Dodge Ram 4x4 Gas 3/4 Ton 4-Door

I'm a GM lover by nature and my son is a Dodge Hog. Now that my GMC took a dump, I'm shopping for wheels to pull a 20' trailer.
Drove a Ford V-10 today and a 5.4 gas also. Favoring a Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 but found a Dodge as described in the subject title that is within my means. It's a 2004. I kinda prefer gas for some reason. Wondering if anyone uses anything similar to this in their everyday ventures and any relative comments.

Thanks Jord....at this point I'm not going to be selective but it sounds like Dodge loves gas. I had a 79 Dodge fulltime 4x4 that had to be the world's worst on fuel mileage but it was tough. Using my son's 92 Dodge Cummins that is dependable but doggy on the road under load. But then again, it was the GM 6.0 that decomposed on me. I haven't experienced a newer Dodge and at my age, I won't get many more chances if I don't act now. I'll probably wish I had the nice ride of a GM product if I do though........what to do.....what to do ???

I have owned all the major brands and found benefits and obstacles with each. When ever it is time to buy a newer vehicle I get the best I can afford and tell the wife it is the last one I will ever buy. With that being said, my newest truck is a 14 years old 7.3 diesel. I think I might outlive this one.

I have 3 vehicles, all diesel. 02 VW Jetta (43 mpg city & hwy combined), 04 Dodge Ram 2500 (25 mpg empty) and a 07 Dodge Ram 3500 (20 mpg empty). I prefer diesel for the torque, and for the longevity of the motor. I tend to keep my vehicles a while (all 3 of these have over 200K miles, Jetta has over 260K). I will agree that the Ford 7.3 Powerstroke and the Chevy Duramax will out pull my Cummins, but mine will pass more fuel stations before needing to be refueled. That is why I chose the Cummins, for the mix of pulling power and economy. I did not buy the Dodge because it was a Dodge, I bought it because it had the Cummins. I bought the 3500 to hotshot with, and frequently pulled 8 - 10 ton loads (backhoes, etc), and had no problems. I would have to go into lower gears going up hills, but I would still average 12 mpg, while my competitors with other power plants were struggling to get 7 - 8 mpg. For scrapping and pulling my 16ft flatbed I use the 2500, as it gets better mileage and allows me to maximize my profits.

i have a 98 ram 2500 4x4 V10 truck. it pulls my 18 foot tilt trailer up hills nice. but the mileage is little less then desired. its gets about 10mpg empty.
i would say if your going to get a dodge truck and you can aford it go with the diesel it gets better mileage then the V10 does.

nice load yunkman that looks like a good payday. i have not pulled any junk cars or pickups lately. i was comming home from the welding shop after upgradeing my trailer with a winch. and on the way home i blew a tranny line! so looks like i will be replaceing a transmission lines tomarrow if the parts come in time. otherwise be the following day. i see why it blew though. looks like last owner put a remote trans filter on the pressure hose instead of the return line. i'm thinking of just takeing the whole mess off and redo it the right way. after i get the truck fixed i can take the trailer back to the welding shop. i keep busting tail lights everytime i tilt the trailer down! so i'm thinking of mounting the lights little bit higher then have the welding shop weld on a piece a metal on the bottom to work as a skid plate. least that way they won't break as easy.

Oddly enough, I talked to the previous owner of a 2004 Dodge 3/4 ton that I'm interested in and he said he got 15mpg highway and "maybe took a little more pulling a load". Guess I'm selling my GMC to a mechanic for parts.

Originally Posted by wayne1956

I have 3 vehicles, all diesel. 02 VW Jetta (43 mpg city & hwy combined), 04 Dodge Ram 2500 (25 mpg empty) and a 07 Dodge Ram 3500 (20 mpg empty). I prefer diesel for the torque, and for the longevity of the motor. I tend to keep my vehicles a while (all 3 of these have over 200K miles, Jetta has over 260K). I will agree that the Ford 7.3 Powerstroke and the Chevy Duramax will out pull my Cummins, but mine will pass more fuel stations before needing to be refueled. That is why I chose the Cummins, for the mix of pulling power and economy. I did not buy the Dodge because it was a Dodge, I bought it because it had the Cummins. I bought the 3500 to hotshot with, and frequently pulled 8 - 10 ton loads (backhoes, etc), and had no problems. I would have to go into lower gears going up hills, but I would still average 12 mpg, while my competitors with other power plants were struggling to get 7 - 8 mpg. For scrapping and pulling my 16ft flatbed I use the 2500, as it gets better mileage and allows me to maximize my profits.

a cummins man after my own hart

The ve pumps in the first gens aren't anything to write home about power wise. I drive a Duramax and love it, good fuel economy and is reliable once you get the common problems worked out. I just ordered a new transfer case today however. (Thanks GM Engineers for pump rub....)

Then the cp3 pumps destroy themselves with poor fuel In the 3rd gens and Duramax's. The 12v and 24v trucks are tough for sure, once you put an Air Dog or Fass lift pump on the 24v.

Originally Posted by Russell

I just got a 2008 F350 v10 dually. It sucks fuel for sure, but then again, I bought it for hauling not cruising around town.

That was my reasoning for going with this gasburner 5.7 Hemi. I didn't know the thing has 16 sparkplugs and this is why:

""Each cylinder has an ignition coil pack over one spark plug, and a regular plug wire connected to the other spark plug. Further, the coil pack also has a plug wire attached to it that extends to the opposite cylinder bank. Each cylinder shares a coil pack with another cylinder. Each of the two plugs on a given cylinder is fired by a separate coil. One plug has a coil directly attached, and the other is fired via an ignition wire connected to a coil located on another cylinder on the opposite bank. The extra plug fires during the power stroke to more fully burn the hydrocarbons. The second ignition allows additional power in the down stroke while lowering the need for restrictive catalyst plates in the converter. "

Source: Challenger Talk Here