What will happen sooner... a Ford Gas vs Diesel dilema

[phsycle]

6.4 hemi requires 87.

Octane Level for 2020 RAM 2500

Hello: What is the consensus on Octane Level, 6.4L Heavy Duty V8 Hemi. Daily driver + part time towing 6,000 lb bumper pull travel trailer. Owners manual states 85 with a TOP TIER Detergent. Use 85 then maybe a higher level while towing? thanks....Pete.......

hdrams.com

 

[ScottPC]

6.4 hemi requires 87.

Octane Level for 2020 RAM 2500

Hello: What is the consensus on Octane Level, 6.4L Heavy Duty V8 Hemi. Daily driver + part time towing 6,000 lb bumper pull travel trailer. Owners manual states 85 with a TOP TIER Detergent. Use 85 then maybe a higher level while towing? thanks....Pete.......

hdrams.com

Thanks for sharing that. The Ram site says "premium unleaded"...they should update that if it's not really required I'll have to look into that a little more.

2024 Ram 3500 Specs | Weights, Dimensions & More

Discover specifications of the 2024 Ram 3500. Find information about fuel tank size, GVWR, dimensions & more on this heavy duty truck today.

www.ramtrucks.com

 

[jaxyaks]

Thanks for sharing that. The Ram site says "premium unleaded"...they should update that if it's not really required I'll have to look into that a little more.

2024 Ram 3500 Specs | Weights, Dimensions & More

Discover specifications of the 2024 Ram 3500. Find information about fuel tank size, GVWR, dimensions & more on this heavy duty truck today.

www.ramtrucks.com

Unless something has changed with the 6.4 I owned a 2500 with the 6.4 and ran 87 octane for 80K miles.

 

[montypower]

The Ram 2500/3500 crew cab short bed wheelbase is 149", essentially the same as the Ford Supercab 148" wheelbase, but you get real doors that open independently and a B pillar. The Supercab doors can squeak offroad because there's no rigid pillar where the doors meet: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/late-model-ford-supercabs-do-the-doors-creak.219957/

Ram quality is lacking. And Chrysler electronic fun times. And you get crap like start/stop and cylinder deactivation. No thanks. I will say the 2018+ trucks are the best RAM quality yet. Not that that's saying too much. I can't stand the flippy mirrors that stick WAY out (stupid design).

No noises from our Super Cab. Doubt this is a thing for 2017+ trucks especially. We prefer the extended cab. Massive rear access area (door swings completely open to truck bed). Easier to load than the smaller "real" style rear doors. We put our MTB bikes in the rear. So guess that would be a preference.

The one advantage I'll give to Dodge is the tighter turning radius. That is nice.

 

[ScottPC]

Unless something has changed with the 6.4 I owned a 2500 with the 6.4 and ran 87 octane for 80K miles.

Here's what I found for the 2020 and would think it would apply to 2021 unless a change was made,

"Do not use E-85 flex fuel or ethanol blends greater than 15% in this engine. This engine is designed to meet all emissions regulations and provide satisfactory fuel economy and performance when using high quality unleaded gasoline having a posted octane number range of 87 to 89 as specified by the (R+M)/2 method. The use of 89 octane “Plus” gasoline is recommended for optimum performance and fuel economy."

I suspect the website is wrong.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

From what I understand, the 1/2 ton Rams are a newer design and of good quality. They have done very well in comparison reviews of full size trucks. Also made in the USA if that is important to you. I'm not a fan of cylinder deactivation but it's no more complicated than the turbo chargers on F150 engines. The 3/4 and 1 ton rams are still made in Mexico on an older design. The Ford Super Duty is a newer design, made in USA and generally more positive reviews.

 

[GeorgeHayduke]

Ram quality is lacking. And Chrysler electronic fun times. And you get crap like start/stop and cylinder deactivation. No thanks. I will say the 2018+ trucks are the best RAM quality yet. Not that that's saying too much. I can't stand the flippy mirrors that stick WAY out (stupid design).

No noises from our Super Cab. Doubt this is a thing for 2017+ trucks especially. We prefer the extended cab. Massive rear access area (door swings completely open to truck bed). Easier to load than the smaller "real" style rear doors. We put our MTB bikes in the rear. So guess that would be a preference.

The one advantage I'll give to Dodge is the tighter turning radius. That is nice.

No one will disagree with you that Chrysler products certainly were pretty awful back in the 90s and early 2000s but Ram trucks since the 2014 interior redesign are a completely different story. We're all loyal to our favorite brands and that's fine, but after 70,000 hard miles on my Ram 2500 it's been the most reliable and comfortable vehicle I've owned, including a number of Ford and Nissan trucks. There's no need to go out of your way to disparage other brands, all the domestic heavy duty trucks are pretty great these days.

Mirrors that stick out to the side help you see a trailer better. You may not like the aesthetics, but functionally they're great for how I use them, especially since you can fold the whole assembly in when trails get tight.

I'm glad your Supercab doesn't squeak. It's something I've encountered personally on Rangers and it's pretty annoying. There are enough comments on ExPo and other Ford forums, including the 2017+ generation of Super Duties, that it's worth considering. I would definitely agree that the suicide style door with no B pillar gives you better access than a smaller rear door like you get in a GM and Tundra extended cabs or 3rd gen Ram cabs.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

How is $120.00 Obnoxious? 15 qts of Semi-Syn oil, and a filter. Do you want a tech to charge $5.00 in labor to rack a 7k truck?

Lol... I've never once paid labor for an oil change.

 

[sumnrfam]

All valid points and I don't disagree with any of them, in fact I've marveled at your build. I don't have the skills to do that on my own! My rationale...the shortest I could go is a supercab short bed, which buys me 11inches in wheel base only about a 7 % change. This would be much more significant if going from a 2 door jeep to a four door. Since the Tremor package runs around 4K, more than a non tremor, I don't think I could do the mods for much less, though there are still some mods I would want to do like the 17 inch wheels. Hopefully, selling a new Tremor wheel set could offset that or I have a dedicated set for winter travel (common in my area.) My thinking is that with the Tremor package, I can get pretty close to a stock vehicle that would allow me time to upgrade as I felt things were necessary, keeping the warranty intact. I do like the idea of the Tremor's trail control and rock crawling drive modes, realizing none of these things are truly necessary, but in some situations can be terrific. This modes aren't avialable in non-tremors. As far as the engine, it looks like the 7.3 has a pretty flat torque curve of 400 ft-lbs starting at 1500rpms while peaking at 475 near 4000rpms, the 6.2 is about 25% less than that even though it peaks at 430. This is not a big deal, but I live in the mountains and drive mountain passes on every trip so having a little extra power is nice. The 7.3 is paired with the newer 10spd transmission which I think will be useful in a lot of situations both on and off road. As you suggest, the big question is the reliability with the 7.3 and 10 speed transmission? At least, they are into the 2nd year of production. I'm not aware of any major concerns so far and having some piece of mind warranty wise will help with that. Anyway you raise some valid points and if I can find a really good local shop to help with some of the upgrades, going with the super cab would be ideal. Thanks for your input and this is an of example of why I decided to make this post.

Great thoughts,, and I would be all in on the Tremor and just leave it alone IF,, they would offer that package on the Supercab,, but alas,,, no luck,, so I am going the route Peter @ Faith @montypower went,, and ordered the Supercab,, ;-)

 

[Ducstrom]

My 2c.
I had a '14 ram 1500 and now a '19 f350, eqivilent XLT,SLT trim levels.
Ram had a better interior than the Ford does.
I prefer the suicide rear doors, easier to get awkward things in and out of the rear seat area. Although, if I had kids, or was in the back daily, I'd opt for the forward opening doors.

No squeaking from the Ford doors yet, but my old GMC with the suicide doors squeaked a lot.

 

[ScottPC]

My 2c.
I had a '14 ram 1500 and now a '19 f350, eqivilent XLT,SLT trim levels.
Ram had a better interior than the Ford does.
I prefer the suicide rear doors, easier to get awkward things in and out of the rear seat area. Although, if I had kids, or was in the back daily, I'd opt for the forward opening doors.

No squeaking from the Ford doors yet, but my old GMC with the suicide doors squeaked a lot.

Great points...my plan is to remove the rear seats, and build storage for camera gear and quick access stuff and then a platform area for our dog. It's pretty easy for me to check out crew cab trucks but I haven't seen super cabs on the lot. Frankly, there are very few HDs on the lots period.

 

[socceronly]

Great thoughts,, and I would be all in on the Tremor and just leave it alone IF,, they would offer that package on the Supercab,, but alas,,, no luck,, so I am going the route Peter @ Faith @montypower went,, and ordered the Supercab,, ;-)

Is there any reason, tehcnically, those same tremor parts could not go on a superduty Regular cab or Super cab?

Thanks

 

[IdaSHO]

I'm certainly a Ford truck guy, but RAM is making some serious trucks these days.
Especially when considering a gasser, I don't think you can go wrong with either.

If you want a diesel, Id point towards the RAM.

For what its worth regarding octane....
Rolling at 12,000 lbs with our junk (2011 6.2 Superduty), we see roughly a 1.5 MPG gain going from 87 to 93.

I'm still struggling to decide if I care. I guess I could run the numbers with regards to cost and mileage....
But I just don't care. The truck runs amazing with either. Just have to keep feeding it fuel.

 

[ScottPC]

Is there any reason, tehcnically, those same tremor parts could not go on a superduty Regular cab or Super cab?

Thanks

I would think the only tremor specific item that might not fit on the other configurations are the running boards. I would think it will become an option if they recognize the demand.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

There should be lots of aftermarket alternatives that are just as good as the Tremor parts. Especially something like running boards.