Opinions Please. Ram 2500 Gas vs. Diesel

ABadJeeper

ABadJeeper

Carolina Metal Masters
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Location
Huntersville, NC
All right the age old debate Gasser vs. Diesel. Here is the deal I'm getting ready to buy a new Dodge 2500 and I'm trying to decide between the two. Basically I can buy a nicely equipped SLT cummins or I can get the Laramie Power Wagon which has every bell and whistle available. I'll be pretty much daily driving the truck as I plan to cut up my JK over the winter and it will probably make it more of a weekend vehicle than a daily driver. Once that happens I will be towing it to and from events and wheeling trips. My JK is going to weigh around 6K and I'm figuring on buying a PJ buggy trailer so probably another 2500 or so pounds. All in all most likely around 10K or less for most towing.

With that said I've looked for it but I can't find it but I think Ron or Shawn put some figures together on the break even point for gas vs. diesel. I'm really up in the air on this one because I want the Cummins but I want some of the creature comforts the Power Wagon has and I really can't afford to add them to the CTD. Well I could but I don't really want the payment. I think the fact the gasser is a PW will help with resale similar to the CTD so that kinda equals them on the back end. I'm just having a hard time trying to decide between the two so I'm reaching out to you guys for some opinions.

Thanks in advance.
 
There's option 3, buy a used Cummins with all the options you want for the same price (or less) than the new Powerwagon.
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Nevermind, used CTD's are way overpriced too!
 
Also, I believe this is the thread you are looking for: http://www.nc4x4.com/forum/index.ph...w-cab-truck-as-my-tow-pig-need-advice.152465/

Either truck should hold it's resale value very well. I see low mileage 07 CTD's listed for the same price as they were new in 07.

If you plan to tow that much, you won't regret getting the diesel.

If you must have the creature comforts, you won't regret getting the Laramie Cummins.

Thats how people start out looking for a $30k truck and end up with a $50-60k truck.

If you want to throw some actual numbers up here, I'm sure all of us internet experts will try to influence your decision based on our personal internet reading experience.
 
I have seen asking prices recently for 03-04 CTDs that are not as nice as mine, asking more than I paid for mine 6 years and 75k miles ago.

Even if you go by book value, mine has held up remarkably well.

I would be very hard pressed to buy a new truck of any make with any powertrain. Find yourself an 07 5.9 CTD. It will pull a Jeep on a trailer as if it isn't there. I'm serious. I start in 2nd if I'm pulling our Jeep on a tag trailer.
 
Get on CL, Ebay and searchtempest and anything else you can find and go get something out of Texas. Prices down there on trucks of any kind are much more reasonable, yet still incredibly overpriced no matter what the market says even when you factor in the travel and fuel cost to go get it. It will just make getting a Diesel or any 2500/3500 series truck in this market less painful. Whoever started this trend of overpriced, high mileage trucks being "worth" what people are asking, needs to be kicked square in the nuts.
 
I've looked all around at the used market and I just can't find something decent that isn't almost as much as I'm paying for a brand new truck with a 100K warranty. I had a 06 CTD Laramie and I really liked it so I do really want the CTD. I'm going to see if I can get the dealer to sweeten the deal a little and lean that way.
 
StretchASU said:
Get on CL, Ebay and searchtempest and anything else you can find and go get something out of Texas. Prices down there on trucks of any kind are much more reasonable, yet still incredibly overpriced no matter what the market says even when you factor in the travel and fuel cost to go get it. It will just make getting a Diesel or any 2500/3500 series truck in this market less painful. Whoever started this trend of overpriced, high mileage trucks being "worth" what people are asking, needs to be kicked square in the nuts.
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Wait for $5 a gallon diesel and the market will drop out again as it did a few years ago....
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
Have you test drove the new 6.4 gas engine?
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Yes I drove the Power Wagon. I thought it seemed peppy enough but it didn't really compare to the torque of the Cummins. The new Transmission with the CTD just accelerates effortlessly it seems.

StretchASU said:
Get on CL, Ebay and searchtempest and anything else you can find and go get something out of Texas. Prices down there on trucks of any kind are much more reasonable, yet still incredibly overpriced no matter what the market says even when you factor in the travel and fuel cost to go get it. It will just make getting a Diesel or any 2500/3500 series truck in this market less painful. Whoever started this trend of overpriced, high mileage trucks being "worth" what people are asking, needs to be kicked square in the nuts.
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Yea I agree completely. There are a ton of used trucks out there that are selling for more than new ones are going for with the current rebates and incentives.

snappy said:
Wait for $5 a gallon diesel and the market will drop out again as it did a few years ago....
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I hope that doesn't happen but I will just pull the Jeep out and drive it back and forth to work. I only put about 25 miles on it per day.
 
I've said it before and I will say it again: DO NOT SETTLE! If you settle for anything less than what you absolutely want you will eventually regret it and sell it. I was looking a CTD with a 6spd but I ended up with an 06 Mega Cab Laramie CTD auto. I loved that truck, but it wasn't a 6spd and I ended up selling it less than a year later.

Duane
 
snappy said:
Wait for $5 a gallon diesel and the market will drop out again as it did a few years ago....
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In 2007, when diesel was that high in Florida, I bought an 06 cummins for 22k with 20k miles. Sold it 2 years later and made 5k. Wish I would have kept it.
 
Diesel all the way,no question for me.Shop around and have your money ready when the deal shows up.
 
How often will you be towing? Couple times a month - get the diesel. Couple times a year - gasser. What is a realistic fuel mileage number for a 3/4 ton diesel as a DD? My Tundra (4x4, doublecab, 5.7 V8) gets 15.5 MPG as a DD (no BS numbers) and around 11 MPG towing my 6k rig and trailer to Harlan 2x a year.
 
sgtbriangreen said:
How often will you be towing? Couple times a month - get the diesel. Couple times a year - gasser. What is a realistic fuel mileage number for a 3/4 ton diesel as a DD? My Tundra (4x4, doublecab, 5.7 V8) gets 15.5 MPG as a DD (no BS numbers) and around 11 MPG towing my 6k rig and trailer to Harlan 2x a year.
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I have an 06 6spd on 35's i get 20 mpg all day long (Unloaded) with 50%city/ 50% highway. If i ran the speed limit on the highway it would be even better.
 
The new trans is supposed to be considerably better. I had a 06 Laramie CTD that I had a full billet trans built for it and I still smoked it. Might of had something to do with the stuff under the hood but I did eventually get it all together.

Pretty sure I'm staying in the CTD family. Struck a deal for one that I really like tonight. I just gotta go pick it up.
 
Blaze said:
Either one, you'll need a transmission before too long anyway. :p
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I had good luck with the NV5600 until the pilot bearing crapped out and took the input shaft with it. Clutch and trans were both still in decent shape after 150k, including about 15kmi pulling 18k#. I had Lee rebuild the whole thing because it was already in pieces on the floor, but he said it was in fine shape.
 
Is that the new all black package? Looks sharp!

Duane
 
CLRracer said:
Is that the new all black package? Looks sharp!

Duane
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Yes this is the new black appearance group. The new Rams just have way to much chrome on them for me. If I went with on of the other colors I would have to have the bumpers painted at a bar minimum. I'm just not big on chrome.

untchabl said:
Nice looking truck. Have the dealer flip the tires to put the white letters on the inside.
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I was thinking that but they probably won't be on there for too long.
 
StretchASU said:
Whoever started this trend of overpriced, high mileage trucks being "worth" what people are asking, needs to be kicked square in the nuts.
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This!

I'm hoping the fad of driving a big diesel truck even though you don't need it, and don't tow shit will die soon. Unfortunately, oil prices are predicted to stay low for some time, so the douche bags probably won't be giving up their trucks any time soon. I'm going to be in the market for a newer used truck in about 3 years. I'm really hoping the fad has died by then.
 
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