Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

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bulldog ducker
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Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby bulldog ducker » Tue Sep 27, 2016 1:01 pm

I am thinking about trading my 1500 for a 2500HD with the 6.6. I pull a badboy buggy during deer and turkey season but that is about the extent of my towing (in other words I really don't need it but I love the sound of a diesel). Is there any downsides to owning a diesel? Is maintenance cost significantly different?
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby bulldog ducker » Tue Sep 27, 2016 1:09 pm

mods will you move this to general...
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby Seymore » Thu Sep 29, 2016 4:34 pm

Okay, here's all you need to know. The current cyclical trend of lower oil prices has ended. OPEC opened up the wells to glut the market so the the price per barrel plummeted. Why? To remove the profit potential from shale oil and defeat the Keystone Pipeline. Now that technology has slowed and/or stopped in the extraction of oil from shale the camel jockeys have decided to tighten up production. So in about a year that big 2500 diesel is going to cost you a butt load of money to operate and you will not be able to unload it for anywhere near what you think it should be worth.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-prices- ... 1475115600
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby DuckBoat » Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:30 pm

You don't need a diesel for what you are doing.
Oil and filter cost are much more for a diesel. As long as you don't have any problems they are great. However of something goes wrong you can put more money in small stuff than replacing the entire engine in a gas truck. A guy at camp has a duramax and some kind of fuel filter mount broke/started leaking and it was $700 just for the part.

Saying all that if I had only one truck it would be a diesel because I tow all the time. I only use mine for towing though and drive a 1/2 ton truck to hunt and light truck work with.
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby bulldog ducker » Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:56 pm

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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby yankee » Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:17 am

I rode one for many years, and got tired of the hard ride. just went back to half ton and it is so much more pleasant. Make due with gas if you don't tow a lot out of duck season. Diesel hard to justify unless it gets constant use. My two cents.
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby duramax » Fri Sep 30, 2016 11:35 am

I had a 2001 Duramax (hence why I chose my handle on the site) and loved it. That was before cats, egr's, and restrictive exhausts. I got 19mpg stock, and with tuner around 21mpg avg (highest was 25mpg on a tank). The new trucks have so many restrictions, on top of ultra low sulfur diesel, fuel economy is lousy in modern diesels comparative to back then. Yes you can mod new trucks to get almost 20mpg, but you have to put in a bunch of cash that you'll never pay off in fuel savings alone. Add the huge upfront cost of a new/newer diesel over a gas equivalent, and higher maintenance cost and you are way behind the 8 ball price wise compared to a gas truck. And forget about it if something in the engine breaks. Injectors alone will run up a repair bill to crazy levels. Engine blows in a gas truck and you are out a few grand (and that sucks). If a diesel engine dies out of warranty...it's enough to make you cry.

In a more practical way of looking at it, just think, 20 years ago people towed the same type of stuff you are with trucks with half the power they do now. 200-ish hp in the 90's was average for full sized gas trucks. Hell diesels until late 90's were complete dogs. Most of the people that owned them bought them b/c they lasted so much longer than gas engines, diesel was cheap, and they got good fuel economy. Not because they had that much more power than the gas engines. Diesel engines also cost about the same as a gas engine back then. Now the engines cost 2x what a gas engine costs. My 2014 5.7 Hemi has 400hp. Chevy and Ford are about the same for their flagship gas engines. What you are towing is nothing for them. Plus I get pretty good fuel economy (18-20mpg's), the truck is very quick, and does absolutely everything I need it to. I tow a medium sized boat (1500-2000lbs I'd guess) most weekends thru relatively hilly areas and it does it with ease.

Gas is still a bit cheaper than diesel, but that's not a major deciding factor when you think about how much a newer truck costs. There's other annoyances in owning a diesel. Filling it up can be annoying. Not every station has diesel, my wife hated the diesel smell that lingers after you fill up, some a-hole will block the only diesel pump and walk away for 10 minutes when you need to fill up...little stuff like that.

On the other hand, if you are a bit of tuner and want a really fast truck, you can't beat a diesel now. If you put the money into them, you can get crazy power out of a diesel now. But if you are purely looking at what makes sense for your needs, just get a full sized gas truck. If you really want a 2500 for the increase load capacity, the gas engine still makes sense. But the ride in a 2500 will certainly be worse than a 1500.
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby GET-N-RITE » Fri Sep 30, 2016 11:58 am

After reading your post and what you use your truck for I would look at the Silverado or GMC with a 6.2. The trending thing right now is a jacked up diesel, with a huge pipe, and wheel/tire combo that sticks out of the fender wheels.

Diesels are the cool thing right now. Not worth the money for what you are using the truck for in my opinion.
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby khound22 » Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:17 pm

Sounds like you dont really NEED a diesel. I have gotten to where I need one so I bought a used 2008 F250. I spent some money on deleting all the "government" out of it and I will tell you, the power it has is un-freakin real. Its like driving a dang high performance sports car. It will slam your head back on the head rest when you stomp it, crazy power. BUT, it is rough as hell, diesel is a bit more expensive than gas, more expensive for oil changes, ect, and seems to be more expensive if something goes wrong. I have a side business that requires pulling a tractor most of the time. The 3/4 ton has been great. If you make good money and just WANT a diesel, get it! They are a lot of fun...
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby 1010 » Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:47 pm

I've got a Dodge 5.7 2500 gas burner for a work truck. Never been a dodge fan, and didn't want one! But I can't say enough about how I like this truck! It does have a stiff ride! But I keep fuel in the nurse tank! I'm sure any heavy truck will be stiff. You can expect that!
It has plenty of power also!! Much more than the Chevy 2500 I had before! Brakes stop it better with a load also!
and more ground clearance going over water bars! Gets around 13 MPG average! I have seen it get 15 MPG on the interstate! It would do much better than that with out the tools and fuel tank in the bed!
So far it's a legit truck! I haven't had it in mud yet! But it has surprised me how well it does on ruff logging roads!!

Never thought I'd like a dodge!
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby RedEyed Duck » Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:50 am

I am interested in purchasing duck calls that were made by Mike McLemore. I am a family member and they have a sentimental value.
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby bulldog ducker » Sat Oct 01, 2016 10:27 am

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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby Matt S » Sun Oct 02, 2016 3:12 pm

I have a 2015 duramax. The ride is better than the older models but still not as good as a 1500. Mileage is better also. You will average about 18-19 mpg if you keep the stock tires on it. Parts are higher if you have problems but yearly maintainance isn't much more than a gas burner.
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby bulldog ducker » Sun Oct 02, 2016 5:00 pm

With all the incentives they have on the 2016 2500s the price is almost the same as the 2017 1500. Not sure I am going to get one but I was impressed with the one I test drove over the weekend.
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Re: Talk me into or out of a 2500HD

Postby hillhunter » Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:07 pm

I drive a 2500HD a LOT, around 60,000 per year easy. I like the power, increased load capacity, and increased towing capacity, but compared to a half ton, the ride sucks.... There is no comparison. Unless you really work out of one like I do, then I would go the half ton route in a heartbeat. Not to mention that when you change the oil it's gonna cost you 85-100 bucks vs 35. Tires wear out faster, I use ten ply on mine.

Don't get me wrong, I love the truck and love all the benefits of having a diesel, but if your not working out of it get a 1/2 ton, if not, you will learn to cuss every pot hole and rough road you go down.
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