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Old 09-21-2018, 06:08 PM   #1
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tow vehicle

Thinking of upgrading tow vehicle from ram 1500 hemi to a diesel. Pulling a jayco 212qbw with weight around 5000lbs. I'm thinking the diesel will give me better fuel mileage. Looking for input from others. Thanks, Jim.
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Old 09-21-2018, 06:36 PM   #2
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What towing mileage are you getting with your current setup?

I can tell you that my Cummins averages between 11.5 and 12 mpg pulling my 5500# 22BHM. Wind resistance, trailer frontal area, etc. play a big role in towing mpg. The diesel is going to achieve better mpg than a gas powered unit in almost any towing situation. However, the difference may not be as great as you think.
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Old 09-21-2018, 07:28 PM   #3
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I am getting around 10 towing and 16 non-towing.
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Old 09-21-2018, 07:41 PM   #4
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2016 Chevy 2500 silverado diesel 4x4, Hwy 19-20 mpg, towing 28RLS (@8000 lbs) about 12-14. HOWEVER, from what I've read in the forums and online. Gas guzzlers have about caught up to the diesels, only diesel advantages are if you tow alot where the gallons per mile advantage is worth it, if you plan to keep the vehicle well over 100,000 miles, diesel is worth it. Diesels have higher maintenance costs and you need to know where you can get fuel, some off the main roads there is not always diesel available. Search the theads here, there are a few with alot of different inputs.
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Old 09-21-2018, 07:45 PM   #5
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Thanks for your input, I have checked out some other posts. Deciding if the higher cost of diesel is worth it.
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Old 09-21-2018, 07:54 PM   #6
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Thanks for your input, I have checked out some other posts. Deciding if the higher cost of diesel is worth it.

For 'higher cost', did you mean purchase price? Unless you do your own maintenance, diesels will cost more to maintain, too.
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Old 09-21-2018, 08:06 PM   #7
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I meant more in general, cost of truck, fuel, maintenance.
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Old 09-21-2018, 09:32 PM   #8
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Thinking of upgrading tow vehicle from ram 1500 hemi to a diesel.....snip
Jim,

Are you referring to a Ram 1500 diesel or 2500 diesel?

Bob
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Old 09-21-2018, 09:33 PM   #9
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We, too, have an SLX 212 QBW and tow with a 1999 F-250 7.3L diesel. I’m getting about 12.5 mpg towing, much of it through multiple mountain passes. Get over 16 mpg in daily driving. With an auxiliary tank, finding diesel isn’t a worry. I’m a newbie to diesels and TTs but I love the stability of the 3/4 ton. That is more important to me than mpg.
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Old 09-21-2018, 09:41 PM   #10
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I had a Ram 1500 hemi and decided to get a trailer. Because of this I upgraded to a Ram 2500 CTD. I average 10 to 12 mpg towing a 33' 8,000 lb trailer at 65mph. Personally I love the diesel. The engine brake and tow mode make downhills a breeze. I tap the brakes and just steer. The truck uses the engine brake and downshifts automatically. I never use my brakes on downhills. And uphill the Cummins pulls like a monster. The truck gets up around 20+ mpg vs the 17 or so mpg of the Hemi just driving. So I would expect better mileage IF you drive reasonably...

BUT...

More expensive maintenance (don't ask me about the $600+ per year my Sprinter cost me compared to the $70 per year for the Ram hemi). And more expensive repairs. The ride of a 1500 vs 2500 is like a car vs a truck from the 90's. That being said I love my diesel.
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Old 09-21-2018, 11:21 PM   #11
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I don't own a Ram pick up, can't afford one after upgrading the trailer. I did upgrade my tow vehicle to a used Durango with the 5.9 V8, picked it up for $1900.

What I can tell you is my friend that very kindly agreed to drive us over 300 miles one way to the dealer and pick up our brand new trailer did the job with his 15 Ram 1500 Quad cab 4X4 with the 3.0 Eco Diesel. He told me his 1500 has more horsepower and torque than his older 3500 with the 5.9L Cummins.

On the way to the dealer running 60-65, his trip computer registered 30 mpg. On the way home towing the trailer and having the tow haul setting engaged, still running 60-65, the trip computer register 18 mpg.

If I could have afforded a used 1500 with the Eco Diesel, I would have jumped on it. As it is, I can drive the Durango a long ways on what I didn't spend on that model truck.
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Old 09-22-2018, 05:06 AM   #12
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Thanks everyone for your replies. Just wanted information on what other people tow with.
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Old 09-22-2018, 07:13 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by jimi1952 View Post
Thinking of upgrading tow vehicle from ram 1500 hemi to a diesel. Pulling a jayco 212qbw with weight around 5000lbs. I'm thinking the diesel will give me better fuel mileage. Looking for input from others. Thanks, Jim.
If the truck is your daily driver I wouldn't switch to a diesel. That size trailer can easily be handled by most any 1/2 ton gasser currently in production. If you plan to get a much bigger trailer and/or put a LOT of towing miles in then consider a 3/4 ton diesel.
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Old 09-22-2018, 07:24 AM   #14
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If the truck is your daily driver I wouldn't switch to a diesel. That size trailer can easily be handled by most any 1/2 ton gasser currently in production. If you plan to get a much bigger trailer and/or put a LOT of towing miles in then consider a 3/4 ton diesel.
I agree with this. I use our 1500 as a commuter. It does a solid job with our Feather 23RBM. When we go bigger and I no longer need a commuter, I will be looking at 2500 or 3500 diesels; it will depend on how big we go. I will not go any further in weight or length with this RAM 1500.

Our RAM (hemi) gets 19-21 combined mpg. I drive 55-60 on the freeway and chill in town. I do not rush anywhere. Pure freeway and no tow or load, it gets 24-26 mpg with cruise set at 55 (relatively flat terrain and ideal wind conditions). Towing and loaded for camp, we cruise at 55 in tow/haul mode and get 10-13 mpg, depending on conditions. I am sure that these numbers drop steadily with speed increases and less advantageous road and weather conditions.

I love the EcoDiesel, but their payload numbers are a limiting factor. I had my finger on the trigger for one, but I could not get around the payload limitations. Do your homework on that as well. Our current 1500 has at least 350lbs more payload than all of the EcoDiesel units I considered. You run out of truck real fast with a 1500. However, for now it is the best situation while I commute, and our TT is a Jay Feather.
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Old 09-23-2018, 09:28 PM   #15
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We recently switched from ram 2500 Hemi to a Ram 2500 Diesel.

The hemi pulled our older 6300gvwr 24' camper without a problem. Got 9-10 mph towing and 12-13mpg around town.

The diesel get s 20-23mpg on the highway, and about 12mpg towing our new 37', 10600lb gvwr Jayco HT 295DBOK.

Ride is great, diesel is fantastic, and ditto on the exhaust brake w/cruise control...just set it and forget it. It pulls the new camper effortlessly where the hemi wound out a lot in 3rd to get the 6300lb camper up the hills. Sounded good, but certainly me had to stay on top of it more.

If you can afford the $, get the diesel. Higher resale value too.
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Old 09-30-2018, 04:14 PM   #16
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My friend just bought a new Ram 1500 4wd with the small diesel. Pulls his 23' Jay Flight like a champ and get around 14.5 mpg or 24 with just truck alone. We traveled 300 miles together and his fuel bill was about $5 less than mine with 2014 2 wd Silverado gasser. Same results on the 300 mile trip home.
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Old 10-03-2018, 12:18 PM   #17
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A 5,000 Gross trailer does not warrant a diesel. It would take many years of driving it to break even on the minor fuel efficiency gain over a gas engine.


Diesel parts are more expensive, diesels cost more upfront, and there is no reason to go to a diesel for such a tiny load, i suppose unless you will be towing it 365 days a year.


Don't fall for the hype that you need a one ton dually F450 to tow anything. its just hype for most of the folks who ask "can I pull X with Y?"


of course, if your hauling a Tri-Ax toy hauler, that's a different story.



Have fun out there.
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Old 10-03-2018, 02:12 PM   #18
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no one has mentioned the higher cost of diesel which negates some of the mileage advantage and the much higher initial cost of the diesel engine.
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Old 10-03-2018, 02:32 PM   #19
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Tow vehicles

The only way for additional gas mileage is to upgrade to a 2500 series. The deisel engines and transmissions will supply more mileage than that if he the 1500 series. I just looked into upgrading to a Ford F-250 because the 150 diesel had less tow than the 3.5 gas engine because of the available transmissions. Check out the web page for “Dodge ram towing capacity.” It will show all the pickups and their towing packages. Hope this will help.
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Old 10-03-2018, 03:08 PM   #20
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I have a 2018 1500 Eco-diesel. I get 30+mpg on the highway at 75 mph average. I tow a hummingbird 17rk and average 16.7 mpg at 65 mph. One of the things that sold me on this truck is it's ability to tow, It has more torque than the 5.7L Hemi. As for maintenance costs? they're very similar. I was driving a 2000 Dakota prior to this rig and getting 13 mpg average (15.5 hwy) when not towing, 7 mpg towing. The fuel I save in a summer is enough to more than make up the maintenance cost difference. I have towed larger trailers with the Eco-diesel and experienced no significant change in hauling characteristics and fuel economy.
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