Like it was said earlier, there is not alot of info on the 10's out there. I cant say I have heard alot of bad about them. But with little knowledge of them... more bad opinions than good. In defense though the comments are something like...
"I have heard alot of bad things about the V-10 motors. Either Ford or Dodge" But no one ever has any thing to back these comments up... just that they have heard. Good to know you are here to defend them!

What type of weights are you pulling with it? What type of mileage are you getting while pulling those loads? I am guessing 8 in town and 11 hwy?

There is a tan 2001 ext cab, short box, 2500 v10 with 102,000 for sale here. Fully loaded with slight hail damage for $9400 with LOTS of accessories such as subs, amps, topper, liner, etc. That dosent seem like a bad price to me... like I said, just have never heard much input on them.

 

The 24 valve Cummins are the loudest of the bunch by far, the 12 valves were quieter and the 1st gen 12 valves were even quieter. The 3rd gen trucks have common rail injection with multiple injection events that make them very quiet compared to all the others.

 

I would take a V10 over a Diesel any day. I know diesels are great torque engines great for pulling, but I just like to make a quieter approach. I like to sneak up on my targets, I mean friends. Besides here in Cali. Diesel is about 20 to 30 cents more than gas, and when we are paying $3.05 for gas, well, you figure that out.

 

A diesel will easily get 50-100%better fuel mileage than a V10 any day, and will more than offset the increased fuel price, here diesel still a bit cheaper than gas too. I've seen more than one 12 valve do better than 20 MPG, I have a friends who's gotten 24MPG out of his 1st gen, and it averages 18MPG, 2-3MPG better than my little Dakota averages, you figure that out.

 

Okay, I think what makes a lot of people run away from the V10, is just that: V10.

With a gas motor, count on the fact that unloaded mileage will be okay, but when load it down, expect your MPG to go down. With an oil burner, in some cases a diesel will get better MPG under load. Diesels like to run hot.

Keeping the MPG in mind, with current diesel prices, it's better economy in the long run. May hurt more at the pump, but do the math, you will end up spending the same if not less. The problem is that any maintenance that you might have done to a diesel is going to be more cost.

In the winter time, there are more steps to ensure that you have a reliable truck. Anti gelling solutions, block heater, and so on.

There is one thing and one thing only that makes me want a diesel.
Diesels are really the only type of motor that can be heavily modified and still maintain their great MPGs, and sometimes you can increase it.

 

^^ Yea, and another thing to consider is the learning curve. For someone like me who knows nothing about diesels it would be like starting all over again with new technology. I don't know how hard the are to work on for a do it yourselfer, but if you want to do it all, you better either know it already or be ready to learn. That's one reason I said the V10 cause I'm lazy to start learning all over again, and I don't want some smart *** mechanic telling me I new a new centrifugal force whositwatsit and not knowing if I'm being ripped or not.

 

I don't know, I get a solid 8-11mpg whether I'm towing or not. What really kills me is sitting in traffic. Long periods of idling/barely moving will drag me into the low 7s, but with 2 extra cylinders that's to be expected. So far I have towed 2 motorcycles in the bed, a trailer with three motorcycles, a 24' toy hauler with bikes and gear and an 8'x5' utility trailer with a 4k# load and another 2,500# in the bed. Still managed to get better than 8mpg on that one and didn't have to turn off the O/D. That's the best thing about towing with a V10. It barely knows there's anything back there.

 

Well, guys... Thanks for all the info. I am going to check with the ol' bank after work today just to verify and then go have a closer look (and listen! haha) to that 98 Ram 2500 diesel I mentioned earlier.

I went in to the book value sites and actually NADA.COM didnt have anything for diesels in that year and KBB.COM only had a 5.9l 6 Cyl TURBO Diesel. I dont remember this saying it was a turbo. It is the 12 valve I6 5.6l. Would that be a turbo?

Is there anything common on these to fail around the 150,000 to 200,000 mile range? It has 178000 on it and he used it to pull a large 5th wheel travel trailer.

Heres a list of what has been recently done to it:
New rear shocks
new speed sensor
new 4wd actuator
new thermostat
newer fan belt

Any of these past year or 2 fixes raise a red flag to anyone?

 

They are a 5.9L 12 valve turbo diesel. They changed to a 24 valve in 98.5 if I remember correctly. Those repairs seem normal enough to me. The only thing I would look for for sure is to go over the rear springs to look for cracks or other damage considering it was used to tow a fifth wheel. also check the seals and verify that the 4wd actually works since the actuator was replaced. Look for a leak at the rear main as it is expensive to replace and/or time consuming. If it is you have a good angle to work on the price negotiations.