I have a Hemi and I wouldn't change it for anything. Now thats not to say that I dont think the cummins is a good motor, but the hemi is good enough as a tower for my needs. I have a 1500 with 3.92 gears plus the towing package and it towed 9,000lbs very easily. That is more then i usually tow so i dont feel the need for a cummins. Here is a picture.

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seems to me like these guys are trying to sell u a diesel...... il tel u this: if your towing alot the only way to go is diesel. they tow better and get better towing gas milage while towing...... if your not towing get the HEMI...... i have a 05 dodge ram 2500 quad cab HEMI im getting roughly 13 mpg around town.......... ive head guys with diesel around me ar gettin 14 to 16mpg around town... before i got my hemi i was all about the diesel........ but then i realized i done realy tow at all. the diesel is like $3,000-5,000 more just for the diesel option in the truck pluss diesel is about 30cents-50cents more then gas around here (im in New Jersey) gas $2.05 which diesel is $2.30-$2.50 per gallon....... think about how long it wil take you to make that price difference up in milage.... $4,000 more for the diesel engine pluss the .40cents per gallon for diesel (thats like 15years to make up the price in gass milage... Hope i helped u out....

 

I am a recent convert from gas to diesel. and am glad i did. The new ones are almost as quiet as a gasser. With the Cat on them now there is no infamous diesel smell anymore. Towing is awesome with this beast. I knocked them for a long time till i tried one and now i will never own anything else. But to each his own i guess.

 

I was looking at getting a 25 ft gooseneck flatbed trailer to hall my jeep and wifes tracker. I would guess 6k empty for trailer and 6k for the two vehicles, so around 12k for everythingl I'm running 3.73 gears with a 2004 QC 2500 hemi. Do you guys foresee any problems with this setup?

 

Haha, I bought my truck to tow my car three times last year up and down the east coast. Now its just me in that thing, riding around town and to Nat'l Guard Drill once a month. I don't use it much, but when you need it, its a life saver. The only thing I haul now is stranded vehicles (five this year so far) and friends in the mud (three so far, but everyone becomes your friend when they're stuck). The best part about the big diesels, women love them for some reason. And just think, if the US enables the Tier 2 emissions that doesn't pass diesels, these late-model low mileage diesels will skyrocket in value (I hope).
I also converted almost all of my friends to diesel too, the refinement and ease of driving have really grown over the years. The only two I haven't converted are hard-core import race guys (not kids, actual adults). Funny story, I suckered them in when I first got the truck. I told them I bought a 325hp, tubo-charged I-6, 4wd vehicle, w/ a 6spd manual. They were convinced I had bought a used Nissan Skyline GT-R. Then I drove up in my 3500 the first night I was in town, I don't think they liked the joke.

 

I also do not like Diesels. For all the reasons that the original poster listed and more. The smell, the noise, the extra $20,000CAD you have to drop at purchase time, the price of diesel is higher than gas now, the repair costs... There is *NO* good reason I can think of that I would want to buy a diesel. And whoever said that they don't smoke anymore... You're kidding right?

My uncle bought a Cummins Turbo Diesel at the same time that I bought my Hemi... He went out and put one of those 6-stage diesel tuner kits in it, supposed to give you like double the performance... I raced him and he only beat me by 1 truck length, and my truck was totally stock. And when he got on the gas, it smoked like friggin' crazy... Imagine towing 10,000lbs behind it, and beint WOT... The smoke would prevent anyone behind from even being able to see...

Stick with the HEMI. I love mine.

Oh, and I took his for a test drive... I didn't like the way it felt... You put your foot into the gas, the truck didn't lurch... The truck shifted... It doesn't lurch... I know it's because of the low horsepower and massive torque... But it was more like being in the seat of a plane than a truck... It just gradually got up to speed. Don't get me wrong, it's fast... But I love the feel of my truck launching off the line, and lurching with every shift...