Thoughts?
I've put 82k miles on a Ram 1500 Eco diesel and love it!
But, up til then I was a Ford guy.

Dodge dropped their diesel engine from their 1/2 lineup last year...to return in 2019? "New and improved?"

I haven't heard anything but theirs a poster on the Auto board that should be able to provide some good insight.

The motor is based on their European diesel and is apparently tried and true... hard to say for sure, but I think Ford has learned their mistakes from the 6.0/6.4 diesels. All of their new motors (I don't know enough about the 2.7 boost) are apparently pretty good. No complaints with my 3.5 boost!

Just bought a 2019 Ram 1500 Classic
Nothing fancy, but i like it.

JosephMarcus said:

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DallasAggies01 said:

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If you love the Ram why consider the Ford? The new Rams technology and fit and finish beat the fords. At least According to car and driver and others.

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their fit and finish isn't even close to a Ford and Ram's are the only trucks that break down more than Fords.

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How much time do you have in a Ram versus a Ford? Or are you a Ford homer or are just repeating what you've heard and read on the internet?

My FIL will look and talk about getting a new Chevy or Ford diesel, but always goes to the dang Dodge because they are always cheaper.

GSS said:

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The Ford-Dodge-Chevy (oh yeah, and Toyota..) debate will never end...just please don't use "Car and Driver" as any sort of a credible source of info. I think they led the way on selling out to whatever company spent the most advertising $$$ in their rag

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Car and Driver is my favorite source. I appreciate that they will absolutely crucify a terrible car. I also like that they will list all their criteria for evaluating a vehicle and then rank each section. I can go through and cross out the stuff I don't care about and generate my own ranking. They give too much consideration for looks and acceleration for me, so I just ignore that and prioritize their handling and braking data. If there's a better source that regularly tests all the actual vehicles side-by-side, I'd like to know what it is.

I made the switch from a 3/4 ton to a 1/2 ton power stroke back in January. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

I'd put the platinum trim up against Ram's stuff any day. That being said, the price of Fords are just too damn high for what you get.

schmellba99 said:

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JosephMarcus said:

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DallasAggies01 said:

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If you love the Ram why consider the Ford? The new Rams technology and fit and finish beat the fords. At least According to car and driver and others.

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their fit and finish isn't even close to a Ford and Ram's are the only trucks that break down more than Fords.

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How much time do you have in a Ram versus a Ford? Or are you a Ford homer or are just repeating what you've heard and read on the internet?

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I haven't spent any time at all reading stuff on the internet about them. to be fair, they are both a POS - I'm just saying the Ford is a nicer POS than the Dodge.

Signel said:

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I'd put the platinum trim up against Ram's stuff any day. That being said, the price of Fords are just too damn high for what you get.

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crazy thing is, as high as the Ford prices are going - there seems to be more and more of them on the road and increasing by the day. can't imagine Ford is going to slow down on price increases any time soon. I wonder what the actual sales volume looks like and if it really is increasing as fast as it appears.

What do you pull with it?

Fuel economy with and without load?

Boats

If he wants a 1/2 ton diesel then it's a Ford. Ram pulled the Eco Diesel off the market last year or year before and haven't announced when they will release a 1/2 ton diesel. GM is beginning to take orders on their 3.0, but I haven't seen anything on actual delivery dates. Ford has the only 3.0 diesel in the game right now.

WP69 said:

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If he wants a 1/2 ton diesel then it's a Ford. Ram pulled the Eco Diesel off the market last year or year before and haven't announced when they will release a 1/2 ton diesel. GM is beginning to take orders on their 3.0, but I haven't seen anything on actual delivery dates. Ford has the only 3.0 diesel in the game right now.

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Nissan has the half,ton with the Cummins.

WP69 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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WP69 said:

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If he wants a 1/2 ton diesel then it's a Ford. Ram pulled the Eco Diesel off the market last year or year before and haven't announced when they will release a 1/2 ton diesel. GM is beginning to take orders on their 3.0, but I haven't seen anything on actual delivery dates. Ford has the only 3.0 diesel in the game right now.

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Nissan has the half,ton with the Cummins.

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True, but no one was bringing that one up.

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I was simply responding to the comment that if you want a 1/2 ton diesel, it's a Ford.

I wish the Nissan's weren't so butt ugly. I looked at them when I was in the market a few years back - couldn't get over what I think is just a horribly ugly vehicle with an interior that does nothing for me. Or it was back in 2016-2017ish anyway.

My take on the trip:

The truck is a Limited. Dang nice ride!

We scaled about 5K trailer weight and about 2K payload including passengers and cargo.

The truck handled it flawlessly. It pulled without seeming to be working hard at all. Average mpg in the flatlands was 13.2. Once we got into the hills around Birmingham and further north, it was 12.7. It used 1/2 tank of DEF.
The front didn't feel light on it's feet. Braking was fine...even in thick traffic where sudden braking did heat up the trailer brakes and bit and pushed out some fluid from the surge unit.
The 10 speed kept it in a good spot all the time. Tow/haul wasn't necessary.
It sounds like a gasser at highway speed. All you hear is intake noise.
This thing seems to be perfectly fine for towing. Maybe pushing the GVWR limit would be different.

It wasn't as fun as driving the tuned 6.4 I had, but if I needed another truck, I'd buy one.

Did it!
See above thread "I pulled the trigger."

gkaggie08 said:

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Not that anecdotal evidence means anything, but my BIL works for a large dodge dealer in SA. He rags me about the aluminum body on my powerstroke, but he also told me the dodge eco diesel is a 100-150k motor.

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Don't know how it was meant, but that engine better just be getting broke in at that mileage...

GM tried the diesel in a 1/2 ton in the 80's. It sucked and the frame and body couldn't handle it.

So far- so good!
Got 24.7 mpg on a round trip to Houston and back. Generally traveling 70 - 80 mph.

I'm sure they're fine and hopefully the above poster was right that it's a proven engine in Europe. Made me nervous because it's been out for such a small amount of time.

Nice.

Have you pulled anything with it yet?

Quote:

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GM tried the diesel in a 1/2 ton in the 80's. It sucked and the frame and body couldn't handle it.

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The bigger ones (6.2 and bigger) were OK but the 350 diesel (limited truck applications as well as other cars) was a POS and one of the biggest failures in GM history. I've told this story before but when I was selling cars in 1987, a guy came in with an 83 or 84 Cutlass with the 350D in it. It was in pristine condition but the used car manager appraised it at $600! That would have been worth 5 grand with a mediocre V6 engine in it. That guy was not happy to say the least.