I'm in the Market for a truck. I am trying to figure out what I should go with.
I'm looking to use the truck as a daily driver, therefore I want to get a fairly good mpg. 10% of the year I might be towing a 20' camper, so I am not really concerned about the less power the 4.7 puts out.

I am currently looking at a 2003 4.7L with 60k miles, a 2005 Hemi with 120k miles and a 2006 Hemi with 90k miles. The 2003 and the 2005 are priced the same, however the 2006 is 2500$ more and kinda more than I wanted to spend in the first place. But it has the MDS and is probably better on fuel.

What would you suggest? It's going to be my first Dodge. Will the 06 get better mileage than both the other ones, and will it be worth the extra $$$?

 

You don't want to tow a 20ft camper for 10 minutes with a 4.7. In daily driving the Hemi will get mileage close to the 4.7 and packs far more power to go with it. I don't think I've ever seen a post where someone regretted buying the Hemi. You will pay if you're heavy-footed (like me) but I don't complain.

 

How would the MPG differ between the -05 Hemis and the '06 with the MDS? Does the MDS really make that big of a difference?
I'm mostly going on longer Highway trips.

 

Pre-MDS Hemi and pre-'08 4.7 get about the same fuel economy in all I've ever seen, been in, driven, etc. So with 100+ more HP I see no benefit of buying a 4.7 other than maybe initial cost.

Most people who have MDS and have purchased a tuner to turn the feature off report no fuel economy loss and some swear they got better without the MDS. Personally, I don't like a cylinder deactivation system in a truck, or large SUV for that matter. Now in a touring sedan, another story. Although probably the only place MDS would prove slightly beneficial would be on the open highway.

If we are strictly talking half tons here (1500s) and I'm assuming we are sinche the 4.7 isn't available in a 2500 gasser, IMO the single best year if you're gonna mod it is the '05. Essentially an '04 but with a more tunable PCM.

Has a torsion bar front which allows for lifting easier (and cheaper), and gives more room to clear wider tires. No MDS crap to have to deal with, either. Also, and this is strictly personal opinion - I like the front end looks and the tail lights of the '02-'05s better. Never could get used to the "bat mobil" tail lights that came out in '07. Plus, I think there started to be some "issues" come out starting with the '07s as far as cutting some cost corners on some components. Lot of guys with '07 & '08 trucks are having issues with some components that never seemed to be an issue from '06 back.
If I was in the used 3rd Gen Ram market and it was gonna be a 1500 gasser, I'd be looking for a cherry '05 myself. If I was looking at 3/4 ton trucks then I'd be strictly looking '04.5 - '07 5.9 CTDs. The '04 1/2 Cummins had more power and the '07+ 6.7 CTD just has too much emission crap for my liking...

 

I get 16mpg (30% city70% hwy) in my 06 4.7 Reg cab 4x4

 

i have 2008 4x4 quad cab i run 20" wheels summer and 17" wheels here in winter
my last truck was 03 4x4 quad with 20's 3.92 rear axle and my average mpg combined was about 12mpg my 08 has 3:55 rear and mds i've seen as high as 20mpg on the highway average mixed is 14-16mpg quite a difference the 08 gets better mpg than my o5 reg cab 2wd long box ram with the v6 and 6 speed manual trans its also better than the 4.7 by about 2 mpg on the highway the 4.7 has some issues if you read about it while the hemi is a proven reliable powerplant

 

What issues does the 4.7 have?

 

Two major issues, both of which are preventable with good maintenance.

1) It tends to have problems with oil sludge. Seems to be a bit more susceptible than most engines. Proper change intervals will generally prevent it and the use of a synthetic when you tend to do shorter trips and not let the engine run at peak temperature helps too. Tends to have more condensation in the oil (which can be seen around the fill cap) than average.

2) VERY prone to head gasket failure and warping of heads if let even marginally over-heat. Again, preventable with good care of the cooling system and of course NOT running it when it's getting hot will help here.

Other than that, it's generally a good engine. I know guys who personally have 4.7s with over 250,000 miles on them...

 

I don't have any issues with my 4.7. Sometimes i wish it had a little more power but i would just get into trouble anyway so oh well.

when i bought my truck i thought more on the side of fuel economy. only because we have bigger trucks on the farm i could use to pull heavy stuff. the heaviest thing i pulled was a anhydrous tank and it didn't have any issues. you certainly new the damn thing was there. I wouldn't really consider pulling much more than that maybe a car trailer or something with a small car or equipment but no camper. my normal driving is around 60mph and 75 or so on the interstate and i can usually get about 14 to 16 mpg and if i stay out of it and go all legit speed limits and ease into braking i have pulled 20 mpg out of it mostly on highway.

When it comes down to it I can only say if you want mileage and the benefit of saying I have a V8 and nothing else really get a 4.7. If you want to go out one morning and move the mountain from the south side to the north side of the house because its on the honey do list. get the bigger V8.