Hey guys, looking to tap into some of your personal experience with this.
I drive around 10k miles a year, about 8k of those miles are towing my 3½k lb landscape trailer. I have been using my 94 Ram 2500 5 speed manual 4x4 360 Magnum 4" lift 3.55 gears to tow it. One of my neighbors is an excellent mechanic and has offered to walk me through swapping a VE Cummins (out of a 1st gen) into it. He's done the same swap 2 or 3 times and said it's not that hard. I get about 10½ mpg towing my trailer with it, and about 15½ empty on the freeway doing 85+. Besides using it for work, I also like to explore old logging roads with it, and go on several long trips a year in it.
With my 360, if I'm in a hurry, or pulling out onto the hyway, I typically run it up to 3,500 rpms than shift. They drop down to about 2,000 in between shifts. I know with a 12 valve that you typically don't take them much past 2,400 rpms (with out a governor spring kit?).
I like the idea of getting better fue economy with a diesel. I have always wanted a Cummins too. I also would enjoy putting some bigger tires on it, but there's no way I'm doing that unless I do the swap so I'll have more power, as I have to downshift when towing to make it up even the smallest grade.
Here's my question guys, it sounds good in theory to me, but would my overall driving experience be worse with a diesel (I don't care about more vibrations, or it being louder)? I'm not into racing it or anything, but, empty, would a Cummins be faster stop light to stop light than my 360? Would I have to be shifting every few seconds because of less usable rpms? Guess I'm just curious which engine you guys think I'd have more fun with given my applications for the truck. I absolutely love the truck so I really don't want to make the swap and regret it, or not swap it if it has so much more potential for fun.
Hopefully some of you will have driven similar trucks and can share your experience with them, as I've never driven a diesel. I've driven lots of different gas trucks (ford 302, 351M, 351W, 4.2, 5.4, chevy 5.7's, and this 360. Just don't know what to do...
Thanks in advance!
Courage

 

I doubt it would be faster, that isn't what diesels are about.
Better fuel economy unloaded? Yep. You bet. Probably better when towing too. Question becomes, how much are you going to have to spend to get it? How long before it pays for itself?
It IS a straightforward swap. Though you would need to change the trans as well. (or change the bellhousing....)

 

What tires do you have on it now? 4.10 gears would improve acceleration. Price of the swap and the truck being down for a period of time an issue? And it would help to use black text because you can see anything on the screen now(had to highlight it in order to read it).

 

I thought the text had been deleted until I rolled my cursor over it. If you're happy with your truck, I'd keep it like it is and maybe freshen it up. Oil burners are good trucks, no doubt about that but when they need work they can be expensive. There is also the fuel cost penalty. Well over $1 more per gallon.I usually drive gas but I've had a few diesels. Unless you tow heavy loads a lot, gas if more feasible. What are you going to drive while your truck is down? I recently did a major tune up on my '96 Ram 1500 and what I planned to take a couple of weeks took 3 months. I kept finding faults while I was in there. Between extra work needed and broken bolts in the block, my truck was down for several months. It drives like a new one NOW. I did well over twice as much work to it as planned originally.

If you just want a more fun truck to drive, if the exhaust is getting on in years and rusting, I've got Flowmaster 44's on mine and it sounds goooood! Other than that and just fix what needs fixing.

 

If you're towing a lot, I would recommend the diesel, if you just want to keep the truck for fun and work on occasion, keep the gasser. Right now I'm running a 360 Magnum, and looking for a 12 valve to swap in, I do tree work so I'm almost always carrying a heavy load it seems and why it could make more sense to do sell this truck and get a second gen diesel, I bought this truck from Grandpa who had it brand new, so I don't want to get rid of it if it was me I'd swap the diesel in but that's also what I'm already planning on doing to mine so I might have some biases

 

How much better fuel economy do you think I'd get with my landscaping trailer behind it?
245-85-16s I believe. Sorry about it being hard to read, I thought it must just be my phone freaking out. Just fixed it.
I dont like spending money when i dont have to, but the money isnt an issue for me. Also, id do the swap this winter when im not working, so the times not a big deal.
Wow! That would get old real quick!! I'd be without something to drive as my back up work truck is 2wd, but I live with my parents still (19) so not a big deal as I'd just ride my 4 wheeler down to the neighbors to work on it each day.
Surprisingly, it pretty much rust free, and I believe it has a newer muffler on it already. Not real loud, but has a nice deep but not annoying rumble.
I'm kinda in the same boat as you. It seems most 2nd gens are beat to death, but I have one that was taken care of....
not sure what to do.
At what rpm would you guys recommended shifting my 360 at? I posted this on another forum, and got told that it sounded like I beat on it a lot. Only reason I can think of that he would have thought that is that I'll shift it at 3,500 rpms when I pull out onto the hyway.

 

Guy I worked with had a 1st gen with the 12 valve, he got 20mpg on the regular just driving unloaded.... No clue what he got towing. Personally, I am just not a fan of diesels, I don't really need one for what I do, and know just enough about them to get myself in trouble. Gas being a LOT cheaper than diesel at the moment plays a role as well.

 

I've got a regular cab long bed, with 3.55's, 5 speed, magnum 360 and 35's (ridge grapplers). It actually does really well with those tires. MPG's are trash, but I towed my river boat (3500lbs) for an hour the other day. I just left it in 4th, and it did fine. Then drove 75mph home in 5th without downshifting. I was worried when I put them on, but am really happy with the outcome.