Test drove a Cummins last night.
Man that thing is sooo smooth. You can't hardly feel it change gears at all. Factory exhaust brake is pretty cool, didn't expect it to work as good as it does. The ride quality with the rear coils ...
Forum Discussion
OP, you don't need a 3500 if your current rigs specs have done you fine all these years. The 250/2500 trucks today are essentially the 350/3500 from back when you bought your 2005 going by their specs, but most here do not know that so they will just tell you get the 3500 because they don't know any better and are going off of how it was 10-15 years ago.
For example, your 2005 2500HD has a GVWR of 9,200 lbs while the 3500s back in 2005 had a GVWR of 9,900 lbs. These numbers are the the same for all manufacturers three-quarter and one tons and not just GM so essentially back then the 350/3500 SRW trucks were in the same class as 250/2500 trucks. Today, I don't think you can find a 2500 diesel truck with a GVWR of less than 10,000 lbs which is higher than the 3500s of 2005.
Also back when you bought your truck, the GM 2500s had a FGAWR of 4,800 lbs and a RGAWR of 6,000 lbs while the GM 3500 SRW had a FGAWR of 4,800 lbs and a RGAWR of 6,500 lbs. My 2014 Ram 2500 has a FGAWR of 6,000 lbs and a RGAWR of 6,500 lbs which is more than the 3500s back in 2005. So again, if a 2500HD specs has served you well all these years then no need have to step up to a 3500 if you liked the way the coil springs on the 2500 rode. You would essentially be stepping up into a truck that has higher ratings than the 350/3500s of ten years ago. It has more than enough ratings and capabilities for your purposes. Some of these guys are just going off of an old school mentality of bigger is always better, and are applying how it used to be to modern trucks because they don't know the real specs. I can assure you that bigger is not always better and many who say that are just compensating for something else.
For example, your 2005 2500HD has a GVWR of 9,200 lbs while the 3500s back in 2005 had a GVWR of 9,900 lbs. These numbers are the the same for all manufacturers three-quarter and one tons and not just GM so essentially back then the 350/3500 SRW trucks were in the same class as 250/2500 trucks. Today, I don't think you can find a 2500 diesel truck with a GVWR of less than 10,000 lbs which is higher than the 3500s of 2005.
Also back when you bought your truck, the GM 2500s had a FGAWR of 4,800 lbs and a RGAWR of 6,000 lbs while the GM 3500 SRW had a FGAWR of 4,800 lbs and a RGAWR of 6,500 lbs. My 2014 Ram 2500 has a FGAWR of 6,000 lbs and a RGAWR of 6,500 lbs which is more than the 3500s back in 2005. So again, if a 2500HD specs has served you well all these years then no need have to step up to a 3500 if you liked the way the coil springs on the 2500 rode. You would essentially be stepping up into a truck that has higher ratings than the 350/3500s of ten years ago. It has more than enough ratings and capabilities for your purposes. Some of these guys are just going off of an old school mentality of bigger is always better, and are applying how it used to be to modern trucks because they don't know the real specs. I can assure you that bigger is not always better and many who say that are just compensating for something else.
