Hard Case In Florida

[ShadeTreeMech]

What makes me scratch my head is someone concerned about fuel consumption using 3 times the fuel I do per mile.

Instead of the v10, why not go for the Cummins diesel? Economy figures in the 20 mpg range are common, and 30 mpg is possible. You'll lose 4 cylinders and 65 hp, and gain 10 ft llbs torque. My uncle with a 2500 with the cummins and a 5 speed manual, 4wd and a crew cab regularly got 20 mpg and could haul anything.

The 8L V10 has 300 hp, 450 lb ft, and gets single digit fuel economy.

The 5.9L I6 has 235 hp, 460 lb ft torque and gets 15-30 mpg.

Seems like a simple decision to me......

[hybriddriveguy]

Check out re-involt.com for an idea with your Dodge Ram.
It's sort of pricey, but you will get the results you are looking for.

[cfguy2000]

Calm down.

You take things way to seriously.

Originally Posted by Thymeclock

If you believe that, you must be profoundly ignorant. Read historical accounts about what train travel was like with wood burning locomotives. Read accounts of what living in any city was like with FAR dirtier forms of heating. Horse manure in the streets was not pleasant to live with. People died much younger than today and rarely went to doctors. Cancer itself was not known as a diagnosis, so it is an assumption to think that cancer did not exist then. No one knows whether people might have died of it or not. As most people today tend to do, you are viewing the past through rose-colored glasses.



Oil causes WAR? Wars have existed since the beginning of time. You can blame human nature for that, not oil.



So you are insinuating that oil causes poverty too? You can blame politics and government policies for that. Oil does not cause inflation, government does - they print what is in your wallet!



So if it is so terrible, move someplace else.

[trikkonceptz]

You know you do not have to sacrifice the usefulness of a pickup and improve your mpg's.

While I agree that the V10 ram has abismal mileage, why not consider moving into a new Ford Diesel. I have had the pleasure of driving both the single and Dually versions of the new diesel motors and on both trips had the meters pegged at 30mpg. Which I think is insane considering the the size and weight of the truck. And I say pegged because they only read as high as 30mpg, which I thought was funny ... The trip average was 31.4 on the single wheel and 30.9 on the Dually. Both were trips were over 100 miles and mostly highway, where I carried a maximum speed of 60mph, 5 below the posted.

But, then again if you get someone behind the wheel like me, then why not imagine that you could sustain 30+ mpg in such a heavy truck? So do not be discouraged by having to jump into a prius from a truck, you can keep a truck and retain the mileage of most mid sized cars, or at least it appears that way with Ford's new line of diesel engines...

[smaridge01]

I appreciate all the good ideas. The decision to go with the V10 was made 10 years ago, when I lived on the side of a mountain with an old gravel logging road for a driveway, and needed to haul building supplies all over the county. If I needed a truck full time right now, I would definitely consider that diesel! (And then start looking for a serious bio-diesel source.)

As it is, I live in-town in Florida, and only need its full capacity rarely. So it makes more sense to get a true sipper for my daily commute, and eke out as many M's per G as I can, while I keep the truck parked out back.

If I had the money, I would love to convert the truck to EV, just to make the point. But I don't have that kind of money, so I will have to make my point other ways. (Like, getting/building an electric bike, etc.)

Thanks again everyone!

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by cfguy2000

Calm down.

You take things way to seriously.

You are correct. I do take things seriously.

But I don't need to be told to "calm down". My response to you was appropriately serious, but calm. May you also be calm, too.