What did you trade for your EcoDiesel?

[Mobile4]

Except that I got a really good trade on the tire deal because they accepted the good Goodyears as new, I probably wouldn't have done it until they were wornout

Good to know. Thanks

 

[bill-e]

I love my Ram but I am missing my trunk and swinging tailgate from the Ridgeline. If I had it to do over again I'd find one with Ram Boxes

 

[MaxSteelDave]

My brother had a ridgeline so I know exactly what you mean about the tailgate. he just got a Laramie 2500 Cummins

 

[DieselDude]

Do people actually use a Honda ridgeline for a truck?

 

[bill-e]

Everything from Towing, camping, loaded with wood pellets a half ton at a time though I bet I could have taken a ton, dirt, mulch and more. Wasn't used on a construction site but was an absolutely great homeowner's truck. Where I live it's off to the dump every weekend and I would tote my gun cart and guns to matches every weekend during the season.

I decided to trade it because I had to make a decision as it had 9yrs/90k on it. Fell in love with the RAM but as a realist I know that I'm going to miss the Ridgeline in the snow, which we get a lot of, in the cold, which we get a lot of (would put out heat in a quarter mile..unbelievable) and I already miss the trunk and tailgate.

Now I'm going to get a bigger camper and get better than the 8mpg I would get with the Honda while towing.

 

[BoostN]

Good info @bill-e . Honda makes good, reliable trucks.

 

[SnowDrift]

Nice camper. what size are you going with now for the EcoDiesel?

 

[bill-e]

Nice camper. what size are you going with now for the EcoDiesel?

Nothing too big...don't want the fold out beds...too much setup and drying out. Something around 25-27' overall and between 4500-5500lbs. Slide outs a must.

You can get the same size trailer for 2Klbs less now a days.

 

[Jasonwm]

Traded in a 2004 ram 1500 SLT, 4.7L 5spd with the sport appearance package for a 2014 tradesman. Was looking for used, but new came with the features I really wanted! Ecodiesel and air ride. Rear slider and fog lights to be added, and that is all I need. Going from 15.3mpg combined to 26.4mpg is HUGE!

 

[BoostN]

Traded in a 2004 ram 1500 SLT, 4.7L 5spd with the sport appearance package for a 2014 tradesman. Was looking for used, but new came with the features I really wanted! Ecodiesel and air ride. Rear slider and fog lights to be added, and that is all I need. Going from 15.3mpg combined to 26.4mpg is HUGE!

Huge improvement is right. I'm glad to see everyone is going WAY UP in the MPG department.

 

[Ramconvert]

Traded in my 07 Tundra on my first Ram (2014 v6 8speed). I really didn't need that much power. The only towing I do is my boat that's about 3500lb. The 17mpgs were rough.

My 2015 ED wasn't solely based on saving money at the pump. If I'm being honest with myself it was 1/2 mpg and 1/2 cool factor.

 

[Bruce]

I came from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Just yesterday I drove my 2015 ED home. I was pulling a 23' Hybrid TT similar to the one in Bill-e's post above. The Jeep did it but not well. I abused that poor thing for 8yrs towing all over NJ down to FL and back. Fuel mileage was 17-18 without the camper and down to 8-9 with.

My drive home from the dealer yesterday got me 26mpg during the 140 mile trip. Love it already! Can't wait to hook up the camper.

 

[BoostN]

I came from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Just yesterday I drove my 2015 ED home. I was pulling a 23' Hybrid TT similar to the one in Bill-e's post above. The Jeep did it but not well. I abused that poor thing for 8yrs towing all over NJ down to FL and back. Fuel mileage was 17-18 without the camper and down to 8-9 with.

My drive home from the dealer yesterday got me 26mpg during the 140 mile trip. Love it already! Can't wait to hook up the camper.

Welcome to the forum Bruce! Be sure to start a thread and share some pictures of your setup. We'd love to see them.

 

[Brady]

Found this thread just browsing through, and ironically it fit the bill as I just sold my beloved 04 Yukon this evening.

Part of affording the new Ram was saying goodbye to Big Blue.

When I learned the news of my son on his way, my wife, daughter, & I decided the 03 Chevy extended cab I had just wasn't gonna cut it. So I sold the Chevy to my buddy, (who has proceeded to beat the living tar out of it) and bought the ' blue manvan' from another buddy. It was a great vehicle. 168k miles+ and still ran like a top, albeit 13.5-14mpgs at a time. 4.8L/4spd auto/open 3.73/4wd. Hauled what I needed mostly, towed the boat, got the groceries, and dragged my butt to work. Only had to replace a hub bearing and a heater core in the time I owned it. (Btw a heater core on a GMT800 is a huge PITA job). NEVER left me stranded, nor did the Chevy for that matter. And I even got more then I originally paid for it, less the Denali wheels and tires I put on it. Sad to see it go, but was necessary.

And I do still have a Chevy. 1990 K1500, Standard cab, long bed, 350/5spd. She's real basic - no AC, rubber floor, and manual everything. That's the truck for mulch loads, salty winter roads, and beating on.

So what did I trade for the Ram? Only my soul to the man for the next 60 months is all

 

[BoostN]

Found this thread just browsing through, and ironically it fit the bill as I just sold my beloved 04 Yukon this evening.

Part of affording the new Ram was saying goodbye to Big Blue. View attachment 111View attachment 109

When I learned the news of my son on his way, my wife, daughter, & I decided the 03 Chevy extended cab I had just wasn't gonna cut it. So I sold the Chevy to my buddy, (who has proceeded to beat the living tar out of it) and bought the ' blue manvan' from another buddy. It was a great vehicle. 168k miles+ and still ran like a top, albeit 13.5-14mpgs at a time. 4.8L/4spd auto/open 3.73/4wd. Hauled what I needed mostly, towed the boat, got the groceries, and dragged my butt to work. Only had to replace a hub bearing and a heater core in the time I owned it. (Btw a heater core on a GMT800 is a huge PITA job). NEVER left me stranded, nor did the Chevy for that matter. And I even got more then I originally paid for it, less the Denali wheels and tires I put on it. Sad to see it go, but was necessary.

And I do still have a Chevy. 1990 K1500, Standard cab, long bed, 350/5spd. View attachment 110 She's real basic - no AC, rubber floor, and manual everything. That's the truck for mulch loads, salty winter roads, and beating on.

So what did I trade for the Ram? Only my soul to the man for the next 60 months is all

That 60 month thing..yes, it makes you think about skipping that new truck. I sure thought about when buying new.

Good GM story, I've had may GM trucks that never gave me any problems.

 

[Bruce]

It took me over three years to pull the trigger.

 

[Ramconvert]

Found this thread just browsing through, and ironically it fit the bill as I just sold my beloved 04 Yukon this evening.

Part of affording the new Ram was saying goodbye to Big Blue. View attachment 111View attachment 109

When I learned the news of my son on his way, my wife, daughter, & I decided the 03 Chevy extended cab I had just wasn't gonna cut it. So I sold the Chevy to my buddy, (who has proceeded to beat the living tar out of it) and bought the ' blue manvan' from another buddy. It was a great vehicle. 168k miles+ and still ran like a top, albeit 13.5-14mpgs at a time. 4.8L/4spd auto/open 3.73/4wd. Hauled what I needed mostly, towed the boat, got the groceries, and dragged my butt to work. Only had to replace a hub bearing and a heater core in the time I owned it. (Btw a heater core on a GMT800 is a huge PITA job). NEVER left me stranded, nor did the Chevy for that matter. And I even got more then I originally paid for it, less the Denali wheels and tires I put on it. Sad to see it go, but was necessary.

And I do still have a Chevy. 1990 K1500, Standard cab, long bed, 350/5spd. View attachment 110 She's real basic - no AC, rubber floor, and manual everything. That's the truck for mulch loads, salty winter roads, and beating on.

So what did I trade for the Ram? Only my soul to the man for the next 60 months is all

Sounds like Chevy has been pretty good to you! I know there 350 and 327 motors are almost bullet proof.

So was MPG what kept you from buying a new Silverado? I know it's what kept me from buying a new Tundra.

 

[Brady]

Sounds like Chevy has been pretty good to you! I know there 350 and 327 motors are almost bullet proof.

So was MPG what kept you from buying a new Silverado? I know it's what kept me from buying a new Tundra.

Absolutely. If I was gonna go with a new half-ton gasser, I would've went with a Chevy. It's what I've known & trusted. In my opinion most all manufacturers are pretty close in just about every aspect. So why not stay same brand? But this Ram breaks the mold. Gives me what GM is too scared to do. I've been eyeing it forever.

 

[Ramconvert]

Absolutely. If I was gonna go with a new half-ton gasser, I would've went with a Chevy. It's what I've known & trusted. In my opinion most all manufacturers are pretty close in just about every aspect. So why not stay same brand? But this Ram breaks the mold. Gives me what GM is too scared to do. I've been eyeing it forever.

I couldn't agree more. But I don't think fear is keeping others from putting a diesel in a light duty truck. I just think ram was in a unique situation. GM and Motori had already done most of the R&D on this 3.0 motor. This freed up a lot of money for Ram to engineer an acceptable emissions system.

I think Ford would of been the only one who could of funded all the R&D costs for a new diesel in a 1500. They really are in the drivers seat because of how many trucks they sell. But they have already gone all in with ecoboost.

Now with the sales success ram has had. Toyota and Nissan are putting in the 5.0 cummins, but I don't think this is going to prove to be a good idea. That cummins is probably a fine motor but far to powerful and in turn not efficient enough to make sense for most light duty truck buyers. Lack of power was never the issue in the 1500s. Unless they figure out a way to squeeze 20/26/21 mpg. Those would be minimum numbers to be successful.

Nissan is trying to find a nich market between light duty 1500s and heavy duty 2500/3500. I think this is a mistake. If you buy the Nissan. Your buying a less capable Ram 2500 with its cummins.

Rams claim to fame with this diesel is its mpg rating with enough real world power for what this level of truck is designed to do.

Chevy is the pivoting brand here. Will they follow ford with turbo charged smaller displacement gassers. Or follow Ram with a small diesel. 2020 may well be the end of diesels in the U.S. So I wouldn't be surprised if they go turbo/gas. If they do go small diesel. This could force Ford into a diesel (assuming they see there sales shrink). If this were to happen. All of the "big three" could push the technology to perform well even under the new 2020 epa regulations!! Either way. I don't think they can stand idle for to much longer.

 

[BoostN]

I couldn't agree more. But I don't think fear is keeping others from putting a diesel in a light duty truck. I just think ram was in a unique situation. GM and Motori had already done most of the R&D on this 3.0 motor. This freed up a lot of money for Ram to engineer an acceptable emissions system.

I think Ford would of been the only one who could of funded all the R&D costs for a new diesel in a 1500. They really are in the drivers seat because of how many trucks they sell. But they have already gone all in with ecoboost.

Now with the sales success ram has had. Toyota and Nissan are putting in the 5.0 cummins, but I don't think this is going to prove to be a good idea. That cummins is probably a fine motor but far to powerful and in turn not efficient enough to make sense for most light duty truck buyers. Lack of power was never the issue in the 1500s. Unless they figure out a way to squeeze 20/26/21 mpg. Those would be minimum numbers to be successful.

Nissan is trying to find a nich market between light duty 1500s and heavy duty 2500/3500. I think this is a mistake. If you buy the Nissan. Your buying a less capable Ram 2500 with its cummins.

Rams claim to fame with this diesel is its mpg rating with enough real world power for what this level of truck is designed to do.

Chevy is the pivoting brand here. Will they follow ford with turbo charged smaller displacement gassers. Or follow Ram with a small diesel. 2020 may well be the end of diesels in the U.S. So I wouldn't be surprised if they go turbo/gas. If they do go small diesel. This could force Ford into a diesel (assuming they see there sales shrink). If this were to happen. All of the "big three" could push the technology to perform well even under the new 2020 epa regulations!! Either way. I don't think they can stand idle for to much longer.

Excellent post, and I agree 100%.

I was hoping for the 4.5L Duramax, GM was so close.