I’m in Colorado. We have a 7700 GVWR RV, a small 3up ATV trailer. We already own a 19 Ram 1500 Classic 5.7 4x4. The truck is a very powerful cool machine. Last year I took a 3500lbs pop up from Colorado to Montana to Washington and back home. Power wise is did great. AVG MPG was around11-12.
This last October I found a super clean, one owner 2007 2500 5.9 CTD 4X4 with 172k miles. Drove it from Phoenix to Denver as is. Made the trip beautifully. Unloaded my MPG was 19-20 on the way home. This truck has a 5-6 inch lift and is on 315/70R17 tires. Why did I buy a Cummins in a 2500?
I bought it because I love trucks. I also love Cummins engines. I’ve had gasser big and small block trucks. I feel gassers have all the power most of us will ever need. I didn’t but my Cummins for power. I bought it because I simply love the 5.9 liter. Now keep in mind I will be doing 90% of the maintenance in this new (to me) diesel. No rust, 48RE is fine but I’ll build it in the near future anyway.
Gas is going to struggle a bit more going up the passes here. It’s to be expected on a naturally aspirated engine. They don’t fall flat though. Honestly I am not a truck fan boy, as I am an engine fan boy lol. If I really wanted to state my case for a gasser, I’d walk into a Ford dealer today and get the 7.3L Godzilla in a F250 chassis and call it a day lol.
Instead I DAILY drive my Cummins, average 16-17 in the city, and love every minute of it. My view is when I turn my CTD on, I feel I have a power plant, not just an engine. It feels like a truck should feel like. At 176K currently my only goal with this CTD is longevity and plain old fashioned, ass kicking fun.