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I'm a GM lover by nature and my son is a Dodge Hog. Now that my GMC took a dump, I'm shopping for wheels to pull a 20' trailer.
Drove a Ford V-10 today and a 5.4 gas also. Favoring a Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 but found a Dodge as described in the subject title that is within my means. It's a 2004. I kinda prefer gas for some reason. Wondering if anyone uses anything similar to this in their everyday ventures and any relative comments.
Horrible on fuel. All dodge gas trucks are pigs. Otherwise great trucks. We rarely get them In our shop. I think we've had one in, an 03 for a rear diff issue. And the guy drove the crap out of it.
We ALWAYS have GMs in though.. (no offense) just finished a tranny job on an 02 Silverado today and have a 04 Z71 out front that needs a motor. An impala that needs head gaskets and another buick LeSabre that needs heads as well. All under 200k kms. All I can say is thank god for General Motors, they keep food on my table. LOL just teasing.
Thanks Jord....at this point I'm not going to be selective but it sounds like Dodge loves gas. I had a 79 Dodge fulltime 4x4 that had to be the world's worst on fuel mileage but it was tough. Using my son's 92 Dodge Cummins that is dependable but doggy on the road under load. But then again, it was the GM 6.0 that decomposed on me. I haven't experienced a newer Dodge and at my age, I won't get many more chances if I don't act now. I'll probably wish I had the nice ride of a GM product if I do though........what to do.....what to do ???
I have owned all the major brands and found benefits and obstacles with each. When ever it is time to buy a newer vehicle I get the best I can afford and tell the wife it is the last one I will ever buy. With that being said, my newest truck is a 14 years old 7.3 diesel. I think I might outlive this one.
I have 3 vehicles, all diesel. 02 VW Jetta (43 mpg city & hwy combined), 04 Dodge Ram 2500 (25 mpg empty) and a 07 Dodge Ram 3500 (20 mpg empty). I prefer diesel for the torque, and for the longevity of the motor. I tend to keep my vehicles a while (all 3 of these have over 200K miles, Jetta has over 260K). I will agree that the Ford 7.3 Powerstroke and the Chevy Duramax will out pull my Cummins, but mine will pass more fuel stations before needing to be refueled. That is why I chose the Cummins, for the mix of pulling power and economy. I did not buy the Dodge because it was a Dodge, I bought it because it had the Cummins. I bought the 3500 to hotshot with, and frequently pulled 8 - 10 ton loads (backhoes, etc), and had no problems. I would have to go into lower gears going up hills, but I would still average 12 mpg, while my competitors with other power plants were struggling to get 7 - 8 mpg. For scrapping and pulling my 16ft flatbed I use the 2500, as it gets better mileage and allows me to maximize my profits.
i have a 98 ram 2500 4x4 V10 truck. it pulls my 18 foot tilt trailer up hills nice. but the mileage is little less then desired. its gets about 10mpg empty.
i would say if your going to get a dodge truck and you can aford it go with the diesel it gets better mileage then the V10 does.
Thanks Merritt. I've pulled satisfactorily with a 5.3 GMC 1/2 ton and a 16ft trailer hauling from 2-4 ton, although a 1/2 ton isn't meant for that kind of service. I've pulled with a 79 model 360 Dodge....kinda iffy.
My last GMC was a 6.0 and I loved it. Plenty of power for the 2-4 tons that I haul. It was even okay with my 5 ton skidsteer. I've found a 5.7 Dodge 2004 gasser and would think it may be comparable with the 6.0 GMC. I know the gas consumption will be bad but the vehicle itself is only 2/3 the price of the GMC I was looking at and the odometers are nearly the same.
Using my son's 92 Dodge Cummins now but it's a real dog on the road and rides like a tank.
I'm hoping there aren't any low flying jets tomorrow. The picture explains why I like bumper hitch trailers. I'd
never have gotten this thing on an over the wheels flatbed.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
nice load yunkman that looks like a good payday. i have not pulled any junk cars or pickups lately. i was comming home from the welding shop after upgradeing my trailer with a winch. and on the way home i blew a tranny line! so looks like i will be replaceing a transmission lines tomarrow if the parts come in time. otherwise be the following day. i see why it blew though. looks like last owner put a remote trans filter on the pressure hose instead of the return line. i'm thinking of just takeing the whole mess off and redo it the right way. after i get the truck fixed i can take the trailer back to the welding shop. i keep busting tail lights everytime i tilt the trailer down! so i'm thinking of mounting the lights little bit higher then have the welding shop weld on a piece a metal on the bottom to work as a skid plate. least that way they won't break as easy.
Oddly enough, I talked to the previous owner of a 2004 Dodge 3/4 ton that I'm interested in and he said he got 15mpg highway and "maybe took a little more pulling a load". Guess I'm selling my GMC to a mechanic for parts.
a cummins man after my own hartQuote:
Originally Posted by wayne1956
The ve pumps in the first gens aren't anything to write home about power wise. I drive a Duramax and love it, good fuel economy and is reliable once you get the common problems worked out. I just ordered a new transfer case today however. (Thanks GM Engineers for pump rub....)
And the VP Pumps in the 24v 2nd gens like to kill themselves with the stock lift pump supplying the fuel. learned that the hard way.Quote:
Originally Posted by caleb7210
I drive a 2007 Dodge 2500 gas burner daily and pull a trailer a lot. It gets around 12 MPG which isn't good, but it has been a tough truck for the farm. In peanut season I may pull in 3-5 14,000 lb trailers a day for a couple of weeks with no problems yet. Occasionally, I'll have to pull a 18 - 20,000 lb grain trailer about 25 miles. I take it easy around 35 MPH so I don't overheat the trans and haven't had any trouble.
Dodge has fixed the ride a lot since the 90's trucks. This one doesn't quite have a Chevy ride, but it's not like the old Dodges. I did have some trouble with the front end when it got some wear at about 75k miles and it would shake badly when I hit a pothole or something. Had to replace the ball joints, steering dampner, drag link and pitman arm before getting that straightened out, but it's been tight now up to 93k miles.
I'm partial to gas burners because I'm off road a lot and the diesel is so heavy on the front end that I'm more likely to bog and mess up the fields. If not for that, the Cummins would be a better choice for fuel mileage and longevity.
I just got a 2008 F350 v10 dually. It sucks fuel for sure, but then again, I bought it for hauling not cruising around town.
Then the cp3 pumps destroy themselves with poor fuel In the 3rd gens and Duramax's. The 12v and 24v trucks are tough for sure, once you put an Air Dog or Fass lift pump on the 24v.
That was my reasoning for going with this gasburner 5.7 Hemi. I didn't know the thing has 16 sparkplugs and this is why:Quote:
Originally Posted by Russell
""Each cylinder has an ignition coil pack over one spark plug, and a regular plug wire connected to the other spark plug. Further, the coil pack also has a plug wire attached to it that extends to the opposite cylinder bank. Each cylinder shares a coil pack with another cylinder. Each of the two plugs on a given cylinder is fired by a separate coil. One plug has a coil directly attached, and the other is fired via an ignition wire connected to a coil located on another cylinder on the opposite bank. The extra plug fires during the power stroke to more fully burn the hydrocarbons. The second ignition allows additional power in the down stroke while lowering the need for restrictive catalyst plates in the converter. "
Source: Challenger Talk Here
Yep thats what I did. Put a Fass HPFP 150 on mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by caleb7210