Envy...

[f3ral]

Freelheeler,

gotta say i'm completely hooked on my 2006 Dodge 2500 Cummins Turbo-Diesel (CTD). i got it after i ordered my hawk shell (owned an '02 tundra at the time) but before the shell was delivered. a friend needed to sell his 2006 dodge 2500 5.9 liter CTD quad cab short bed and i told him i'd buy it without hesitation. i'm not a hard core off-roader (speed, exposure, or rock crawlering) but man i do like to get out into the back country. with the six speed manual transmission, solid front axle, limited slip ear axle, 4.10 gears and 3 to 1 reduction on the transfer case, the truck drives like a Bradley tank! it's heavy too, so you gotta mind traction if in deep mud or sand. i've had the truck almost 2 years and put 30,000 miles on it, spent about 40 nights in the camper now, and with 92,500 miles on the truck, it still feels brand new. that engine is touted to be the million mile motor and i expect to find out. these things are built for serious work and the kind of abuse fun junkies like us dish out is light play for the rig.

as far as mods go, people do absolutely insane things to get tremendous amounts of power out of the CTD. mine's stock and rated at 325 hp and something like 550 ft_lb torque, with the exception of 285x70xR17 AT's, air bags and 2" level pucks in the front (both of which came with the truck and i might take off someday). mileage can be over 20 mpg if i keep the speed below 60, and 15 mpg if i'm in a hurry, and usually averages 18mpg. i plan to size up the tires to 285x75's later this year which should lower the rpms at all speeds and help mileage and raise the axles another inch off the ground for clearance. about the only other mod's i'm considering would be ARB air lockers front and rear and on-board air for those times when airing down the knobbies is worth it.

also, the range on those trucks is killer. who needs the hassle (and danger) of gas cans when you can drive 500+ miles on one tank?!

personally, i do like the 2006 year build of the CTD. it's very comfortable in the cab and has more power than the previous model years, the same time tested 5.9l base engine with fewer of the mechanical glitches that have surfaced with older model years, some of the newer emission controls (NOX catalyst etc.) but is not as low an emitter or as finicky as the 2007 and especially the 2011 CTD. i can run B100 if it stays warm outside and B20 anytime of the year where i live (northern nevada).

i will reiterate, the manual with 4.10 gears drives like a heavy duty truck - stiff springs and lots of shifting. you won't win any drag races with it (unless it's a tractor pull), but you will barely feel the camper. it's pretty cool to put it in 4LO in 1st, give it some throttle and go less than walking speed while turning out several hundred ft-lb of torque creeping around on old jeep trails.

good luck with your truck choice.


Thanks guys these are the 'real' life experiences i'm looking for. to summarize in simple math...

-hemi with camper gets roughly 12-13 mpg
+CTD with camper gets about 17-18 mpg

I'll assume both trucks have 30 gal fuel tanks
-gas $3.69/gal= $111, 360 miles (12 mpg)
+diesel $4.39/gal= $132, 510 miles (17 mpg)

So to drive 360 miles
-gas @ $3.69/gal= $111, 30 gal, (12 mpg)
+diesel @ $4.39/gal= $93, 21.2 gal, (17 mpg)

For the Gas and Diesel to equal out, diesel would need to be $1.55/gal more than gas
-gas @ $3.69/gal
-diesel @ $5.24/gal

So at these prices if you average 15,000/year for 5yrs, and of course the longer you keep your truck and the more miles you drive the better diesel pencils out.
-gas= 1,250 gal @ $3.69= $4,613/ year, over 5yrs= $23,065, 10 yrs= $46,130
+diesel= 883 gal @ $4.39= $3,876/ year, over 5yrs= $19,380, 10 yrs= $38,760

In essence if you plan to keep a truck 5yrs you could spend up to an extra $4,000 for the diesel and come out the same, not to mention the higher resale of the diesel???

KBB retail pricing (70,000 miles, 4x4, manual 6spd)
2004 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab SLT Pickup 4D 6 1/4 ft= $18,000 (gas), $23,500 (CTD)
2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab SLT Pickup 4D 6 1/4 ft= $21,000 (ctd)

 

[generubin]

You pretty much summed up how I feel about my 2006 CTD except I have the 3.77 diffs for lower rpms on the hwy. Low range 1st is still 75:1 crawl ratio, that's about twice as low as any of the rice burners.

 

[craig333]

I"m still not sure if I'd be happier with a six speed or not. Not commuting but everything else. Ah well, its still a great truck.

 

[pods8]

I"m still not sure if I'd be happier with a six speed or not. Not commuting but everything else. Ah well, its still a great truck.


I've stewed over a manual truck numerous times since there is better mileage and no trans temp issues, etc. but it usually falls back to the fact there would be numerous times where I'd really rather not have to deal with shifting the truck. So I stay just on the auto-trans side of the line. Keep in mind I can drive a stick fine and really enjoy driving them in the right conditions.

 

[generubin]

I much prefer the manual trans. In most trucks, you'll be replacing the auto trans at least once in the life of the truck, sometimes at an inconvenient time, like 800 miles into Baja. An auto trans can fail without warning. A manual rarely fails, and if it does you generally have hundreds, if not thousands of miles of notice. Off road, with super low gears such as the Dodge's, you just put it in compound low, take your foot off the accelerator, and let the truck idle at 1 mph over any obstacle you throw at it.

 

[craig333]

Thank god I still have the Jeep for my manual shifting fix. Theres a lot to be said for simplicity. I wouldn't want to, but i could actually drop the Jeeps transmission and or transfer case on the trail if I had to. Not gonna happen with the truck.

 

[camelracer]

I chose the manual for reliability and exhaust brake compatibility and it works great on the highway but in traffic I wish I had an auto. I find I sometimes lug the engine too much because I'm too lazy to downshift.

 

[Bajaxplorer]

So for you dodge guys what sort of 'real' mileage are you getting with the hemi loaded with a camper. what sort of problems are most common. and is there a market for a used 'setup' tundra with camper? what's a fair price?


Just came across this post. I have an '09 Power Wagon with a Hawk camper as someone pointed out. Get 11-12 mpg on average highway, 9-10 offroad (or less, depending), and 10 mpg around town. Best mileage is at 67 mph, or 2100-2200 rpm. Without camper 14 mpg highway, 12 mpg locally. Have added rock sliders, airbags, 5100 Bilsteins. Previous vehicle, Tacoma DC with sliders, skids, winch, bumpers, 4.88 gearing, shell got 14-15 mpg on highway (stock was 20 mpg), so I didn't give up much for the gain in power, room and comfort I get with the PW and Hawk. Plus winch, lockers, swaybar disconnect and rest of items stock to PW is covered by lifetime warranty. Addition of same items (aftermarket) to Tacoma voided warranties.
Now have 42K miles on the PW and 70 nights logged sleeping in the Hawk with no complaints about either one.
BX