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With the birth of another LAW Motorsports CMC car, I now need to get it to the race track. Have been trying to determine the proper tow vehicle. Not sure if I will have a enclosed trailer at first, but that is the goal. Trying to determine if i need diesel or gas. Was looking at a Ram 2500 gas with 5.7L Hemi, but have read where they may not be the desired vehicle.
Any suggestions will be appreciated as well as any smart ass comments.
thanks in advance.
Randy
Stay away from the 2500 with the 5.7L gas engine. It's a 6500lb truck and that v8 while great in the 1500, is a total DOG in the bigger trucks.
If you ever plan on an enclosed, get the diesel hands down. Personally, I would look for an 04.5 or 05 and stay away from the 4x4's. The front axles are junk. Dodge changed away from the old Dana 60's around 2002 and went with the same shit Chevy puts under their trucks. I had one with 60k miles on it and the front end was shot. Every ball joint, wheel bearing and axle bearing and u-joint was trashed. Was going to be $3000 in parts and labor to fix it. I was going to swap in a Dana 60 for around $3500, but decided to get rid of it when diesel started creeping up.
Biggest issue about getting the enclosed trailer is storing it and having to daily drive a monster so you can tow it later. I scaled down to a 1500 and the open trailer and am happy about it!
Randy,
Give me $30K for my PSD and I'll go find a nice 8.1 gas HD in a heartbeat.
My 2500HD with a 6.0 has been a great truck and has done an adequate job......but after I pulled my car once with my father's 8.1 with the allison transmission that is definitely what I would purchase next time.
You might as well ask "what is better, a Ford or a Chevy?" :lol:
I've been towing a 22' enclosed trailer with a 5.3l 2wd Suburban for two years now. Its much slower and gets worse mileage than my 2500 diesel dodge did...but for six or seven times a year its worth it because the rest of the year its seven passenger capable, rides much better, and is fully enclosed.
I'd suggest 2wd because they ride better, are lighter, and generally cost less to insure. The only time I've seen someone need 4wd at the track was because the guy put the two truck into the mud on purpose.
I'd prefer another diesel personally, but do the math to see what it'll take to pay it off. Diesel trucks carry a ridiculous premium over the gas counterparts.
If you willing to spend the $$$, get the diesel.
Most of the trucks I have seen are diesel, but they are about $10k more or so. From what I hear, diesel pulls better with more power, and they tend to last longer, and I assume better mileage.
Thanks for the feedback, and comments.
Randy :)
been pulling mine with 2004 Ram 2500 hemi... 95K miles... total purchase price was 27K NEW... plenty of power but 11 MPG :shock: Great for local tracks kinda sucked last year when fuel was high... I have abused the truck and run 80+ mph with the trailer sometimes...
In my opinion fuel economy from a cost stand point should be ignored.
Think of MPG in terms of how often you have to stop and fill up.
I sense that Mitch misses his Big Block Chevy. I've heard a lot of good things about the 8.1L. They all come with the Allison as well like the Duramax. I think GM brought back the 8.1L this year. I had a Chevy 2500HD with a 6.0L gas. It towed okay but still lacking the torque of the diesel.
If you're looking in the used market a Ford with a 7.3L or Duramax is the best option.
FWIW, when I began racing in 2003, I towed first with my wife's 1500, 5.7L Chevy van. It did a damn decent job.
Later, I switched to a 1995 5.0L Ford X-cab. It towed very well, albeit not very fast. ~16mpg in mixed driving, ~9mpg towing about 6000-7000lbs.
Moved to a brand new F250 CC TD. Best mixed mileage has been 17mpg, best straight highway usage is 20mpg. Best towing mileage has been 14mpg.
From experience - once you decide to buy a diesel, you'll wonder why you waited.
Adam, your wife had a full size Van?! Was it down by the river? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Ginsberg