Before I do comparisons on these two engines, has anyone already done research on this...feedback would be great and perhaps save some extra time. Thanks for the input!

I too am very interested in this subject. Owning a diesel with dpf emission control stuff out of warranty like I do is just a risk I'd rather not have. Seems like a lot of people like their new gassers and my fiver weight is a little less than 12,000, which is well below some of the gas tow ratings. If you look at last years pickup truck ultimate 3/4 ton challenge on the Ike Gauntlet, you will see that the Ram 6.4 with 4.1 lost to the Chevy with 6.0 and 4.1, as well as the Ford with 6.2 and 3.73 rear end. Why?? The first and second gears of the Ram are 3.23 and 1.84, while the Chevy's are 4.03 and 2.36, and the Ford's are 3.97 and 2.31. The Ram came in last and went up a long section at under 30 mph with the rpms limited by the Ram engineers to prevent damage. The Chevy and Ford trucks have lower transmission gearing in first and second even though they both have less torque and the Ford only had a 3.73 axle.I live in flat Louisiana and this would rarely apply to me, but I do love to go to Colorado. All these engines are gasping for air at the end of the Ike Gauntlet at over 11,000 feet and have lost about 30% of their power due to elevation. It's an extreme test. In less extreme conditions I think all 3 would do fine. I would just have to get used to 4,000 rpms instead of the 1,600 or so I now hear with the Cummins.I am hoping at least one of the 3 put an 8 speed transmission in a 2500/250. That would probably push me to gas again. I have had a 7.3 Ford and 6.7 Cummins and I love the way diesels tow. The emissions stuff has just made them less reliable and more costly to maintain, with big potential repair cost that don't fit my retirement budget well. I hope this helps some. Good luck with your decision.

Thank you for your comments. I have been restling with the decision gas or diesel for months and I move very slowly because like you I am retired and can't afford a $12,000 plus repair bill. I tow perhaps 5 months per year, but much of that time would be parked in sites in California or Mesa etc... plus will travel in Canada. The 5th I am looking at is dry weight 8500 lbs...... 32 ft 7"Feel free to shoot more comments my way.

Pulling 10K with a fifth wheel certainly makes a gas engine a viable option. If your looking to keep somewhat of a cap on expenses, the gas engines are cheaper to work on and not as particular as the new diesels are. The towing experience will not be as effortless and you wont likely pass many fuel stations. However when you factor in the cost of diesel verse gas in most places, the differences are not as far off as it might first appear. Something to remember when you complain about 7-8 mpg with the gasser verse the 10-11 with a diesel (towing). I pull half again as much with my gas HD and it works, I slay a few dinosaurs but I didn't spend the 8-9K for the Dmax either, that buys a lot gas. Lastly I just traded a '12 for a '15 with 60K on it (bought new) and it cost me .18 cents a mile in depreciation. It worked well enough for me that I bought another HD gas. Granted the HD gas truck is not my sole TV, but at 15K or less it works well.I would say that I don't think problems with the new diesels are anywhere near epidemic, chances are better than not you would wont have any serious problems. However given your retired status, I can see why it is a risk you don't want to take.

What are you towing with now? I did not see the TV in your profile. Most of those that are not happy towing 10K with a gas rig are those coming from a diesel. It's hard to go back to less power.I'm about 2,000 lbs heavier in the fifth wheel. I know a gas would do it fine, but I'm just used to the more relaxing diesel rpms. I just don't know if the relaxed towing is now worth the risk of the far more expensive repairs. Good luck.

I have commented in your CP3 and CP4 diesel thread below, so I can now see you are still on the gas/diesel fence also. There is no right or wrong decision, just the one that will most likely work best for you.Good luck and let me know how it turns out for you.

Hemi 6.4 Ram vs Ford 6.2 (gas) | Good Sam Community

ib516
Explorer II
Feb 19, 2015
I can feel it kick in and out, and with my Magnaflow exhaust, I can hear it now too.
mtofell1
Explorer
Feb 19, 2015
ib516 wrote:
Once up to operating temp, the 4 cyl mode cuts in all the time on my truck - everyday in fact, several times in a 8 mile commute. It kicks in when city driving as soon as I'm up to speed. On the hwy, as long as there is no wind and no hills, it's in 4 cyl mode. As soon as there's an uphill grade on the hwy, it kicks into 8 cyl mode, and it doesn't take much of a slope.

How do you know when it kicks in/out? I've never seen a light or anything in my Hemi 6.4. My wife's Honda Odyssey has a dummy light that comes on/off every time and it can go in/out every few seconds. I've never really thought too much about it on my truck but now am curious.

As for the mpg thing, starts/stops/idling does kill these things. I've also noticed the winter blend fuel in my area kills me by 1-2mps as a daily driver. Just pulled in tonight with a pretty good mix of hwy/city driving over the last couple weeks and I'm at 13.1 (still on winter fuel). I honestly don't even watch that closely. A 3/4 ton truck with a big gas engine 10 years ago got around 8-9 mpgs and 2 years ago gas about $2 more per gallon. Life with my truck is good :)
Buck50HD
Explorer
Feb 18, 2015
ib516 wrote:
Buck50HD wrote:
In the last 5 months, I don't think I've driven my truck in any conditions where the cylinder deactivation would even come remotely close to activating. But, I don't haul groceries or commute with it. I also have not seen a direct comparison where there has been any significant difference in mileage between the 3. In fact, the 6.4 was consistently the worst in the PUT.com shootout. My 2004 2500HD 6 liter got the same mileage. There's a lot raving about the Ram mileage but I still have a hard time buying it.

I had a GM 5.3 with cyl deactivation and the only thing it did was cause stuck lifters on a cold start and sounded like it was coming apart. The mileage was no different than previous non-AFM 5.3's I owned. It was used to pass emission tests, not save fuel for the owner.

3/4-ton Shootout Fuel Economy

You must drive in some extreme conditions then. Once up to operating temp, the 4 cyl mode cuts in all the time on my truck - everyday in fact, several times in a 8 mile commute. It kicks in when city driving as soon as I'm up to speed. On the hwy, as long as there is no wind and no hills, it's in 4 cyl mode. As soon as there's an uphill grade on the hwy, it kicks into 8 cyl mode, and it doesn't take much of a slope. That said, here's a video of my hwy mpg. Why not post your hwy mpg? Surely, your 3.73s would have the advantage.
Here's a video of my truck's hwy mpg

I've seen your updates and I could make countless videos of 18+mpg cruising on flat ground in the summer. I've managed over 17mpg for an entire tank of gas so the steady-state highway cruising part of that was well over 18.

But, the reality is that as soon as I combine that with cold starts, warmups, idling(these things guzzle gas even at an idle), stop and go, short trips and towing, the lifetime average would not be dramatically improved with 1mpg better on the highway. That's what they proved at PUT.com.

BTW, in the same conditions as my 17.x mpg tank with the 6.2, my previous ecoboost netted 25.5mpg with non-ethanol fuel. And it towed a 9klb 5th wheel faster! Only slightly faster, so probably about as fast as a 6.4 Hemi:B
ib516
Explorer II
Feb 18, 2015
Buck50HD wrote:
In the last 5 months, I don't think I've driven my truck in any conditions where the cylinder deactivation would even come remotely close to activating. But, I don't haul groceries or commute with it. I also have not seen a direct comparison where there has been any significant difference in mileage between the 3. In fact, the 6.4 was consistently the worst in the PUT.com shootout. My 2004 2500HD 6 liter got the same mileage. There's a lot raving about the Ram mileage but I still have a hard time buying it.

I had a GM 5.3 with cyl deactivation and the only thing it did was cause stuck lifters on a cold start and sounded like it was coming apart. The mileage was no different than previous non-AFM 5.3's I owned. It was used to pass emission tests, not save fuel for the owner.

3/4-ton Shootout Fuel Economy

You must drive in some extreme conditions then. Once up to operating temp, the 4 cyl mode cuts in all the time on my truck - everyday in fact, several times in a 8 mile commute. It kicks in when city driving as soon as I'm up to speed. On the hwy, as long as there is no wind and no hills, it's in 4 cyl mode. As soon as there's an uphill grade on the hwy, it kicks into 8 cyl mode, and it doesn't take much of a slope. That said, here's a video of my hwy mpg. Why not post your hwy mpg? Surely, your 3.73s would have the advantage.
Here's a video of my truck's hwy mpg
mowin
Explorer
Feb 18, 2015
I'm not sure how much the MDS increases the MPG's in my Ram, but it kicks in often. In the summer I was getting 18mpg highway unloaded, hand calc. Haven't been on a highway trip this winter, but I'm sure it would drop some do to the cold weather. I've got almost 19k on my 3500 SRW 6.4 3:73 gears. Only complaint is the stock tries suck. Only got 10k out of them.
Buck50HD
Explorer
Feb 18, 2015
In the last 5 months, I don't think I've driven my truck in any conditions where the cylinder deactivation would even come remotely close to activating. But, I don't haul groceries or commute with it. I also have not seen a direct comparison where there has been any significant difference in mileage between the 3. In fact, the 6.4 was consistently the worst in the PUT.com shootout. My 2004 2500HD 6 liter got the same mileage. There's a lot raving about the Ram mileage but I still have a hard time buying it.

I had a GM 5.3 with cyl deactivation and the only thing it did was cause stuck lifters on a cold start and sounded like it was coming apart. The mileage was no different than previous non-AFM 5.3's I owned. It was used to pass emission tests, not save fuel for the owner.

3/4-ton Shootout Fuel Economy
Need-A-Vacation
Explorer
Feb 18, 2015
We have a 2500HD over the 3500HD due to what was available off the lot, even with a dealer trade. We didn't want the factory nav, sunroof, etc or a diesel, and the very few 3500HD's on the lot that were a crew cab were loaded up to the gills!

IF I ordered one it would have been a 3500HD just for the extra payload for down the road. Plus, for the '13 & '14 trucks, a 3500HD was actually cheaper by a few hundred. Due to the hitch and tow mirros being an option on the 2500HD's. Not sure if this is still the same for the new '15 HD's.
mtofell1
Explorer
Feb 17, 2015
The cylinder deactivation and better mpgs was the #1 factor to purchase my 6.4 Hemi over the 6.2 Ford. I checked out message boards for both brands and around here and the Hemi seemed to be getting about 1-2 better. Lots of 13/14s with the Hemi and 11/12s with the Ford. I know there will be the guy with the Ford getting 16 who will chime in soon but I'm talking about just an average of as many real world experiences that I could find. Also, taking into account type of driving, towing, etc, etc.

Overall, you can't go wrong with any of the big 3 trucks. The change from my 8 year old Duramax to my Hemi is amazing. Just all the creature comforts and technology with these new trucks is great.
ib516
Explorer II
Feb 17, 2015
labren wrote:
ib516 wrote:
Here's a much more comprehensive (and scientific/fair) test on video.

VIDEO

The reference is made many times about the HD trucks. When looking at the 2500 or the F250, are those considered HD trucks or is there something else has to be ordered?

No, they just mean 2500/250 class trucks.
kzspree320
Explorer
Feb 17, 2015
GM and Ram both call their 2500 and up series Heavy Duty (HD). Ford calls its 250 and up series Super Duty. Different name same thing. In light truck naming 3/4 ton and up are called HD.

It gets confusing because those that really work with large trucks would call any truck one ton and less light duty.