Thinking of selling off the family 96 club cab Cummins and would go gasser at this stage of life. Need a truck happy to pull our older and heavy 26' enclosed with ~4000lbs of car and parts inside.

I had just been assuming 6.4, but then wondered if the 5.7 can tow the load?

Nothing wrong with the 5.7, but for empty driving the 6.4 with MDS will get better fuel mileage and there is no substitute for cubic inches for towing.

Even if it costs a couple of thousand more you will be happier in the long run with the 6.4.

Ford has a 7.3 gas engine coming, but with Ford you get all the complicated, expensive dealer-only baggage that comes with it, but, still indicates where this gasoline engine market is headed.

I just traded my 12 hemi 2500 in for a new 18 cummins 2500. Really wish I would have bought the cummins 2 years ago when I got the Hemi. Hemi is okay for towing. I ran a superchips tuner, pedal commander but unless you were running 55-60 towing the trans was always shifting even with the tow haul button on. The Cummins on the other hand, never shifts up or down. I run in 5th gear unless I'm running 80 or more and it works great. And the fuel mileage is very close to double what the hemi was getting. I'm getting right around 18 mpg with just under 10k behind the Cummins. Cummins has a 3.42 ratio and the Hemi had 3.73. The hemi would have been much better with a 4.10.

Love a Cummins, don't get me wrong, we've had several. The expense and occasional use now make it less attractive.

With HP Tuners you could of taken care of that anyoning shifting....at least now,back when you bought the truck no, ...and I agree the 4.10s would be better with the 5.7s and the 6 speed trans

Get the 6.4. I have towed with a 5.7 and they will do the job but around here they have to be revved to the moon to make it up a hill. I had Cummins for about 20 years as well but I would rather poke my eye out with a stick than buy a newer model one. This one towed this trailer a few times up a 16 mile long 8% hill with 5500lbs inside the trailer. It made it fine but I felt like I was beating it. My nephew just paid a $1000 tow bill when his 3 year old dead stock Cummins had a trans (whats new?) problem.

I've bought the extended warranty so I won't be concerned with any problems like that for a while. If my truck breaks down in 5 years or 100k whichever comes first it's covered. Even the tow bill is covered. Heck I even get a free rental with the warranty I bought. The mileage difference alone is worth the difference between the hemi and the Cummins.

Uhhhhh...... Sheldon your 6.4 Ram has a transmission too. We see about an equal amount of trans work between the gas and diesel models and to be honest, it’s not much. Not like it was 20 years ago (ouch... it hurts to say that.....)

If you’re looking at towing, I’d lean STRONGLY towards the 6.4. I’ve had a lot of customers go that route and so far most are very happy. So happy that “if” we decide to retire our 01 CTD I will definitely grab a 6.4 off the lot and hook the trailer up and give it a whirl. We live at 500ft and have to go 3500 to get out of town so that’ll be a good test for it.

My automatic is still shifting and pulling the weight of the truck though (I'm glad you say they are improved though). Word on the street is these 6.7's have to be deleted when they get a few years old unless you like shop time. My nephew is missing his 2005 manual right now. I told my son to rebody his 2002 when it gets rusty.

I have been leaning towards a newer 6.4L 3500 myself someday soon to replace ole reliable my 96 Ram 2500 4x4 with a V10. I have several other vehicles to drive daily so it only gets used for towing, hauling or in the winter deep snows.
I never drive far enough to justify the cost of a diesel upfront or for repairs.

I have a 2005 5.7 2500 5 speed, the truck is just too dang big but the engine/trans combo are great for towing my 16 ft car trailer. I'm thinking of going back to a dakota but they are getting too old and the bastards won't make me a new one with a 5.7 and 6 speed and the new 1/2 tons are as big as my 05 2500.

2015 2500 4x4 regular cab long just turned 157K on it with only issues being carrier bearings in the rear at 150K. I tow 11K lbs, just went to Carlisle and back 1700 miles all told. It is just adequate over the mountains, some 5% passes got down to 35 mph, so I wouldn't do it a lot. Averaged 7.2 mpg at a 62 mph average. That is of course over lots of mountains and headwinds coming home, got 8 mpg with tail winds going east. It is a bit of a rough ride unloaded and a real buckboard on Illinois roads, you know all about that! I didn't want the 6.4 due to the MDS because I do tow at least 50% of the time and didn't need anything extra that would break, most of you know my record with transmissions, and so far this one had been fine. I love the truck, and it works for what I want...

Just went to Cleveland today to pick up an auction car that I need the engine out of. Drove the new 18 Cummins and pulling my 14k 20ft trailer. Trailer weights like 3400 lbs empty. Picked up an 08 Chrysler Pacifica. I'd guess it weights arout 4k. So lets say I hauled 3400 lbs out, got 18.5 mpg and drove around 70. Came back loaded, say 7500 lbs., got 13.5 mpg and ran hard between 78-84 mph. I'm sure mileage would be much better at 65 loaded. I also noticed that once it got in 6th gear it wouldn't down shift when climbing the hills. Maintained speed.

aaaaaaand it's time to get the shovel out.

Who didn't see that coming.

Cummins Real World Fuel Mileage (Empty)

Have any of you heard anything on the Cummins-Nissan? Spec-wise for towing it sure seems good but I haven't heard anything on real-world use. It's not Nissan that interests me but the engine being US made does.

- EM

Is that one a V8? I have never seen a V8 Diesel that was any good other than a Detroit and they weren't that great either but they were relatively tough.

Friend of mine manages the nissan shop a block away from me says they have not had any issues with them, the one exception is the front diff can't seem to handle the weight

Wow, that's all I can say. And people wonder why this board has gone to the crapper. A person can't even post actual data from their own vehicle without something negative. And you do realize the data that you've included is a combination of gas and diesel engines?

Yes, it's a 5.0-liter DOHC 32-valve V8.

- EM

W[s][/s]

Friend of mine was a GM at a Nissan dealer. In talking with him it sounded like the a Titan was in the same “soccer mom pickup” segment as the Ram ECO diesel. I highly discourage anyone considering an ECO....

We used my friends 15 4x4 3.4 geared CTD to pull my race trailer (11.5k).... 14mpg. Maybe 1-2 better than my 01, but certainly more of a pleasure to tow with for sure (torque management and exh brake is awesome)!

At work I often see these pickups (14 newer) come in with avg mpg at 18+....

I went back into this thread and wanted to ask you what in your opinion makes a truck a "soccer mom" level rig? For decades, trucks have had different sized engines and suspension capacities because there are different market segments and user needs. There are compromises going in either direction for sure. But if a gas-Hemi truck is a good pulling alternative to a much more expensive diesel (at a potential loss of mileage), why wouldn't a diesel with more torque than a hemi (but less than a 6.7 Cummins) be an even better option?

- EM

Im in soorta the same boat.
I sold my V10 ram back in Ky. it would pull ANYTHING I ever had behind it like it wasnt back there. Fuel mileage or lack there of was another story

Ive been casually looking for a replacement out here. Would love a Cummins truck but I think no more than I ever have any kind of load or pull something with it . I have serious doubts it would ever pay for itself over a gas motor truck.
Been finding LOTS of 4.7 trucks but not a big fan of the internal water pump / timing chain deal that comes with them.
So for me its either an older 5.9 truck or hemi only depending on the year I decide on ( aka also known as what the budget will allow )

Well your in luck then because the 4.7 does not have an internal water pump!

My Sister bought an 05 2500 4x4 5.7 new. She still has it and it has almost or just over 200,000 miles on it. She has towed gooseneck horse trailers all over with it including colorado. I think she has had to do basic things like water pump, radiator etc but as far as I remember it has never let her down.

I work on Rams.... there is absolutely NO WAY IN HE77 I’d ever own an Eco-diesel...... ya’ll do what you want! I have no personal experience with the Nissan/Cummins version other than subpar reviews from my buddy that was a GM at a dealer. However as the op was requesting in something in the 2500 segment I’d definitely look at the 6.4 Hemi. I’ve even noted the last couple years the sno-bird crowd has been showing up in the south with this package. I just worked on a 122k mile one the other day. 18.1 avg mpg in the display. This is a work truck and I know they move spray equipment with it, but it’s probably driven lightly. Still, decent for a 2500 4x4.

No one is advocating a particular truck and engine. I simply asked the question of what in your opinion falls into your own category of a "soccer mom" truck.

- EM

Large cab.... no bed (or very little by what used to be pickup standards), station wagon with a box attached

I think my favorite "truck" is the Honda Ridgeline.

My favorite soccer mom truck is the rigeline.


I worked at a honda dealer for 5 years and all those doors and junk in the tiny bed don't hold up for crap to people using them like real work trucks, they are only really good for a tiny pop up camper trailer or a cooler full of drinks. In my opinion dakotas go either way, I use the crap out of mine but they could still be used by soccer moms, I just wish I could get a 4 door with a long bed, the tiny bed the 4 door got is a shopping buggy. There are even some full size trucks that are soccer mom rigs, laramies with no middle seat in the front and infotainment crap to break down and be un fixable in 10 years, rotary shift knobs...