So it's time for me to get a new vehicle for regular driving duties. I currently have an '08 Mazdaspeed 3 which has served me well over the last 5 years.

I am seriously considering buying a truck (some Ram variant) but I'm not sure if I actually 'need' one. The main reason for thinking I do is towing. I'm not talking about heavy towing but bringing my Duster to the track during the warm months.

Any truck I buy would have to be a crew cab to fit my kids. This generally means a short bed which to me, is kind of useless since you really can't fit too much in there. I live in the suburbs of NYC which can be quite congested and parking usually involves squeezing your car into a tight space so I can't justify a Mega Cab long bed.

I dunno, there just seems to be so many reasons for me NOT to buy one but when I actually DO need one, I'm S.O.L. Would a Durango suit my needs? I like the Durango R/T for sure.

I do currently have a '76 D100 BB/4spd. SWB. I bought it with the intention of using it as an occasional tow vehicle but the more I drove it around, that idea seemed less and less realistic. Could it be done? Sure but it's not really the ideal truck for that.

Daily driving a Ram will be a complete sea change as far as driving style for me. I would be switching from a compact, turbo 4 cylinder 6 speed to a Ram. I would certainly have to modify my driving habits to an extent which in all honesty, I'm not really too happy about. Though the Mazda can be a little uncomfortable and the 6 peed can get tiring on long commutes, it's a blast to drive. I think the transition to an SUV might be a little easier but I have not driven a Durango or a Ram since I stopped working for Chrysler 4 years ago, my frame of reference is blank.

The fuel economy would likely be a wash. The Mazda requires premium and generally gets around 325 miles per tank or 25 mpg. I know a truck would get less mpg but the tank is larger and regular fuel is cheaper.

Just wondering how those with trucks as daily drivers feel about it? They are almost advertised as 'family vehicles' now with all the conveniences and accouterments.

Thanks,

Greg

I almost hate to say this, but it sounds to me like you need a minivan!

The new Grand Caravans have enough towing capacity to pull your Duster to he track, loaded with people. Put the seats down and you can haul 4' x 8' sheets of plywood inside, out of the weather! And they can pull down the same gas mileage your currently getting, and the V6 runs pretty good. There are reasons they are still selling them. Gene

Personally I would probably go Durango OR hemi grand cherokee in your position.

Ha, yeah... I'm not throwing in the towel on life just yet!

After I posted this, I was out and happened to be near the dealership where I used to work so I stopped into the showroom to look around. There was a mini van on the floor, they are in fact REALLY nice, way nicer than when I was working on them. But no way I would ever consider buying one.

Sat in a Durango GT while I was there, felt pretty close to what I have now. The driver's seat is great. If I get the SUV, I would definitely be buying a Hemi though, no question. The newer ones are way cooler than the second generation ones from 10 years ago. My wife drives a Subaru wagon though, seems silly to have two SUV type cars.

I thought about this from a different angle - most of the zillion people driving around in a Ram these days don't use them for much of anything so it's not that far fetched to be considering one.

Looked into an Ecodiesel online after I got home, seems like a really decent truck. Not the greatest towing capacity for diesel but it's not a Cummins. Probably be fine for an open trailer and maybe even a smaller enclosed if I decide I need one down the road. Definitely not towing an enclosed with a Durango!

I'm in the same position. I have a 2011 Scion tC. I'm starting to like it less and less. I only get 25 mpg as well. I drove a 2016 Ram 1500 Quad Cab with a 6'4" box and 5.7L Hemi and I really liked it. Super comfortable and enough power to have fun. It would be perfect to tow the Dart or hall stuff. Plenty of room for passengers. If I were to get one, it would probably be a Crew Cab wiht the 5'7" bed; however, that's only 8" shorter than the other truck. My biggest problem was just parking in standard shopping center parking lots. Often times you have to park far away, find strategic places to park, or really spend your time parking as you don't have the room. It's a big vehicle.

Honestly, Ram has the 20% off some of their trucks till Jan 3 or 4th. I've thought about picking up an EcoDiesel; however, I really don't want the payments as it will push me back from my next big purchase.

I drive a crew cab ecodiesel 6'4" box daily.

I really only have a issue parking in ramp garages, the mall or shopping centers are a non issue.

I stopped tracking mpg but the first year I pulled 22.9 mpg with a ton of short trip stop and go.

Red

"No" is the literal answer.
"Yes" is the figurative answer.
BUT...what's "need" got to do with it?

Good thing for you they don't make a megacab long bed. The megacab was only available with the 6' bed.

They did make a crew cab long bed. It's got almost as much leg room as the megacab but no space behind the back seat.

You could look at a quad cab with the 6' bed, it's got a good compromise of everything.


Ultimately, only you know if you need the truck vs want the truck.

They (Ram) started making the crew cab with the 6'4 box last year, so if you are looking strong at the truck make sure you check it out. The new Ram trucks ride like a car now days with the coil spring rears.

Not sure how to quantify 'need' but if I want to move forward with my car, then it would be best to have a capable, reliable truck. Driving the Duster 80 miles one way to the track through NYC traffic is not the greatest, trust me. Plus, it gets really expensive when stuff breaks. Lucky I had Triple AAA plus last time I broke or it would have been over $400. They charge you for tolls both ways and that's loaded per axle.

Not having a decent tow vehicle also prevents me from taking the car to places that might be a little farther away.

So 'need' for me is based on practicality. I actually don't WANT a truck since I'd only 'need' it a handful of times a year. Frankly, driving a big vehicle around all the time is not really all that enticing though I could probably live with it.

A Durango probably makes the most sense but my concern is that it will likely be limited in it's capabilities.

Check out the Grand Cherokee, its a bit smaller and much more maneuverable than the Durango but has the hemi and eco-diesel option. I have had a number of them and they all towed really well.

-Jon

Why do you think the D100 is inadequate to tow the duster? Should be plenty capable of hauling that car on an open trailer.
If you had a 40' enclosed trailer loaded with junk well...

I have daily driven 3/4 or 1 ton club, crew or quad cabs for several decades now. I hate driving cars anymore. Sure you have to adapt your driving for the trucks with the biggest concern being the turning radius. You get used to it pretty quickly.

Having a truck is very useful, I wonder how I ever did without one before.

I thought about replacing my daily driver truck with a car and asked a similar question here before. I ended up with another truck. My situation and use is a little different than yours. I rarely need a truck but I'd rather have it when I need it than not have it. You might find that a SUV fits all your needs better than a full sized truck. Today trucks drive better and get reasonable fuel economy compared to older ones.

I'm not sure what driving habits you would have to modify.

I daily a megacab cummins. But I don't have to parallel park it anywhere either. Currently in an apartment while we build our new house, and drive to campus while working on second bachelors degree.

I plan ahead and park farther away from the door. Driving it in the city hasn't been a problem. --but I dunno, NYC is a bit more densely populated than Columbus Ohio. Maybe your streets are skinnier

I daily drive a civic that I bought 10 years ago when I had a substantial daily commute to deal with. When we bought our house I sold my 99 Ram 2500 quad cab long box truck. 4x4, diesel, snow plow on the front, man I loved driving that thing, aside from the auto trans (I prefer stick), cold blooded-ness and poor fuel mileage in winter. When we bought our house I needed a few extra bucks for the downpayment and lawyer fees so I sold it. Right now with my wife as a stay at home mom for our kids, the increase of fuel cost to go back to a truck would be a tough pill to swallow. However if I could afford it, I would.

Like I said, it would probably be OK but...

gas mileage unloaded with ALL highway driving is barely 13 mpg. With a trailer, would probably be what, 2.5 mpg? From what I am reading, an Ecodiesel is capable of over 18 mpg loaded.

The wide ratio NP 435 in the D100 has 3 usable gears. That's hooked to a low compression 400 with a .484 cam and a 3.23 open gear... well you can figure it out. Could I change all that? Sure but it's still a short bed. If you read the long-term review on Edmunds, they say the Ram is quite stable and effortless.

And let's see, anti-lock hydroboosted brakes or '70s disc brakes and rear drums? Air conditioning? Cruise control? No matter how much you romanticize our old Mopars, they are nowhere near as capable or comfortable as a modern vehicle.

I will say, I thought about getting a Charger and finding another older truck that might be a little better suited to towing. But, I'd probably have a pay a little more for something decent and not in need of a total restoration. Even then, it mostly just sits there. Just doesn't make sense. I hardly drive the D100 now unfortunately.

The truck you have now and a new SUV will probably have the same wheelbase, but the new truck will have MUCH better braking and creature comforts for the haul. Nothing silly about having to SUV's, seems the norm around the Chicago area. I daily drive a 2015 regular cab Hemi Ram 2500 minimum 120 miles a day and get 15 MPG, but cannot ever see myself driving around in a little time CAR, ever!

I am retired and my new daily is a 1998 QuadCab 2500 4x2 with the 8' box and 5.9 Magnum Auto. I don't drive it much, but when I do it can pull my trailer with no issues, the brakes are top notch, it came to me with new E series tires, a stereo that is way overkill for me, the heater works, the A/C works (for now) and it only had 120K on the chassis. My insurance agent took pictures of it to be sure it had no body damage so the insurance is reasonable, my credit union financed it 100% and the payments are only $153.25 a month so it easily fits my budget. It only gets about 11 mpg avg city/highway, but I don't care because again "I don't drive it much" and it is there when I need it.

If I was working, I would buy a new Dodge 1500 4 door 2x4 with the V-6 and 8 speed auto short bed. I have a friend that has one with 4x4 and nothing slows him down, the V-6 makes 305 HP, the truck is short enough to park anywhere, his truck will pull my trailer and he gets well over 20 mpg in city/highway driving.

Buy what you want to fill your needs and parking place.

Buy another go cart for a daily commuter.Swap the D100's .484 cam for one in the .420-.450 lift range.A lot less duration and overlap will help with the low compression 400 for towing. Have a nice eco daily and a cool tow rig at the track!

I actually bought an RV cam from Hughes last year! I also found a regular, low-rise Performer intake to replace the Performer RPM that's on there now. The guy that built the engine in the truck made some poor choices, none of it works together.

The overall plan for the truck was to make it a better driver and first on the list was to ditch the NP435. I scored a super rare bellhousing to put an 833 behind the big block in a truck. I have a regular and OD variant 833. The non-OD has better gear ratios, would help to keep the motor in the sweet spot.

I drove it back and forth to Carlisle last year, (approx. 600 miles round trip) it was a little rough. Definitely a blast from the past - it was hot, noisy and not real comfortable. I don't think those trucks were meant for long trips. The whole time I was thinking about what it would be like to have a trailer behind me and it seemed unrealistic.

There's a decent-looking '70's dually in the classifieds right now. I actually thought about finding something like that for towing the Duster and buying a Charger instead of a Ram...

After rereading this thread and considering whats been stated I have to think your asking the wrong question. I think what you need to ask is this "I need a new commuter vehicle and something to tow a trailer occasionally, what should I do?"

I also note a couple of pertainent questions that havent been asked, What does your wife drive/need? How old are the kids? And perhaps most importanly what's your budget?

You've stated that you don't want a truck and from the sounds of it using one as a commuter vehicle would definitely not suit your needs. You've also pointed out that you have little need for a truck, but you already have one and feel it doesn't suits your needs.

Assuming you're looking at new or very late model truck, Im going to guess your budget is 35-45k (including cash and trades), not bad to work with. My answwer then becomes find a good commuter and figure out how to come up with a decent truck. This won't be hard.

Actually I'll dial back a bit from that last sentence, I'm probably the last person you'd ever want to ask about a new commuter car. So I'll just leave this thought on that: Late model Hyundais are actually pretty decent cars, especially the larger models. Note that they are also looking to boost sales right now so a new one may not be a bad deal at all. So pick the car that best suits your needs, use the remaining budget on a truck.

Lets put some numbers to this just for the sake of the math (wether they're accurate or not can be determined later)
Trade in on the Mazda: 5000
new Hyundai: 30000
Cash outlay: 25000

That leaves 10000 or so for a truck (figuring say 5000 value of the D100) Not shabby at all. Now what to do with that:

Option 1: fix up the D100, getthe engine right, swap in the OD trans (whenthe engine is right the gear spread won't be a problem) Add sound deadening, new seats and aftermarket a/c. I dislike rear disc on trucks, especially for towing and stick shift, most disc parking brakes are pretty worthless. Hydroboost is personal preference, for me I don't care for it. It can be added easily enough if you insist. What I would do is upgrade to later 11" rear drums with bigger wheel cylinders and an adjustable proportioning valve to optimize the factory setup. It wouldn't be hard to add in the 87-93 rwabs system if you swap in a complete later rear axle. A weight distributing hitch with sway control and good trailer brakes will easily make up for the minor infraction of the shortbed. The a/c will eat up the largest part of the budget but I think you could pull this off and stay within the numbers. And yes you'll never get your money back out of the truck when you sell.

Option 2: this is probab;ly the better one for you, sell the D100 and use the 10k in cash to find a 12valve Cummins truck. Finding an excellent condition 2wdauto extended cab for less than that shouldn't pose any challenge at all. You would probably like the 94-98 trucks much better than the 89-93, i think most of those were hydroboost, pretty much all had a/c, and rwabs was standard with (i think) 4wabs optional. Note, 5 speed and 4wd add quite a bit to the ca-ching factor.

The important question here really is: Do I want a truck?

The OP has stated he's doesn't want one but has occasion to need one.

Hence steering away from buying a new truck and getting an older cheaper one.

Trucks are great ! I have two of them when you have one you realize how handy they are. However over six years ago when I accepted a job 30 miles one way from my home driving my H.Q.C. every day was getting expensive. I did it for a year or so then bought a Civic for commuting saving a ton on gas plus preserving my truck from everyday wear and tear. I recently traded my Civic on a new Honda HRV AWD for commuting so every time we get an inch or so of snow I don't have to get my H.Q.C. all full of salt and crap. I see nothing wrong with SUVs we have had seven of them over the years, my wife works in a hospital and has to get to work regardless of weather I want her to have AWD. I had two Durangos on 00 and an 02 I towed my enclosed trailer with for six years all over the place. One of my fellow Mopar racers at the track tows an A body on an open trailer with a New Durango V6 and says it tows fine, BTW he raced it and it ran 15s. The new Ram 1500s are really nice, I race a lot and if I was buying a new truck it would be a 2500

Oh I don't disagree with a truck as a dd, currently running my 77 W300 crew cab most days.

But I'm only doing about a 35 mile round trip, I'm guessing the OP does more.

Wow, thanks for the thoughtful response ruderunner and everyone else who has replied.

Frankly, the Mazda runs great, I could probably get at least another 50K out of it and it's been paid off for a long time. But, the value will only keep going down the longer I drive it. And, like I said previously, it gets tiring driving it in stop and go traffic for hours on end. It's time to move onto something new.

I've thought hard about keeping the D100 and fixing it up. I looked for a '70s SWB truck for a long time. I had to do a lot to it when I first got it. I had to put new axle bearings and seals in it so I sprung for new drums too and made new rear lines. I rewired the entire truck as well, everything works as it should. I lowered the rear 2". It actually handles OK for what it is. It's been fairly reliable after all the stuff I did to it.

That said, it mostly just sits and I feel bad about that. It needs to be driven regularly like any other vehicle. It's hard to justify spending a bunch more money on it to make it marginally better. I dunno, a new truck just seems like a better idea for the long haul.

If I can swing it, I'd probably sell the D and find a driver type Mopar to spell driving the truck every day. I could do the daddy taxi thing in the AM then hop into something cool to get to work. That's most likely what I will end up doing.

My wife drives a Subaru Outback that replaced our '01 Cherokee. They are really similar vehicles actually. Our kids are 8 and 4 so they are still little. The little one is kind of a pip squeak so he's still in a car seat. They would love a truck, we've talked about it a lot. They like daddy's green truck but they can't really ride in it.

Still unsure whether a Durango would be sufficient but it seems like 11secdart did it with an older one. I'm surprised you were towing an enclosed trailer with one of those? Guess it was OK? Wonder how they stack up against the newer ones? Can't image they were more powerful (unless it was modified) and the transmission was not as sophisticated. I have no doubt the newer ones can pull an open trailer, they advertise them like that.

'76 D100...Utiline/stepside?

The Durango towed pretty well it was a 4.7 with 3.91 gears, trailer tow pkg and air bags in the rear. The trailer was a 20 ft Haulmark enclosed with my Dart, quad, tools etc. I towed as far away as Indy, Virginia and Pittsburgh from my home in North Jersey with no problem, of course my H.Q.C. tows even bettet.

Huh, who knew? And with a 4.7 even - with 3.91 gears - what was your mileage towing, like 8mpg? Those things drank gas even without towing. I was never a fan of them.

A GenIII Hemi has to be a better performer than the 4.7 so if you did it well enough with that combo, maybe I should re-think the Durango.

Again, I have no doubt it will do fine with an open trailer. I just don't like the idea of potentially going to somewhere like Carlisle or Lebanon Valley from Long Island with an open trailer. I know plenty of people make do with what they have but if it can be done easily enough, why not go for the enclosed?

Especially with Carlisle, you always hear stories about cars being stolen from the hotel, just seems a lot less likely with an enclosed. I dunno, I could be wrong about that.

Not to mention sudden summer monsoons. I've been through enough of those at ETown just as a spectator...

A slightly different approach, but you could get your wife a Durango or Grand Cherokee and then switch vehicles with her on days you need to tow. This assumes your wife is comfortable driving a larger SUV. If you did this, you could drive whatever you want every day.


Edit: I don't think you will find many older full size trucks with gasoline engines that will get much more than 15 mpg running empty. If you want to get over 20 mpg, you will probably have to get a diesel or a fairly new truck. Diesel engines save fuel, but cost more in other areas. Newer trucks are nice, but the fuel savings may fail to offset the depreciation on a truck that is not driven very often.

When towing with older gas powered trucks like your D100, I've frequently gotten around 8 mpg. It depends a lot on what you are towing and where you are towing it. I had one truck that would get 9 or 10 mpg towing. Another one only got 6 mpg on one trip, but that was towing a large, heavy camper through the mountains.

If you want an overdrive transmission and want to tow with your D100, I'd find a 5 speed out of a 1990's 2500 truck. Those have a lower first gear ratio than your 833OD and have an overdrive. A 5 speed would cost a bit more, but having that lower first gear would be real handy when starting off on a hill when you are towing a heavier load.

Rmchgr, you are getting confusing. You have stated a couple times you DON'T WANT a truck but you seem to be talking yourself into one.

Which is it?

If you want a truck that's manerouvable as a car and gets 30 mpg, forget it, especially if you want to tow.

And I'm going to call BS on your claim that the Eco Boost gets 18 towing. They're luckily to get 18 unloaded.

Frankly I don't see Anny one vehicle meeting your goals.

Well, that's the whole point here is that I am unsure about what would be best, just weighing pros and cons. There's a lot of variables that are factoring into the decision.

Started out thinking I would be getting a truck but when I really put some thought into it I realized some things that were not so appealing.

I drive a LOT, like 25,000 miles a year. Just have to justify to myself whether its worth driving a truck that much as a regular car when not being used for it's intended purpose.

As far as the 18 mpg, I was just repeating what I read on Edmunds. They did a long term test on a 2014 Ram Ecodiesel.

"...Towing was a big deal for us, and the logbook entries associated with towing amount to 9,307 miles. Our Ram was pulling a trailer 19 percent of the time it was moving, and quite possibly more if the logbook didn't get the proper notation every time.

The trailer in question was typically a car hauler hauling a car, not a blunt-faced camper, so the fuel economy didn't sag as much as it might have. Still, 6,000 pounds is 6,000 pounds. Those 9,307 towing miles came and went at an average of 18.1 mpg.

Here is a summary of the usual stats:

EPA MPG Rating: 22 Combined (19 City/27 Highway)
Average Lifetime MPG, all miles: 21.8 (4.6 gallons per 100 miles)
Lifetime MPG, towing excluded: 22.9 (4.4 gallons per 100 miles)
Lifetime MPG, towing only: 18.1 (5.5 gallons per 100 miles)
Best Fill MPG: 27.9 (20.7 when towing)
Worst Fill MPG: 17.4 (15.1 when towing)
Best Range: 700.2 miles
Final Odometer: 50,084 miles..."

Dope slap for me, Eco Diesel not Eco Boost..

Regardless, I think its going to come down to numbers. Price, economy, insurance etc Perhaps making a spreadsheet so things can be directly compared.

Frankly, I have never associated anything "Eco" with trucks. Kind of an oxymoron really.

All the branding nomenclature can get confusing. Everyone knows giant trucks are not economical in any way, shape or form but that does not stop the automakers from trying to market them that way.

The Edmunds report is a good read. I believe they present things in an unbiased manner. Obviously you take everything with a grain of salt but if they really did go about their testing in a relatively scientific fashion, averaging 18mpg while TOWING is pretty remarkable. I am definitely liking the Ecodiesel more and more.

The GCWR of a Crew Cab Ram ED with a 5'7" bed and either 2 or 4wd is almost 15,000 lbs with a 3.92 gear. The Hemi can tow a larger trailer in the same configuration but gets WAY less mileage doing so. I figure a 3.55 gear would be sufficient with the 8 speed trans. The Hemi usually gets an RFE trans but has the 8 speed option with the towing package.

The Ecodiesel does add several grand to the initial price of the truck though which is unfortunate. So it boils down to this; pay more for the Ecodiesel and get a little less towing capacity than a similarly equipped Hemi but get more mileage or get the Hemi and tow anything you want but get way less mileage.

See how things get a little fuzzy? Go beyond the numbers and factor in the actual driving characteristics of the truck and how much time I spend on the road and the choice becomes less clear...

I really like that advice. Compare all the vehicles that you're considering side-by-side. It should narrow the choice(s) way down, making your final decision much easier.

I wouldn't have any issues over choosing between a Hemi truck and any diesel truck, but then, I'm not driving 25,000 mile a year either. In addition to the better fuel mileage, you need to add the higher upkeep costs, the higher up front cost, and the higher price of fuel for that diesel truck. I'm betting the cost breakdown over a 5 year run given the same mileage will probably be pretty close to each other, or lean towards the gas powered truck.

Then, you really need to determine how often you really will be towing with that truck, or how often you really needed a truck at all, out of the 25K miles a year your driving. How does the cost of either truck compare to what a car would cost over the same time/miles?

I suspect you would be ahead of the game if you updated your D100 for the towing purposes, and maintain your current car for daily transportation, until it needs to be replaced because it died. Having been around car dealerships for many years, I don't buy into the "value of a trade in", its a big lie. But then you don't get something shinny and new. Gene

We have 4 Ferd Ecoboost trucks in the fleet where I work, all 4-door shortbed 4x4's and they get worse mileage per gallon then my 2015 Ram 2500 longbed 4x4 5.7 Hemi! The Dodge half ton diesel does get great mileage, if you can afford one and the $160 oil changes...

Funny, now that this idea is right in the forefront of my brain, I can't help but notice how many 1500 Rams are out on the road and only a very small percentage are ever towing anything. Guess this is what people drive nowadays. Maybe I am stuck in the past thinking that trucks are for work.

So another 2 + hour commute today then the additional 30 min. round trip in heavy local traffic to pickup one of my kids. I swear, it's draining doing it every day. Gotta think a larger vehicle would be a lot easier to be stuck in for hours at a stretch, maneuverable or not.

Maybe the maneuverability is what makes it tiring. Earlier in the thread I said I would probably have to alter my driving habits a little. I tend to be an offensive driver, trying to find the path of least resistance. The Mazda makes that easy to master, I don't even have to think about it, it just goes right where I want it to. Maybe it would be easier to just relax and go with the flow a little more often.

Some of these new trucks are VERY nice vehicles. I can understand why people drive them. A truck is easier to enter and exit. There is usually more interior space since trucks are wider than most cars. Comfortable leather seats, a quiet ride. There is a LOT to love about newer trucks.

On the other hand, trucks often cost more to drive than a car. A truck will almost always cost more to purchase. A truck will use more fuel. If a truck is not needed, it is probably not going to be the cheapest option.

If you want a more comfortable vehicle, some of the "near luxury" cars are quite a bit more comfortable than cheaper cars. For example, a Chrysler 300 is a nice car in my opinion. A V6 model will get decent fuel economy.

As some of the other guys have suggested, it would be best to start adding up the projected expenses for a truck and a car to determine the difference. Everybody's situation is different!

Edit: If you want a more economical truck, an older 12 valve Dodge Cummins, 2 wheel drive truck MIGHT be a good choice. The 2 wheel drive trucks do not bring near as much money as a 4x4. Of course, you probably wouldn't want to drive it every day. But it would use less fuel than your current truck, especially when towing. I suspect a 12 valve, 2 wheel drive Cummins will be the cheapest diesel to buy and perhaps to drive. Some of the other guys here could probably give you some better advice on this though.

Half ton trucks are not really trucks anymore, they are SUV's with a bed. There are a multitude of them from Chicago to Milwaukee where I drive to work everyday, they look nice, drive nice, and can tow an open trailer when needed, but are at their limits towing and enclosed trailer. If I were to downgrade to a 1500 I would get the 395 HP 5.7 Hemi and get 20 MPG on the highway where I only get 15 MPG in my 2500. I drive between 120-160 miles a day, and sometimes wish I had something smaller the got better mileage, but I like the heft of a truck and they do still get some respect on the highway...

Yeah, you know I'm starting to realize that. Even when I was working on them every day (which was only 4 years ago), they weren't quite as 'refined' as they are now. Definitely a far cry from what a truck used to be, even just 10-15 years ago.

I enjoy having an older truck but it's hard to ignore what a newer vehicle offers. Guess I just have to concede that sometimes newer is a little bit easier to live with on a daily basis, especially with kiddos.

Might go and test drive something this weekend.

The ultimate!

I'll see your Mega Cab and raise you a Durango Shaker.

HELL YEAH! you need a truck! even if it isn't a full sized.
I myself drive trucks and Jeeps because I cannot stand anything available in a "car", made in at least the last 15 years.... and people laughed at the Pacer for being a "bubble".... what are basically all the cars now a days?
too small, FWD, sit too low to the ground, hard to get out of, no thanks...

Haven't been able to go look at any vehicles these last few weeks, just too busy. I think about it all the time though since I am in the car so much. Funny too, once I made the decision to find a larger vehicle I've really noticed how tiring it is driving in the Mazda.

One thing I do notice though is that the overwhelming majority of the Rams I see on the road are Hemi equipped. I could probably count the amount of Ecodiesel trucks I've encountered on one hand.

YOU STILL HAVE NOT DECIDED TO BUY A TRUCK???

I drove 280 miles round trip on Sunday to go to the NWDRA 41st annual swap meet to look for parts for the racer with a friend. We could have taken his Honda car, but we took my truck and it only gets, at best, 12 MPG. I just can't fold myself into an econobox anymore. I really did not need the truck because all I did get was some Plymouth hubcaps for the trailer and a dual remote oil filter for the racer. I had a very comfortable trip, though.

Well, things have just gotten a little cloudier.

Dodge has introduced a Durango SRT model to come out in the 4th quarter this year. 475 hp, 8,600 lb towing capacity with AWD and sway control in tow mode.

No idea how much but I'm guessing close to what a top of the line Ram would be?

Maybe I will use the D100 for this summer and wait for this monster to arrive.


2018 Durango

OK that is an acceptable reason to wait...for now I am quite happy with the payments I have to make...they are very easy on my wallet and my insurance is still happy with me.

Updating an old thread. Finally made a decision and bought a truck, a '17 Laramie Crew cab.



This truck has most if not all the stuff I wanted in regards to equipment - trailer brake controller, 3.92 rear gear, bed cover, sliding rear window, 2 tone paint and leather trimmed interior. It's a really nice truck. Really like the chrome grille and the two-tone paint.

Only weird thing is the gearshift knob. Very strange feeling putting a car in gear with a twist of a knob on the dash. The console in this truck is huge too. What do they expect people to put in these things?

Just thought I'd mention that I did inquire about a Durango SRT in August. At the time there was about a two month wait. As of today, it's been almost that long and I have not seen one at either of the dealers I went to or anywhere for that matter. One salesman said a few been sold ahead of time but none were even in stock to look at with none expected any time soon.

Ultimately, the SRT wasn't the right vehicle for me anyway. Too much money for an SUV. If I was going to spend that much coin on a performance vehicle, a car would seem to be the better choice. I guess there are handful of Vin Diesel wanna be's out there who think otherwise but I'm not that guy.

So the truck got the nod. Still hard to wrap my head around the fact that trucks are now luxury vehicles. Not a luxury guy at all but I will say, it's nice to ride in comfort. Far cry from my old D100.

Interior shot.


Gonna be a big adjustment driving this thing after 5+ years in a Mazda 3!