dieselnewbie

Hi folks,

This is my first post.

I'm really interested in buying a new (2005) Ram with a CTD diesel. I've never owned a pickup, owned a eep CJ for 10 years and liked it alot. Now I want a pickup because I want a vehicle to haul stuff, pull an occasional trailer, and have 4WD at my disposal.

So if you good people could help me out on a few questions I'd appreciate it.

1.) I priced both 3/4 ton and 1.0 ton models and there's very little price difference. Should I just buy a 1 ton (single axle, short bed)? I would think the 1 ton would hold the resale better. Why would someone buy the 2500 over the 3500 if the price difference is only a few hundred $$$?

2.) How practical would this be as a daily driver? I read on Edmunds.com that this truck rides as well as most 1/2 tons.

How many of you guys (and gals) are using a 3500 as your daily driver?

3.) If I wanted to plow snow, how well would a truck like this hold up doing this? Is the CTD well suited for plowing snow?

4.) The CTD vs. the Hemi, given the same good care and maintenence, would the Hemi ever ever be able to last as long as the CTD?


I started looking at the new F150, but decided the bed on it's SuperCrew was too small (5'5"). Then I started looking at bigger pickups and learned that diesel's last much longer. And I can get a 6'3" bed in the Ram (don't want the 8' bed).

The F150 I wanted and the 3500/2500 are very close in price, so that's why I'm now interested in the 3500 Ram.

Thanks alot for the info and I'll no doubt have more questions in between now and next September, when I plan on ordering the truck!

David T.

welder27

3) Yes...this engine/auto trans. is made for pulling/pushing heavy stuff w/ ease.

4) Oh **** no...CTD will last 200,000-300,000 miles before the first rebuild.

Another thing to remember...Hemi will give you 10-12 mpg and CTD will give you 16-22 mpg, both w/o a load. With a 10,000 lb load the Hemi might give you 5-7 mpg and the CTD will STILL give you 12-17 mpg depending on how you drive it and if it's an auto or 6 speed manual. And when hauling up hills, there's no comparison...the CTD will beat a Hemi into the ground.

dieselnewbie

Thanks for the info!

Shovelhead

And a Cummins doesn't require 16 sparkplugs at every tuneup.

My '99 3500 dually is my daily driver in downtown DC.

dieselnewbie

Thanks for the info Shovelhead.

You know one of the main reasons I want a truck is to haul my FXDL to rallies around the country. I'm from the Boston area and have been on some pretty good rides, to PA, DC, and NYC, etc., but to ride to Sturgis, Daytona, etc., you really need a haul your bikes there if you don't have at least three weeks to make a worthwhile ride and trip.

So in Aug. 2005 a few buddies and myself are going to haul our bikes out to Sturgis.

Two in the bed and one on a trailer. I found a really cool rack that fits in the bed and allows you to install multiple wheel chocks.

Another question I have:

I plan on buying a shortbed, which is 75" long. That means I'll have to leave the tailgate down and buy a bed extender.

That tailgate should be strong enough to support the rear wheels of two Harley's, you think?

I would think so.

I don't want the 8 foot bed because I'll be using the truck as my daily driver and want to keep the parking pain to a minimum.

Thanks again,

DT.

Shovelhead

That's quite a bit of weight to be resting on two cables that hold up the tailgate.
One good pothole, and you could do some serious damage to the truck and both bikes.
Not to mention that with the tailgate down, you might have clearance problems in a turn or in a dip between the tailgate and the trailer. Might want to borrow a bigger trailer, and put all 3 in it.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Welcome newbie!

I agree that sounds like a lot of weight on the tailgate, I like having the longbed myself, it helps smooth out the bumps on the highway when towing heavy

jrs_dodge_diesel

The Hemi has 16 plugs ?

ddestruel

YEP

alot of racers used to do it to get a more even burn between sides of the dome, dodge used that old practice.

Shovelhead

It's also a hop-up on Shovelhead Harleys.

That Hemi design shrouds the flame front so they use two plugs to light it from the sides.

butchera

The price difference is the reason I'm in a 3500 QC duelly. I was orginally looking at a 2500 then just for fun speced out a 3500 duelly the same way and the price difference was something like $1800.00.

I also use this as my daily driver (don't have a go to work car/truck yet) and it's 60 miles round trip. I'm getting right at 20 MPG, that is better then my old cheby gasser.

The long box and the hips of the duelly are no big deal after you get used to them. I just park out in the bushes and walk in (my doc keeps telling me to get more exercise) and don't worry about it.

Like Top and Ed said, that much weight on the tailgate would scare me a little. Beg, borrow or rent a larger trailer and put all three bikes on it.

Have Fun......

Geico266

Most aircraft engines have two plugs per cylinder also for redundency and saftey reasons, but the performace difference when you shut one side down is very noticable, about a 200 RPM drop. I didn't know Hemi's had two also, but it makes sence to me.

dieselnewbie

Thanks for the response Butch.

Yeah we will end up renting a trailer. I did think about putting down some kind of plate so the weight of the bikes would be spread across the plate and not focused on the tailgate, but the hell with it.

It's trailer time!

DT.

wannadiesel

My long bed extended cab dually is my daily driver. I park out where there's room and then walk, exercise is good for me. As far as plowing snow, you have the same issues as with any truck used for plowing. It's rough on the driveline, but no more so than any other pickup. I would get the long bed or a bigger trailer, the back end of two bikes is way too much to expect the tailgate to hold.

blackjack

I still use 2 plugs in my Harley v-twin heads. Actually the practice allows increased spark which in turn allows a retard in timming and a later start in the burn. The single spark plug and coil set-ups do not allow enough spark to effectively increase the spark plug gap to do the job. There is actually a whole lot to the reasoning behind the 2 plug head but I will leave that for another thread.
Really when making a decision between a hemi and the CTD the biggest drawback to the CTD is the tolerence of the diesel to not being a good choice for in town short trips. I can not think of an area where the Hemi would be superior accept maybe in a drag race. (unless you both have 10000 in tow)