my 2005 1500 4x4 hemi with 3.92 has a lifetime average of 14.3 and I drive like a grandma. not sure where you people are getting those numbers

Yeah: I'm willing to go side by side with the same load with anyone with a Hemi Truck. They all get great mileage until you go on a trip with them, then something always goes wrong and the truck is only getting half what it usually does.
My brother just bought a 13 Hemi and hauled a camper trailer 400 miles home with it. (18,000 miles on the Hemi though) My 05 Cummins uses just a bit more than half the fuel to do the same trip with a heavier load. Empty they're getting closer though.

Sheldon

One thing to remember that I see a lot of guys leaving out, is that there is a huge difference in towing an open car trailer and towing an enclosed trailer.

I've had both diesel and gas 3/4 ton trucks towing both types of car trailers. Once I bought a diesel, I wondered why I hadn't done it years ago.

2006 Ram 2500 4x4 hemi.. it towed my 24' enclosed quite easily and I felt proud when I pulled into the racetrack with all those other big diesels, rv's and monster tow vehicles..

The power going up the steepest hills was acceptable, the gas mileage wasnt.. We got 10 mpg empty in the city.. 13 mpg empty on the highway and somewhere real close to 8 mpg pulling the enclosed.

2012 Ram 2500 4x4 CTD.. Oh my.. thats all I got to say... Ignorance is bliss and I was pretty stupid.. This thing is hands down superior to the hemi motor in all areas..

13 mpg empty around town... as much as 18 mpg empty on the highway and its anywhere from 11 mpg to as high as 14 mpg towing the enclosed.. all depending on the terrain..

Power?? we wont even go there as there is no comparison.. the diesel can pull a house down..

But the one thing most people seem to overlook is the trade in value.. When I traded in the 2006 gas motor on the new CTD.. I had to fight to get $10K as the trade in.. Several times the dealer/salesman/finance guy told me IF the 2006 was the Cummins.. I could have easily gotten $20K plus...

The story is always the same. If you do not pull a trailer very far or very often, the added expense of a Cummins does not add up.

On the other hand, if you drag an enclosed trailer around the country you would be pretty stupid not to step up to the diesel.

As always, the main use of the truck should be the deciding factor in which truck you put your hard earned money on the table for. For what a truck gets used for at my house, even the Hemi would be pretty stupid. In fact buying any new truck would be dumb, the 3,000 - 4,000 miles I drive one every year would mean watching a lot of money sitting and being wasted. Gene

Diesels will win the mileage wars and if you're towing every week, they make a lot of sense.

My friend at work had a F250 powersmoke super duty with which he never towed anything. It started running poorly and he took it to the ford dealer. He was quoted $1800 of injector work.

He's now driving a Subaru.

Any cost comparison with a Diesel must include maintenance.

Another point: Sure they have higher trade-in value, but it only matches their higher first cost. It's not like you buy a Diesel for the same money as a gas truck, then four years later it's worth lots more.

I grew up with Diesels and know what they can do, no prejudice here. But so many get wrapped up in the romance of the oil-burner and forget the old saw, "there's no such thing as a free lunch."

OH, and one more thing. It doesn't make you a member of the "big boy club" to leave your Diesel idling in the parking lot when you are in the store for groceries.

R.

Can't really say much about buying a new one and resell down the road... but my 01 is still worth as much or more as what I paid for it 2 years ago. It has also paid for itself plus another 50% from the scrap I hauled in. As much as I have hauled up the ridge and the weight of the loads, it's been a no brainer for me. And the cheap costs to mod, it's a fun truck to drive. I'll never own another gas burner truck!