Thoughts on the Eco-diesel Rams

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gliderider06

gliderider06

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In the market for a new Ram 1500, and curious about the eco diesel rams. Any thoughts, experiences, etc with them?
 
I don't know anything at all about them but I will tell you this: Only reason I'd buy a diesel pickup is because it says CUMMINS somewhere on the side...........
 
My dad has had one for two years with no troubles. Deffinetly not the power of our Cummins pickups, but he does pull his enclosed car trailer with his duster in it down interstate. Gets around 23 to 25 not pulling.
 
I was eyeballing them when I bought my new 1500. About $7k higher in price. I was told by a few owners they were getting damn close to 30 mpg empty.
I decided on a 1500 hemi Crew cab demo with extremely low miles. I haven't heard any bad.
 
Customer of mine has one,he loves the fuel mileage.
He said local dealer could not ressolve a check engine light and was refereed to another dealer fifty miles away that had a diesel tech who fixed it.
I beleive it an italian v6 turbo ....He loves his truck.
 
TXDart said:
Customer of mine has one,he loves the fuel mileage.
He said local dealer could not ressolve a check engine light and was refereed to another dealer fifty miles away that had a diesel tech who fixed it.
I beleive it an italian v6 turbo ....He loves his truck.
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That's correct. Italian company VM Motori makes the engine. The company was acquired by Fiat. So it's a fiat motor in a Ram. That said, we have a regular customer with one. He loves it. That's the only one I've seen so far. It's a nice truck.
 
I have heard 30 mpg many times. So figure 25ish hwy since people tend to embelish... either way I would have one. I dont need to pull a house and the newer Cummins are said to get not so hot mpg.
 
mbaird said:
I have heard 30 mpg many times. So figure 25ish hwy since people tend to embelish... either way I would have one. I dont need to pull a house and the newer Cummins are said to get not so hot mpg.
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I met a guy w/ one, he just got back from a texas trip at the time , he was in love w/ his. Said it got outstanding mileage !
 
We have two work trucks the guys that drive them have put over 100k on them with no problems. One even sold his personal truck and drives this one all the time.
 
All I know is a tow truck driver told me they bought 4 new ones and had nothing but trouble with them. They sold 3 of the 4 before they were a year old. And were tryin to get rid of the 4th one.
 
My good friend has one and loves it. Has owned it about a year. He gets 28 MPG gallon empty. No issues yet.
 
I am glad to avoid the BlueDef thing with my Gen II Cummins.

No idea how that impacts operating cost.
 
I had been told the service costs were astronomical for just regular oil and filter changes, but have no first hand knowlage
 
I talked with 2 dealers today. One had 2 larime with the eco diesel at $58000. I'll be dammed if i pay that much for a truck. The other dealer didn't want anything to do with them for various mechanical reasons. Looks like i will be sticking with a Hemi.
Thanks!
 
67Dart273 said:
I don't know anything at all about them but I will tell you this: Only reason I'd buy a diesel pickup is because it says CUMMINS somewhere on the side...........
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Now I know why I see so many of those new Nissan Titans getting sold. Have a customer with one that is deleted and tuned. Dynoed at 480 rwhp and 900lb ft tq. Not bad for a little 5.0 v8 Cummins.
 
I have a 2014 Eco with 97k. Did have to put a heater core (not really a core but was part of the cooling system) in it at 75k, but that’s it. The short of it is I would buy another one tomorrow. I am Mopar or no car, have three Cummings, and just have a sick disease for anything Mopar AND Diesel.

Here is my point, you can justify anything, but I really have had minimal issue out of a 97k truck. And, I average about 23 MPG but I am primarily on the highway and set my cruise at 80.I have never pulled with it but, I bought for business, that’s it. I imagine the MPG could be improved on if I tried.

Maintance cost are high compared to a gas engine, but no more than the other Dodge w/Cummins. I would not personally consider them high at all, but again, keep in mind, at the end of the day it is no different than any other Diesel truck. I have heard of others who have a problem with there’s, but it’s probably not fair to say they are problematic when less than 1% have issues. Run the stats on gas engine problems.

Good truck, no problems, and I would buy another one.......
 
Not sure on diesel prices in US But when I bought my ram hemi in 2014 the difference in economy of diesel vs cyl deactivated hemi and price adder for diesel did not make sense .
May be a different story if you tow a lot or are a high mileage driver. Hemi mileage not so hot when towing
 
I worked as a mechanic for Fiat Chrysler Jeep Dodge. I wouldn’t buy the half ton diesel. They run good but I have seen a much higher percentage of catistrophic engine failures than any other current Dodge engine combination. I don’t know if it is the numbers produced but they seem to fail a lot more in the half ton pickup platform than they do in the Grand Cherokee.
 
I can't talk for the eco but I have a 2014 6.7 Cummins 3500, love it, mileage is about 25+ on the open highway. The def sucks but hopefully soon I'll be deleting it off the truck. As far as maintenance it's not that bad, I refill my def maybe 6 months, two fuel filters kinda stink since they are a dealer only, but had two oil changes at the dealer until I learned they were putting regular oil in and not full synthetic like factory from Cummins, so I do it myself, cost about $100 with filter and rotella full syn. And my mileage will only get better once my truck is officially broke in at 100k miles.
 
Glad you posted this, we may be in the market for a ‘14+ 1500 in the next few months and I’ve been considering the ecodiesel. Gotta find a deal on one though, don’t wanna pay more than low-mid 20s and I would more than likely have it deleted to do away with the problematic emissions crap
 
Compare the price difference between the engines. I never thought to ask if diesel warranty is longer than gas?
 
If you plan on towing check the tow rating with the diesel in whatever trim line you look to purchase. Ram has them listed by year , trim and drive. My '16 big horn 1500 quadcab ,4wd w/hemi , 6'4" bed and 3:92 rear has a higher tow rating than the same truck with the diesel . Just because it's a diesel doesn't make it the best engine for the job (referring to 1500's only). I have heard and know of many engine failures and new '17's are still sitting on lots. Here the Resale/trade in values are also lower with this drive train. Used Laramies and Longhorns can be found for considerably less than Hemi equipped on the web.

https://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/towing_guide/pdf/2016_ram_1500_towing_charts.pdf
 
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