Newbie 2500 Questions

[Trtlvr]

Guys thank you so much this is exactly the kind of feed back I am looking actual owners giving me the pros and cons. Anyone see any issues with a 16 Mega Cab 4x4 Cummins with only 17k miles. Seems like it’s been sitting more than driven.

 

[mohemipar]

If you go Cummins you have to make sure it you are driving it long enough for it to complete its regen process or you can have problems with the emissions BS. It's not too big a deal but also take into account DEF and the fact that in cold weather it won't warm up nearly as fast as a gasser. I think I saw you are in FL so you probably won't have to worry about that. But up here in MI it would suck. Deleting the emissions would fix almost all of that, not sure what the laws are down there in FL.

I love my 6.4 but I love the Cummins trucks as well. IMO they are both great for what they are. I honestly wouldn't consider any other diesel HD than the Cummins. The company has a great history and their engines are proven to be some of the best in the world.

I’m hoping Ram really upgrades the 6.4 or comes out with a new 7.0 for the next gen, otherwise I would definitely just get a Cummins if I get a new HD. The 6.4 does have a ton of potential.

 

[ronheater70]

If you go Cummins you have to make sure it you are driving it long enough for it to complete its regen process or you can have problems with the emissions BS.

Is this true? Over at the cumminsforum most people I have asked about it say dont worry about it, if its in a regen cycle when you shut it off, it will take off where it left off when you restart the truck. I'm a diesel newbie so I have been asking a lot of questions!

 

[Trtlvr]

Driving it enough definitely won’t be a problem. I can put some miles on one rather quickly. Was looking for a good used one. Let someone else take the depreciation. But want to make sure it’s in good shape and well maintained. Going to look at. 17 today.

 

[SouthTexan]

Guys thank you so much this is exactly the kind of feed back I am looking actual owners giving me the pros and cons. Anyone see any issues with a 16 Mega Cab 4x4 Cummins with only 17k miles. Seems like it’s been sitting more than driven.

Make sure you check the idle hours. A 10% or less idle to total hours ratio is ideal, 15% is still okay, and stay away form anything 20% or more.

 

[SouthTexan]

Is this true? Over at the cumminsforum most people I have asked about it say dont worry about it, if its in a regen cycle when you shut it off, it will take off where it left off when you restart the truck. I'm a diesel newbie so I have been asking a lot of questions!

Yes, it will take off where it left off when you restart the truck. Short trips are fine, but try to get in a long trip at least once every other weak. I recommend anyone getting monitor like an Edge Insight CTS2. It is just a monitor and does not tune anything. You can keep an eye on a lot of things like EGT's, exhaust back pressure, regen status, and much more.

 

[GottaBeKD]

Not specific to the 6.7, but all clean diesels. If you plan on keeping it past warranty. Factor in cost of delete and/or emissions repairs.

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

 

[22hemi13]

Driving it enough definitely won’t be a problem. I can put some miles on one rather quickly. Was looking for a good used one. Let someone else take the depreciation. But want to make sure it’s in good shape and well maintained. Going to look at. 17 today.

When it comes to diesel personably is only buy a new one. They don’t drop value enough for me to consider it a gain buying used. Gasser. I’d buy them all day long used. The Cummins hold their value very well. For a low mileage used one you can pretty much swing into a brand new one.

 

[SouthTexan]

Not specific to the 6.7, but all clean diesels. If you plan on keeping it past warranty. Factor in cost of delete and/or emissions repairs.

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

A delete will pay for itself due to the added 2-3 mpg fuel savings. Mine did in about 60k miles.

Although to be fair, most engines require out of pocket repairs past warranty such as timing chain/belt adjustments and so on. What mainly goes out are O2 and Nox sensors, but those are considered "wear items" and are on both gas and diesel engines.

 

[SouthTexan]

I used to get mid 18s with my 15 powerstroke but honestly I dont miss diesel at all... I always used additives for it between that, draining the water from fuel filter monthly, 13 quart oil changes and the up front 9k premium for me I would have had to drive it close to 200k miles before it paid for itself with the increase in mileage since diesel up by me has always been well over 50 cents higher than even mid grade.

Not to mention all the epa crap on those things anymore and if you need to replace injectors or fuel system its big $$ thats why I went to gas. Dont get me wrong though having that 900+ ft lbs was fun but just not worth it to me.

Not wanting to risk turning this into a "why I bought what I did" thread, I am starting to notice a trend here with those who have posted bad experiences with diesels in this forum. Many seem to come from Powerstrokes and almost all are not Cummins diesels........hmmmmm

 

[ronheater70]

I used to get mid 18s with my 15 powerstroke but honestly I dont miss diesel at all... I always used additives for it between that, draining the water from fuel filter monthly, 13 quart oil changes and the up front 9k premium for me I would have had to drive it close to 200k miles before it paid for itself with the increase in mileage since diesel up by me has always been well over 50 cents higher than even mid grade.

Not to mention all the epa crap on those things anymore and if you need to replace injectors or fuel system its big $$ thats why I went to gas. Dont get me wrong though having that 900+ ft lbs was fun but just not worth it to me.

I dont know, to some this is a very good point and must be considered.. Is it worth it to you?

My son had a 2013 f350 6.7.. It was an emissions nightmare. He bought a new 2017 6.7 dually and put 42K on it the first year and it has been problem free. He is a pipeline welder so it gets beat on, mud, rocks..2700 pounds of welder and materials in the bed everywhere he goes.

For me, I did o.k with the 6.4 gasser, and overall I cant really say anything bad about it. That gap between 1st and second gear was annoying though with a heavy load.
I had personally been researching the diesels for about 6 months, and when my trip to WV had me downshift from 4th to second at 65 MPH and then the rpms jumped to 4700 or so, thats when i started taking a hard look. I also found myself not even contemplating some of the campgrounds up in the mountains near me simply because, even though I knew the truck would pull it, It wouldnt be an easy pull.

At that point the truck I drive was dictating where I was going to tow my camper and I was missing some good spots. So Yes, by all means folks need to do some soul searching.

 

[JoshR104]

I'm just giving honest feedback from personal experience in both forms of HD trucks not bashing one or the other as they both have their cons for sure. Just trying to give personal opinion on the matter from my experience based on the OP's initial question is all. I never had a single issue with my PW at all in the 40k miles I put on it with city driving, highway or towing the gooseneck. Just stating that I didn't feel the need to have a diesel again and prefer the gasser thats all.

If you are pulling heavy then yea diesel is the way to go but from the sounds of it he will be using it mostly unladen on the highway which at that point I would say the gasser is a better option since mpg will be negligible at best with in a few mpg since he is in FL and its mostly flat ground. These modern diesels need a lot more care and maintenance with the output they make plus the emissions crap not like they used to be back in the early 90's. Clearly you guys driving in the diesels know this but the OP might not realize it.

 

[SouthTexan]

Every engine out there has their pluses and minuses. What may be a minus to one, may be a plus or a non issue to another. However, I am not going to point out MY minuses of the 6.4L or any other gasser to justify MY purchase of a diesel. That is not what the thread is about. Everyone's preferences are different and everyone's truck usage is different. Some feel that they have to "need" something to own it and other feel "wanting" it is more than enough justification.

Pointing out your own needs/wants as why you purchased what you did in a thread where the OP's needs/wants and truck usage is different than yours is pointless. That is like telling someone who is asking about a Porsche why you bought a minivan. They don't need to know why YOU bought what YOU did, they just need to know the experiences you had if you own one or both of the vehicles he is asking about, and how that applies to their situation. Not why YOU didn't buy something else.

 

[ronheater70]

Every engine out there has their pluses and minuses. What may be a minus to one, may be a plus or a non issue to another. However, I am not going to point out MY minuses of the 6.4L or any other gasser to justify MY purchase of a diesel. That is not what the thread is about. Everyone's preferences are different and everyone's truck usage is different. Some feel that they have to "need" something to own it and other feel "wanting" it is more than enough justification.

Pointing out your own needs/wants as why you purchased what you did in a thread where the OP's needs/wants and truck usage is different than yours is pointless. That is like telling someone who is asking about a Porsche why you bought a minivan. They don't need to know why YOU bought what YOU did, they just need to know the experiences you had if you own one or both of the vehicles he is asking about, and how that applies to their situation. Not why YOU didn't buy something else.

From the OP:

"Any thoughts on choosing the Hemi over the Desiel?"

While we can say " Yea, think of maintenance, fuel mileage purchase costs, towing, etc" I think giving personal feedback with experience to both is warranted if available.. So if you had a 6.4 and went to the 6.7, then why? Whats the benefits, whats the minuses..etc.. or likewise if you had a 6.7 (or generally any diesel now days cause they are all mostly the same in cost vs benefit etc) And went back to a gasser, then Why? Again, what benefits do you see, any negatives from that decision etc..

Soul searching, is what the OP needs to do..Some of us had been in his exact shoes.

 

[SouthTexan]

From the OP:

"Any thoughts on choosing the Hemi over the Desiel?"

While we can say " Yea, think of maintenance, fuel mileage purchase costs, towing, etc" I think giving personal feedback with experience to both is warranted if available.. So if you had a 6.4 and went to the 6.7, then why? Whats the benefits, whats the minuses..etc.. or likewise if you had a 6.7 (or generally any diesel now days cause they are all mostly the same in cost vs benefit etc) And went back to a gasser, then Why? Again, what benefits do you see, any negatives from that decision etc..

Soul searching, is what the OP needs to do..Some of us had been in his exact shoes.

There is nothing wrong with giving your personal experience of either especially if you owned both. In fact that is what I am saying everyone should do. However, there is a difference between telling your personal experience of your truck and how it applies to the OP versus telling him why you didn't want/need to buy _____ engine. You are telling your experiences with both which is great, but others seem to just be telling him why they didn't buy the other option they have no experience with which is pointless.

 

[mtnrider]

So I keep hearing guys say "All the extra maintenance of a diesel" Please explain because as someone who has owned both a gas and diesel HD trucks, other then fuel filters every 15K miles I'm not seeing it? Both pretty much the same from my experience.


.

 

[McBroom]

Guys thank you so much this is exactly the kind of feed back I am looking actual owners giving me the pros and cons. Anyone see any issues with a 16 Mega Cab 4x4 Cummins with only 17k miles. Seems like it’s been sitting more than driven.

What trim level?
How much money??


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

 

[ronheater70]

There is nothing wrong with giving your personal experience of either especially if you owned both. In fact that is what I am saying everyone should do. However, there is a difference between telling your personal experience of your truck and how it applies to the OP versus telling him why you didn't want/need to buy _____ engine. You are telling your experiences with both which is great, but others seem to just be telling him why they didn't buy the other option they have no experience with which is pointless.

O.k, got it ,I was misreading

 

[SouthTexan]

So I keep hearing guys say "All the extra maintenance of a diesel" Please explain because as someone who has owned both a gas and diesel HD trucks, other then fuel filters every 15K miles I'm not seeing it? Both pretty much the same from my experience.

I think it stems from the fact that many only look at the cost per PM and not the cost over the long run. Yes, a one time Cummins PM cost more, but since you almost can go twice as long between PMs then it pretty much evens out.

Another thing that may make a huge difference is doing it yourself versus having the dealer or someone else do it. Dealer charges an arm an a leg to change the fuel filters, but you can cut over half the cost with a 28MM socket, a ratchet, a crescent wrench, a 5 gallon bucket, and 10 minutes of your time. It is very easy to change the fuel filters so I am not sure why anyone would pay to have them changed.


EDIT: The same cannot be said for the other makes like Ford though. The oil change interval for the Powerstroke is almost the same as the gas engine so it still doesn't even out in the long run.

 

[McBroom]

Every engine out there has their pluses and minuses. What may be a minus to one, may be a plus or a non issue to another. However, I am not going to point out MY minuses of the 6.4L or any other gasser to justify MY purchase of a diesel. That is not what the thread is about. Everyone's preferences are different and everyone's truck usage is different. Some feel that they have to "need" something to own it and other feel "wanting" it is more than enough justification.

Pointing out your own needs/wants as why you purchased what you did in a thread where the OP's needs/wants and truck usage is different than yours is pointless. That is like telling someone who is asking about a Porsche why you bought a minivan. They don't need to know why YOU bought what YOU did, they just need to know the experiences you had if you own one or both of the vehicles he is asking about, and how that applies to their situation. Not why YOU didn't buy something else.

^^^Extremely well said ^^^
Very valid point too


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road