kltk1
Senior Member
Based on a discussion in another forum regarding the Pentastar vs EcoDiesel and MPG/Cost, I am rethinking my strategy on my next truck. It will be a RAM, for sure. The ride is too good to give up. My truck is used primarily for around town use and travel with a motorcycle in the bed. I rarely tow, but if I did I wouldn't need more than 5000 lbs of capacity. At best. My bikes are pretty heavy (Victory Cross Country 780lbs. BMW R1200RT 580lbs) and are fine in the bed of the truck. As such, I don't need a Hemi and am much more interested in fuel mileage than brute horsepower. I was considering the ED simply for the added efficiency. But, when I put pen to paper I came to realize that over 100,000 miles, based on the additional purchase price of the ED engine, and taking into account the increased fuel mileage achieved with the diesel, the ED still costs about $3500 more than the Pentastar over that 100k miles. $3500 is a lot of fuel and would pay for several trips over that 100k miles.
All that being said, based on the research I've done here, and on a couple of other forums, it appears the Pentastar fuel mileage takes a pretty good hit when towing. I've read some instances of folks pulling 2000 lbs and getting in the low teens for fuel mileage. Would like to hear from Pentastar owners that routinely haul up to 1000 lbs and if they're seeing much of a drop off in fuel mileage with a good sized load in the bed? My truck would likely have the 3.55 gears. From what I gathered from the RAM website just by going to the 3.55 gearset towing capacity jumps from 4500 to 7200 lbs. Or something similar to that, while fuel mileage remains the same. Thanks!
All that being said, based on the research I've done here, and on a couple of other forums, it appears the Pentastar fuel mileage takes a pretty good hit when towing. I've read some instances of folks pulling 2000 lbs and getting in the low teens for fuel mileage. Would like to hear from Pentastar owners that routinely haul up to 1000 lbs and if they're seeing much of a drop off in fuel mileage with a good sized load in the bed? My truck would likely have the 3.55 gears. From what I gathered from the RAM website just by going to the 3.55 gearset towing capacity jumps from 4500 to 7200 lbs. Or something similar to that, while fuel mileage remains the same. Thanks!