Thanks for the advice...very torn. Love the Hemi and MDS technology. Most of my travel is without trailer attached but I anticipate 2 weeks of pulling this summer and intermittent over the next few years. Nice to have the heavier chassis if I decide to pull. I'm in Alberta so any significant travel will see me over a least one mountain pass. I do love my creature comforts however and my fully loaded interior with leather will be sorely missed on my 1500. waiting for 2010 is not an option as I need to move on my lease now before I rack up any more clicks.

 

yeah i would go with the CTD..like you said you are hauling a good bit of weight..you actually get better mileage with CTD then u would with the Hemi but if you're only hauling a couple times per year then yeah go with hemi...but from what i understand a buddy of mine told me that his dad's friend has one of the newer CTD's and it has the same kind of fuel management system as the hemi...correct me if i'm wrong

 

Note that you don't get MDS on the 2500 Hemi (unless it got changed in 2009).

 

+1 - I actually went to David Stanley Dodge today as I was around Tinker AFB before I left town, I went on the lot to amuse myself and see if they had ANYTHING to what I was looking for and would beat what my dealership was offering me (sneak lil brat I know)

This *nice* sales guy saw me nosing around the 08 single cabs they had (I was looking for a QC) and he said that he was going to get some keys and be right back. So I waited and looked at this 08 Cummins *salivating here* that was everything that I wanted except diesel - he comes back out with this other guy *annoying* who asked me what I was looking for - He tried to tell me that the 09's were better for what I was looking for - I laughed in his face. In the end he ended up getting the sales Mgr to talk me into taking a drive in the 09 Ram 1500 cause he knew it would change my mind... Long story short, I left the lot laughing, and his face was not happy...

There was no way that the 09 could take on the Balt AND the Rubicon on one trailer behind and a standard trailer WITHOUT any assistance mods... that is what they tried to tell me...

--Cow-Chick--

 

The choice should be made based on what you're going to be using the truck for most. Let's tackle a few things:

1. MPG - The CTD 2500 will not get much better mileage (if at all) than the new '09 1500 when not towing. I haven't owned a 2500 CTD but I've heard mileage claims ALL over the board - if I took the median they're about equal with the gas version when not towing. And any gain in mpg is more than offset by the increased cost of diesel fuel. Now, when towing, the CTD 2500 will have much better gas mileage, but if you're only towing 2 weeks out of the year, you're better off with the new Hemi w/ MDS.

2. Price - The 1500 is going to be cheaper than any 2500 option for option and much cheaper than a 2500 CTD. If you don't really need it, why spend the extra cash? It takes 120,000+ plus just for the diesel to pay off over the gas 2500 and it will take even longer for the 2500 to "pay off" over the 1500.

3. Comfort - Not only will you have more creature comforts in the 1500, the ride of the '09 1500 is much nicer than the ride of the previous gen 1500s. Also, any 1500 rides softer/smoother than a 2500. The 2500 is much stiffer. Go drive one and you will see. For day to day driving it's not the most comfortable.

You can check out towing capacities for the '09 1500 here:

http://www.dodge.com/bodybuilder/200...r/mlup1500.pdf

My truck for example has something like 6,650 lbs towing capacity. With the 3.92 gears I could have 7,650 lbs. For my 4,500 lbs boat & trailer that is plenty. And considering I tow the boat on the weekends only, during only 6 months of the year, I love the benefits of my truck over a 2500 most of the time.

If you need to tow 9,000 lbs then you probably want the 2500. Something like 95%+ of 2009 Ram 1500s are not configured to tow 9,000 lbs so Hammer was probably using an ill-equipped 1500.

 

What? Are you making this up as you go along? You better check your numbers again. My work truck is an 05 2500 CTD and gets a hell of allot better mileage than my 04 1500 Hemi and a hell of allot better than my 03 2500 Hemi. Check the 4th Gen forums also (not just this one) the numbers they are getting is way less than the 2500 CTD also. I can speak from experience not hear say...

 

Hrm. Not sure where you are getting more creature comforts from. You can get the same trim in 1500/2500 models. For that matter, my '08 2500 Hemi has fun stuff like power pedals and power rear window that my 1500 didn't.

As far as ride... The 2500 is quite comfortable for me. Now, I've driven trucks pretty much all my life, so I'm used to the ride. The 2500 certainly doesn't ride as smooth as a car or even as the 1500, but the only time I really see it is on the suspension with speed bumps, etc. I prefer the "solidity" of a truck suspension, visibility, etc. over the ride of a car. And, driving 150+ miles at a pop pulling a trailer on the freeway, mountain roads, etc., the bucket seats, power seats, power pedals, etc. all get me where I'm going without being fatigued.

 

I expected to get a lot of heat for my statements. I know a guy who has a '08 CTD 2500 and can't get better than 12 mpg on average. It's all in how you drive and most guys tend to drive their diesels lighter than their gassers. Even if you get 25% better mileage in your diesel, the cost of fuel makes up for that difference.

And if you drive a 2009 1500 and 2500 back to back then you'll see what I'm talking about. They're not even close. The 2500 feels super stiff in comparison.

And just b/c your 1500 didn't have power pedals and power window, doesn't mean they're not available. My 1500 has heated/cooled seats, MyGig, a regular power adapter, and all sorts of stuff a 2008 2500 won't. You can get backup cameras, locking tailgates, etc. from Dodge.

 

The 2500 rides and feels more "Trucky" in my opinion. The 1500 rides and feels "Caddy"...