the 8 liter 2500 qc long box 4x4and a 5.9 qc cab long box 4x4get close to the same milage yet one has 450 foot pounds of torque at about 2500 rpm and can tow 13 500 lbs of trailer. That being said, I didn't buy it to commute with or milage nor did I find a cummings that I liked.

 

Speaking from experience here as I own a 01 RAM 4x4. It had a stock 5.2 with the 46re auto transmission and I purchased a 7800 lb dry weight 28 foot fifth wheel. On flat ground it pulled OK, but when I hit a head wind I really had issues.

I replaced the 5.2 with a performance 5.9, added Harlan Sharp 1.6 roller rockers, towing cam, edelbrock headers, flowmaster cat-back exhaust, MSD 6a ignition, blaster 2 coil, 8 mm Taylor wires, and a performance 46re tranny "Pure Evil" with towing torque converter from Dr. Evil. I run a 50 mm Fastman throttle body, personally modified thebarrel intake, installed a round style air filter, and am runnign a B&G M1 computer flash.

Needless to say I'veseen both sides. Now, I also added Hellwig LP35 overload springs and Bilstein shocks all the way around. I do not have a lift. The weakest part of my stup is the gears at 3.55 which I hope to replace with either the 3.92's sitting in my garage or a good set of 4.11's if I can afford them.

My newsetup pullsmy fifth wheeleasily on level ground, rolling hills, and in the wind. However, I will never take it into the mountains as I know this truck would not pull the mountains without tearing something up. If my camper wasat 6000 lbs or less, I'd drive it up Mount Everest, but 7800 is too heavy for the 1500 in the mountains.

If you're looking to pull 7500 - 8000 pounds in the mountainsyou need to step up to the Cummins Turbo Diesel 2500. You'll kill a 1500 no matter how solid it is.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

Forget wasting your time on the last post. I'm not seriously considering the 5.7. I was just trying to get all the info. ,you know? Okay, so what about a 2500 with a 5.9? Sounds like a decent combination. Anyone out there using it for hauling? As well, what kind of commuter mileage do you get?

 

I never towed much with my dads 88 gmc 1500 when he had it. But I can compare his old, stock 99 GMC 5.3 to my 99 5.9 Dodge as I have towed with both. My dad's GMC has towed several trailers that have weighed more than 6000lbs and I can say that the power is frankly not all that bad. Numerous times we have towed several 6000lb to 8000lb chippers between Boise and Cascade Idaho and there are a few good mountain passes along the way. I have towed my dad landscape trailer loaded weighing about 7000lb with my Dodge a few times and it does alright too, though I have never climed a 7 mile long moutain pass with the trailer and my truck. We have also numerous times gone out wood cutting together and with approximately the same amount of wood in the back of each (1 cord) there is little noticable difference in over all power between the two.

The big difference is how the suspension handles the load. My dads gmc has a much softer ride than my truck and when you hit a section of highway with rolling bumps, the truck risked bottoming out and that makes for a rather not fun experience. Mine with the stiffer springs has never had that problem, even when I had a rather tounge heavy load on the trailer.

If it is just occasional towing I say get the tuck you like the best, the 5.2 or the 5.9, just take into count what everyone has said about gearing and such that has already been said. And with that much trailer weight, make sure the truck you get has the towing package, so adding a brake contoller is easier.

 

No flaming here. But I think alot of people confuse engine displacement with hauling power and that just is not a compatible reference. I.E. the muscle cars of the late 60's-70's. Engine displacement then was the thing. 400-500 CID engines pushed there way to the front back then (when gas was cheap). Engineers have learned that they can do a whole lot more with less (within reason of course as there is no substitute for raw power). And then there is the reduced weight of the newer vehicles that makes less, more.
I don't know the particualrs of the 5.7 but that is only a portion of the whole. Transmission, rear end, etc. have a lot to do with tow capacity and performance. I do know this, on a personal level, when I was looking for my truck in '01 which I bought just to pull my trailer, my decision was based on "right out of the box" capability. And the Ram tow capacity was better "rated" than the Chevy without having to do anything to it. The equivilent Chevrolet truck required several different "upgrades" (at that time) to match the Dodge. And more upgrades meant more $$$.
WC

 

If you are planning to pull that much on a regular basis, get a cummins. You will not regret it for a second.

 

a second generation cummins (1999) would be just fine!

plenty of mods for more horses and torque too



these yahoos are yackin how the gasser and cummins pull about the same.

BULL HOCKEY!!

how many gassers run over 100k miles and still have the power of a young bull?? very few. my 93 CUMMINS has just clocked over 350k miles and can still out pull a gas truck loaded! its a bone stock truck too.

if you can drop a lot more dogh, get a new 6.7l cummins. the bugs are being worked out of the software, but it has a 6spd auto, and hauls butt! plus they put out some wherez around 600 ft lbs of torque stock.

 

Heh, I really appreciate all of the reponse. You guys are giving me a lot of things to consider. If it was a perfect world and I had wheelbarrels of money, no question I'd go with the diesel. The point is I'm ona budget and I'm sure most of you can relate. I'm looking at spending 10-13K tops and I'd say the diesel isn't going to happen. I am also looking at it being as fuel effiicent as possible (if that is possible with a truck), but also have to consider the towing capabilities. Part of the issue is that I don't know what I'm going to be hauling yet, but don't wantto limit my options quiteyet if a great deal comes along. I'd say a 25 footer is the longest I'd be looking at. That said, if you have any other bits of wisdom, don't hesitate as I sure like hearing from your experiences.

 

The short stroke, greater compression ratio and loose ring tension
(source of many 'piston slap noise' complaints from GM owners)
of a GM 5.7 results in slightly better MPG
than the 5.2/5.9 V8s

The GM truck is also a few hundred lbs lighter
and this also makes a MPG difference when driving in the city lightly loaded,
but not much difference pulling a heavy trailer.

If I had to bet
I would guess a 5.2/5.9 would last longer than a 5.7
but on the other hand
the GM automatic transmissions would last longer
than the Chrysler automatics

Of course, the New Venture factory was a joint venture between GM and Chrysler so the manual trans can actually be nearly the same. When this factory began producing a good trans in the NV 5600 it is upsetting that Chrysler promptly sold off its part of the joint ownership.

If you follow such things
GM, Chrysler and BMW are presently in a joint venture to make a 6 speed automatic togehter, with an electric motor inside to boost both MPG and acceleration.

 

Yeah tell me about it. When I went I bought my truck 2 things stopped me from getting a cummins. Price, and the fact that you can't get a 2500 in a short bed regular cab short wheel base. I like to go in the woods and the short wheelbase is important to me. Then there's the fact that a 96 cummins with 95,000 miles on it was still like 15,000 and mine cost 6,000.

I'm pretty sure the V10 is your best bet though from what you've said. Cheaper initial purchase than a cummins and you should deffinetly not have any problems towing with it.

And if you're going to go with a GM make sure you get the 8.1 V8. My boss has one and it can can haul his trailer and machine around (about 15,000lbs) like it's not even there.