I'm looking for a 3/4 ton truck to tow a double...a short fifth wheel (7k lbs.) with a 16' Donzi (3k lbs.) behind it. This will only be 6 or 8 times per year, though, with the rest of the usage being around town with my wife behind the wheel!

I'm looking for a 5-7 year old Ram 2500 with the Cummins, and have a few questions about this truck:

* What are the pros and cons of 12 vs. 24 valves?
* Should it tow 10,000 lbs. without a problem?
* How noisy are they?
* What gas mileage should I expect, towing and not?
* Any specific problems with these years?
* Automatic or manual transmission?

THANKS A TON FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME!

You won't have trouble pulling the weight with any of the Cummins. I have a hunting buddy that has a 91, 12 Valve that has around 385k miles on it. It is listed as 160 hp, I don't know the torque rating. He pulls (still) a 30' car hauler trailer that weighs around 5,000 #'s empty with two VW sand rails and a four wheeler plus extra "everything" with a 20' camper behind it. He takes this rig everywhere there is sand. California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Wyoming, etc.. He has 4.10 gears and runs 33-12.50 BFG's. Fuel mileage empty with a custom just over cab height camper is around 17 mpg. He told me pulling he gets down to in the 10 to 13 range depending on his speed.

One observation I had before I bit the bullet and bought my 04.5 Cummins was that if you want a used truck you can have your pick of automatic transmission equipped models in the paper. You better be quick to call if you see a 5 or 6 speed manual tranny model, because it will be gone in heartbeat. That might tell you which one you should buy. You could also check some of the discussion threads. I believe I have seen a few discussing overheating problems with the autos.

Bottom line is any of the 12 or 24 valve models will do what you want. You might get a little better fuel mileage with a newer model, but it won't vary much on any of them.

The 12-valve engine is simpler and, as far as I know, pretty much all mechanical. Also, I believe they get better gas mileage. That said, the 24-valve motors are more powerful and I don't think they really have any reliability issues. Either one I think you could expect to get low 20s empty on the highway going slow. Be aware that you're probably going to be looking at trucks with at least 150k miles on them. This is nothing to be afraid of, these trucks will go forever. You will have no problems with the load you want to tow. They are noisy. Go for a manual transmission if you can find one. Better mileage and more reliable.

I was looking at this option a few months ago. In the end, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new truck so that I could know its history from the beginning and get the exact truck I wanted. But you really don't have to worry too much with a Cummins... it'll last virtually forever.

Good luck!

89 to 93 were 12 valves with a rotary pump - maybe 94 too.
89 to 90 1/2 were non intercooled.
94 to 98 were 12 valves with inline pumps all mechanical
98 1/2 to 02 were 24 valve ISB I beleive they went back to a rotary pump - some reliability issues on that specific component. One benefit to the 24 valve is it is plug and play with performance parts
03 to current are varying versions of the ISBE common rail cummins.
Biggest problem will be finding one thats not miled out. The 12 valve between 95 and 98 are probably the best for mpg and they aren't quite as obnoxious sounding as the 24 valve. Auto's are the achillies heel on any year especially if you add some power but not too hard to beef up a tranny. I know someone with a 95 reg cab 4x4 that is getting 21 mpg empty and between 14 and 15 pulling his trailer.

Happy hunting.

Hi Guys......I'm relatively new to the Diesel world. I had an '03 Hemi when loaded got me 8-10 miles to the gallon. I realized quickly if I wanted to haul I had to buy a Diesel.

Being a Mopar nut, I didn't even consider another manufacturer, it was going to be Dodge or nothing.

Unfortunately I didn't do the research on auto vs. manual: Am I really that disadvantaged with an automatic tranny????

supposedly the 48re which your truck is equipped with has been bolstered a bit over the 47re which it replaced. With the mods you have you should be fine. A couple notes on the topic though:

-01.5 and up have the desireable disc brakes - bonus
-01 and up have the 1 3/8 inch 6 speed available- indestructable unit
-96-98 12v 5speeds have the 215hp p7100 injection pump - capable of very high fueling levels - cheaply
-5 speed trucks will likely lose 5th gear unless updated...and sometimes even when updated
-98 is the first year of the new interior and quad cab option-bonus

I might be partial ;-), but the 98 12v 5sp is hard truck to beat if you're buying used under 20K. Of course they arent cheap or easy to find. Do yourself a favor and check the frontend out (ball joints, track bar, hubs) before buying!

happy hunting, Nick

Yes, the manual shift should be indestructable. That said, I got the automatic because it shifts better than I do. Drove both, but the reality of a diesel being short shifted (compared to gas anything) to make best power was so foreign to me that I went for the auto. You can see on the bottom of my post that I ride bikes so am not afraid to shift. But shifting a diesel at 2k rpm is different than screaming to 10k rpm for more power. Of course I am thinking I got an engine that will last through several auto transmissions.