if you ave the money to spare. the 6.7 is a beast.

 

welcome to DF...

cummins! once you drive one, you wont want to go back to gas.

 

If you don't mind the old 48RE transmission, which is a solid unit compared to the 47RE it replaced in 2003, there are literally hundreds of 2007 trucks out there with 5.9L CTDs to be had quite reasonably. I'm driving a 2005 with the G56 Mercedes transmission. If you get a 2007, the G56 should have .74 OD gears, instead of .79s like mine does. My truck has 3.73 rears and with the .79 top gear, it's like a 4.10. I'm averaging 21 MPGs on summer fuel, minus 2-3 for winter. Bought Oct 23, 2006 w/29K miles, up to 65,000 today. Absolutely love, but wish it was an auto when I'm in the city

 

All of the above opinions about the Diesel being stronger and more efficient are true, but it comes at a price and you may not need it. The only contrarian opinion I'll offer in favor of the 5.7L is this: Since you said you plan to keep it for a "Long time", the 5.7L comes with the New Lifetime Powertrain warranty. And for a little more cash you can even buy the bumper to bumper lifetime warranty too. That doesn't apply to the diesel so there is another of the benefits of the 5.7L over the Cummings. If you are only towing on occasion, you're paying a big premium for the diesel for limited tow use. Just make sure the 5.7L with the gearing you select is rated for the amount you plan to tow. The 5.7L is a very capable powertrain and tows alot wit the optional 4.10 gears. I have 3.73 for the better fuel mileage which handles my 34' 7200lb Travel Trailer just fine. Keep in mind in both cases you'll nheed to add a trailer brake controller for trailer's with electric brakes. I bought the Prodigy brake controller and the ready-made Dodge cable for plug and play use.

By the way, I recently traded my '06 Powerstroke Diesel Crew Cab Fordfor my New '07 2500 HD 5.7L Hemi Ram Quad Cab and I couldn't be happier. I don't miss the noisy Diesel at all. The Ram is a pleasure todrive around in.

 

Seriously, the discounts on these 07 5.9s with 4 speeds makes them worth the extra $. Pay no attn to MSRP; you should barely pay invoice if that.It's probably not that much more than a 5.7 L Hemi, when you factor in the market effect with the new MY 6.7L engine and 68RFE auto. You probably won't get that good a deal on the 6 speed manual. Those fly off the lot (people who didn't want the new engine's potential emissions "issues," and didn't want the 4 speed, which is plenty stout in 48RE configuration, vs 47RE,w/unmodded engines. Four words: Twenty Miles per Gallon (unloaded, summer fuel, 65 MPH, after break-in) and you'll do better towing as well.