[orhusky]

She doesn't complain and tries real hard but I can tell she is not in her comfort zone at all. The white knuckles on the shifter says it all!!!

 

[RustyJC]

What are you getting for fuel mileage pulling?? I know about the "comfort, ease of driving" I am ONLY 53 and those thing are starting to take more of a priority. :-laf

It's really too soon to tell. I only have 2000 miles on the truck. Pulling our 16K 5th wheel, it got 9. 2 on the first trip - our 2002 got from 10. 0 to 10. 5 pulling the same 5th wheel. At this point, my wife has driven it towing more than I have - that was one reason we got the truck. My wife wouldn't tow with the 2002 6-speed.



Rusty

 

[Cummins Ag]

I'd keep the '05. Take the difference between the '05 and a new truck and buy your wife something nice instead.



-mike

 

[RSchwarzli]

2011s are a great truck but I would wait for a 2012. Good talk about more HP and 8 speed auto.

I agree fully on the power. That will increase a fair bit in the next few years. Once the next EPA emissions laws come into effect and Cummins is forced to run DEF, I think you will see a 75hp bump to put them back up there with their competitors. Due to the need for vehicles needing to be re EPA certified after power changes, Cummins/Ram is banking on more people buying cheaper non DEF trucks (read less complex) than people wanting Ram to change to Def. If they came out with more power now, recertification would likely result in too much NoX emissions and a DEF system would be the result. When it become mandatory in 2 years, that is another story.

As for the 8 speed, as much as that would put Ram lightyears ahead of it's competitiors, I don't think that will happen. Yet. Waaaay too much money goes into development of a new transmition. When the one they just introduced is still doing OK, I would be surprised if the. Wanted to spend 500 million on development of an 8 speed.

As for the original post, all depends on what you want to do. If you don't mind payments on a new truck, warranty is there is you have DPF issues. Will it hurt with your driving style? I don't think so. Ram/Cummins has made huge jumps in he last few years to reduce DPF failure. At like $3k per unit, they really want to elliminate that issue! Over the last two years alot of programming has been done to elliminate DPF pluggage.

Robert