Eco Diesel towing?

[raggdoll]

How do they do compared to the gas engines in a 1500 series?

 

[ramffml]

I believe the Hemi still has more towing ability but in terms of "max tow" it's probably not much difference. While towing though you may find the ED shifts a little less often as it makes power lower down than the hemi which needs to rev higher to make its peak power. When you go WOT through, the hemi should still feel more powerful. The ED will get slightly better MPG numbers while towing though in percentages, the ED might save you 15 to 20 percent on fuel costs depending on where you live and the cost of gas vs diesel.

The hemi has that lifter tick issue which affects a small amount of engines, the ED has its own problems and the numbers there as far as I can see, is that you have a higher chance of engine failure with the ED especially with 4th gen trucks. 5th gen trucks come with the new ED and the jury is still out, they said they fixed the bearing issues etc and so far so good (it seems).

Some prefer the sounds and power of the Hemi, others prefer the low down torque and fuel savings of the ED.

 

[Farmer Fran]

I believe the Hemi still has more towing ability but in terms of "max tow" it's probably not much difference. While towing though you may find the ED shifts a little less often as it makes power lower down than the hemi which needs to rev higher to make its peak power. When you go WOT through, the hemi should still feel more powerful. The ED will get slightly better MPG numbers while towing though in percentages, the ED might save you 15 to 20 percent on fuel costs depending on where you live and the cost of gas vs diesel.

The hemi has that lifter tick issue which affects a small amount of engines, the ED has its own problems and the numbers there as far as I can see, is that you have a higher chance of engine failure with the ED especially with 4th gen trucks. 5th gen trucks come with the new ED and the jury is still out, they said they fixed the bearing issues etc and so far so good (it seems).

Some prefer the sounds and power of the Hemi, others prefer the low down torque and fuel savings of the ED.

Pretty much this

 

[crash68]

This forum has a horrible Hemi bias, even to the point where some think the Hemi does as good of job as the Cummins. Some people get driving a diesel, others are just clueless.
When it come to towing the EcoDiesel has the advantage in the terms of pulling the load and fuel economy. On a 500 mile trip towing an 8K lbs trailer for 250 miles, I can make that on less than one 26 gallon tank of fuel. I've heard gassers downshift 2-3 times climbing the same grade where mine shifted once. The engine doesn't get any louder under load either, pretty much church mouse quiet.
If you like fun pedal then the Hemi is the way to go, just listen/watch for the honk and wave from an EcoDiesel while they pass you sitting at a gas station. The DT body EcoDiesel w/33 gallon fuel tank have been pushing almost 1000 miles on a single tank of fuel, I've seen pictures of trip odometers.

 

[HEMIMANN]

If you're towing a lot, diesel. If occasionally, gas. New (Gen III) ecodiesel only, though - supposedly these have had problems fixed.

 

[Dinky]

Love the hemi but when towing the diesel does it better. Maintains better fuel economy and does it with less effort. Hemi is great for fun and light towing and has the v8 sound.

 

[Irishthreeper]

Not to start a whizzing contest but I’ve never seen a post on here that stated the Hemi can tow as well as a diesel. It can’t and I tow with a 6.4. The argument is and will always be the cost and maintenance of a diesel compared to the Hemi. Mine pulls a 10k+ 5W just fine; if it was 12 or 13k and up I’d get a diesel. One last thing, it’s also BS that the Hemi screams at 4K rpm constantly. I ran that RPM during a long climb with a headwind in South Dakota and that was about the only time. Level road at 65 or so I’m at 2200 rpm with 4.10’s. Keep it real, guys

 

[Dinky]

Not to start a whizzing contest but I’ve never seen a post on here that stated the Hemi can tow as well as a diesel. It can’t and I tow with a 6.4. The argument is and will always be the cost and maintenance of a diesel compared to the Hemi. Mine pulls a 10k+ 5W just fine; if it was 12 or 13k and up I’d get a diesel. One last thing, it’s also BS that the Hemi screams at 4K rpm constantly. I ran that RPM during a long climb with a headwind in South Dakota and that was about the only time. Level road at 65 or so I’m at 2200 rpm with 4.10’s. Keep it real, guys

Cummins maintenance is a touch more but not by much, but the eco diesel is pretty close to the hemi. Towing 15k with my 3500 6.7l I get about 14mpg and empty around town 17 and freeway 22. With fuel prices the way it is now wonder how fast you can re-coop the original investment of upgrading to diesel.

 

[KKBB]

Cummins maintenance is a touch more but not by much, but the eco diesel is pretty close to the hemi. Towing 15k with my 3500 6.7l I get about 14mpg and empty around town 17 and freeway 22. With fuel prices the way it is now wonder how fast you can re-coop the original investment of upgrading to diesel.

Not very fast in my area. Diesel fuel is 75 cents a gallon more than gas!!

 

[Dinky]

Not very fast in my area. Diesel fuel is 75 cents a gallon more than gas!!

Well if I was 15k towing my old hemi I would get about 7mpg. Now towing 15k with my 6.7L at 14mpg not even max towing. That would be $112 difference per 30gals of diesel so almost 1 tank difference. over in my part of the country diesel is only .35cents more over gas used to be cheaper. With these numbers it would take 40k miles to recoup your initial cost from a 6.4l hemi to a 6.7L cummins. Now if you change your own oil you could keep cost down. The old argument of diesel parts cost more is not even a factor anymore. I don't know what mpg the eco boost gets mpg at max towing but I am sure it's better than the hemi and the cost for eco boost from hemi is a lot smaller gap than the 6.7L. Like I said if you are going to tow a lot I would go diesel.

 

[HK1837]

They tried selling the 4th gen with 3.0L diesel here in Australia but didn't sell that well for a number of reasons. One was it dropped a metric tonne (1000kg, 2200lb) of towing capacity compared to the 5.7 Hemi 4th gen. Two, they only offered it in Laramie and charged more for it again on top of the Hemi. It may have sold better if offered in the Express Quad and Crew cabs.

 

[KKBB]

Well if I was 15k towing my old hemi I would get about 7mpg. Now towing 15k with my 6.7L at 14mpg not even max towing. That would be $112 difference per 30gals of diesel so almost 1 tank difference. over in my part of the country diesel is only .35cents more over gas used to be cheaper. With these numbers it would take 40k miles to recoup your initial cost from a 6.4l hemi to a 6.7L cummins. Now if you change your own oil you could keep cost down. The old argument of diesel parts cost more is not even a factor anymore. I don't know what mpg the eco boost gets mpg at max towing but I am sure it's better than the hemi and the cost for eco boost from hemi is a lot smaller gap than the 6.7L. Like I said if you are going to tow a lot I would go diesel.

I agree that if you are towing to go diesel. I always had a cummins up until this 6.4. Only reason I went gas this time is I was afraid emissions on the new diesels would go to crap since I have a 1 mile drive to work. I still miss the torque of the cummins, but I love the quick warm ups with the hemi. Also, I like not getting covered in diesel fuel while changing the filters. The one under the bed on my 2016 would run fuel down to my elbow no matter what I tried. Either way...fuel is way to damn high no matter what ya drive!!!

 

[Dinky]

They tried selling the 4th gen with 3.0L diesel here in Australia but didn't sell that well for a number of reasons. One was it dropped a metric tonne (1000kg, 2200lb) of towing capacity compared to the 5.7 Hemi 4th gen. Two, they only offered it in Laramie and charged more for it again on top of the Hemi. It may have sold better if offered in the Express Quad and Crew cabs.

We lost the about that much on as well but even with the loss if you were to tow thay much the diesel would perform better.

I agree that if you are towing to go diesel. I always had a cummins up until this 6.4. Only reason I went gas this time is I was afraid emissions on the new diesels would go to crap since I have a 1 mile drive to work. I still miss the torque of the cummins, but I love the quick warm ups with the hemi. Also, I like not getting covered in diesel fuel while changing the filters. The one under the bed on my 2016 would run fuel down to my elbow no matter what I tried. Either way...fuel is way to damn high no matter what ya drive!!!

Yeah I emissions are getting out of control. Once a kit come out I am at least going to but one for a delete. Won't install it until I have issues. If I lived 1 mile from work I would have a bike or a gas power scooter lol.

 

[dhay13]

Diesel here is $1.10/gallon more so that adds up. Being 25% higher in price you need to get 25% better fuel economy to offset. I can't speak for the ED as I have never driver or ridden in one but if only towing occasionally I'd go with the Hemi. If towing alot then the ED may make more sense.

 

[jimboschnitz]

I had a 2016 Ecodiesel for 3 years and put about 100,000 miles on it. Despite all the issues that generation of Ecodiesel had, my problems were minimal compared to what I read on line and in different forums. The biggest issue I had was a leaking EGR cooler which I found out after purchasing the vehicle used. During that 3 years I made two trips every year back and forth from North Texas to Northern Minnesota pulling a boat and had the truck loaded to hilt with bicycles etc. I measured my fuel economy with miles driven vs gallons used and consistently achieved a minimum of 14mpg which was the lowest while towing, and the best was a smidge over 18mpg when I had a south tail wind. Without the boat etc., fuel economy in the city was typically 20 to 21 mpg, and on long trips I averaged consistently over 25mpg traveling the speed limits which in many places is 75mph. Right now diesel fuel is quite a bit more expensive, somewhere in the $.75 to $1.00 range but we are living in an anomaly right now. In the past, diesel has only been a little more expensive, here in Texas about $0.20 to $0.40 but with the fuel economy both towing and empty, the Ecodiesel is cheaper to operate than the Hemi. As for towing, a Hemi may get to the top of the hill faster than an Ecodiesel, but the Diesel will pass many more fuel stops than a Hemi.

 

[star_deceiver]

In Alberta, today:

You can’t buy an ecodiesel 1500 in a trim lower than Rebel. That means you’re spending $75000+ to get one. You want to spend less than $60k on a 5.7 Hemi, no problem. Joe average will never recoup the extra costs, it’s just money out the door. But it’s your money so you do you!

In 2019 when I bought my 6.4, out the door it was $55k…. There wasn’t a single Cummins truck on any lot for less than $70k, but you could still haggle a few thousand off. Nowadays, it’s next to impossible to find any 2500 series or bigger truck for less than $70k.

It really isn’t a nice time to be vehicle shopping.

 

[Dinky]

In Alberta, today:

You can’t buy an ecodiesel 1500 in a trim lower than Rebel. That means you’re spending $75000+ to get one. You want to spend less than $60k on a 5.7 Hemi, no problem. Joe average will never recoup the extra costs, it’s just money out the door. But it’s your money so you do you!

In 2019 when I bought my 6.4, out the door it was $55k…. There wasn’t a single Cummins truck on any lot for less than $70k, but you could still haggle a few thousand off. Nowadays, it’s next to impossible to find any 2500 series or bigger truck for less than $70k.

It really isn’t a nice time to be vehicle shopping.

Most people wont get recover the cost of any vehicle they buy right now lol. i bought my big horn 3500 6.7l in january and paid below msrp at 69k there is 2 trucks at the same dealership one is a big horn 75k and Laramie for 78k.
you can still find them but it is hard. Since more people will not recoup their initial cost they could at least lower their fuel spending if one vehicle can achieve better fuel economy. At least your month to month cash flow will be better
after initial hit.

 

[star_deceiver]

Since more people will not recoup their initial cost they could at least lower their fuel spending if one vehicle can achieve better fuel economy. At least your month to month cash flow will be better after initial hit.

This is true, so long as their payments/time doesn’t eat that up. Pay more now, less later? Pay less now, but over a much longer term? Unfortunately, there are way too many different costs, uses, likes, needs, that come into play.

Will the ecodiesel cost less to operate? Short term, yes… long term, maybe. How far is one stretching themselves financially to get said ecodiesel? Will one like the day to day driving?

Personally, I like the fun pedal.

 

[ramffml]

In Alberta, today:

You can’t buy an ecodiesel 1500 in a trim lower than Rebel. That means you’re spending $75000+ to get one. You want to spend less than $60k on a 5.7 Hemi, no problem. Joe average will never recoup the extra costs, it’s just money out the door. But it’s your money so you do you!

In 2019 when I bought my 6.4, out the door it was $55k…. There wasn’t a single Cummins truck on any lot for less than $70k, but you could still haggle a few thousand off. Nowadays, it’s next to impossible to find any 2500 series or bigger truck for less than $70k.

It really isn’t a nice time to be vehicle shopping.

It's beyond me why these guys want to cut their own throat. I would imagine more ED instead of Hemi sales could only improve their total MPG and emissions numbers, but I too discovered you need to spend insane money just to get into the proper trim first.

I'd consider a Tradesman ED for my next truck if it was offered, but it isnt. So its far cheaper to get a GM diesel in Canada since there they currently allow you to get it in their mid grade trim. Even that is nuts at a min of $55K.

So yeah, if I want a diesel, Ram is literally forcing me out the door into a GM truck. Nuts.

 

[BossHogg]

I recently traded my 2013 1500 Laramie HEMI for a 2022 1500 Longhorn ECOdiesel. When it comes to towing a 7,200-pound utility trailer with a tractor and implements on board, there is no comparing the HEMI to the ECODiesel, the ECO hands down. Now you have heard it directly from one that has towed the same load with both powertrains.