Those who've traded

[loveracing1988]

So after owning my truck now for over 3 years (was originally bought to get a camper the year after I bought it but marriage...) we are finally gearing up to buy a camper of some sort (fifth wheel if I get my way, travel trailer if she gets her way). We rented a travel trailer last week to see how we liked it and such (she has never camped before) and it turns out we all loved it the smile on my 3 year old face was priceless. So the plan is next year after her jeep gets payed off well be looking for a camper.
The rv we rented was a Primetime avenger 27dbs which I actually really liked everything about aside from some small stupid engineering head scratchers. The labeled dry weight was 6700 pounds but the gvwr was around 9100 pounds so the weight pull of water, propane etc was somewhere in between that but I'd say around 7500 pounds or so.
My truck did seem to pull it just fine, most of the time in 4th gear but it would occasionally go into 5th. It did seem like it would definitely struggle in hills because some of the little hills we had trying to gain any speed was impossible. My bigger problem was mpg's, i averaged 8.7 or so for the 3 tanks. Now I'm not saying it was lower than I expected but it has me thinking.
Recently I've seen a few members trading their 6.4 trucks for Cummins trucks and I'm wondering if they (or really anyone else who has went from a late model hd gas truck to diesel truck) have ended up towing the same rv/boat/trailer with both trucks and what did they pick up for mileage? I know the gain in power is going to be night and day but I'm just looking for feasibly what I would gain.
The fifth wheels I'm looking at are all st least 8500 pounds dry so I know my problem won't be getting any better, I'm sure the full trading sentence won't even get out of my mouth before the wife shuts it down but I still have to try right?

 

[smurfs_of_war]

I have been mulling over this for a few months too since we are looking at possibly moving to a 5th wheel, so I am interested. My only holdback is that we get our fuel from ****** old gravity feed tanks on the farm and I am paranoid about bad fuel in the system when I am 200kms away from anything.

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[loveracing1988]

I have been mulling over this for a few months too, so I am interested. My only holdback is that we get our fuel from ****** old gravity feed tanks on the farm and I am paranoid about bad fuel in the system when I am 200kms away from anything.

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Seems like kind of a dumb question but couldn't you just fill up at a gas station if you know you'll be driving a ways away?

 

[smurfs_of_war]

Seems like kind of a dumb question but couldn't you just fill up at a gas station if you know you'll be driving a ways away?

I'd love to say yes, but it depends on the day. The gas station in the nearest town is randomly open depending on the owners mood and often has no diesel, and its 40km away. The nearest one to that is 100km away and the nearest dealership in case something breaks is 200km away :/

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[loveracing1988]

I'd love to say yes, but it depends on the day. The gas station in the nearest town is randomly open depending on the owners mood and often has no diesel, and its 40km away. The nearest one to that is 100km away and the nearest dealership in case something breaks is 200km away :/

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What is this? Little house on the prairie?

 

[smurfs_of_war]

Pretty much dude hahaha!

Scary part? We aren't even the most isolated in our neck of the woods. There is still 2 farms that are even deeper into toothless country.

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[NewBlackDak]

Pretty much dude hahaha!

Scary part? We aren't even the most isolated in our neck of the woods. There is still 2 farms that are even deeper into toothless country.

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Are you on dial-up?


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[SHOOT2KILL]

There are several variables that have to be taken into consideration when comparing gasser vs diesel towing...Most obvious would be head/tail winds and elevation changes...EXAMPLE...I have towed the same size/wt snowmobile trailer all over the upper Midwest for many years...Trailer weight is roughly 6000#...I have towed this trailer with 7 different trucks...6 were C.C. Duallys and the 7th is this 2500/6.4 RAM...The duallys had all varations of motors from 6.2 diesel...6.5 diesel...6.0 gasser...7.4 gasser...8.1 gasser...Crate motor 502ci...all those trucks had 4.10 gears...Leaving Chicago where the elevation is approx. 600' and heading north to lets say Eagle River,Wi which is around 350 miles...The elevation in E.R. Wi is 1700' and the halfway point around Stevens Point,Wi is @ an 1100' elevation...It's a constant uphill pull the whole way for 350 mi... 6ish hours...The spread in MPG just on that same trek has been as low as 6mpg with ALL the big blocks when encountering a stiff headwind...While the best was 14-15mpg with the 6.5 diesel in a fog storm while driving behind a semi at 45 mph for most of the trek...The best the 6.4/3.73 has gotten so far is 10.8 on the evic...YES...My diesels did a better job towing...BUT...The trade off of all the B.S. that goes along with diesel engines in areas that temps can get to -25f or lower is not worth it...IMO...

 

[smurfs_of_war]

Are you on dial-up?


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Not quite that bad... we have satellite. And I am part way into putting up a radio shot from town so I get ADSL. Slowly but surely bringing this place out of the bronze age.

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[Gear Jammer]

Loveracing1988, what gears does your truck have? I tow around 10-11K pounds of trailer and quads a couple times a year and I haven't had any problems maintaining speed, or even gaining speed on hills. My tuck has the 4:10's and I use the tap shifter to shift down before the truck starts to lug.

 

[loveracing1988]

Loveracing1988, what gears does your truck have? I tow around 10-11K pounds of trailer and quads a couple times a year and I haven't had any problems maintaining speed, or even gaining speed on hills. My tuck has the 4:10's and I use the tap shifter to shift down before the truck starts to lug.

I do only have 3.73's but the gain of 200 rpm's or so it wouldn't have made that much of a difference. Now if I were able to step up to 4.56 or so that might help but assuming it is $1500 per axle at 3k I'm almost halfway to the diesel up charge. If I did make a conscious effort to up shift before a hill it might make a difference but to me in tow haul it should be shifting on its own. One hill I had it to the floor in 2nd gear and it was sitting at 3500 rpm's not gaining any speed and I tried to downshift and it wouldn't do it.
To the above, if I gained 200' of elevation over the course of my drive I would be shocked. I actually had a tail wind for the drive I got 8.9 for.

 

[SHOOT2KILL]

I do only have 3.73's but the gain of 200 rpm's or so it wouldn't have made that much of a difference. Now if I were able to step up to 4.56 or so that might help but assuming it is $1500 per axle at 3k I'm almost halfway to the diesel up charge. If I did make a conscious effort to up shift before a hill it might make a difference but to me in tow haul it should be shifting on its own. One hill I had it to the floor in 2nd gear and it was sitting at 3500 rpm's not gaining any speed and I tried to downshift and it wouldn't do it.
To the above, if I gained 200' of elevation over the course of my drive I would be shocked. I actually had a tail wind for the drive I got 8.9 for.

Regarding the bold...^^^^^...Diesel upcharge is $8700.00...Aisin Transmission is another $2700.00 upcharge...Divorce lawyers and child support are PRICELESS..........

 

[loveracing1988]

Regarding the bold...^^^^^...Diesel upcharge is $8700.00...Aisin Transmission is another $2700.00 upcharge...Divorce lawyers and child support are PRICELESS..........

Ok, so I'm 34% of the way to the cost of diesel at full MSRP. Better?

 

[Gear Jammer]

If my truck wouldn't accelerate up the hills I tow on it would have been sold off for a diesel already. A regear to 456's would be a huge help while towing, but i dont think anything will improve the towing mileage. With the 410's I average 8-10 mpg while towing. I've always sold my trucks private party, I've never traded something in.

 

[mtofell]

Towing the same trailer with my 06 Duramax and then my 6.4 Hemi the difference was not as much as I'd feared. The diesel was about 2 MPG better. It varied depending on winter blend fuel.

If you want a diesel and the power get one, for sure. If you're trying to have it make financial sense because of the improved MPGs, forget it. You'll have to own it for 268 years

I haul an 11K loaded 5th wheel with 3.73 gears out west in the hills and it does good not great. If I did anything I'd do a re-gear to the 4.56s. My truck's almost paid off and I just can't see starting over again just for a bit more power the once or twice a month I tow.

 

[loveracing1988]

Towing the same trailer with my 06 Duramax and then my 6.4 Hemi the difference was not as much as I'd feared. The diesel was about 2 MPG better. It varied depending on winter blend fuel.

If you want a diesel and the power get one, for sure. If you're trying to have it make financial sense because of the improved MPGs, forget it. You'll have to own it for 268 years

I haul an 11K loaded 5th wheel with 3.73 gears out west in the hills and it does good not great. If I did anything I'd do a re-gear to the 4.56s. My truck's almost paid off and I just can't see starting over again just for a bit more power the once or twice a month I tow.

Weren't you looking to trade for a Cummins a couple of months ago or was that someone else? Not trying to be a smart ass (for once) I'm just wondering.
Financially I know it does not make sense, but overall I just don't like feeling underpowered at all, which to me shouldn't happen when I have a 410 hp truck with a straight through muffler, ported throttle body, and hemifever tune.

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[SHOOT2KILL]

ok, so i'm 34% of the way to the cost of diesel at full msrp. Better?

i think your wife may have a better grasp of your young familys finances...large monetary purchases should be left up to her...although your testosterone induced posts here are good entertainment ...

 

[loveracing1988]

i think your wife may have a better grasp of your young familys finances...large monetary purchases should be left up to her...although your testosterone induced posts here are good entertainment ...

Hilarious, don't you have somewhere else to troll? It's getting close to wintertime so almost plow season.

 

[AFMoulton]

Look at it this way, you are not happy with what you have, and if you can afford it and justify it to yourself, get the diesel. Maintenance costs/fuel costs are about the same between a gasser and a diesel now, so you won’t save much there.

Peace of mind and the power you want when towing are invaluable. So again, the diesel will tow it way better than your gasser, and you won’t have to wonder.

Now on the flip side, I have a gas truck because I Tow maybe 10-15% of the time, so it’s hard for me to justify the $10k extra on a truck for motor/trans. If I towed everyday I would buy the diesel.

So how much do you really Tow? That should be the true question.


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[SHOOT2KILL]

Hilarious, don't you have somewhere else to troll? It's getting close to wintertime so almost plow season.

you ASKED for OPINIONS...I gave you a few from my viewpoint. When you come back down to earth from the TESTOSTERONE overload, hopefully you will see that your 6.4 will suffice. Especially from a $$$$$$$$$$$ standpoint...BTW...I put more miles on my snowmobiles in the winter than I do snowplowing....GOOD LUCK...