Do any of you nuts out there have any experience with Dodges new 6.4 liter Hemi? I am looking to replace my current truck and want to go up to.a 3/4 ton but can't justify the extra $8000 for the Cummins diesel. Ideally the Cummins would be my choice but I have to balance needs versus wants. I am not looking at the fancy equipment packages because I don't need or want all the gee whiz gadgets.

I have slowly out grown the 1/2 ton trucks. Mine has almost 200,000 miles, 14 deer, and to many turkeys to even count. I have never had a problem with it.

I looked at the Tradesman package with a few upgrades and am pretty sure it will fit my needs very well. I just don't know a lot about the 6.4 Hemi. The reviews on line are very mixed, those that understand that a gasser is not comparable to the Cummins like them. And there are those that are trying to compare it with.diesel power. I don't know how you could expect the specks to rival diesel power delivered by the cummins. In my mind the 6.4 should give me more than enough power when pulling the 5th wheel camper with my boat behind and the other loaded trailers that I pull are technically 1/2 ton towabe but the work a half ton pretty hard.

The RAM, in my mind, is a good choice mate, but as for the difference between diesel and petrol, that is something that you need to weigh up according to your needs. Dodge have always built a quality product and everyone I know that has a RAM loves them.

It sounds like you do a lot of towing, so the diesel is the obvious choice there, but is it worth the extra dollars. The 6.4 ltr petrol will do the job as well, but at the cost of increased fuel consumption. The upside of the petrol motor is the performance it will offer over diesel, especially if you like to tinker with the motor and increase its performance.

Vince wrote:

The 6.4 ltr petrol will do the job as well, The upside of the petrol motor is the performance it will offer over diesel.

Vince, I'm sorry but I got to disagree with you completely on both points !!!

Diesels are in a class of their own when it comes to towing and hauling.
The performance potential of today's diesels is simply remarkable.

IMO the decisions to go to diesel comes down to the weight your pulling and a consideration as to distance you'll travel.

I currently own a GMC HD with a Duramax......I don't foresee ever returning to a gasser. The decision was tough but I don't regret it.

chambered221 wrote:

Vince wrote: The 6.4 ltr petrol will do the job as well, The upside of the petrol motor is the performance it will offer over diesel. Vince, I'm sorry but I got to disagree with you completely on both points !!! Diesels are in a class of their own when it comes to towing and hauling. The performance potential of today's diesels is simply remakable. IMO the decisions to go to diesel comes down to the weight your pulling and a consideration as to distance you'll travel. I currently own a GMC HD with a Duramax......I don't foresee ever returning to a gasser. The decision was tough but I don't regret it.

Chambered old mate, I agree totally with the diesel for towing and hauling...they are, as I said, the obvious choice when you want to tow or do big miles on the freeway. Torque is the realm of the diesel. Diesel engines are coming ahead in leaps and bounds in the performance stakes, but the performance I mentioned is the type of performance a petrol motor delivers when "hot rodding". To get the performance from a diesel that a petrol engine is capable takes mucho money and work. Even then the same money and work on a petrol engine will deliver more "in ya face" performance.

I would love to have a Cummins but I can't justify the initial cost and the increased maintanace and fuel cost of a diesel. The loads I pull/ haul are being pulled by a 1/2 ton Ram with the 5.7 Hemi but I feel that I am working the 1/2 ton very hard. By what I am reading in reviews the 6.4 is capable of 13 mpg while pulling and 17 to 18 unloaded on the highway. I don't know of anyone that has a Ram with the 6.4 yet to pick there brain.

First of all I'd get a truck like chambered 221 for towing instead of the Dodge. We have a new Dodge 3/4 ton with the Cummins at work and I woulndn't own one of them. It's bad enough I have to ride in it from time to time at work. It's one ugly tinny P.O.S. Ya freeze to death in it in the cold! My 1992 GMC 3/4 ton with 179,000 kms with a 350 gas is a far better truck and smoother and quieter to ride in.

JMHO LOL

1895ss, I expect you to offer wiesy your 1992 for his new RAM 6.4 but only if he gave you some cash.

wiersy111 wrote:

In my mind the 6.4 should give me more than enough power when pulling the 5th wheel camper with my boat behind

wiersy, when you said you wanted to do an Elvis land-train pull in your original post I had a hard time thinking "Cummings, Cummings, Cummings, Rawhide!!!"

I've got a couple of suggestions for you.

First, you should be asking this question to the guys on one of the RAM Truck Forums. I belong to several. If your embarrassed to ask on one of those forums, then maybe you already know the answer.

Second, you should come down to Texas and buy your truck here. It's Truck Month in Texas and I don't think you would have to pay 8K more for the Cummings. Air Fare is cheap to DFW and you can break the truck in driving back home. Use TrueCar.com to get some offers down here. You will be amazed at the difference.

Third, have you driven the the 6.4 in the RAM 2500? I only ask because I have driven the 6.4 in the Challenger and there was no "T" to speak of just a little "t". I'm sure they use a different cam in the truck version but the 6.4 Hemi in the Challenger didn't have the near the low-end torque of the LS1 in my GTO.

all I can think with fuel prices over here still high
diesel $1.07NZ PER LITRE so thats x by 4? to get gallon then factor in exchange rate say .60
and all you think is
GLUG GLUG GLUG caching goes the cash register

If you need a 3/4 ton - you probably need a diesel....

I have a Silverado K2500HD with the Duramax. I use it for hauling horses and a weekly jaunt of pulling a dump trailer with four tons of horse crap in it. The difference in performance towing and hauling versus the 1/2 ton is night and day. When hauling the full loads and it doesn't even act like they are there. The only time I felt the truck was working hard to haul was when I was hooked on to a 38 foot box trailer with total GVWR of close to 17000# pulling into a 25 mph headwind.

But - the cost difference due to fuel is not an issue. The Duramax /Allison combo gets 20mpg on the highway and 13-15mpg towing. My gas trucks would get 15-17 tops and 7-10 towing and hauling. The numbers look like a small difference but the 5 mpg difference is 20%. Around here diesel is running about 5-10% more per gallon. ($2.30 gas and $2.50 diesel, that is down about a dollar from a couple of months ago too Elvis.) That is 5-10% in my pocket total cost of operation.

Oil changes are less frequent in the big diesels. I service about every 10000 miles for oil change and fuel filter change. So it can cost twice as much as the gas truck but I do it half as often. - same cost of operation.

Life time operation. All vehicles are lasting longer and 200000 miles is an expectation from me. I plan to keep the duramax to 300000 and beyond. Still running as strong as new at 170000.

So- the initial upcharge for the diesel would be the biggest obstacle.

Cummins are noisy beasts too, Powerstrokes just a little better and the Duramax purrs like a kitten. IMHO

to answer your question = no clue about the 6.4 Hemi.

The Duramax diesel engine is a Isuzu industrial engine that GM converted to an automotive diesel. One hell of an engine.

I had several where I worked. Ford and Cummins can't match or compare with the Duramax(Isuzu) engine.

Pick your flavor. It's Truck Month in Texas!

Bushmaster wrote:

The Duramax diesel engine is a Isuzu industrial engine that GM converted to an automotive diesel. One hell of an engine. I had several where I worked. Ford and Cummins can't match or compare with the Duramax(Isuzu) engine.

Yep I agree! The new Dodge we have at work now, replaced an aging '05 GMC duramax that had just over 500,00 km (just over 300,000 miles) on it with virtually no problems at all since new. It was still going strong but the government I work for usually replaces diesels at 400,00 kms. In the summer it was a pilot truck for the Striper and in the winter we used it for hauling a bobcat and trailer. The '05 GM was by far still a better truck then the new Dodge and pulled the bobcat and trailer better and used a lot less fuel while doing the same job, winter and summer.

slimjim wrote:

1895ss, I expect you to offer wiesy your 1992 for his new RAM 6.4 but only if he gave you some cash.

Yep, a lot of cash!! On second thought, nope I wouldn't trade him. My '92 still looks much like it just came out of the showroom.

1992 GMC 3/4 ton 4x4 350 (5.7)v8 5 speed manual trans.

wiersy, my Dodge dealer has one 2015 2500 Laramie in stock with a 6.4 Hemi.

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Yep, they want 8K more for the diesel. So either the 6.4 is so popular they can't keep them in stock or so few people get them that they keep one around while all the rest are diesels.

Want me to go test drive them for you and compare? Say yes!!!