New Build – good or bad?

[jonathon]

Definitely consider gas unless you really want a diesel. I have 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi and 8 speed transmission; it’s awesome.

The auxiliary switches are worth every penny and are mandatory. Ram does a really good job with the upfitter wiring.

 

[WRONG_WAY_DAVE]

As stated, the diesel engine costs a lot more, puts more weight on the nose, costs more to upkeep, adds complexity, is more sensitive to bad fuel, is often louder (campground warmup, doling around in idle gear, etc.) and the per gallon cost is way more expensive over regular gas (plus cost of urea). I have been told/read the days of the 300-500K mile diesel engines are also gone ?

Still, the mdouble torque over the gas engine will be a +plus due to the added weight/wind resistance (and you WILL add more weight to the frame over the life of the vehicle) and be less sensitive to tire increases (w/i limits). What if you add a trailer to the back of your rig? Or decide all this off road stuff is not your jam and choose to go mondo 5th wheel? Plus the turbocharger does work to make up for the oxygen deficits via boost that normally aspirated engines suffer from when operating at elevation. Also, if you tune the computer (or choose to riskily remove emissions equipment [now, take it easy here guys]) the diesel will respond better.

If you plan to do a lot of travel, the diesel may pay for itself after MANY years and miles of ownership.

I think as an engine, diesel has more room to grow with your mods, your platform, and lifestyle changes. As always YMMV ?

 

[Jack90]

Very much appreciate all the advice on the gas versus diesel! George, I'll be closely reading the entire thread you linked, as well.

 

[Regcabguy]

Your only reason for going diesel is to get over the mountain passes? Any gas engine in those HD trucks will do that just fine.

3500 w 6.4L or better yet, F350 w 7.3 is what I’d go with.

The 7.3 will do it. The 6.4 will be reving it's head off climbing up mountains at elevation. The Hallmark will be 2800# by the time it's wet+4 occupants. Aisin,6.7 and regeared if you go with 37's. I found the early Thuren coils to be too soft even for my standard cab and 2300# wet Northstar popup. Stage 4 up front and 2 I believe rear. The diesels kill it on passing cars too,along with stiff headwinds.. The temperature gauge hardly moves.

I don't know why lots of people say diesels are hard to maintain or not worth the cost hassle. I bought my 07 CTD with 80k miles and now have over 200K. I have not spent any more money on this truck than any gas vehicle I have owned. I love the power, torque and fuel mileage

Same here. My 5.9 and G-56 have been perfect.Now the steering...that's taken some aftermarket doodads to fix. Initial price is higher but the resale recovers much of that.

 

[jonathon]

If you haven’t driven a modern gasoline powered truck then you really need to. They all make well over 400ft lbs and are designed to work hard. NA gas engines need to spin for power, but they can turn 4K all day without issue. The days of sluggish gas engines are long gone.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Fords 6.2 (385HP/430TQ) gasser makes more HP than the beloved 7.3 (275HP/525TQ) diesel and in my opinion tows as good if not better...with less noise, smoke, and drama. The new 7.3 gasser (430HP/4305TQ) and the accompanying 10 speed absolutely humiliates the old 7.3 diesel. Modern gas engines are no slouch and are replacing diesels in many commercial fleets.

If it was me, I'd probably get a F350 with the 7.3 and forget all about the Diesel world.

 

[1000arms]

Here is my first draft of our new overlanding build -

Truck
Dodge 3500
Diesel – so can have tons of torque going over the Colorado passes
Thuren Suspension which includes - King 2.5" kit includes front coils, front track bar, and front and rear King 2.5" remote reservoir shocks
Leaf springs – factory
37 inch tires – Nitto Ridge Graplers – Load E
Expedition One bumper so can carry spare tire

Camper
Popup Truck Camper – Hallmark Milner - http://www.hallmarkrv.com/campers/hallmark-milner/
Base Weight – 1,212
Slide in into normal bed and not a flatbed

Questions
1. Is there anything I am missing on this build? What would you change?
2. My goal with the Thuren suspension is to make the ride quality a bit softer, but at the same time keep the factory driving characteristics (no wandering, easy to drive down the highway going 80 mph). Do you think this build would achieve this?

... I would buy brand new and was thinking if I went with the high output diesel with 1,000 lb of torque the re-gearing could be skipped.

.. I like to keep things factory if is possible.

Fords 6.2 (385HP/430TQ) gasser makes more HP than the beloved 7.3 (275HP/525TQ) diesel and in my opinion tows as good if not better...with less noise, smoke, and drama. The new 7.3 gasser (430HP/475TQ) and the accompanying 10 speed absolutely humiliates the old 7.3 diesel. Modern gas engines are no slouch and are replacing diesels in many commercial fleets.

If it was me, I'd probably get a F350 with the 7.3 and forget all about the Diesel world.

As many forum members have suggested, a gas engine would likely work well for you.

Have you considered a Ford F350 "Tremor" with the 7.3L gas engine?

https://expeditionportal.com/is-the-ford-tremor-the-new-full-size-overland-benchmark/

https://media.ford.com/content/ford...eries-super-duty-tremor-off-road-package.html

From the first Ford Tremor link: "For capability, the list is impressive, including class-leading 35-inch Duratrac tires, a 31.6 degree approach angle, 10.8-inches of ground clearance, a 33-inch fording depth (best in class), and a 53:1 crawl ratio (gas engine). For the differentials, there is a locking rear and a Dana limited-slip front. The front LSD will work excellent when combined with traction control, and work as well as a full locker in nearly all scenarios."

The F350 Tremor package comes with the 7.3L gas engine or diesel engine, but is limited to a crew-cab shortbed truck.


The maximum payload for the Ford F350 Tremor package is 4,210 pounds with the 7.3-liter gas engine.

See https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2019/09/26/2020-ford-super-duty-pickup.html

From the link "The 2020 Super Duty with Tremor Off-Road Package is the most capable off-road Super Duty ever. It will have maximum towing of up to 15,000 pounds for conventional trailers and 21,900 pounds for gooseneck trailers with the available diesel, in addition to 4,210 pounds maximum payload capacity with the all-new 7.3-liter gas engine that is available "

That will likely be sufficient for many campers, and, especially, most pop-up campers.

 

[WRONG_WAY_DAVE]

Today's diesels are making the same horsepower (or more) as the gassers and double the torque. Either engine will get you there though.

However: The Ford 6.7 Diesel makes 475 HP 1,050 pounds of torque. We are not talking about the old 7.3 bus engine here.

Check out the stats here:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/30030...v-8-wins-engine-war-with-1050-lb-ft-of-torque

YMMV

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Today's diesels are making the same horsepower (or more) as the gassers and double the torque. Either engine will get you there though.

However: The Ford 6.7 Diesel makes 475 HP 1,050 pounds of torque. We are not talking about the old 7.3 bus engine here.

Check out the stats here:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/30030...v-8-wins-engine-war-with-1050-lb-ft-of-torque

YMMV

The 6.7 is nice... Buuut it cost damn near 10k more to buy, more to maintain, fuel can cost more, and you lose payload.