I switch off between my 99 Ford Ranger single cab 2wd (with the old 3.0 V6...gets a crappy 20-21 mpg, if I don't go over 70...yeah, thats crappy for a v6), and my future father in laws 97 Ram 1500 2wd auto, with the 5.9 v8. The Ram gets 13mpg, sometimes 14 mpg. Its completely stock, but has a K&N filter, so its jumped up to 14 since adding that, and we just bought a new transmission for it.

So here is my question/dilemma, gas prices currently around me are averaging $2.75, so its $40 to fill the Ranger, and normally about $70 or so for the Ram. If I were to get a 97 Ram 2500, 2wd (auto probably), would I actually save, or actually shell out more? I realize the advantage of a diesel's maintance cost is so much cheaper, and longer in between times to do things like that, so that factor is not a factor I am concerned with. Its what I'll be paying every week.

Help me guys!

 

You can do what I did. I bought a good used VW Beetle TDI that gets @50mpg and kept my Ram for towing/weekend duties. The little VW has 10,000 mile oil change interval's and is a blast to drive. Although, I do feel kind of "girly" driving it but it pretty much pays for itself in fuel savings and I get to keep the miles off my "Sunday go to church" truck.

 

or you could get a jetta if you want to keep some of your manhood intact

just kidding, those bugs are awesome for fuel milage, a guy i work with has one and its a neat little car....fast too

brett

 

Diesel usually stays more level, Regular unleaded is $3.14 here, was 2.85 a month or so ago, and diesel is at $2.85. Hopefully it stays around there or lower. Oil and filter changes on a cummins will be more expensive than a gas truck. 20mpg, compared to 13 is a big difference though over the long run, plus Cummins are alot more fun to drive... Get urself a diesel.

 

you may be paying $.15 a gal more for diesel, but a diesel gets 30% better mileage when towing or working than a gasser does. with a diesel, you still come out better when talking economy.

 

Haha, I can't afford two vehicles! I just drive the Ram when I need a truck for truck use, and am wanting to combine it into one, daily driving, and truck use. After a fullsize tire, and 2 big ice coolers go in the bed of the Ranger, its full!

I have looked at a Jetta, I have driven a gasser, they are pretty fun. Are the diesel Jetta's fast?

What would be a average price for a 12v 2nd gen? Should I got for the 12v 2nd gen, or 2nd 24v? I really can't afford anything newer than that.

 

That's what I was thinking. There is a Jetta diesel also ... and it tends to have better fuel mileage than the beetle, due to a more aerodynamic body style. I would love to have a diesel Jetta (5 speed) myself, but the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) is higher for the Jetta diesel than my current rice-a-roni Corolla (5 speed) that's darn near paid off. So I'll just keep my rice-a-roni. Besides, it's in perfect shape, and is cheap to maintain.

As for your question: To be totally honest, you're going to wind up shelling out a bit more for fuel for the Cummins, than you are for the Ranger. If you take it REAL easy in the Cummins, you're around town mileage is likely to fall in the 16 to 18 mpg zone. That and the fact that diesel is generally 10 to 15 cents a gallon MORE than unleaded (in most places) and your fuel cost will go up.

You may get a bit better mpg with the Cummins over the gasser Ram, but with diesel being more expensive, it isn't going to be impressive.

Now knowing this, and what you may (or may not) NEED the 3/4 ton Cummins for ... is it worth the COST and SALES TAX you'll have to pay to buy the '97 Cummins? I doubt the fuel savings would pay the sales tax back for a LOOOOONG time ... if ever.

I'm not trying to sink your ship ... but if you do NOT have a direct need for a 3/4 ton truck, or unless either or both of the other trucks are becoming unreliable, this may not be quite as good a move as you hope, monetarily anyway. And the cost of diesel maintenance is NOT so much cheaper. I think it's nearly the same or slightly more (10 or 11 quarts of oil).

But if the 3/4 ton is needed, it will far surpass the abilities of either of those trucks, and provide decent mpg to boot. Along with longer engine life too.

- JyRO

 

The Ram is dying pretty nicely. As I mentioned, new tranny, but its really becoming a money pit.

Direct need is not necessarily there, other than the fact I have use for it as a truck to haul stuff (not tow currently), but I am not sure if I bought another gasser Ram, if I'd feel satisfied with it. However, in the long run, if it isn't good for me now...

 

I have to agree with this - I own a truck very similar to what you are thinking of buying. i would have to say at this point (6 years of ownership) that if you Don't Need it - Don't buy it. I like my truck, the sounds and driving experance of the Cummins are great, 332k miles and still running strong. But there's the weight and cost factor working against you here. With oil changes running $50 - 85 depending on source (DIY or a shop change), brake and ball-joints cost much more, tires are around $175/each as they must be load range E, and in general, it's a heavy-duty truck, and takes a heavy duty budget to maintain. The radiator along, with a new remanufacutred core cost over $700 parts only when I replaced it two years ago.

Acutally if you're over 20 mpg with a V-6 Ranger, you're doing quite well. The four-cylinders get ony between 20 - 25 in a base 2wd 5-speed configuration.

If you really want something cheap to run daily, the TDi is one option, but I stuck with a Honda Accord 5-speed, around 28 around town and 35 on the highway, no special oil or parts required. Gas here is $0.15 - $0.25 less than diesel.

 

After being at a good sized diesel guys get togther, I say fully half of the trucks are fun trucks, daily drivers, racers pullers with most capable of pulling any reasonable trailer with style and grunt. All could haul a bed full of bricks with out a problem. A few get over 20 mpg most are a bit less depending on the weight of the right foot.

The bottom line is that a good share of the cost of these trucks is just having a fun truck that can work when you want.

Heck last week I took my 1 ton dually down to the steel yard and got a whooping 10 pounds of steel. I enjoyed every minute of it.

I keep a spread sheet on costs of operation and fuel is by far the greatest. The truck probably won't start getting into the diesel is better range untill 150k miles maybe a bit sooner if the value continues to hold up.

The gassers take a big hit on depreciation each year for a long time so this plus fuel cost can add up if you are very cost aware.

As for the diesel itself, as others noted they ar enot cheap to fix when time comes so be sure to keep some ready funds available...like at least a grand.

 

I think diesel maintenance is more expensive. It's so cheap to keep my Honda maintained it's not even funny. After having the Ram, I can't believe I used to think synthetic oil changes were actually expensive for the Honda.

 

I would stick with the diesel, here is some quick numbers. Lets go on a 100 mile trip. My ram averages around 15.5 mpg diesel here today is $2.939 and gas is $2.899, it will cost me $18.96 to the 100 mile trip.Your Ford ranger @ 20.5 = $14.14 and your 97 Ram @13.5 = $21.47, to go on the same trip. Working it backwards, you wll need a gasser with 15.29 mpg to equal my Ram.

I got in the same topic with a friend of mine. Going on a 300 mile trip with the family, him in his Nissan (4) door and me in my Suburban. He would spend $30 to get there and I would spend $60 to get there. He believes that extra $30 was a lot for a trip. I say the $30 was small compaired to all the other stuff like food, lodging entertainment and everything else. I would spend a little more money but nobody would be cramped in during the trip and I could carry much more accessories .We agreed to disagree. I like to burn diesel in my truck and gas in my boat (7.4L).

 

After looking at prices around town, Gas is from 2.75-2.81, whereas diesel is 2.79 to 2.89. Not really much difference.

 

Save the money you'd spend on the ram and buy a 4 BT3.9 for the ranger. It will have more power than it knows what to do with and get 35mpg. That's exactly what I'd do if I didn't need the big truck. A guy in my town swapped a little diesel into an older toyota tacoma, that thing was cool. When I asked him what his mileage was he was disappointed to tell me "only about 30". What a jerk!
With a swap though, you'd have to calulate how long the initial expense of the swap will take to turn around in fuel savings.

 

Or how about a Toyota Prius. 55-60 mpg. It's new, trouble free, lots of space for a little pos, looks "slick," DMV should be low, you can drive in the carpool lane by yourself, don't have to deal with swapping engines, you can go 75 mph on the freeway and still get over 50 mpg, and you could finally say you're doing your part for global warming.

If fuel economy is what you're really looking for, look no more. To pull girls... Well, you've heard it right? "It don't matter what kind of car you drive."