Going to try for a new tow vehicle

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I have a 95 3500 2 wd Cummns 4:10 gear. Yea the old 12 valve. 18 empty and 13 loaded. IF it h54 3:54 gears it would get 5-6 better. I have a bud that gets free ATF, strains it thru a paint strainer, runs his old 12 valve!! ha I use mine just for pulling. Do I need it anymore at 74? Usually not. But when I do it pulls anything I hook it to!
 
ATF is a good lubricator as well as a cleaner for a diesel eng.
Every time i changed a fuel filter, i would fill it full of ATF before re installing it!

Modern Diesel(emission diesels) not such a good idea.
 
The only way that I would consider a half ton for towing a car would be having an all aluminum open trailer with an A-body on it and that’s stretching it. The half ton would also need to be a standard cab two wheel drive with an 8 foot box. All of my trucks with the exception of my current truck (1 ton SRW Ram) have been 3/4 ton Ram diesels. I know a lot of you are going to disagree with me but it only takes one freak accident to change your life forever and mine is not going to be because my truck was not up to the job at hand.
 
I lived up in NW Missouri a lot of years and rgiht at I35. I had a bud that owned a truck stop there. On those windy winter days we be shooting the breeze, would have chuckles at the snowbirds headed South out of Ia and such. They be pulling a big bumper pull RV with a half ton pickup. Wind would it it and be up side down on the ditch. Car on a trailer not quite so bad. Bad enough.
 
Well I just bought a five year old truck for STUPID money…. got to work 3 weeks ago and parked out back was a long bed 3500 single wheel. It immediately caught my eye and I thought it was a early bird customer drop….. but then I spied the lil sticker in the front window noting a trade in. Straight to my buddy in sales and called the wife. Ended up with another diesel. I’d been trying to convince myself to go with the 6.4, but these builds don’t show up often used. It’s a 17 Big Horn with 18k miles on it. Came with a nice fifth wheel hitch and is factory equipped for gooseneck too. Aisin 6 speed auto, 3.42 gear. Checking the warranty history it appears the original owner had a service plan because the oil was changed every 3-4k…. prob wore the drain plug out! Working on these the 14-18 models are my favorites. So far we’ve been to Bakersfield and Vegas racing and what a complete joy it is to tow with! We went all the way across the desert with the cruise set at 68 and that involves some pretty steep grades. Exhaust brake is a huge bonus too! So much more relaxing to drive than our old tried and true 01 2500. We kept the old pickup (just rolled 200k) and I sold it to a buyer in Michigan. Met up with his friend in Phoenix who checked it out for him and did the deal. Got 17.5k out of it. We bought it in 03 for 26k. Fwiw it’s a REALLY bad time to buy a vehicle!
 
A body said:
Well I just bought a five year old truck for STUPID money…. got to work 3 weeks ago and parked out back was a long bed 3500 single wheel. It immediately caught my eye and I thought it was a early bird customer drop….. but then I spied the lil sticker in the front window noting a trade in. Straight to my buddy in sales and called the wife. Ended up with another diesel. I’d been trying to convince myself to go with the 6.4, but these builds don’t show up often used. It’s a 17 Big Horn with 18k miles on it. Came with a nice fifth wheel hitch and is factory equipped for gooseneck too. Aisin 6 speed auto, 3.42 gear. Checking the warranty history it appears the original owner had a service plan because the oil was changed every 3-4k…. prob wore the drain plug out! Working on these the 14-18 models are my favorites. So far we’ve been to Bakersfield and Vegas racing and what a complete joy it is to tow with! We went all the way across the desert with the cruise set at 68 and that involves some pretty steep grades. Exhaust brake is a huge bonus too! So much more relaxing to drive than our old tried and true 01 2500. We kept the old pickup (just rolled 200k) and I sold it to a buyer in Michigan. Met up with his friend in Phoenix who checked it out for him and did the deal. Got 17.5k out of it. We bought it in 03 for 26k. Fwiw it’s a REALLY bad time to buy a vehicle!
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Yep, really bad time to buy a vehicle for a dealer too( like myself)
You wonder if the bidding is ever gonna stop, when buying.wholesale prices often sail right past retail. Then you have to get it shipped to you, and then serviced. And you also wonder if your going to get caught with your pants around your ankles if the market ever corrects back to reality.
That all said, business has been good… hard to find inventory, but the numbers stay good even with less units.
Weird.
 
A body said:
Well I just bought a five year old truck for STUPID money…. got to work 3 weeks ago and parked out back was a long bed 3500 single wheel. It immediately caught my eye and I thought it was a early bird customer drop….. but then I spied the lil sticker in the front window noting a trade in. Straight to my buddy in sales and called the wife. Ended up with another diesel. I’d been trying to convince myself to go with the 6.4, but these builds don’t show up often used. It’s a 17 Big Horn with 18k miles on it. Came with a nice fifth wheel hitch and is factory equipped for gooseneck too. Aisin 6 speed auto, 3.42 gear. Checking the warranty history it appears the original owner had a service plan because the oil was changed every 3-4k…. prob wore the drain plug out! Working on these the 14-18 models are my favorites. So far we’ve been to Bakersfield and Vegas racing and what a complete joy it is to tow with! We went all the way across the desert with the cruise set at 68 and that involves some pretty steep grades. Exhaust brake is a huge bonus too! So much more relaxing to drive than our old tried and true 01 2500. We kept the old pickup (just rolled 200k) and I sold it to a buyer in Michigan. Met up with his friend in Phoenix who checked it out for him and did the deal. Got 17.5k out of it. We bought it in 03 for 26k. Fwiw it’s a REALLY bad time to buy a vehicle!
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6.4?
I have a 08 6.7 Cummins, love it and so does my wife. i sold my 91 Diesel for the 08.
Wish i hadn't sold that one! bought it off the original owner. rust free like new interior/exterior. but the wife refused to ride in it, let alone drive it.
 
I bought new a 2005, 2500 RAM, 4 door, short bed, Cummins (24 valve) with 2.76 gearing (did a lot of highway driving at the time). Highway (21-22 mpg), city (13 mpg), average (16-18 mpg). Pulls anything (its weight is 6,700 lbs). Use mostly as a daily driver now (190,000). 300,000 is a norm for this motor, but I do follow and do all the maintenance myself. I'm hoping to get 4-500,000 out of it. Yes, it is costly to maintain, 12 qts. of oil & filter every 7,000 miles, fuel filter, 15,000 miles, but being HD, other mechanical parts are built stronger and last longer. Example: 5 cooling systems. "E" rated tires on 17" rims, makes it a bull dog.
 
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Cudafever said:
6.4?
I have a 08 6.7 Cummins, love it and so does my wife. i sold my 91 Diesel for the 08.
Wish i hadn't sold that one! bought it off the original owner. rust free like new interior/exterior. but the wife refused to ride in it, let alone drive it.
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nope, the 17 is another Cummins. Like I was saying I was trying to convince myself that the 6.4 would suffice, but the way this 3500 was equipped we made the plunge. Installing the Titan 55 gal tank this weekend:)
 
Ram 1500 Longhorn here... the truck is super comfortable and has all the power I need for now... I only avg 14mpg daily driving it, but I dont tow anything. It has 35s and a 2.5in leveling kit. When I do start needing to tow stuff I'll get a 2500 cummins. I figure as much as I need it for towing currently the diesel wouldn't be worth the premium price paid. I keep dreaming of getting the 1500 TRX as well... 707 hp of pure bliss.

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UPDATE: Well, I went ahead and bought a diesel yesterday. I've been to lots of RAM dealerships looking and most will not come down on their price. I just had to find a salesman that was willing to lose money to make a sale, and I finally did. Bought a RAM 2500 Lone Star. It had everything in it I needed, the Tradesman I was looking at were going to need thousands of dollars of add ons, so I got a good deal. In this market it was a great deal. They gave me what I wanted for the trade in which was amazing. I had to walk away twice but they kept calling me back so I knew I could get some kind of deal. It is averaging 17.5 mpg so far, I think it will make it up to 18 or more once things get seated. The wife says the passenger seat is comfortable, so it's a win win.
 
Congrats on your purchase. I ordered this 2006 Mega Cab diesel with the Laramie package and will never sell it.
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RockinRobin said:
UPDATE: Well, I went ahead and bought a diesel yesterday. I've been to lots of RAM dealerships looking and most will not come down on their price. I just had to find a salesman that was willing to lose money to make a sale, and I finally did. Bought a RAM 2500 Lone Star. It had everything in it I needed, the Tradesman I was looking at were going to need thousands of dollars of add ons, so I got a good deal. In this market it was a great deal. They gave me what I wanted for the trade in which was amazing. I had to walk away twice but they kept calling me back so I knew I could get some kind of deal. It is averaging 17.5 mpg so far, I think it will make it up to 18 or more once things get seated. The wife says the passenger seat is comfortable, so it's a win win.
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Congrats on the new truck. But hey wear are the pics of it?
 
mopar65 said:
Congrats on the new truck. But hey wear are the pics of it?
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Well, here you go:
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Every dealership in the area wanted $5,000 above list for a 3/4 ton diesel. I just had to find a salesman that really needed to make a sale. This kid showed his hand very quickly, and I got him to come off sticker a couple of thousand, but what really made the deal is they gave me $10,000 more for my trade in that it should have been worth because of them desperately needing used vehicles. I could have waited until next year when prices came down, but my trade would also go way down, so getting it now was the way to go. Now I just need diesel prices to come down. BTW local farm supply place sells 2.5 gal. DEF fluid for less than 9 dollars.
 
I down graded from 2500 to a 1500 and haul cars all over the states, 85mph and cruising nice and smooth if ya know how to keep the weight centered on the trailer and not 85% tongue weight half tons pull perfectly fine and stay happily in the power band. My 2013 Chevy 2500HD crew cab 6ft box SUCKED
 
RockinRobin said:
Well, here you go:
View attachment 1715916486 View attachment 1715916487
Every dealership in the area wanted $5,000 above list for a 3/4 ton diesel. I just had to find a salesman that really needed to make a sale. This kid showed his hand very quickly, and I got him to come off sticker a couple of thousand, but what really made the deal is they gave me $10,000 more for my trade in that it should have been worth because of them desperately needing used vehicles. I could have waited until next year when prices came down, but my trade would also go way down, so getting it now was the way to go. Now I just need diesel prices to come down. BTW local farm supply place sells 2.5 gal. DEF fluid for less than 9 dollars.
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Wow truck looks great.
 
Josh owen said:
I down graded from 2500 to a 1500 and haul cars all over the states, 85mph and cruising nice and smooth if ya know how to keep the weight centered on the trailer and not 85% tongue weight half tons pull perfectly fine and stay happily in the power band. My 2013 Chevy 2500HD crew cab 6ft box SUCKED
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How much does your trailer weigh?
 
RockinRobin said:
How much does your trailer weigh?
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20ft (18ft deck, 2ft dove) PJ with fold up ramps two 3500lb axles

Loaded with car bodies, to fully built derby cars loaded with parts and steel. That are easily pushing 6000lb car alone

And to be clear i did not downgrade to haul cars. I downgraded to a 1500 because i drive 1 hour each way to work every day but i haul everything including skidsteers that i hauled with the 2500 and performs equally as well in my honest opinion. But my 2500 was a gasser as well. My 2000 cummins dually with a stick i have for pulling cattle trailers.. now that girl can pull
 
RockinRobin said:
UPDATE: Well, I went ahead and bought a diesel yesterday. I've been to lots of RAM dealerships looking and most will not come down on their price. I just had to find a salesman that was willing to lose money to make a sale, and I finally did. Bought a RAM 2500 Lone Star. It had everything in it I needed, the Tradesman I was looking at were going to need thousands of dollars of add ons, so I got a good deal. In this market it was a great deal. They gave me what I wanted for the trade in which was amazing. I had to walk away twice but they kept calling me back so I knew I could get some kind of deal. It is averaging 17.5 mpg so far, I think it will make it up to 18 or more once things get seated. The wife says the passenger seat is comfortable, so it's a win win.
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If you can get wifey onboard, that is not just a win win; it's a WIN WIN WIN!
 
Here is a pick of my 2016 Loanstar 2500 mega cab tow truck/ every day driver.
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