This is my first kick at the cat so I hope it all works. I have been doing alot of reading and have foung this site to be a good source. I am very interested in the gas mileage and dealership threads. The only trouble is that it seems that everyone is from the US. I am looking for info as it applies north of the 49th. Heres my questions.<br> <br>1. The fuel economy, is that off the trip computor or is it caluclated the old fashion way? How accurate is the trip computor?<br><br>2. Where can I get a great deal on a truck in central or southern Alberta? What is a good deal? (canuck bucks)<br><br>3. Has anyone used carcost.ca ? What results?<br><br>4. What about a service dept.? Where is a reliable one?<br><br>5. Not sure if this is the place to ask this question, but I'm having problems with all the abbreviations. They are probably obvious when you know them but I guess I'm a little slow. <br>EG; EGT BTW CTD SRW DRW ETC Where do I find the full name?<br><br>6. Last question. Where's the spellcheck?

 

I'm from the states but I can answer some of your questions.<br><br>1. My trip computer reads about 1 mpg (US) high. Some say theirs reads right on, others are in the same boat as me.<br><br>5. Here is a site with a lot of acronyms, mostly for the previous generation Rams but a lot still apply to '03: http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...threadid=49796<br><br>EGT = exhaust gas temperature<br><br>CTD = Cummins Turbo Diesel<br><br>SRW = single rear wheel (vs dual rear wheel) on the 3500 model<br><br>DRW = dual rear wheel<br><br>ETC = SO (standard output) diesel order code<br><br>ETH - HO (high output) diesel code

 

Check out our tech facts section at the top of the page.

Lotta good info there.

Stuff like this:

Definition of terms ;D.

 

Altaboy,

1) The fuel economy is calculated by the trip computer in miles/USgal (multiply by 1.2 to get imperial mpg) and l/100km for canadians. My computer seems to be fairly close (within 1 mpg) when calculating by hand. I am getting roughly 17.5 USmpg with mostly city driving (21 mpg in canada).

2) I got my truck from Airdrie Chrysler. They were great to deal with! I got it for dealer invoice + $500 which amounted to about $7500 off sticker price for a fully loaded 3500 HO 6 speed 4x4 laramie SB.

3) never used carcost.ca

4) As far as service departments go, I have yet to use one, so I am not sure how good they are. I have heard Airdrie is good and so is Courtesy Chysler in the glendeer circle.

5) already answered by the others.

Hope this helps!
Good luck truck shopping!

Jeff

 

I bought my truck at Leduc Chrysler and it was the same deal as BigBlueHO. I also had a very competitive quote from Jason Odland at Renfrew Chrysler in Calgary. This site has proven to be an invaluable resource. Because of DieselTruckResource, I cancelled my initial order (ETC and 47re) and re-ordered the truck I have now. You'll learn about things here way before your dealer.

 

I would hope the computer is calibrated to whatever the stock drivetrain configuration may be. If you were to add larger tires -which would cause your speedo and odometer to read low - the resulting computer indications would also tend to indicate a lower MPG (or KmPL's in your case?) Brings up an interesting point: do the Canadian computers read Km's per liter, Km's per imp gallon, miles per US gallon...etc etc... Man, the possibilities are endless up there. I personally look for the ability to cruise lots of miles with few fill ups. The big tank does it for me. Fluctuating and occasional low mileage is what I expected with this machine.<br><br>Mark<br><br>(ex Calgary, now in Dallas)

 

Once you add any kind of fueling box, the trip computer is off considerably. When I added an Edge EZ, it read about 20% high i.e. 19 MPG indicated, 16 MPG actual. If you increase tire size, you have to use actual miles in your calculation, not indicated miles on the odometer to get an accurate reading.