I currently own a 2000 Ram 1500 5.2 and I'm getting an average of 13 mpg with 65% city 35% hwy driving with gas costing 3.50 a gallon and looking to go up.

My thought is selling the current truck and buying a 2003-2005 2500 CTD.

At present the diesel prices are holding at 4.19 a gallon which is 70 cents more a gallon or about 60 dollars more to fill up but are the maintenance/durability and mpg gains of a CTD worth the next 4 years of payments and 70 cents more a gallon?

I have always loved the rumble of the CTD and having a truck that is imo far superior to many others out there is the main force behind this thought.

The truck would be a daily driver and I don't tow or haul anything on a regular basis.

Should I stick with the 5.2 gas or take the plunge to the CTD?

Thanks
Dan

 

how does 70 cents equal 60 bucks. do you have an 85 gal tank?

 

I apologize for the Sh*tty math, not my best subject

 

Well the CTD is just not fun at all. Its way to fast, looks too cool, and sounds too good. Towing is no fun either. You just can't feel anything behind you, and the engine never misses a beat.

Ok all joking aside. I just bought a 04 CTD 4x4 a month ago. I bought it because I needed to tow, and like you, It is NICE to know you are a lot "bigger and better" than the cars and trucks around you. My old truck was a 06 Dodge ram single cab v6. I got about 11mpg in town and 15 on the highway.(I had HEAVY 20s on it though) That truck was sweet looking... Although it was not what I wanted. I had to fill up the 26 gallon tank twice a week at $80 each time.

I now have put 5k miles on my CTD in a month. I fill up about every 10-12 days with 44gallons, at $160 each time. The fuel cost wasn't too much more. I can now tow anything I need, which I couldn't do in my last truck. Hell last weekend I hooked at LEAST 12k pounds on it for 80 miles at 70-75mph and the only difference really was that it took longer to get up to speed. Once it was at 70mph it STAYS there.

IMO coming from a half ton gas, the CTD was well worth it. Diesel better not raise to $5 a gallon though, that will cause a problem with how much I drive. Even right now I use my girlfriends Mustang when I need to just go across town or something.

Just look at what you NEED and what you WANT. Grab a calculater and figure out what the cost difference is for your payments and for gas, along with what you tow and how long you plan on keeping it. You can never go wrong with a CTD though

-Austin

 

Right, you can't go wrong with a ctd. But at these prices and a payment plus higher insurance, it had better be a NEED not a WANT. I've been wishing ever since I bought my 5.2 for a ctd. Just could never justify it for a DD. Especially now, driven every day, it uses one tank per two weeks. That equals ~$150 a month in gas plus ~$70 for insurance. Total cost of ownership is less than $250 a month. If I had money to burn, it would be an easy choice. But I want to retire someday. . .

 

If you don't tow, it's a DD and the price of fuel is what it is, I'd stick with what you have unless you just have money to part with.

How far is your daily drive to work? If it's not at least 8 - 10 miles, you won't even get the truck up to operating temp, which is not real great for a diesel engine. It won't hurt it by any means, but for short, daily driving, stick with that gasser.

You don't tow, so that kinda negates the need for the CTD.

Here would be your fuel cost, lets just say 30 gallons or so at the fillup, that's where my fuel light usually comes......

30 gal of gas at 3.50 times13 MPG = Total fillup of $105 and you CAN get 390 miles which means about .27 per mile in fuel.

30 gal of diesel at 4.19 times 16 MPG (being conservative) = Total fillup of $125.70 and you CAN get 480 miles which means .26 cents per mile in fuel.

I put conservative in there because I, notice I, get between 17 and 19 in day to day and between 20 - 21.5 on the highway. Towing heavy goes down to 13 - 15.

The maintenance costs on CTD are pretty much a wash, but slightly more,compared to that gas engine, because you can go longer on the oil changes.

Really, as much as I love my CTD, if I were in your shoes, I'd stick with what I have.

 

I agree

The 3rd gens do seem to get better mileage, but at this rate not good enough to warrant the added cost ( although people are bailing on their CTD's left and right right now so you could probably find one at a good price)

The gap between the cost of diesel and regular fuel astounds me. Yesterday diesel was $4.69 a gallon, whereas regular fuel was at $3.49. Now diesel's over $1.10 more a gallon when it SHOULD be comming CLOSER to the cost of regular, not spreading further apart.

If I were you ( and I kinda am ), I'd be looking for an econimical daily driver and keep your Ram as a toy or for when it's needed to do what it was built to do. That's kinda where I'm at right now as well.

Sucks ....