Truck Camper Magazine Chooses RAM

Yes and curious to see their top secret truck camper.

Ram has come up a lot the last few years and part of me would like a new truck but geez, I don't see a bunch one in the bunch. If you like blue go blue, if you like a bowtie go bowtie.

so no one else has to cut and paste




TCM and RAM

Nice rig. I thought about it, but I'm still happy with my choice of used F450.

Buzzcut1 wrote:
so no one else has to cut and paste




TCM and RAM

Thanks, I am not that skilled!,

i still lost on why they keep going with Gas over diesel.
"can almost hear my diesel loving friends saying, “That may be true, but what about diesel power and torque?” Well, our 380 horsepower, 380 lb-ft of torque 6.0L gas Chevy 3500 - loaded with a 4,000 pound truck camper - handled the mountain passes of Colorado, and scooted around roaming semis, with relative ease. Modern gas engines do not pull like modern diesels, but the real world differences are less than some folks might believe."

I think a 6.4 HEMI with 410 HP and 429 LB-Ft doesn't compare to 370 HP and 850 LB-Ft and I want more power pulling mountains around here sometimes.

-Kevin wrote:
i still lost on why they keep going with Gas over diesel.
"can almost hear my diesel loving friends saying, “That may be true, but what about diesel power and torque?” Well, our 380 horsepower, 380 lb-ft of torque 6.0L gas Chevy 3500 - loaded with a 4,000 pound truck camper - handled the mountain passes of Colorado, and scooted around roaming semis, with relative ease. Modern gas engines do not pull like modern diesels, but the real world differences are less than some folks might believe."

I think a 6.4 HEMI with 410 HP and 429 LB-Ft doesn't compare to 370 HP and 850 LB-Ft and I want more power pulling mountains around here sometimes.

With the Aisin trans it's 385hp 865tq.

I'm a chevy guy (currently own a GMC 2500HD 6.0, great truck; just too small for a TC for a family of 5 and towing the Jeep.)

So I'm looking for bigger. Test drove all 3. I preferred the new Ram and I had dodge at a distant #3 on my list. Quite a step below Ford at #2 and GM/Chev at number 1.

There are a lot of little things in the DRW Ram's that are awesome. With the Diesel, the payload is pretty much in-line with a GMC/Chev gasser's payload as the GVW of the Ram is 14k to the Chev's 13k.

You can get a couple hundred pounds more with the Hemi 6.4, hence TC Magazine's 5800lbs posted with 4wd, a number Chevy can't quite reach. Ford can match it, but the interior ergonomics just don't work for me, so it was out.

My wife loved the built in coolers in the crew cab's floorboards, and the optional payload/bed camera would be handy for checking tie-downs of normal loads or backing into a TC or 5er.

The Cummins is quite well known, and amazingly enough the Tradesman (work truck) has just as many options as my pretty highly spec'd 2011 SLE GMC. All models routinely sell for $8~10k below sticker.

That means a DRW 3500HD with Cummins, ASIN 3.73, park assist, backup camera, 5th/camper prep kit, and Bluetooth, 4wd crew cab, integrated trailer brake, carpet kit, etc, will set you back roughly $47k or less. Move up to $53~56 and you can get all the gadgets and leather seating. Still $5k below and 1k better GVW than an equally spec'd Duramax/Allison.

That price is tough to beat for 30k towing and 5600lb payload.

Like TC magazine article authors, I became a believer. Now I just need to sell my 2011 and make an order...

With the prices of diesel fuel as they now are, I would prolly not opt for diesel at present. The gassers have more oomph these days and the diesels are much heavier and costly. When I bought my first tank of diesel for our sailing yacht "Imagine" it was $.19 a gallon, low test gas was $.25. in 1971. The prices have soared since, now if we were going to accumulate 300,000 or more miles, the diesel might be practical. At present, since 2004, we have done 98,000 miles on our rig, to Alaska, many of the States and National Parks and lots of time on the beaches of Assateague Island, Maryland. The higher cost of diesel power has not been justified, IMHO!

In the past, as a professional yacht captain, I would not have considered a gas powered vessel as safe or worthwile. If I went to a marina and they docked me next to a gasoline powered vessel, I would ask to be moved or would leave. Gasoline is very explosive and creates carbon monoxide, diesel does neither. These factors are negligible in TC's.

Unless you are towing behind your TC over the mountains, you do not need a diesel. Even if you are that heavy and do it infrequently the gasoline engine will still be fine. However if make all your trips over larger elevation variances or are at high elevations, the diesel starts to make more sense. You may not recover the cost of a diesel purchase/upgrade, so it should be something that will provide enough benefit for the additional cost.