I own a 02 Chevy 2500HD LT 4x4 Ext Cab Long Bed with the 8.1 vortec and Allison, and I am thinking of moving to the Cummins. I pull an Artic Fox TT that weighs in around 6000 lbs or so, with the Chevy we are around 14500 total weight. I have no probelms at all pulling the trailer with the vortec, haven't seen a grade yet that I can't pull at 60+ in third gear at about 3500 rpm or so.

My question is this, will I really see a difference in pulling power between the vortec and the Cummins? I know the HP of the vortec is a little higher than the diesel, but the torque is higher on the diesel by quite a bit. Without actually hooking up and driving a few hundred miles to get the feel, I don't know if there will be much difference between the two. Has anyone actually gone from the big block Chevy to the Cummins?

I also would like to ask if those that have the auto behind the Cummins think that it will hold up as well as the Allison? Do I need to go with the 6 speed to feel bullet proff?

Thanks for any and all help!

 

the torque is what matters in towing. cummins torque is incredible and with a few easy mods can be increased greatly. my neighbor has a dually qc cummins and tows a 20' trailer with horses and other equipment. avgs 14-15 mpg while towing sicne it can keep the rpms low. i would get a cummins before they switch to the new hideous body style.

 

I guess I should offer my opinions as to what I am looking for in the Dodge. I want the 3500 single rear wheel, Cummins, either 6 speeed or auto (leaning twards 6 speed as I want something bullet proff for towing a larger trailer in the future), Laramie pkg, tow package, pretty much loaded... Any thoughts on the tranny?

 

From what I was told by an old DC mechanic was that Chrysler had the Allison tranny many years ago and had many problems with them so they went to thier current and more modern design. Of course this was before they made the Allison for the GM crowd. You can opt for the auto slushbox, but be careful when adding major mods, but factory output and mild mods will be fine. Maintenance is the issue here. Both std and auto are good.

Switching over from the 8.1L you will notice more difference with it loaded than unloaded. Unloaded they are probably very similar, but once the weight is added, the Cummins engine will reign supreme. You should notice a bump in fuel economy as well.

Interior room is similar in the front, however there is slightly less room in the rear seats, however, I prefer the Ram because the seat is high allowing my legs to be in a more natural state as opposed to my knees being up in my chest.

If you don't need the long bed, go with the short bed b/c it is easier to manuever.

I also prefer the Dodge's manual 4x4 shifter. Just my .02

 

3500 on that 8.1 would be sucking down some fuel.

the cummins can turn 2100 @ 70 and not even come close to breaking a sweat with that load.

the only problem chooseing between auto and stick is this. the auto can come in either 3.73's or 4.10's. the manual only comes in 3.73's now. the 4.10 manual stopped at the begining of this year when dodge moved away from the bulletproof NV5600 tranny and went with the Getrag G-56. the G-56 is geared higher, so putting 4.10's behind it would be running almost redline in order to keep highway speeds.

if you can find an 04.5, NV5600 and 3.73's you'll have a truck that will get good fuel mileage and pull very well, same year and 4.10's and it will pull a house down