new 2024

Well, actually, when I posted that last one, I had only put 4,000 miles on it, but I digress.

At 4,260 miles, I got rear ended. The video from my rear facing dash cam shows the little white car Waaaaaaaaay back there as I slowed to a stop on the highway to make a left turn. Speed limit in that area is 55, and driver had at least 10 seconds warning before impact, and did slow down some. The story was saw a stop was needed, put arm out to keep dog in passenger seat from hitting the dash. But then evidently forgot about the stopping part.

Anyway, damage to truck is about $14,000. No one was injured, although dog did still hit the dashboard, no doubt with less force than it might have. For a number of reasons, including fighting with insurance, parts availability, and getting scheduled into body shop for repairs, we may not have use of the truck until mid-August.

I guess this proves we just can't have nice things, eh?

Well, I now know what to expect mileage wise. Dragged the TT to Ohio to see the eclipse, had a lovely time, thank you. Saw friends and family and the eclipse with friends and family.

So the worst fuel mileage I ever got with the diesels was 9 mpg dragging the TT through Oklahoma into a 50 mph headwind (brutal, I recommend hunkering down somewhere for days like that, but I digress). That was with the 2.8 liter Jeep 4 cyl. Best was 17+ with the 3.0 liter 6 cyl BMW, both of which averaged around 14 most of the time.

The trip over the West Virginia mountains in the teeth of an ugly, windy, rainy, snow-flurried storm with this 2.7 liter gasser got me 6.5. On the trip back in nicer weather, it looks like an average of about 11 was achieved. This is in line with what I predicted when I bought the truck.

It's performance in the teeth of that storm was great. In tow-haul mode, the engine seemed to want to run around torque peak at 3,000 rpm, as the storm and mountains made it work pretty hard. On the way back, good weather and all, it tried to stay between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm, compared to the normal 1500 rpm unloaded cruising at 70 mph.

Switching between gas and diesel, going either way, there are a lot of things to consider. Folks buying a truck would be wise to dive deeply into the matter before choosing. The simple truth is that once size does not fit all. There are circumstances and uses for which one will be a better choice than the other, YMMV.

Am I happy with this truck, yes, I am, so far. I've only put about 5,000 miles on it, and it has done what I wanted it to do with no fuss. Ask me again in about 100,000 more miles for a more complete picture. In 60 years of driving, I've had many gassers and now 3 diesels, one of which proved to be the least reliable ride ever, another the most reliable ride (Jeep the former, BMW the latter). Whatever you choose, may it prove to be your most satisfying ride.

Nice truck! And rcsb pickups are pretty rare now. 

Thank you for your interest. Just so that you know, I particularly wanted the standard cab rather than any sort of extended cab. You should also know that I do not care what the truck will be worth on the market in a few years because I always keep 'em until the wheels fall off and they are completely worn out. I also particularly wanted a 23  or 24 model year because of engine changes/upgrades made in 23. Finally, the engine in this truck is turbocharged, just like the Diesel engine in the X5. I have driven turbo diesels since 2001, and expect this engine to deal with altitude just like those other turbo engines. That diesel X5 and the diesel Jeep that preceded it dragged that trailer over the Rockies several times.

Finally, this engine has a torque curve very nearly identical to that of the 3 liter Duramax, save a little lower at peak and extended out to higher rpm. It was designed that way, it is no accident. My 23 year experience driving diesels informed my decision, and yes, I know I won't get as good mileage on a gallon, but I am looking forward to finding out what I do get.

So, yeah, I coulda . . . but I didn't. If you go to any dealer lot today, you will find the prices on new trucks to be 35% to 50% higher than just a few years ago. While deals can be made, you are still going to pay more for new than for used. It has ever been thus.

Could have bought a newer used diesel crew cab for the price you paid for the 1500 single cab. The diesel hold their value so much better than the single cab gassers. Your new truck will be worth a LOT less in a couple of years. Plus the diesel pull like no tomorrow...lot safer in higher altitudes and going up and down mountains.