I've only had my Ram for 6months and i'm already ready to get one of the new shiny ones, it might sound pathetic but i'm already picturing my new truck lol but i love this one, anywho....I was curious as to what the advantages are for the deisel compared to teh regular engine and the Hemi? People tell me the deisel is better because of the better mpg and low end torque and other people completely get disgusted when i talk about the deisel, saying they're worthless and they're nothing but problems. But if they're nothing but problems why do i always see them. I"m just looking to see what people think and get some facts in regards to the deisel vs the regular ram engine or the hemi for that matter

 

What do you intend to do with your truck? Frequently carry heavy loads in the bed of the truck? Will you be doing any serious towing? As I'm sure you know, the Hemi is an option in the 1500's, while the Cummins diesel is not. To get the diesel you'll need to get a Ram 2500 or 3500. The Hemi is the standard engine in the 3/4 and one ton trucks. How long do you intend to keep the truck? If you are contemplating a diesel because it gets good mileage be aware you can buy an awful lot of gas for the $5000+ you'll pay to get that diesel even at todays high gas prices! I am proud to own a 2001 Q/C Dakota with a 4.7 V-8, 5 speed,which my wife drives, and 2001 Q/C Ram 3500 with the Cummins diesel with the 6 speed stick. We have not had any significant problems with either truck and don't anticipate any in the near future. Both of them get about 16-17 mpg around town. The dually is used to tow our pontoon boat and our travel trailer. I plan to keep it for at least another 7 years!
I believe the Cummins was well worth the additional bucks and will definitely outlast the 4.7. The Cummins will go 350,000 to 400,000 miles before it evens needs a major overhaul. I had one Cummins owner tell me "they're not broke in 'til ya got a 100,000 on 'em" However, if you plan on building a sweet little street racer, get the half ton with a Hemi and put the all the money you just saved over the diesel truck into some nice 22's and a supercharger!! Bottom line, get what you want - you gotta pay for it!!

 

Diesels are great: Good low end power, great mileage and diesel itself costs less per gallon than the 89 octane the HEMI calls for.
HOWEVER: the practical RPM range is very limited and that makes them a lot less fun to drive in normal conditions. Also you will be required to buy and insure a 2500 or 3500 instead of a 1500. Last and certainly not least, you are not going to get a great deal on a diesel. You may pay a little below MSRP but there are no big rebates or anything like that.
I got my '04 HEMI 1500 QC 4x2 Laramie (a $36,000 truck) for about $25,000 plus tax after dealing and getting a $4500 rebate! You ain't gonna get a diesel for that... much less one that's fully loaded. And to make up the difference in fuel economy, even with today's high gas prices, would take YEARS!!

 

My dad owns a 3500 1T Diesel Dually. He owned it for a year stock, and now hes got propane, chips (Banx 6 gun set w exhaust and intake) And tranny mods. And to round it out, a B1 Bomber Turbo. The thing will do 13 secs in a 1/4 mile, and yeah, its faster than my hemi (Shut up!) However, its cost him well over 75000 to get into the 13s. Granted he can tow anything (Whereas say a 75000 dollar srt-10 is same speed but cant tow anything) Now, if your looking for a truck thats fast, obviously, diesel is a messed up way of going about it, but its possible. IF your looking to tow and haul, A LOT (not like "Well it would be nice to tow the uhaul and if I get a load of gravel or some cement walkway stones for hte yard") because if your not towing quite often (like my dad does... 5000 lbs of water in the box twice a week, plus he owns a campground so hes always moving seasonals, hes got boats and campers of his own as well) They are less fun, sure they got 600 lb of tq but its a whole lotta fun thats over at a whopping 3200 RPMs. Yeah, he saves gas (Even with all the mods) but, hes not going to make that money back very quickly at all.

Now if you want a sport truck, or an offroader, either one your better off with a gas. For one, the hemi is way faster stock, and soon (hopefully) there will be mods. The 5000 dollar difference in price for the diesel (not including stepping up to the 2500 from the 1500) will buy you a supercharger when one comes available. The hemi is a lot lighter, which is good for speed, as well for offroading ability. Its a lot of weight to stop, that cummins weighs a TON! And its not nice to have all that weight bouncing around when your 4x4in. And I had a 3/4 T 4x4 that I 4x4d with. More than once I would bounce off something and damn near sink nose first because of all that weight.

Tell everyone here what it is that your planning to do 4 days of the week with the truck, and what you plan to do with it 10 months out of the year. If towing isnt SIGNIFICANTLY high in there, I would go with the hemi myself, thats why I went from a 3/4 T down to the hemi half.

Another sidenote, I hear that its not what diesels are meant for when it comes to city driving, its harder on the transmissions, and the engine (will still last for a long time though) Because diesels are meant to run at a relatively steady RPM for looong periods of time. Meaning grab the trailer and head 900 miles on a straight highway. And since the diesel has so much tq hitting those gears each time. Shifting 400 times on your way to the gas station, is a lot of wear and tear on a diesel.

-adam

 

I was looking into the same issue as you. I have a QC hemi 1500, however I thought about fuel price, to engine price, and what I use it for (mostly around town when I'm in, and only occasional payload with my bikes,and even rarer towing). I WANT A STICK THOUGH, so the 2500 is the only option seeing as the 4.7 just isn't enough for my future plans of towing a camper trailer and a boat. so, I have been comparing the 2500 hemi to the CTD. All these are things to consider. Like someone else said, fuel milage- it will take years to break even. Decisions decisions decisions

 

i say, if you've got the money go diesel

 

if you go diesel. . .you wont regret it. . .heck, for $650 I turned my truck from a 290hp stock into a 390hp beast. I know thats only 100hp, however my clutch is the weak link. replace it with a nice SBC and the sky is the limit.

heck, I didnt need a diesel, however I was after longevity, and after 43,000 miles, she has yet to see the dealership for anything that has gone wrong save the drip edge seal getting torn.

 

If you do any towing at all, you want the diesel. Why? Because it will still give reasonable mpg when towing whereas the Hemi will turn into a gas guzzling monster when given some work to do.
Fun to drive. Hell yes. You don't need to rev it up in the redline to get some decent torque out of it, the things will pull strongly from as low as 1200 rpm.
For city driving diesels do just fine and in fact give far better milage around town than gas vehicles. My 2004 1 ton duallie costs the same (for fuel) to run around town as my wife's 2007 Camry.

 

Lots of great points here. I'm a sucker for the sound of 8 gas cylinders pounding through a great exhaust system. I'll off-road more than I'll tow anything reasonably heavy, and the cost savings of a Hemi now days offsets reason for me. I can't stand the smell of diesel either...lol. I'd like to have one, kind of, but wouldn't trade my Hemi for it. I got a $40,000 1500 Hemi 4x4 Laramie for $30,000. Couldn't have come close to either one of those prices going the diesel route. Oh, the mods listed in my sig costed right at $1,000 (sure, I got a good deal, but shop around!). I've only towed one trailer (fairly light) w/ my truck so far. I can tell ya that that hemi ain't gonna have any problem towing though! Prolly guzzle some gas doing it though.

 

I think it depends how hard you look for a deal. The truck I got listed for 43300 and I got it for 34900.