Ihave an 01 with a 5.9 and its kind of weak for towing my jeep. I am looking at the same basic truck with a 5.7 hemi. (04) Any one make this same trade? Are you happy with the power gain? I do not want a diesel. I hope to get better milage & power. thanks.

 

why no diesel. . .I get better mileage then most hemi's and I even have 4.10's

while you will be gaining loads of power, for hauling stuff. the hemi is a gas hog.

 

While that may be true, when I bought mine, I also gave some serious consideration to the diesel..... until price comparison time! That extra 5+K$ will buy a LOT of fuel before you recover the cost differential of the gas vs. diesel. I couldn't justify the extra expense, since I only tow occasionally. Unless someone tows frequently, or has a very large and heavy trailer, that extra money is hard to justify.

 

My Hemi 2wd has plenty of power and low end torque to tow most anything... although its only rated at 8100 pounds i think it could tow more... I tow my two 4 wheelers on a 16ft utility trailer and it has no problem and when it is in tow haul there is plenty of power to pass on the highway. I would go with a diesel because of the extra cost you have to dish out for the engine and tranny.... the trany in my truck is plenty stong enough to handle most tasks. I tow about 4,000 pounds every time i go 4 wheelin and i have no problem... although the jeep and trailer are probably gona be about 7,000 pounds i think the hemi can handle it and if you step up to 4wd or a 2500 it should have no problem.

 

The reason I do not want to go diesel is that I do not seem to be able to go more than 3 or 4 years without buying something different. I only put on about 15 or 20k per year so the extra expense is not worth it.

 

no problem at all towing with the hemi. gas milage does go down, but that is to be expected. you will also notice a big difference in power. my father has a 5.9, and the hemi eats it up.

 

45-80k total
let's say there's a 10mpg difference, since I've heard a lot of hemi people complain about 9mpg and a lot of diesel guys brag about 20mpg
hemi = 10mpg
diesel = 20mpg, just to make this easy

hemi = 4500-8000 gallons
diesel = 2250-4000 gallons

current price for 91 octane here is about $2.30, diesel is about $2.60

hemi = $10,350 - 18,400
diesel = $5850 - $10,400

So if you drive 15k a year and only keep it for 3 years you'll about break even, if you drive it for 4 years at 20k/year then you'll save several thousand. And don't forget the added resale value of the diesel - that alone can add a ton to the sale price of your truck when you go to sell it.

edit:

KBB values for a 2001 quad cab 4x4 SLT ho diesel 6 speed = $17,245 with common options
KBB value for the same truck except a 5.9L v8 automatic = $12,235

Do the math on that one...

 

WHO USES 91 OCT? I USE 87 AND IT COST ME $1.77 per gal at Sunoco. If I tow I use 89 oct. That's what it says to use in the Manual.

 

I DO BECAUSE I'M SQUEAZING AS MUCH POWER OUT OF MY 360 UNTIL I CAN BUILD A STROKER.

And 87 is about 30 cents a gallon cheaper here, so it'd be about $2/gal right now. That drops the low end of the equation to $9000 in 87 versus $5850 in diesel or the high end to $16,000 versus $10,400. So there's still a $3200-$5500 savings in fuel, plus the $5000 in extra resale value. So by going with diesel you'll spend $5k more, but get $8-10k more in savings and return. I still don't see where the math could ever point at a gas Ram as being more economical.

 

Just for the heck of it...at some point in time the diesel will break...maybe not hard parts but the injector pump, injectors, etc... will need service. That can easily eat up any savings on gasoline. Also the diesel overall predictive, preventative and general maitenance cost is more every single time you service something on a diesel. Add to that cold weather issues and good fuel concerns and I say for know more than this guys tows...buy the hemi.