New to this site,and stuff everywhere not sure where im suppose to begin.Im a current owner of a megacab larime 2006 5.7.Ok scenario..Im a bassaholic and fish quite often"94 tracker 60hp aluminum"So i love the MC but the towing fuel consumption sux.My buddy has a 2500 QC 06 says he gets around 18-20mpg and 14-15 towing 22000lb mini excavator and has no pulling issues.Ok my boat dont weigh that much nor does the hemi lack the power of pullin my boat.This is my pondering issues sleepless nites and internet searching saga..Is upgrading to a MC 2500 worth it..or possibly the QC2500"buddy says stick with the MC"Im looking at trying to save money in fuel.Local club "bass" and alot of distance to get to my lakes.Wife drives the truck during the week"im a commuter car driver"but when the weekend comes its my truck"kinda"She does at home work and has 2 selling product jobs which she hauls alot inside the MC because of the drop down seating in the rear.I pay 390 a month and owe about 19000 on it...is bumping up to a 2500 06 MC worth the higher monthly payment and kinda starting all over...This was suppose to be my last truck but as you have read ummm yea confused on what to do..I have read alot of post on here and it tuff to get a idea of what people are getting in there diesels"mpg"Im not going to lift it or go with OS tires,been there done it,I dont know anyone else who owns a dodge diesel but 1 buddy,and i cant seem to let 1 person persuade me.Maybe ill shut up and see what i get for responses and then i can go from there.Thanks in advance.Clif-- Olympia Washington
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Well, I did a good bit of tourney fishing from the early '90s till about '04. Quite a bit heavier boats than yours ('86 Glasstream w/115HP, '94 Javelin w/140HP & a '99 Javelin w/175HP).
One of my three clubs was a "traveling" club and we'd fish a different lake each month, all within about 150 miles one way.
Initially I pulled with a Furd diesel. Even though you could basically pull my boats with a V6 compact gasser, it's hard to beat a diesel for over the road pulling. I'd average 24 mpg easily with the boat in tow.
I also owned a '98 Dodge 1500 RCSB 4x4, 360 CI gasser, an '02 Cheby Z71 and my current '04 Hemi QC 1500 4x4 while very actively tourney fishing.
I question if you really NEED a 2500 series (3/4 ton) truck to pull your relatively light Tracker.
Stepping into a 1500 series '06+ Hemi would give you the benefit of having a lighter truck and MDS which will basically shut down 4 cylinders while you are cruising on the highway, automatically and instantly switching to 8 cylinders when needed. The cost of a 1500 series would also be considerably less than a 2500.
Personally I'm not a fan of MDS, but if fuel economy is your main concern, it would be the way for you to go.
I'm also gonna call BS on your buddy. If it's a 2WD, he may eek out 18mpg on the highway if he ain't pullin' or haulin', but ain't no way he's getting 14 mpg hauling 22,000 lbs. (which btw, exceeds a 2500 gassers capacity by 10,000 lbs and is illegal).
Any 2500 Hemi's I've been around are lucky to see much over 10 mpg pulling anything over 6,000 lbs. Now if his truck is a diesel, then that's another story, but he still ain't gettin 14 mpg pulling 11 tons!
From strictly a fuel economy standpoint, the diesel is a clear choice when pulling anything, but unless you are really putting a LOT of miles on it a year, initial cost and cost of ownership would not be worth it.
With a comparatively low cost and low upkeep cost, coupled with the fact you have a very light boat, a 1500 QC would be the ticket, IMO...
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New to this site,and stuff everywhere not sure where im suppose to begin.Im a current owner of a megacab larime 2006 5.7.Ok scenario..Im a bassaholic and fish quite often"94 tracker 60hp aluminum"So i love the MC but the towing fuel consumption sux.My buddy has a 2500 QC 06 says he gets around 18-20mpg and 14-15 towing 22000lb mini excavator and has no pulling issues.Ok my boat dont weigh that much nor does the hemi lack the power of pullin my boat.This is my pondering issues sleepless nites and internet searching saga..Is upgrading to a MC 2500 worth it..or possibly the QC2500"buddy says stick with the MC"Im looking at trying to save money in fuel.Local club "bass" and alot of distance to get to my lakes.Wife drives the truck during the week"im a commuter car driver"but when the weekend comes its my truck"kinda"She does at home work and has 2 selling product jobs which she hauls alot inside the MC because of the drop down seating in the rear.I pay 390 a month and owe about 19000 on it...is bumping up to a 2500 06 MC worth the higher monthly payment and kinda starting all over...This was suppose to be my last truck but as you have read ummm yea confused on what to do..I have read alot of post on here and it tuff to get a idea of what people are getting in there diesels"mpg"Im not going to lift it or go with OS tires,been there done it,I dont know anyone else who owns a dodge diesel but 1 buddy,and i cant seem to let 1 person persuade me.Maybe ill shut up and see what i get for responses and then i can go from there.Thanks in advance.Clif-- Olympia Washington
Thanks for the input guys,this site is exactly what ive needed.Yes i was skeptical on my buddies mpg thats why i decided to start asking the 1 place you can find anything out.I guess i will need to go find this thread in the new section now will repost there,Thanks FF for helping me out as i wasnt sure where to post.
In my 06 mega,is there a way to tell if the MDS is working,cause my gas gauge says umm nope lol.I plan on up grading in the distant future to a glass bass boat"around the 20' line"So its just a head banger deciding if i should upgrade a truck to hopefully the last truck for many many years and be ready for when a new boat comes if it financially can..I should be sitting with no negative equity in mine as my payoff is less than the KBB.I talked with Dodge dealer and like all saleman say now is the time.
I have had my truck for awhile so i know fuel goes very fast towing my little tracker.If the diesels are better with mpg i would use that as a family commuter also,instead of cramming my 6'0 230 body in a toyota camry"bad enough it my work commuter" and the wife loves her- was mine truck at 1 time..We really like the MC but if the QC are great than that would also be a choice as they are a little cheaper 2500.Been looking at them while im driving they do look good.I have a 2 yo and another 1 coming later on.Dont haul to many big people around wife just loves all the room for her stuff INSIDE.I can drive my truck to and from work about 50 miles,i swear its a quarter tank "driving like a G-PA"..I guess i ask alot or just talk alot,but it just seems like so many thing to consider if it is all worth it.Thank guys for the replies so far.Clif
WTH!!!Mines not equipped with it..O man,seriously,that was a selling point they had told me when i was buying it.UGH,so i guess i shoulda came here first.And i had no idea how to tell or where to look so i was a easy sell to them i guess..Now im not as happy..Damn the man
Should I upgrade?
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