Interesting comments from my service advisor at the dealership, re: 6.4

[Firebird]

I stopped by this morning to set up an appointment for the 2 recalls outstanding on my truck, and my service advisor (who only takes care of the trucks) asked me ho I liked the 6.4 Hemi. To date, this is my 1st gas heavy duty, previous 5 heavy duties were all Cummins. I told him I really like the Hemi, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how well it drives! He said he has been getting really good feedback on the engine so far.

I told him that since I no longer tow, and that my driving is all short distance city runs, a Cummins no longer made sense or cents. He agreed that my driving style now would be murder on the diesel emissions.

Interesting thing that he said though, was how many of his fleet customers with cab and chassis trucks have made the switch to the 6.4 Hemi. They like the initial cost savings over the Cummins, the cheaper service costs and the lack of emission troubles from short trips and idling. He has been amazed at how many more 6.4's they have been selling.

 

[MADDOG]

I'm not surprised in the switch.

It makes sense if you are hauling heavy all the time, over some distances, to use a diesel. But around town the gasser seems to make more sense as the diesel emissions systems don't like short trips and long idle time.

 

[R.D.J.]

The large CASE IH dealership network that operates near our farm, uses the 6.4 in 4500 and 5500 service body equipped rams. They have the Aisin transmission with PTO for the crane on the service body.

I would LOVE to have such a setup for my shop's limited service calls.

There are many trade off's for every engine choice, but this is a trend I see as well with some of my customers running one ton trucks, and for the exact same reasons as mentioned above. It may be especially so for colder climates, as the one I unfortunately reside in.

 

[Tach_tech]

Even the Cummins dealer in my city has switched over a lot of their trucks to the 6.4.