Movin' on up to a new Dually!

[RZAR66]

Picked her up on 2 days ago. 2014 Ram 3500 4x4 drw with the 6.4 Hemi and 6667 lbs. of payload. It is replacing my 2011 Ford 4x4 F350 srw regular cab with the 6.2. The Ford was a great truck but when I bought a bigger camper with a slide out I wanted more truck. Just waiting for my tiedowns to come so I can mount the Lance.

[BradW]

You will love the added stability of the drw.

Brad

[Bedlam]

Although the dash has changed since my 2005, the seats are same. For me, that is a plus since mine have worked well for me...

[thejustin]

daily double wrote:
Justin; why not fly yo the lower 48 and get a truck? I went to the Ford dealer in Kenai and got the most expensive service ever this summer. You sure don't want to have diesel work done there. You can buy a plane ticket for what I had to pay. Locate what you want and fly in.

I don't have the free time schedule wise. I work 6 days a week and my next block of leave isn't until MLB Spring Training starts in March (my yearly indulgence). Though maybe I could fly into Arizona for my baseball games and then drive back to Alaska in a new truck. Man that would be a long drive. 🙂

I have been poking around on Cars.com and did find two Denali 3500's I would purchase that are located in Seattle which is a short barge away from us. I just sent out an email to Lithia Chevrolet and AK Sales and Service seeing if we can get a dealer transfer done.

What kind of service did you have done? I trade in my truck every 3 years so anything I have done will be covered under warranty. GM/Chevy also offering free oil changes and mailtenance for 2 years so not really concerned about that either. I can tell you I *HATE* Cal Worthington here in Anchorage. I would rather drive an hour out of town for service out in Kendall in Wasilla......

If I can't close on this Denali in Seattle, it will be either a Ram 3500 or a Silverado 3500. They are both similar (LTZ vs Laramie Limited) with the Ram being a higher trim but out the door cost is approx 8-9K more. Ford will give me a smoking deal on a 2014 King Ranch F450 but I'm really looking for something new. My last 3 trucks have been Super Duty's and I've loved them, but the interior has pretty much stayed identical since 2009, looking for something different. That Ram Limited/Longhorn interior is beautiful on the inside.

[Mote]

Congratulations on the new truck. Hauling that camper should be a piece of cake now.
Send us a loaded up picture when you can.

[jimh406]

Gas vs diesel isn't much of a debate. You can always buy a smaller or less capable truck for less and pay less to maintain it. For me, I've seen enough gasoline RVs on the side of road that didn't make the passes to know that I'm willing to pay more for durability. Most of those failures from talking to people are busted hoses or transmissions from the Gasoline engines screaming to maintain speed over the elevated passes.

For the record, my diesel SRW got better mpg than my current DRW diesel truck, and that was a good tradeoff to haul the camper. That being said, I just bought a used SUV to handle some of the uses that the SRW could do. But, the SUV is way smaller and is can do things the SRW couldn't do like park in small parking places which unfortunately is a consideration for me.

[JumboJet]

wintersun wrote:
pay twice as much for an oil change which I have to have done twice as often

Other than everything else you said about your Duramax diesel, I don't understand the "have done twice as often" part.

My oil changes are recommended every 7,500 miles, or 15,000 miles if I was doing continuous over-the-road hauling.

I change oil every 7,500 miles. My dealer and I made a deal for lifetime oil changes and tire rotation for less than I can purchase the filters and oil from the local parts or discount department store.

[daily_double]

Justin; why not fly yo the lower 48 and get a truck? I went to the Ford dealer in Kenai and got the most expensive service ever this summer. You sure don't want to have diesel work done there. You can buy a plane ticket for what I had to pay. Locate what you want and fly in.

[thejustin]

wintersun wrote:
The DRW makes sense with a 5,000 lb. camper but not the choice of diesel. The extra expense and hastle of a diesel is needed when towing more than 10,000 lbs. but it is hardly needed for half that load.

I have a diesel truck and I paid an additional $9000 for the truck, pay twice as much for an oil change which I have to have done twice as often, have to change the fuel filters every 10k versus 80-100k with a gas engine, have two batteries instead of one to replace, have an extra 800 lbs. of engine weight which is subtracted from the payload capacity, have to buy DEF as well as fuel, have less reliable emissions systems and sensors (had to replace a $700 NOx sensor at 12,000 miles), have to drive further to get fuel as none of the three gas stations in my town have diesel at the pumps much less DEF which I get at truck stops, and the fuel economy gain is negated by the greater distance to buy fuel and the cost of diesel which over the past 3 years has been higher than premium gas. And with diesel I have to worry a lot more about contaminated fuel and water in the fuel and algae and adding fuel stabilizers which has never been a concern with my gas vehicles. Diesel fuel economy also drops dramatically if one is making trips of less than 30 minutes or doing around town driving.

The diesel engine works well with the 3.73 gears on my pickup but I could get 95% of the power needed with a 5,000 lb. camper with a gas engine and 4.10 gears. Where people create problems is in buying whatever the dealer configures and the factory wants to sell which is high gear trucks that help with the EPA's CAFE calculations and does nothing for the people buying the trucks.

Sigh, I fear we are headed for another diesel vs gas debate again......

Both are fine and both have pros and cons specific to the buyers needs. For example, *YOU* have to drive farther to get fuel vs gas, but that may not be the case for others. Your other points are valid, specifically the oil change maintenance costs which most people don't even think of.

I've driven (and owned) both types before. My current F350 6.2 gasser gets up and goes like a mustang, I just hate filling up my 36 gallon tank every week. Got 9 MPG on my last tank, and I have the 3.73 gears! Having said that, the truck I was wanting to test drive was a Denali 3500HD with the 6.0L to see real world gas mileage. I don't trust any of these numbers people on forums say because they never seem to jive. I see people claiming ~ 20 MPG out of a SD 6.2L...... If I could manage 12-15 mpg with a gasser Denali DRW 3500 and I saw one on the lot I would buy it immediately. Also considered the 6.4L hemi but no DRW trucks with that config here. Local dealers here in Alaska are quoting me a 4 month wait time for a custom order, that is too long to wait for me so I will "settle" for whats on the lot. If it's diesel, so be it.

Still checking all the dealers around my area to see if I can find a Denali gasser or Hemi 6.4 DRW to test drive. Sucks here in Alaska, we really have no other dealers we can check. If you are in the states you can drive a few hours and check some other dealerships. I can check Fairbanks and Soldotna outside of Anchorage and the valley (Wasilla/ER), that's pretty much it 😞

[wintersun]

The DRW makes sense with a 5,000 lb. camper but not the choice of diesel. The extra expense and hastle of a diesel is needed when towing more than 10,000 lbs. but it is hardly needed for half that load.

I have a diesel truck and I paid an additional $9000 for the truck, pay twice as much for an oil change which I have to have done twice as often, have to change the fuel filters every 10k versus 80-100k with a gas engine, have two batteries instead of one to replace, have an extra 800 lbs. of engine weight which is subtracted from the payload capacity, have to buy DEF as well as fuel, have less reliable emissions systems and sensors (had to replace a $700 NOx sensor at 12,000 miles), have to drive further to get fuel as none of the three gas stations in my town have diesel at the pumps much less DEF which I get at truck stops, and the fuel economy gain is negated by the greater distance to buy fuel and the cost of diesel which over the past 3 years has been higher than premium gas. And with diesel I have to worry a lot more about contaminated fuel and water in the fuel and algae and adding fuel stabilizers which has never been a concern with my gas vehicles. Diesel fuel economy also drops dramatically if one is making trips of less than 30 minutes or doing around town driving.

The diesel engine works well with the 3.73 gears on my pickup but I could get 95% of the power needed with a 5,000 lb. camper with a gas engine and 4.10 gears. Where people create problems is in buying whatever the dealer configures and the factory wants to sell which is high gear trucks that help with the EPA's CAFE calculations and does nothing for the people buying the trucks.

[thejustin]

Nice!

Looking at trading in my 2012 F350 at the moment. Not brand loyal so looking at a F450 King Ranch, Ram 3500 Limited, and a Silverado 3500 at the moment. I wanted a Denali 3500HD but they are impossible to find here in Alaska in DRW. Leaning towards the Ram. Decisions!!

My Ford is a 6.2L gasser (daily driver), lugs around my 5000lb camper fine. Unfortunately our Dodge dealers don't stock DRW in 6.4 configuration so its diesel or bust.

[Grit_dog]

Nice truck!
Looks like the perfect camper haulin rig!

[CaveRun]

Nice truck!.. Even if it is a Dodge! :)... I'm a Ford guy, but my second choice for trucks would be a Dodge.

If I bought a new dually, I would get a diesel for that size of a truck!

Be sure to post pictures when you have your camper loaded!... What will you be towing behind when you have the camper loaded ?

[JumboJet]

Area13 wrote:

JumboJet wrote:
Nice RAM 3500 to go with that Lance 1050S

Here is a small picture of what yours will look like:

Get yourself a set of Torklift StableLoads. The 1050S will set the back down some.

Curious, where's the COG?

Not a COG issue as it didn't take any weight off the front axle, it is just heavy - 4500 lbs. - and there is a large gap between the OEM bump stop and the overload springs. StableLoads allow the overload springs to engage quicker.

[Area13]

JumboJet wrote:
Nice RAM 3500 to go with that Lance 1050S

Here is a small picture of what yours will look like:



Get yourself a set of Torklift StableLoads. The 1050S will set the back down some.

Curious, where's the COG?

[SugarHillCTD]

bigcitypopo wrote:
Awesome!!!!! If I may ask... Any reason you got a gasser and not the CTD?

Over on Truck Camper Magazine, they were getting mpg figures with the gas engine not that far off the Cummins.


To the OP- NICE TRUCK. Best of luck.