The difference between the 1500 and 2500 Hemi is weight and suspension components. The 2500 is "Heavy Duty" and as such comes with a heavier and stronger frame and beefier and heavier parts which is why the fuel economy is worse.

 

Thats what I figured. So what is the mpg difference between the 2500 and 1500 hemi?

 

For that youll have to wait for someone with a gas 2500 to chime in. Ive heard about 10-12 city and like 16 hwy

 

You wanna talk pulling other trucks on one hand and then keep coming back to fuel economy on the other. You ain't gonna have both...

 

my next rig will certainly be a CTD. I love my hemi but i crave more torque

 

Booth the Hemi and CTD in HD frames have week front u joints on the drive axles and so so ball joints, as the miles are added, thease are issues that will fail, The stock drive trains on thease trucks are far from bulliet proff.

AS for the hemi, 16 spark plugs can be a pain due to the short life span of copper plugs, and the CTD will cost more for basic fluid changes.

The only way I would ever consider a hemi in a 2500 is with a 6sp man transmisson, but you will not find one, as I had to factery order mine. DodgeRam 2500 is no longer possible with a hemi and 6sp Mn transmisson.

If your a dialy driver, thiers no point in a CTD, if your needing a Mountain mover, the CTD is the way to go.

Right nows no advanatge in flue savings, diesel is 10 cents more expensive per LT in Calgary Alberta than reg flue.

 

that would be nice to have both haha, but i was saying if i just go with a hemi the hp and torque was the same for the 1500 and 2500 so i was wondering the mpg diff between the two. Thinking maybe 2500 hemi would be good for what i need just wondering if the mpg diff is worth the bigger axles and stuff.

 

The diesel wins in every single category.

More power, longer service life, better mileage, better resale value. The only benefit a Hemi has over the diesel is a lower buy-in cost. Yes, diesel costs more, but the added mileage makes up for it in my opinion.

I fully, 100% disagree that if it's a daily driver to get a Hemi. The diesel is more than up to daily driver duty. Both of mine are daily drivers, and in fact rarely have anything hooked to them. The 03/04 Common Rail gets the best mileage out of all Common Rails, even better with a mild tune on it.

Show me a Hemi daily driver that puts down 500hp at the tires on a simple program and still gets 20mpg on the highway and I'll keep quiet.

If I were you I'd look for an 03/04 6 speed manual. It'll have the HO (305hp/555ft-lb torque) and you won't have any concerns over the automatic. Yes, the automatic can and does fail, although that's often from guys turning up the power. A clutch is a lot cheaper than a transmission rebuild.

 

i would love to get a manual again(two previous trucks were a manual and i would way rather have it over an auto) how common are they? never had a 6spd though. Does this tranny come with an 04 ctd ho?

 

Good luck finding an '03 or '04 in good shape, let alone finding one with a manual tranny.

Yeah I agree it would be a great truck, but there just aren't many of them out there unless you are looking for a beater. At least that's how it is down here.

The last decent one I saw at a dealership was an '06, auto tranny, 170k miles on it. Real clean and they were asking $28k for it maybe four months ago...