Hey guys, new here. I currently own a 2WD 2004 Nissan Titan and a 1974 Chevy K10. I live in an area with a lot of snowfall and need a second 4WD before winter hits. I absolutely love the looks of the old bodystyle 4wd, 2500, ext cab longbeds. I have had boats my whole life but currently don't have one to tow. I know I will have a trailer of some sort some day when the funds permit. In other words I don't need a 3/4 ton right now but always loved these things in diesels and would rather already have a 3/4 ton if I DO need one than need one and only have a 1/2 ton. The Titan is the one that would be parting with me obviously. I love it and she's got a lot of power but like I said before...

I know this is a Dodge forum so I'll most likely get a lot of posts FOR this idea rather than AGAINST it, but I just want to hear some honest testimonials from those of you with the setup I've described I'm going for. I've also NEVER owned a diesel in my life and like to do most repairs myself. How easy are diesels to work on? I also noticed that the towing capacity on the '02 2500's is about 5000 pounds more than previous. What's with that? Different axles? Thanks guys and sorry for the all the skepticism (spelling?) just want to get into the right truck.

 

I traded a 2004 F-150 FX4 for my 06 Cummins 2500 6spd and I couldn't be happier. My ford looked really nice but it was a turd, had no power and got bad gas milage. And pulling a trailer was rediculous once I got out on the interstate, constant shifting. My CTD is awsome, I never have to take it out of 6th gear once i'm on the highway even to pass with a 10,000 lb trailer. It's got more power than I'll ever know what to do with and right now i'm averaging 18.5mpg in town and 21mpg highway empty and about 18mpg highway with a large trailer. My ford got about 14 empty and with a trailer more like 11mpg. My payment went up by about 100 bucks but I also went from something with 70,000 miles to 17,000. Can't go wrong with a cummins.

 

I've always heard the mileage is way better with diesels but diesel also costs more so I guess it's kind of a wash? Like I said I'm probably not going to get anything new than a 2002. Wondering if those older ones are still a good buy compared to the newer ones. As for the towing capacity numbers, the pre '02 2500's actually have about 1000 pound LESS towing capacity than my Titan (according to Edmunds.com). Are these numbers true? Anyone with a pre-'02 to elaborate?

 

okay so i did some more research on edmunds.com and the towing capacities were in the 8600lb range until '02 EXCEPT for '99 which was 9600lbs. What's with this, guys? Are these numbers accurate?

 

You have to realize that towing numbers are given based on advertising and lawyers. It's easy to say that the Titan can tow 10,000 when Nissan knows damn well 99% of their targeted market is never going to tow anything. But boy does it sound impressive. I would say the low number on a 3/4 ton Ram diesel back then was based on Lawyers. The towing wars the manufactures are having is a recent thing so all the numbers have gone up to boost sales. Ford claims you can tow 21,000 with a superduty but they don't tell you it's with a F-550 with a pickup bed on it.

 

Check out some of the fuel mileage posts, a lot of the guys post their year, fuel mileage and what kind of trailer they tow. I don't want to be the one to tell you that those numbers sound low, but I'd have to agree with Bass Hunter, probably lawyers making sure there will never be a failure.

For that matter, check out youtube 'pulling' contests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKFH1qey4QA

The cummins will out tow any gasser on the road stock vs stock period. I understand the Titan is a nice ride(my father had one for quite a while) but it wont pull a 10,000lbs trailer up a steep hill over 45mph. The ram 2500 might not even have to down shift =)

I've driven Chevy Diesels, Dodge Cummins Diesels, and Ford Diesels, as well as Dodge, Nissan, Ford, and Chevy gassers. Nothing beats a Cummins Diesel. The community behind the Dodge trucks and Cummins Diesels is amazing as well.

side note...
Search the forums, not everyone is as happy as I've been with Dodge. There are guys on here that are mad because things break.

 

ur truck is exactly what i want. i'll do some searches. thanks.