Diesel vs gas......................
OK folks, there have been a few to many diesel vs gas threads that have shall we say gone to "Hell and a hand basket"! So if all of you would put in you BEST, no flaming reasons for going gas vs diesel, pro and con, I will either leave your thread, or copy and paste pertinant info to the 4 posts of pro and con of diesel or gas. This can include the GM 8.1 vs Dmax or Ford V-8/10 vs PSD etc too. Be real and honest in you answers, not hear say, flaming etc PLEASE! If posts are good ones, I will leave, if inflamatory or trolling in nature, they will be deleted! I will get this stick'd to the top for future parusing for those that need this type of info. Added 6-23-04 We are getting closer to answers I am looking for etc. Stuff like Ken's - T-Bone posts are good. There are a few others of you that have not posted, some with a 9 point question and answer type to figure out how you went with one or the other. If you are one of those, PLEASE repost in this thread. I may have to look up whom has done this and PM you, but if you think this is you, you now know what to do. Also, for those of you with $ per gallon for either fuel right now, I would prefer to see a post with ...."in my area, diesel is typically .10 less than unleaded" then explain your numbers. As currently in the Seattle area, diesel and unleaded are any where from 2.05 -2.30 per gallon, with mid test .10 more and premium about .20 more, with equal high low splits. Two weeks ago those prices were upwards of .30 -.40 per gallon more. people were posting $ per gallon that were for me. "I wish" If someone is reading your post a year from now, they may want to know where your paying 1.65, when the price of fuel is over $3 per gallon. Let's keep prices out of it if possible. Bert and tin tipi, got into a good discusion on the pros and cons of RPM's, drive train etc. I would prefer to NOT see the quote of the other in responding threads, maybe just write a quick wording of re tranny gearing, instead of the whole 40 words or so in that paragragh, so the repsonse is shorter if possible quicker and easier to read etc. I have deleted some 15+/- posts, that were off topic etc. Please note, I am trying to keep this at the top, as the ONLY gas/diesel thread in this area. So if one is trying to decide, we do not have to go thru this BS any more. As such, I will be deleting ANY future posts close to resembling this type of topic. I may have to change "this" title to a better one, if one has a better sounding title, to be more positive, better claification, let me know here, or in a PM/e-mail, what ever you feel most comfortible with. Again thank you for all of you that are keeping responses positive, etc. Also we could use a few more positive reasons to go gas, as many can see I have both gas and diesel, both have a place! Both have positive reasons to buy that fuel, lets keep the threads etc to that purpose only! Marty
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UPDATE! Picking up the 2015 Eco-Diesel Friday/Saturday! :)
Canceled the order today! So went to the dealer in Blowing Green to day and placed the order for the following truck :):):):):) 2015 Ram Crew Cab SLT/Outdoorsman. 3.0 diesel 8 speed auto, 3:92 limited slip, with the, following packages, protection, convenience, luxury, tow mirrors and brake control, 8.4Nav, Prairie pearl coat paint with canyon brown/light frost beige interior, block heater and 9 speakers with subwoofer. Now I can thump with the best of them :W. Let the wait begin Don :C Outdoorsman in prairie pearlcoat with the canyon brown/light frost beige interior Bucket seats Tow group Protection group 3.0 Eco-diesel 8HP70 auto transmission 3:55 axle ratio Anti-spin rear diff Wheel to wheel side steps Air suspension 8.4 NAV Parksense front/rear Rear window defrost 26 gallon tank
Is my Ford Escape worthless for fullfilling my dream? :-(
I've had this dream to live in an RV (travel trailer, specifically) for about 5 or 6 years now. I was drawn to the Ford Escape and was happy to learn they can tow up to 3500 pounds. I bought one last year. Step one complete! Now i've run into a problem...people are telling me my Escape shouldn't tow that much, it's not safe. I heard horror stories about Escapes not being able to handle it. They recommend I stick to 2000 pounds or less, but what trailers weigh that little?! I want to live in this thing which means it needs to be self sustainable, with a full kitchen, bathroom, and at least a full size bed. All the trailers I found with that stuff are at least 3000 pounds. And then you have to figure the weight of the fluids and cargo, which would be a lot since i'd be living in it. I cannot live in a pop up camper or a teardrop camper. Are there any decent trailers I can safely tow? Is my Escape worthless for what I wanted to do with it? I bought it specifically for this reason! By the way, it's a 2008 6-cylinder automatic transmission, front wheel drive. There is no towing package on it yet but I was planning on having one put on, IF I can even find a trailer I can tow! Any advice?
The continuing Saga waiting for my new Ram 3500
I am not sure what is happening with one ton Ram production but I know that my estimated ship date is today, the problem is that they have not started building it yet. Like so many others mine has gone from status D to D1 then back to C which was explained to me to be a soft scheduled status.. Sure would like my new truck. On the bright side my F-350 is still running very well and B&W has not released the new hitch for the new Ram so I would not be able to use it yet even if it was here.. Would like to hear when anyone actually sees a 2013 Ram 3500 at a dealership.Horsepower is horsepower?
If that theory is true (in real circumstances), then a 385hp 6.7L Cummins diesel shouldn't spank a 381hp Toyota Tundra when both are tested 0-60 towing a 5740# boat. But it did. Must be the advantage the turbo offers the Cummins, since the test was conducted in Colorado. The Cummins took 15 or 16 seconds, and the Tundra took 19+. I saw the comparison on "The fast lane truck" YouTube channel. They also test the new 385hp/850tq Cummins towing a big load up to the Eisenhower tunnel, but so far, they have nothing to compare it to. Cool channel though. Tundra w/boat 0-60 Ram 3500 w/boat Tuned Duramax w/aftermarket intake & exhaust w/boat 2013 Ram 3500 with 17000# trailer up Eisenhower tunnel grade VideoEV alternative for light/medium duty trucks
So much wheel spinning on EVs, what if they are not the right path forward? The biggest problem with renewable power and EVs is storage, the second is storage, and the third is storage. Another path is carbon capture from the atmosphere (using amine scrubbing like nuclear subs and carbon dioxide from natural gas) then splitting hydrogen from water, followed by building whatever hydrocarbon you need. The US Navy is hard at work on this project, since it avoids storage of large amounts of jet fuel, and the difficult job of resupply of jet fuel at sea to the carriers. After all fire kills ships. The Fords were built with a very large excess electric generation capacity for this reason and many others. Porsche now has a pilot project running in South America, Porsche syn fuel This will work wherever you have cheap electricity and water. The products are put right into refinery feeds. No need to rebuild the approximately 1.5 Billion cars in the world. Solves storage, no worry about hydrogen embrittlement, recycles carbon dioxide, we use the existing liquid fuel distribution system. Transparent to the car/truck owner.
The price of new trucks is beyond comprehension!
It was 42 years ago today, seems so long ago, yet still a strong memory in my head, a milestone I reached in my humble beginnings into the home renovation industry building solariums and such. Yes, it was on this day, October ten, nineteen seventy eight when I had been only 4 years into my lifetime career when I worked my way to being able to purchase my first brand new truck! Yup, 10-10-78 I drove off the lot of Phillips Chev - Olds in Penticton BC driving my nice shiny new 78 Chev 3/4 Ton Camper Special. As I pulled out of the lot and turned left on to Westminster Ave and headed east towards home, I though I had lost my marbles, that I am a total idiot. Who in their right mind would pay $7714. For a new truck. All taxes, fees, dealer prep and all the rest of the junk in came to $8,109.70 out the door...... Bob, you are out of your mind! I kept saying to myself. Financed it on the never never plan I did. How will I ever pay for it? I was barely 24 years old. It was a great truck, I had it for 26 years and about 527,000K on the odometer when I retired it, still in decent shape. Hmmmmm...... 42 years later, my 2007 truck in sig is getting worn out. 408,800K on the clock and I am eyeing the shiny new trucks on the lot. 92 grand $$$$$$$ for something similar with a few more bells and whistles. No, just no! That's what, about a dozen times the price I paid back then? Gosh how can they justify that? Wow! Just wow. Amazing how expensive pickups have become. All these fancy gizzmobops they have, someone has to pay for all that I guess.. Guess I'll just keep fixing what I have. It was $1423.77 yesterday for a water pump and a U-joint. Expensive! Oh well, that's life! :) My story of the day.RAM 1500 Ecodiesel, anybody seen one in the wild?
It seems like they went underground or something. The few places I've found that actually chat about them seem to be questioning some of those great numbers. They are reporting good mileage compared to gas engines, but not nearly what the earlier ads would have us believe. This would concern me, as I expected the diesel to hold it's own rather handily. It sounds like the Hemi can average pretty good mileage on its own. If it can average near 20, there's little reason to worry about the more finicky diesel package. Especially because of the GVWR gained. At this point, I find myself starting to look across the aisle to the more capable F150s. And maybe even a GM product, but I doubt it. So does anybody have anything to expand on this lack of info?Hello Ram 1500 Diesel!
Have been driving/testing these for a while now, but couldn't say anything, until today! And yes it'll have plenty of towing capacity... Chrysler wrote: Ram to Build Industry's Only Light-duty Diesel Pickup3.0-liter V-6 EcoDiesel to deliver best-in-class fuel economy, a title already owned by the 2013 Ram 1500 -Clean diesel features low CO2 emissions and impressive V-6 capability -Diesel engines praised for outstanding range and torque -Ram first to market with game-changing technologies February 14, 2013 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Beginning in third-quarter 2013, Ram will become the only brand to offer a small-displacement diesel for its half-ton line of trucks. The 2014 Ram 1500 will offer a new, 3.0-liter EcoDiesel engine, mated with the eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission. The powertrain is expected to deliver an outstanding combination of best-in-class fuel efficiency, best-in-class torque and impressive capability. "Truck owners have been emphatically asking for it, and Ram will be the only manufacturer to offer a diesel powertrain in the half-ton segment with the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel," said Fred Diaz, President and CEO - Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico, Chrysler Group LLC. "The half-ton truck market is incredibly competitive, and although we're honored the Ram 1500 has received a number of prestigious awards, we cannot rest on what we have accomplished, we must keep pushing." The 2013 Ram 1500 won Motor Trend's Truck of the Year, The North American Truck of the Year and Truck of Texas -- a rare trifecta in the pickup segment. Building on the award-winning truck, the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel will further stretch its best-in-class fuel economy title lead and continue to raise the innovation bar in one of the automotive industry's most customer-loyal segments. "The Ram 1500 with 3.0-liter V-6 turbo EcoDiesel and TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission deliver on the demands of truckers by providing best-in-class torque, fuel economy and range. There's no doubt that being the only truck manufacturer to offer this game changing technology will provide Ram with a competitive advantage." The new 3.0-liter V-6 EcoDiesel is among today's most advanced diesel engines. Its emissions are 60 percent less than those produced by diesel powertrains 25 years ago. The impressive combination of torque and fuel economy marks new levels of performance for small V-6 engines. Ram's newest turbo diesel engine is manufactured by VM Motori, a Chrysler Group diesel engine supplier since 1992. Over the past 10 months, the Ram Truck brand has set an aggressive product cadence. Ram's big push began in April 2012 with the introduction of the Ram 1500 with class-leading 25 mpg fuel efficiency and innovative features such as Active Level four-corner air suspension. The Ram Brand followed that news with the launch of the Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups. Their 30,000-pound trailer-tow rating – more than three tons more than their closest competitor -- and 850 lb.-ft. of torque are at the top of their class. Most recently, Ram introduced the new 2014 Ram ProMaster van with its own list of best-in-class features, including fuel efficiency, payload, cargo capacity and lowest cost of ownership. About Ram Truck Brand The Ram Truck brand continues to establish its own identity and clearly define its customer since its launch as a standalone vehicle brand. Creating a distinct brand for Ram trucks has allowed the brand to concentrate on how core customers use their trucks and what new features they'd like to see. Whether focusing on a family that uses its half-ton truck day in and day out, a hard-working Ram Heavy Duty owner or a business that depends on its commercial vehicles every day, Ram has the truck market covered. The Ram Truck brand has the most innovative lineup of full-size trucks on the market. Ram Truck has emerged as a full-size truck leader by investing substantially in new products, infusing them with great looks, refined interiors, durable engines and features that further enhance their capabilities. Truck customers, from half-ton to commercial, have a demanding range of needs and require their vehicles to provide high levels of capability. Ram trucks are designed to deliver a total package.