6.4L Hemi 3500 dually

skHemi64 · Oct 21, 2014

I am trading my 2014 6.4L 2500 CC LB Tradesman in for a 2014 6.4L 3500 CC LB DRW Laramie. She was ok as a rescue truck from my Kansas 5.9L breakdown, so it's time to move on for some needed creature comforts.

Not too many of this combination around it seems, but it is exactly what I need and want. The dealership found one "only" 350 miles away, and expect to take delivery 10/25. Found a couple others online in Texas and one in Arizona. Most could argue that a 3500 DRW should only be a diesel, but the gasser has a higher bed carrying capacity, and a still ok trailer towing capacity - enough for a planned 3-horse LQ trailer. I plan on swapping out the pickup bed for a flatbed, but I'm still researching if I could keep the cameras with the flatbed. I am still diesel-shy after breaking my last 3 diesel pickups. Very pleased with the performance of the 6.4L in the Tradesman.

Curious as to how many other 6.4L 3500 dually folks are out there and how you are using it.

RYAN66 · Oct 21, 2014

how did you break your last three diesels?

skHemi64 · Oct 22, 2014

96 Powerstoke. Glow plug dropped into cylinder, broke a piston $4500. Paid.
03 Powerstroke. Fuel injector locked open, burnt head. $4000. Paid.
06 Cummins. Engine destroyed itself on the interstate. $19k. Threw in the towel.

Still weird pulling up to a filling station and putting in GASOLINE after 19 years owning diesel trucks.

ZAR · Oct 26, 2014

6.4 Dually owner here. Bought it a few weeks ago and am very pleased. I use it for my Lance truck camper. Could not justify needing the Cummins for only a Truck Camper. Also like having the additional payload the gas engine offers, 6667 pounds on my crewcab.

Mega-Hemi · Oct 26, 2014

skHemi64 said:
06 Cummins. Engine destroyed itself on the interstate. $19k. Threw in the towel.

Any idea what caused this?

skHemi64 · Oct 26, 2014

I know when I bought it, it wasn't the original engine. All speculation from there. Only repair I did to it in the 4 years I had it was replace a single fuel injector.

Heavy · Nov 1, 2014

6.4 hemi mpg

hi im thinking of trading in my 09 cummins 3500 for a 2500 6.4 but I'm a little worried about gas mileage, what are you guys getting around town and on the freeway?

HemiRoar · Nov 2, 2014

I have a couple of friends that drive tow trucks for a local company and both their new trucks are 6.4 hemi DRW. Prior to this they had '11 2500 Denali HDs with the duramax, SRW

They love the 6.4, get's the job done just fine.

Oilbelcher · Nov 2, 2014

You will take a hit in mpg for sure. Look in fuelly.com and see what others are getting. I just looked at Ram, Chevy and Ford 3/4 tin trucks with and without. Using thr hand calculated reported figures in the website you will see that most people are getting 5+ more MPG with the cummins/dura max/ford diesels.

skHemi64 · Nov 2, 2014

I was getting 18.1 average mpg in the 2014 2500 6.4L CC long bed 4x4 Tradesman over the course of 8500 miles. It all depends on how you drive it. Most everyone has a very heavy foot, so probably 12-14 is realistic. Light foot and knowing how to drive - 18+.

My mpgs were atypical. I drive 55-60 mph max and do defensive driving, mild hypermiling.

ZAR · Jan 4, 2015

Anyone have issues filling up the gas tank? It seems no matter what station I fill up at I have to hold the nozzle a certain way or it clicks off like it's full. I cant do hands free fill ups. Kind of annoying. I think it may be limited to gasser duallies.

w6pea · Jan 4, 2015

ZAR said:
6.4 Dually owner here. Bought it a few weeks ago and am very pleased. I use it for my Lance truck camper. Could not justify needing the Cummins for only a Truck Camper. Also like having the additional payload the gas engine offers, 6667 pounds on my crewcab.

I have not bought yet. I am looking for a new truck. I want a diesel, but I really can't see the additional cost for the motor, and or justify it. So I am leaning more and more to the Hemi 6.4L I am also think of a 2500 HD that would have the same or comparable options as the F-250 SD XLT.
I do want creature comforts, any pro's and con's between the drw or srw configuration.
My vehicle that I have now is a F-250 Super Cab XLT. This truck has served me well but is getting tired.
Thanks I am new here so if I seem to repeat my self just take it that "There is too much blood in my caffeine system.

RLJ10X · Jan 4, 2015

Im a UPS driver. Back around 2000, UPS issued a P7 Package Car to me. That's a UPS truck to the rest of the world. That thing had the straight six Cummins, of that era, in front of an Eaton 5 speed, manual. That vehicle was the finest instrument of delivery ever devised by mankind. It weighed 9600 empty. I would stop and start over 100 times a day. If I didn't beat on it too hard, it would get 11.5 mpg. It wasn't fast, but it didn't how heavily it was loaded, you couldn't hardly slow it down. At 480,000 they replaced the injectors....

What a shame the EPA stuck their big noses into diesels.

I've sinced gone into Feeders for UPS. that's Tractor Trailers to the rest of the world. Now I'm in a Mack with a Cummins and a Eaton 10 speed. It's a good tractor, except for the exhaust system. It's loaded with ***** sensors that are junk!

skHemi64 · Jan 5, 2015

I bought a 2014 2500 CC LB 4x4 6.4Hemi back in June 2014. I recently traded up to a 2014 3500 CC LB dually 4x4 6.4Hemi. If you don't need the wider dually for a flatbed, or bed capacity hauling, I'd stick with the single rear wheel variety. The difference in MPG is about 3. I was getting 18+ in the 2500, am getting roughly 15 mpg in the dually. MDS seldom works on the dually, worked a lot on the 2500. Each has a fun factor due to the 6.4 hemi.

The downside to the dually is parking. A little easier for the 2500 in today's itsy-bitsy parking spots. The dually needs to be parked out in nice trucking parking, the back 40 at most stores, shopping areas.

2500 has more room on the road to wander a bit, especially nice on snowy 2 lane roads and passing opposing traffic. The dually is a bit of a challenge if you don't know exactly where the ditch is at on the right side. Passing a semi going the opposite direction in the snow on these two lanes can have a pucker factor if he decides to use a foot of your lane. At least the single wide you have a couple extra feet to work with.

Although I have only been driving dually's for a few years, it's easy to forget about the extra width. I've nearly creamed the dually bed sides a couple of times by neglecting to give parked vehicles a wide berth. Going from a short wheelbase Ford fullsize Bronco to the dually every other day - gotta keep the thinking cap on!

Hindsight though. I'd probably do a 2500/3500 CC LB 4x4 6.4Hemi SRW, 4:10, Laramie. I've sorta nixed the idea of a flatbed since getting the dually.

w6pea · Jan 5, 2015

RLJ10X said:
Im a UPS driver. Back around 2000, UPS issued a P7 Package Car to me. That's a UPS truck to the rest of the world. That thing had the straight six Cummins, of that era, in front of an Eaton 5 speed, manual. That vehicle was the finest instrument of delivery ever devised by mankind. It weighed 9600 empty. I would stop and start over 100 times a day. If I didn't beat on it too hard, it would get 11.5 mpg. It wasn't fast, but it didn't how heavily it was loaded, you couldn't hardly slow it down. At 480,000 they replaced the injectors....

What a shame the EPA stuck their big noses into diesels.

I've sinced gone into Feeders for UPS. that's Tractor Trailers to the rest of the world. Now I'm in a Mack with a Cummins and a Eaton 10 speed. It's a good tractor, except for the exhaust system. It's loaded with ***** sensors that are junk!

skHemi64 said:
I bought a 2014 2500 CC LB 4x4 6.4Hemi back in June 2014. I recently traded up to a 2014 3500 CC LB dually 4x4 6.4Hemi. If you don't need the wider dually for a flatbed, or bed capacity hauling, I'd stick with the single rear wheel variety. The difference in MPG is about 3. I was getting 18+ in the 2500, am getting roughly 15 mpg in the dually. MDS seldom works on the dually, worked a lot on the 2500. Each has a fun factor due to the 6.4 hemi.

The downside to the dually is parking. A little easier for the 2500 in today's itsy-bitsy parking spots. The dually needs to be parked out in nice trucking parking, the back 40 at most stores, shopping areas.

2500 has more room on the road to wander a bit, especially nice on snowy 2 lane roads and passing opposing traffic. The dually is a bit of a challenge if you don't know exactly where the ditch is at on the right side. Passing a semi going the opposite direction in the snow on these two lanes can have a pucker factor if he decides to use a foot of your lane. At least the single wide you have a couple extra feet to work with.

Although I have only been driving dually's for a few years, it's easy to forget about the extra width. I've nearly creamed the dually bed sides a couple of times by neglecting to give parked vehicles a wide berth. Going from a short wheelbase Ford fullsize Bronco to the dually every other day - gotta keep the thinking cap on!

Hindsight though. I'd probably do a 2500/3500 CC LB 4x4 6.4Hemi SRW, 4:10, Laramie. I've sorta nixed the idea of a flatbed since getting the dually.

Thank You both. I was going to buy a Ford Power Stroke. I have read so many "horror stories" about problems with them and repair costs. I have decided not buy a Power Stroke anything. Having driven Track Trailer Rigs and other Trucks all of working life I am leanin' more and more towards getting a 2500 CC LB 4x4 6.4Hemi SRW, 4:10, Laramie. But I still am looking at the Cummins Turbo Diesel 6.7L.

Kinda like a kid in a Candy Store !

ForceofWill · Jan 5, 2015

Honestly if you don't need to tow something 15k+ I would get the 6.4. I would not want to deal with all the emissions crap now. I do love me some deleted, tuned full exhaust diesel power but nowadays with inspections getting crazy clamping down on diesel it's not worth it to me.

For me I think Ram has the better gas engine with the 6.4 but I really like the scorpion for new diesels and would go ford.

skHemi64 · Jan 6, 2015

I have had a 96 Powerstroke, 03 Powerstroke, and a 5.9 Cummins. Broke all 3.
96 Powerstroke popped a piston after refueling. ~$4k - fixed
03 Powerstroke fried a head after an injector stuck open. ~$4k fixed
5.9 Cummins destroyed itself on the interstate after refueling. ~$19k - oh hell no.

I haven't broken any gassers. Can't afford to keep fixing these little truck diesels - need deep pockets. IMHO. Definitely test drive that 2500. It has the 5 link suspension in the back vice leaf springs - kinda odd but it doesn't affect anything, just different is all.

hemihustlin · Jan 6, 2015

Always fueling in the same place?

skHemi64 · Jan 7, 2015

Nope. Just bad luck. Probably just too gentle with them.

67Guzzler · Mar 31, 2017

Bumping up a couple month old thread because I think it's interesting to hear from 3500 Dually owners w/6.4L HEMI's.

Not a dually here but loving the 6.4L after having 6 Cummins trucks -- 1994, 1996, 2004, 2005.5, 2010 and 2013.

I miss the torque off idle and the sound of the diesel. I LOVE the simplicity and lack of hardware under the hood. Way more space with no turbo, egr, coolers, etc.... Just did my first oil change at 6,750 miles and it was a breeze as compared to the Cummins mainly due to the easy access to the oil filter on the 6.4L Hemi.

No regrets here. Only thought to people considering the 6.4L is if their prior truck was a diesel -- don't buying this want it to BE LIKE a diesel. It's just not.

Fuelly Numbers so far:

-Guzzler

6.4L Hemi 3500 dually

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