Dodge cummins 5.9 or 6.7 ?

We have only owned older 5.9 diesels. Our 2003 is a non HD diesel and it's 460 pounds of torque is more than enough for our 2 horse trailer. It does not have an exhaust brake and we didn't know what we were missing until we bought Chris's 2001.5 that he had added an exhaust brake to (along with a lot of other neat stuff)

The older 5.9 diesels are proven motors and, unless you are towing really heavy or you want the modern extras, they are a great choice.

maxwell11 wrote:
if you can afford it.
get a truck with the exhaust brake and 6 speed auto transmission

I have the 05 model dodge
was standing on the side of the road the other day waiting for the tow truck, #5 fuel line blew out. 92K miles
what a pain in the butt

going down a hill with a heavy load better have good brakes as it will push you with no exhaust brake.

only a 4 speed and no lock out for 4 th gear on a 05 model, what were they thinking????????????????

That fuel line got checked every oil change :W Well known issue on the Cummins forums.
In 2006 they had a lockout OD.

if you can afford it.
get a truck with the exhaust brake and 6 speed auto transmission

I have the 05 model dodge
was standing on the side of the road the other day waiting for the tow truck, #5 fuel line blew out. 92K miles
what a pain in the butt

going down a hill with a heavy load better have good brakes as it will push you with no exhaust brake.

only a 4 speed and no lock out for 4 th gear on a 05 model, what were they thinking????????????????

Me Again wrote:

crcr wrote:

Me Again wrote:
You really do not want a 3rd gen with the 48RE auto, and you said you are tired of shifting! Chris

I would have preferred more than four transmission gears when I bought my 3rd Gen, but have nonetheless been pleased to find out it does the job just fine. I don't tow over 65 mph anyway and I'm only turning between 1800 and 2000 rpm at that speed towing.

The guys that put hot tunes on their 3rd Gens and run them hard, yes, sometimes have transmission problems. But if you research it, those of us running stock or with mild tunes, generally have had very good reliability with the 48RE transmission. The previous owner of my 3rd Gen was running a tuner and pulling a fifth wheel. I removed the tuner and sold it, and I have had no transmission problems whatsoever in almost two years of towing an RV now.

Good luck!

Do you have an exhaust brake? Chris

Yes, as I mentioned when I posted earlier in this thread, my truck has a PacBrake that the original owner had professionally installed.

Kennedycamper wrote:
I'm looking to buy a newer truck for hauling a 5th wheel. For those who have had both 5.9 & 6.7 engines, which do you think is better and why? Right now I'm leaning towards the 5.9, because it has a lot less pollution **** on it. Truck will probably be a 2005 to 2009. Opinions?

I think you should purchase the newest, cleanest, lowest mileage truck your budget will allow. Good luck, you will find the right one for your needs.

spoon059 wrote:
OP, I would strongly encourage you to look at a newer Ram. Even if you have to stretch payments for another year, you are getting a LOT more truck.

Given the choice of a 5.9 or an early model 6.7, I would stick with the 5.9 Cummins. The early 6.7's had poor mileage and need to be worked to keep the emissions clean. The 5.9 will have an old interior, likely worn out, likely high miles, less power (may not be an issue) and the old frame and front steering issues.

A 2014 or 2015 Ram will have a higher GVWR, stronger frame, exhaust brake, DEF system, respectable fuel mileage, new interior, will handle daily driver better, etc.

I found a used 2015 with the Cummins and love it. I get 21-22 mpg empty on the highway at 70-74 mph. I get about 12-14 towing an 8500 lbs bumper pull at 60-64. The new 6.7 is rated to 15K mile oil change intervals. I've used 2.5 gallons of DEF (half tank) in 3000 miles, a lot of those towing. Towing gets the temps high enough for a passive regen, and I've only had 2 active regens (monitored by an Edge JWA controller) in that 3000 miles (they have both been very short regen cycles). A 2500 gets coil suspension in the back for a very smooth ride, yet still strong enough to hold a decent amount of weight.

I know you didn't ask about a newer truck... but I would encourage you to run the numbers and see what it would cost. You get a LOT of upgrades for a relatively small cost. When you consider that you can get a new truck with no miles as opposed to a 10 year old truck with a couple hundred thousand miles, it makes sense to at least consider it.

Good luck!

I totally agree with this. And if you go with a 3500, you can include 2013 in your search because the major upgrades were done to them for that model year. This may help reduce the price of the truck somewhat.

crcr wrote:

Me Again wrote:
You really do not want a 3rd gen with the 48RE auto, and you said you are tired of shifting! Chris

I would have preferred more than four transmission gears when I bought my 3rd Gen, but have nonetheless been pleased to find out it does the job just fine. I don't tow over 65 mph anyway and I'm only turning between 1800 and 2000 rpm at that speed towing.

The guys that put hot tunes on their 3rd Gens and run them hard, yes, sometimes have transmission problems. But if you research it, those of us running stock or with mild tunes, generally have had very good reliability with the 48RE transmission. The previous owner of my 3rd Gen was running a tuner and pulling a fifth wheel. I removed the tuner and sold it, and I have had no transmission problems whatsoever in almost two years of towing an RV now.

Good luck!

X2 but almost 10 years. And yes exhaust brake since day 1.

crcr wrote:

Me Again wrote:
You really do not want a 3rd gen with the 48RE auto, and you said you are tired of shifting! Chris

I would have preferred more than four transmission gears when I bought my 3rd Gen, but have nonetheless been pleased to find out it does the job just fine. I don't tow over 65 mph anyway and I'm only turning between 1800 and 2000 rpm at that speed towing.

The guys that put hot tunes on their 3rd Gens and run them hard, yes, sometimes have transmission problems. But if you research it, those of us running stock or with mild tunes, generally have had very good reliability with the 48RE transmission. The previous owner of my 3rd Gen was running a tuner and pulling a fifth wheel. I removed the tuner and sold it, and I have had no transmission problems whatsoever in almost two years of towing an RV now.

Good luck!

Do you have an exhaust brake? Chris

OP, I would strongly encourage you to look at a newer Ram. Even if you have to stretch payments for another year, you are getting a LOT more truck.

Given the choice of a 5.9 or an early model 6.7, I would stick with the 5.9 Cummins. The early 6.7's had poor mileage and need to be worked to keep the emissions clean. The 5.9 will have an old interior, likely worn out, likely high miles, less power (may not be an issue) and the old frame and front steering issues.

A 2014 or 2015 Ram will have a higher GVWR, stronger frame, exhaust brake, DEF system, respectable fuel mileage, new interior, will handle daily driver better, etc.

I found a used 2015 with the Cummins and love it. I get 21-22 mpg empty on the highway at 70-74 mph. I get about 12-14 towing an 8500 lbs bumper pull at 60-64. The new 6.7 is rated to 15K mile oil change intervals. I've used 2.5 gallons of DEF (half tank) in 3000 miles, a lot of those towing. Towing gets the temps high enough for a passive regen, and I've only had 2 active regens (monitored by an Edge JWA controller) in that 3000 miles (they have both been very short regen cycles). A 2500 gets coil suspension in the back for a very smooth ride, yet still strong enough to hold a decent amount of weight.

I know you didn't ask about a newer truck... but I would encourage you to run the numbers and see what it would cost. You get a LOT of upgrades for a relatively small cost. When you consider that you can get a new truck with no miles as opposed to a 10 year old truck with a couple hundred thousand miles, it makes sense to at least consider it.

Good luck!

Me Again wrote:
You really do not want a 3rd gen with the 48RE auto, and you said you are tired of shifting! Chris

I would have preferred more than four transmission gears when I bought my 3rd Gen, but have nonetheless been pleased to find out it does the job just fine. I don't tow over 65 mph anyway and I'm only turning between 1800 and 2000 rpm at that speed towing.

The guys that put hot tunes on their 3rd Gens and run them hard, yes, sometimes have transmission problems. But if you research it, those of us running stock or with mild tunes, generally have had very good reliability with the 48RE transmission. The previous owner of my 3rd Gen was running a tuner and pulling a fifth wheel. I removed the tuner and sold it, and I have had no transmission problems whatsoever in almost two years of towing an RV now.

Good luck!