Who here drives a full size truck?

[mrb627]

I have begun investigating replacing my current suv with a full size pickup truck. Anyone drive one? Wondering if anyone might have some insight. Would you buy another one or was your purchase a mistake?

I am looking at a Ram Eco-Diesel. Any opinions?

Malcolm

 

[mrb627]

Visual Aid

This is what I am looking at...



Malcolm

 

[revvinkevin]

I love diesels!

 

 

Last year I looked at and test drove the Ram 1500 with the (Italian built) 3.0L V6 turbo diesel and personally I think it's a really great combo!    

 

Have you ever owned a diesel before Malcolm?  

 

PRO's: Good towing limit (9000 lbs) + great fuel economy for a pickup (low to mid 20's all day long for 2WD) + the engine is VERY QUIET!   While it's not a hot rod, it's far from a slug.   It has good low speed throttle response and scoots along nicely when you stand on the throttle.

 

CON's:  The dial-on-the-dash P-R-N-D transmission "shifter" (really don't like it).   There are buttons on back of the steering wheel to manually shift the 8 speed transmission up or down, but you cannot just select "5" for example and leave it there.   Also you will have to buy DEF (emission fluid) that needs to be added to a separate tank.   Shop around as prices for DEF vary widely.   Also you can't get away with not using it as the truck is too smart for that (photo).

 

So if you are looking for a truck with better fuel economy, this is a really great option.   If I could justify having a truck this big, I would seriously consider buying one.

 

The link below is a 50K mile road test of a 1500 ecodiesel 4X4 from Edmonds.com.

http://www.edmunds.com/ram/1500/2014/long-term-road-test/

 

[firedome]

The Fiat-Chrysler subsidiary...

VM Motori is THE LARGEST diesel engine mfr in the world. Their products are excellent quality, on par with Mercedes allegedly. However I wouldn't attempt to tow 9000# with a 3.0 liter V6 diesel. I'm waiting for a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid mid-sized SUV, it makes so much sense but no one has introduced one here yet.

 

[revvinkevin]

Hypermiling - 38.1 MPG

 

 

Here is an article I read last year about a group driving a RAM 1500 ecodiesel over 1000 miles from Houston, TX to Detroit, MI on ONE tank!

 

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/05/09/hypermiling-ram-1500-ecodiesel-38-mpg/#slide-2611251

 

[firedome]

PS... we bought our first diesel

back in the '80s, a Peugeot 504 wagon: dependable, durable, but slow!

 

[mrb627]

Test Driven

I test drove a 1500 Eco-diesel Limited this afternoon. Like it, but have some reservations about the size and lacking in features that I wish it had.

The air suspension lowers to make getting in and out easy. Not to mention the loading and unloading of large parcels in the bed.

It won't fit in my garage, but that would leave more open garage space for other things.

Remote start is a bonus.

Most large gas stations and truck stops have def fluid on pump, so not a huge issue.

100k drive train warranty is nice too.

Malcolm

 

[wayupnorth]

I have a 2013 Silverado Z71 4WD. It rides like a Caddy, will climb a mountain, has more power than I could ever use and gets fantastic gas mileage for a V8. I couldn't be happier with it. Pollen does that after rain.[this post was last edited: 6/9/2016-20:16]

 

[askolover]

Malcolm, check out this video on youtube.  It may be a fluke, I don't know.  You may not keep a vehicle long enough for this to happen, but it's still worth noting.  As far as I know, VM Motori is partly owned by General Motors.  I'm a diesel geek through and through.  I've had 3 in my adult life.  They just amaze me.  Of course, the simplicity has been lost now due to EPA regulations and computer controls.  My 1980 Rabbit was so basic and my 1986 Chevy Silverado's most sophisticated piece of equipment was the aftermarket Pioneer radio.  My Beetle TDI, pretty complex, but I still LOVE that little car 229,000 miles later.

 

The Nissan Titan is available with a Cummins now too!!!!! but I'm sure it's $$$$  GM has a diesel available in the new Colorado and Canyon trucks that's very promising!  The trucks are big enough but not too big.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XzdYl5iCYQ

 

[goatfarmer]

This is my 2011 F 150. Super Cab, with an 8' bed. Doesn't get much more full size than that. The longer wheel base makes the ride so much better, even though this truck has a heavy duty payload package.

 5.0 V8 gas, with a 6 speed automatic. Gets around 19 or so MPG combination of city and highway driving.

 

[brisnat81]

We had the Jeep Grand Cherokee 2014 with that engine and whilst it was efficient and went like the clappers, there are a couple of things to be aware of.

1) it is a high maintenance engine, every 6 months it was a $700 service from day one. The oil was always a huge part of that at $300 a service. The low capacity/high output engine needs to be maintained fastidiously or it would get very expensive to repair

2) until the turbo spools up nothing happens, you learn to factor this in when pulling into or across traffic that you need to allow 1-2 seconds to start to move, but then you'll do 0-60 in 7-8 seconds. The other downside to this is we were always chirping the types in shopping centre carparks and the like. When you start to accelerate you just have to be patient and remember the delay. Michael would get in my highlander and was incredibly jerky, just because he wasn't used to the immediate response of the gas engine.

Luckily we got out of it within 12 months before Jeeps ongoing poor reliability caught up with us. Michael went back to a Landcruiser with the v8 turbo diesel and for about the same Eccoonomy we no longer have the turbo lag. 24mpg in the jeep vs 21mpg for the Landcruiser.

 

[mrb627]

Seen That Video.

I don't put that much weight into it as that owner uses his truck for long distance towing and made countless modifications to his truck. He probably should be driving a 2500 with the Cummings diesel instead.

Malcolm

 

[vacerator]

31.8 m.p.g. is excellent

If you actually get that. Keep in mind that is likely highway only mileage at 60 m.p.h. Diesel is more expensive than gasoline.
I can tell you though that Ram beefed up their gears, bearings, seals, and thrust washers in their trucks after Toyota was rated best for durability after FCA acquired Chrysler.
I don't know about GM.
An aluminum Ford with an Eco-Boost V6 is also very good on fuel consumption.
It seems lately GM is advertising their magnetic ride control's ability to adjust ten thousand times per second. What? Oh, the computer control module can send that much data, but seriously, one calibration per second, or even less should suffice, and I bet that's all the shock valving and solenoids can react to.
My last truck was a loaded '92 GMC Bahama blue Siera SLE 5 passenger short box.
Very nice comfortable truck, 350 throttle body fuel injection, 4 speed automatic.
Back then Twenty two bucks filled it up from a quarter tank (25 Gals.), and it averaged 20 m.pg. highway at 60-65 m.p.h. I had a tonneau coven on it, which no doubt helped.
Drove it from here to Atlanta Ga. once, and my only complaint were the bucket seats thigh support on the outside edges. Too soft for longer trips. By the time we got to Kentucky, it was time to stop, walk and stretch. Power seats may have helped, but I don't think they were offered then. I didn't order it, it came from the GM plant executive pool lot with 3,000 miles on it.
$15 grand total price. I added a rear bumper in chrome ( yes, they were an option then) from Truck Stuff, the tonnaeu, and a bed liner for an extra $700 or so.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

Diesel is best

Ive been driving diesels since 1982 and prefer them over gas. Bought a Mazda B2200 diesel in 83 off the dealer lot and drove it 579,000 miles until there was nothing left of the frame in 1999. Not to mention the old Mercedes diesels I had back then and still have one now. I prefer foreign cars after trying full size diesel trucks when the first Mazda retired and having nothing but problems with them. If the full size truck is too big for the garage I would say look into that new Colorado diesel against my loathing of GM. Japan should still import a small stripped diesel truck within most peoples budget I feel they would sell millions. Then I could retire my 1984 Mazda diesel finally as parts are a problem now. With the way these new gas engines run on this crap fuel we have now I cant picture driving one ever. Ive only had classic gas cars like Opels or Model A's or Studebakers so that was different. Good luck in your choice.

 

[d-jones]

I bought a Dodge Ram 2500 with a Cummins turbo diesel and five speed manual transmission new in 1998. It consistently gets 21.5 mpg on the highway and in the time that I've owned it I've only had to replace one fuel level sending unit, one egr valve and one pair of starter contacts that cost me fifty cents. It even still has its original clutch. I have the extended cab with a rear bench seat so that I can seat five if I need to, but a long bed on an extended cab makes the truck difficult to maneuver in crowded parking lots, so I chose the short bed option. I never really thought of myself as a pick up truck owner until Dodge came out with the redesigned Ram in 94, so yes, it was the styling that got my attention. But having had the truck all these years at this point it's hard to imagine life without one. It's just too useful and too versatile to give up. I have no regrets.

 

[mrb627]

Ram EcoDiesel

It seems that the maintenance interval at 5000 miles at a dealer charge of 220. Would surely eat into any money saved on fuel. The Hemi at 5000 miles is a comparable 49$. Kinda puts the Hemi back into the running...

Malcolm

 

[vacerator]

No vehicle is perfect.

With a truck, you need durability, along with high efficiency these days.
I'd be leery of the new V6 diesel engine until years of field proving of such. Unless this an engine already in use in Iveco heavy truck in Europe. The Cummins engine was durable for sure.

 

[philr]

A friend of mine sells used diesel trucks, he specializes in very high mileage bargain-priced trucks!

He used to like the Cummings, I think pre-2003 or something like that. He didn't care about the automatic transmission in them. The 5 and newer 6 speed manual transmissions are apparently not that great but they are sought after by those who had bad experiences with automatics.

Now that the older Dodges are getting hard to find in decent condition around here (most have heavy rust damage from the salt), he mostly buys GM 3/4 ton Duramax pickups. He avoids the first years, he likes those from around 2004 2006. He finds trucks that are bargain-priced, often with 300,000 or 400,000 miles. Most of the time, the A/C still works (something that many people don't care to fix on older vehicles here around here so I guess they just run for a long time) and the 6 speed Allison automatic transmissions are great.

I've rode in and driven a few of his trucks and they all seem to perform very well for being such high-mileage vehicles. Many have issues with the speedometer clusters but it's apparently a cheap fix with a new set of step motors (they sell for cheap on eBay).

He has no opinion yet on the newer Ram 1500 with the Fiat diesel but he used to have a Jeep Liberty CRD with a Fiat diesel and he didn't like it much.

 

[volsboy1]

I hate trucks but, we have to use them on the farm.We have a 2000 Dodge Cummings diesel 4x4 that is beat up and everything and it still runs good..Just hard to start when cold..The 2005 Ford 250 Powerstroke diesel is another truck that I have beat all to hell.

 Dad drives a 2015 Ford F150 Ranch something 4x4 that truck is very nice and VERY FAST.

he  tows a 10k pound Fleet wood everywhere  and that V6 has NO problems at all pulling anything..

The Ford V6 Eco-boost engines had some issues when they came out in 2011 but they fixed that and if your like my Dad,a cheap chip will boost it another 100H.P..

The truck gets about 24 on the interstate and about 19 in the city at least that is what the dash tells me unless my foot is in it which is a lot cause that truck will blast to 60 in under 5 secs.The acceleration is gut wrenching but fun and the seats are the best I have seen in a truck...