Advice on a Ram

[HAZZARDJOHN]

I need some advice on a Ram. I know some of you have rams as car haulers, so I figured this would be a good resource.  I was looking at older diesel Pickups when I came across this one (link Below) at a Dealership up by me. It only has 25K miles for a 1998. I need a truck for hunting, towing a horse trailer and hauling a car from the body shop to home. This truck seems like a real good deal, but my porblem with this truck is, it is only a 360. Now I know to only expect 8 MPG with the trailer, but do any of you know what it should get empty. I tried looking up the EPA estimates on edmunds and the like, but becasue it is a heavy truck it is not required. Also would this be a reliable enough drivetrain for what I am looking to do. I am buying a commuter car to get to and from work, so it won't be a daily driver. My Ranger I have now gets 15-17 MPG

Linky!

[General_01]

I've got a Dodge Ram 1500 QC with a 360 and it only gets about 11-12 mpg. I drive it to and from work in rush hour traffic. Well, not anymore. I just started driving wifes minivan. But I have gotten about 14mpg on the highway when driving up north and stuff.

[Old Moparz]

I wish I could help with MPG figures for a Ram & a 360, but I can say what the best I have gotten with my other trucks empty. The 2004 Ram with the 5.7 has been 13 to 14 MPG & it has a 3.92 rear. My Ford F-150 has a 5.8 & has gotten 17 with the 3.55 rear. These numbers were highway on trips to Carlisle going 65 to 75 MPH on a 400 mile trip. Obviously if you add a trailer it'll be less. The Ford managed 12 to 13 MPG with either the camping, or the car trailer. I haven't calculated the Dodge yet, but it should be the same percentage. I'd imagine the Ram 360 should be in the same vicinity.

[HAZZARDJOHN]

I've got a Dodge Ram 1500 QC with a 360 and it only gets about 11-12 mpg. I drive it to and from work in rush hour traffic. Well, not anymore. I just started driving wifes minivan. But I have gotten about 14mpg on the highway when driving up north and stuff.

I was hoping for at least 15. I know Ford Trucks more than Dodges and I can get 14-16 out of a 5.4 empty. Of course it gets the usual 8 MPG with a trailer. Maybe I'll keep looking for a diesel. Just tough to find with lower miles.

~HJ

[sunfire69]

I have a '96 2 wheel drive club cab with a 360. I get a pretty steady 16+/-mpg around town and I don't baby it. I've pulled my Charger on a 2000lbs U-Haul trailer thru the West Virginia mountains. It's got 183,000 miles on it and the only major things I've had to do were a new AC coil and a pinion bearing in the rear end (trucks, not mine).
It's been a good truck. Now that I've said that it will go to heck in a hand basket.....
Jerry

[HAZZARDJOHN]

^ Do you know what rear end gears you have?

[sunfire69]

3.92s

[HAZZARDJOHN]

Thanks, I am going to see what this thing has. I haven't given it a good look yet.

[PocketThunder]

If you want to wait till the end of the year i'll be selling Whitey then..   

1989 W250, 318 4-speed.  its an old state of new mexico border patrol truck.  i even have the "dept. of interior" sticker for the door.  Its my daily driver right now.  i get 14 mpg empty and about 10 pulling the car trailer with a Charger on it.

[HAZZARDJOHN]

^ you didn't buy that at the same place did you? The one in the link, came from new mexico and was a "government" truck. I just assumed it meant border patrol.

~HJ

[694spdRT]

Consider yourself lucky if you get anything above 13mpg empty with a 360 4X4 autmatic. I got better mileage with my 2001 V10 4x4 than any of the 5 previous 360 trucks my family has had except one oddball that got 17mpg.

If you are not driving it much the gas mileage really doesn't matter too much between 12-15mpg IMO.  

[ramit]

I was hoping for at least 15. I know Ford Trucks more than Dodges and I can get 14-16 out of a 5.4 empty. Of course it gets the usual 8 MPG with a trailer. Maybe I'll keep looking for a diesel. Just tough to find with lower miles.

~HJ

I don't think you will get that kind of mileage out of that truck, especially since it is a 2500.  I would guess about 12 when you are not pulling a trailer.

[PocketThunder]

^ you didn't buy that at the same place did you? The one in the link, came from new mexico and was a "government" truck. I just assumed it meant border patrol.

~HJ

Nope, i got Whitey on craigslist from some guy in Mpls who bought it from some guy who bought it at the govt. auction in New Mexico.

[HAZZARDJOHN]

Well I guess I didn't need advice after all! It was sold before I even got a chance to look at it. Thanks all for the help!

~HJ

[mikepmcs]

Find yourself a nice Dodge diesel dually or not dually,( i just think the dually's look killer), you can snake about 18 MPG plus if you are nice to it.  My 02(wish i still had it) got plenty of MPG's when i was nice to it, hell I drove it 85mph and still got 14.2 on a good day.  Low maintenance too..  I'm thinking of going back to that again myself.  As for hauling, you can pull a house off the foundation.  They are unstoppable and you won't even know the trailer is there and your mpg's don't take that big of a hit(example:  H2 empty, around 14, pulling my enclosed 8-9, my old dually, 17+ empty, pulling a trailer no less than 14)
v/r
Mike

[chrisII]

 i wouldnt worry much about low miles on a diesel. low miles for a diesel is 150k we have several ford diesels at work that are over 300 on the old IH diesel that ford uses, and i believe the cummins to be a better engine. the drivelines will go forever so as long as the body and int are in acceptable shape high miles really doesnt matter. heck ive had 2 dakotas at over 200k anf both were nice looking and runing trucks, alot of hiway use. look at contition on anything over 5 years old has always ben my opinion if its beat itl be junk before it hits 75k if its taken care of it will be good at twice that

[694spdRT]

i wouldnt worry much about low miles on a diesel. low miles for a diesel is 150k we have several ford diesels at work that are over 300 on the old IH diesel that ford uses, and i believe the cummins to be a better engine. the drivelines will go forever so as long as the body and int are in acceptable shape high miles really doesnt matter. heck ive had 2 dakotas at over 200k anf both were nice looking and runing trucks, alot of hiway use. look at contition on anything over 5 years old has always ben my opinion if its beat itl be junk before it hits 75k if its taken care of it will be good at twice that

That is true for the most part with a diesel but trannies, transfer cases, differentials, etc., will still have a lot of miles on them and most of the diesels are not babied. I know a guy in town with 170,000 on a 1999 diesel. It has had 3 tranny rebuilds, a transfer case, and 4 rearends because it is pulls a way overloaded trailer nearly everyday of the week.

The good thing with a high mileage diesel is the value will not be hit as hard as a gasser.

[472 R/T SE]

It's been a while...  17-18mpg empty trailer with my wife's '03 5.7 Quad 2wd.  Lot's of hills, OD turned off @ approach.
Loaded, 13-15pmg with'70 Bee.  There...I said 15. 



Try this site out. http://dodgetruckworld.tenmagazines.com/  I dd when we where looking at srt10's.

[Darkness]

John, I wish I owe a little closer to the amount to what I would ideally sell my truck for. Otherwise I'd sell you my 04 Ram SLT 4x4 Long Box truck with 45k miles (90% highway) to you for $11k-$12k. Anyways, good luck in your search. Have a good day.

[Chryco Psycho]

I wouold really hold otu for a Cummins

[CaptMarvel]

Got a 98 Ram with V8 & 5 speed. Love it, fun to drive with the stick...I need to sell it & just use my 64 Power Wagon as I dont use a truck everyday anymore..

[doctorpimp]

Go for the diesel...

[HAZZARDJOHN]

Does this one sound like a good deal. It is 2wd But I would Lose 4x4 for a nicer truck. I think it looks like a deal.

The only problem I see is it is only the 12V diesel but other than that I seriously think it could be good.



Linky

[Todd Wilson]

Does this one sound like a good deal. It is 2wd But I would Lose 4x4 for a nicer truck. I think it looks like a deal.

The only problem I see is it is only the 12V diesel but other than that I seriously think it could be good.

That appears to be a real nice truck. Price is a little high but the miles are low. You dont find many diesels of that age with that low of miles so the price is not out of line. I would be curious to see if a bank would loan that kind of $ on that old of a truck. I looked at a 97 4x4 Auto about like that 2 years ago for $12900 with about 100000 miles on it.  Problem is for that price you could get a newer truck.

There is nothing wrong with a 12 valve Cummins diesel. They get the best MPG and are the most reliable and longest running of the Dodge Cummins engines.  Its also usually easier and cheaper to turn one up for more power then the 24,HO or 600 series engines.


Todd

[HAZZARDJOHN]

Good Point, I haven't even considered the bank loan for it. I have 5K to put down, but I should talk to them first.

~HJ