Thanks, for all the info. There will be a diesel in my driveway soon. I pull a 30 foot fifth wheel and a 18 foot boat behind that so I NEED A DIESEL!, and am leaning toward a cummins. The one reply was what are you waiting for, well just built a house in 2000 and that took way more money than I expected. It was a nightmare. But I am now in a position to DO IT. THANKS

 

My brother has a 92 dodge w/cummins in it. It has 300,000 miles on it and he uses it for a work truck commuter and a army tank,hunting vehicle. It is used hard and he hardly does maintenance on it. Been washed my mother nature only. He said he will drive it till the doors fall off well driver door fell off replaced it and still driving it . Motor still runs good and 21 to 24 mpg still after 12 yrs. hope this will convince you. It convinced me I pull about 10,000 lbs about 3 to 4 times a yr. Gonna be pulling more than that quite frequently real soon. I was told by a Mechanic that works on all diesel motors that a Cummins is a true diesel not saying the others aren't but the way cummins motors are built. His major work concerns or Ford powerstroke and Duramax engines he says he has only worked on a few Cummins because they don't break down.

 

I am constantly working on my Cummins engine. I dust the dirt off of it all the time.

 

I may be one of the people with the new 600 that you were talking about. Yes, there are a couple of items I would like to see resolved with my new truck. The main issue is the excessive valve clatter. The noise is embarrasing at times but I usually have the radio cranked up so I don't relly hear it anyway. As far as the MPG I am getting 18.5 on my 2500 4X4 LWB unloaded. I didn't buy the truck to pull with I bought it for the longevity and the MPG. I drive aprox 1200 - 1500 miles per week. I received my truck on 2/2/04, it now has 8,232 miles on it. As long as I can get 18.5 mpg or better I can deal with the clatter.

I couldn't imagine driving the mileage I do and only getting 9-12mpg.

Stop were you are drop your keys out the window and run don't walk to your nearest CTD. Jump in crank er up, put yo foot on the floor speed off into the sunset.

Sorry about that I was just daydreaming. Anyway you get my point. Make the step, you wont regret it.

 

I have told all of my "Gas Truck" (i.e 350 CI Chevy) driving family members and friends-- "If I have a choice in the matter, I will drive a diesel the rest of my life- a CUMMINS" Unless they start putting a "CAT" in one of the big 3.

If you ever pull a load with a diesel one time- YOUR HOOKED!! A gas burner aint even close.........

 

Ditto here at just 15000 miles. I traded my 02 4x4 QC 1500 for this baby and doubled my towing mileage and am pushing 19.5 unloaded.
Before that was an injected 460 Ford that was just 9 all the time loaded or not with no where close to the torque of the Cummins.
An added benefit in my area is that Diesel is .20 less per gallon too!

I think the 600's just need some break in time.

 

ME too, I love this truck
It's my first diesel but I did my home work also. I had a 2001 Dakota QC 4.7ltr Full Time 4X4 pulling a 21' TT accross country, and boy was I ****** at the gas mileage, I averaged 6 mpg's for a 10k mile trip
That was all it took for me to start looking. Yes I looked at the Dyno Max's and just glanced at the Terd's. The CTD got the most attention due to the fact it's an in-line 6, less parts and BULLET Proof. DC has this thing about in-line 6's (4.0 ltr Jeep engine)
You've been LOOKING for 5 years. At this rate most of us that already own atleast one will have upgraded and owned maybe 2 or 3 before you even FEEL the rumble in your pants on a daily basis

I't time to take the plunge and pick the one that best suites your needs and wants. You don't get any garrantee that won't be any problems with a diesel or even the same truck with a GASSER. Just put out the extra 5-7k dollars and DO IT.

Oh yeah, did I say I love my CTD

I forgot to say I towed that same TT on the same accross country trip the folowing year with my CTD and got 11.5 mpg on a truck with only 9k miles. How SWEET it is

 

Just filled up my Acura MDX this morning at the local Shell station.

Premium = $2.39/gal

Diesel#2 = $1.89/gal

Nuf said!

Neil

 

Not much to add except that I too will NEVER drive a GAS truck again! As soon as DC comes out with a Diesel Grand Cherokee.......ours is getting traded in!

 

The have a eurospec one with a 3. something Mecedes Turbo Diesel in Europe. It is awesome...just as fast as the HO gas and twice the mileage. The have another one in the Liberty as well...

 

I'm on my 2nd ctd and 4th new style dodge and I will never stray from CTD I'm in for life.
my dad has a 97 3500 CC LWB 2WD auto he bought new has nearly 450,000 only problem ever was a paint job because of cali sun but he repainted and is going to go another 400,000 or so. He has pulled 40' trailers 25k+ through all the passes up and down California and by the way the tranny is stock, but so is the motor.

 

Hey Tod,
I found an interesting picture that sheds some light on the beefyness of the big 3's lower ends. These are the connecting rods only so you know the crank, pistons, valves etc.. are proportional. May help you to decide. The one on the left is the GM/Isuzu:

 

Love our truck. Milage is good and power is excellent. No problems except for a minor problem with a rear bearing on the 6 speed (replaced by dealer - no hassles).

Pulled our large 5th wheel to Florida and back from Maryland with no problems, including some pretty good hills in Va. We just put it in cruise control and moved on out.

Good luck on your choice. We're pleased with ours and invite you in - the water is fine!!

 

This is my 9th truck and my 1st diesel. Like most everyone else here, I will NEVER go back to gas. I get 15.7 in town and up to 21.6 highway; avg 17.5. That is amazing considering this truck's curb weight is ~7,500 lbs.

The CTD moves this truck around like a sports car. I just love being able to pull a 4k (pretty light) up a 5% grade at 75 without shifting out of OD getting 11mpg. Same load/mountain in any gas, even the mighty GM 6.0L, shifts in and out of OD enough to drive you NUTS! Plus, only see 8mpg...

The HO CTD was judged one of Ward's 10 best engines this year. Plus, you can't beat the build quality and drivablity of the Dodge Ram 2500/3500. If it rides a little rough, don't worry, it will settle down after a few hundred miles. It also helps to run the rear tires at 40psi when unloaded (just like the DC tire supplement suggests). Don't forget, the 2500 CTD Ram was Motor Trend Truck of the year in 2003!

 

You're going on peoples opinions and assumptions on whether or not to buy a truck? Where are you getting this information regarding problems? Posts? People generally only post the problems. There are numerous thousands of diesel trucks on the market, only a few reply here with comments and concerns. If you doubt getting a diesel truck, then dont. Buy a hemi, or a triton, or vortec. With any truck you'll have issues you like and dont like. Its called life. If you're worried about others complaints about something as silly as fuel mileage....you cant afford the truck. If you're worried about a problem with computer issues that have been cleared up....then dont buy it. If you're worried about injector issues that have been isolated cases....then buy a toyota.