Well I have decided to go with the 2500 (3/4 ton) over the 1500 (1/2 ton) now I need to decide if I should go with the "hemi" or pay the extra 4 to 5k and get the Cummins ?? I drove both and I do like the Cummins but do you all think that it is worth the extra $$$ ? BTW I will be pulling a boat that weighs around 3800# including trailer and resale is also important. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Jeff Broadhead.

 

Nobody has any input on this ??

Jeff B.

 

Hello,

Right before I joined this forum, I had an 03 Dodge Ram 3500HD with the cummins diesel. In the end my wife just did not like the truck, and I opted to sell it and buy the Hemi. I love the Hemi, but the Cummins was an animal!! It had more than enough power to begin with, and had even more when I added the power elbow, and the Quadzilla module. Averaged 21 MPG on the highway, comfortable and powerful could not ask for more.

From a resale standpoint, I sold the 3500HD in less than a week. Need I say more? Only you can decide if the added cost is worth it. I personally think so, go for it. It will have a higher resale than the Hemi for sure.

Hope this helps.

Take care, and good luck

 

I don't have much personal knowledge of the Cummings, but I have a friend who bought the quad cab with the Hemi and he loves it. He does a lot of heavy towing with it (bigs boats). He could have gotten either one, but he loves his Hemi. He added a CAI and cat-back, but that just because he wanted more power, not because he needed it

 

I have to go with the Hemi just because I think any deisel powered truck sounds like crap.

 

I'm sure you would do well with either one. However, the Cummins is a real workhorse. Resale is always great on these badboys. I have driven one in the past for working purposes and you could not ask for better performance.Mpg was great, too. 21 like cloud9ms said. As for the sound, when you're in the truck, it's not that noticeable. No more than my V-10 with the duals on it. HTH!

 

If your gonna do much towing you would be better off with cummins but if you do alot of running and stopping the hemi would be better since its not good for a diesel to be started and shut off alot. your gonna have alot better milage with diesel though right now im gettin around 18 mpg off highway and around 23 on the highway with a 20' aluminum trailer im still getting around 18, 19 out on the road which will save you money in the long run which the hemi is not gonna get near the milage and with cummins your gonna have alot more power to burn

 

Definetely go with the Cummins. Huge difference in the resale value, the new Cummins as I'm sure you know are 80% quieter than previous models. Fuel mileage is awesome for a HD pickup. As far as start and stop on the engine, the damage occurs when you've been running hard and running the turbo alot and then turn off the engine without letting the turbo cool down. Thats easy enough, exit the highway and just coast or ease to the parking lot, only takes about 45 sec to 1.5 mins to cool a turbo enough to safely turn it off. And if it worries you that much get a turbo timer that will keep the engine running a couple of minutes after you've turned it off, pulled the key, and locked it up. Plus you've got an engine warranteed for 100K on top of the usual standard powertrain warrantee. Cummins all the way.

 

I've got both the 1500 hemi for the wife and the ho 5.9 dually for myself!!either one is an awesome truck! question for you to ask yourself is: how long are you going to keep the truck. If you are going to keep the truck at least 10 yrs. go for the ho 5.9!
there are a few modifications ot there to get your ponies!
milage on the dually at 11,000 miles 16 mgp..hemi at about the same is 12mpg

 

DEEEEEEEZEEEEEEEEL