Traveling through the Rockies should I have a diesel or gas

It is not just a matter of if the engine will tow it but how well the truck handles it.  I like overkill, especially if you have an emergency situation.  I am a Dodge Ram/Cummins diesel fan and highly recommend the diesel.  Ford has done well with their "Scorpion" 6.7 liter diesel also, but the inline six Cummins is still simpler and easier to service.  The exhaust brake works very well on it also.  I am doing the homework to order a new Ram 4500 with the Cummins.

gravesdiesel said:

It is not just a matter of if the engine will tow it but how well the truck handles it.  I like overkill, especially if you have an emergency situation.  I am a Dodge Ram/Cummins diesel fan and highly recommend the diesel.  Ford has done well with their "Scorpion" 6.7 liter diesel also, but the inline six Cummins is still simpler and easier to service.  The exhaust brake works very well on it also.  I am doing the homework to order a new Ram 4500 with the Cummins.

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me too.. after towing with the big Diesel I wouldn't go back to gas even if Diesel was twice the cost.. it's all about the towing
experience and stress free driving..

sorry but i have to chime in i will say the Cummins is a proven power plant and its nothing short of awesome in the reliabilty and function areas - but its soooo noisy and old school - you can hear the damn things from a million miles away the Duramax and new Powerstrokes are much quieter lol

I deal with a few millwright contractors and equipment suppliers that pull a lot of heavy trailers. They all say stock against stock, the Ram will leave the Powerstrokes in the dust, and will out-pull the Duramax's too. And that's coming from Ford and GM fans. They the truth is the truth, and folks may as well get used to it whether they like it or not.

And Fords still sound like an old International 1056 tractor.

kdbgoat said:

I deal with a few millwright contractors and equipment suppliers that pull a lot of heavy trailers. They all say stock against stock, the Ram will leave the Powerstrokes in the dust, and will out-pull the Duramax's too. And that's coming from Ford and GM fans. They the truth is the truth, and folks may as well get used to it whether they like it or not.

And Fords still sound like an old International 1056 tractor.

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Must be a lot of folks in your line of work that cannot even read horsepower figures.

For the OP, one will do the job, the other will put a smile on your face.

We were at a campsite a few week ago and the guy from the site next to us and i were chatting he had a really nice Ram 3500 and i mean REALLY NICE and he was saying how he liked my truck, went on to say he was embarressed starting up his Ram in the morning it was so noisy compared to the new Ford.
All three - Ford.Ram.Gm have deisels that are comprable to each in Hp and Torque but the Ford and Gm are much quieter than the Ram and all three are now great motors, now that the Ford has caught up to the other two.

lynnmor said:

Must be a lot of folks in your line of work that cannot even read horsepower figures.

For the OP, one will do the job, the other will put a smile on your face.

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They are not in "my line of work", they do work for me. These guys don't care what the papers say because figures and stats on paper isn't what gets the job done. They care about getting the job done in the real world. Every time someone comes in in with a dually pulling a load, I talk to them about how well it pulls, and if they have pulled with anything else. The overwhelming majority say Rams out-pull them all.

kdbgoat said:

They are not in "my line of work", they do work for me. These guys don't care what the papers say because figures and stats on paper isn't what gets the job done. They care about getting the job done in the real world. Every time someone comes in in with a dually pulling a load, I talk to them about how well it pulls, and if they have pulled with anything else. The overwhelming majority say Rams out-pull them all.

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They all have the same Horse power and Torgue ratings within 2% so if "one out pulls " the other then its gear ratio nothing else

steveblonde said:

They all have the same Horse power and Torgue ratings within 2% so if "one out pulls " the other then its gear ratio nothing else

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Just relaying what they tell me.

kdbgoat said:

Just relaying what they tell me.

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I hear you but it gear ratio - my buddies Chevy will kick my Fords Butt big time off the line in a 1/4 mile yet i have more hp and torgue than he does but he has 3.73 and i have 3.55 so i get better mileage than him it was one of the reason i picked this truck after 17 gm,s - i like the option of the gear ratio 3.55 or 3.73 or 4.10

Some people are just die hard Ford GM or Ram fans that just the way it is 4.10s will smoke em all the way up the hill but never pass a fuel station.

steveblonde said:

sorry but i have to chime in i will say the Cummins is a proven power plant and its nothing short of awesome in the reliabilty and function areas - but its soooo noisy and old school - you can hear the damn things from a million miles away the Duramax and new Powerstrokes are much quieter lol

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I had my eyes on a powerstroke 6.7 but it just didn't sound like a real Diesel,
call me old school.. but I LIKE the sound of the Cummins !!!

solarman said:

I had my eyes on a powerstroke 6.7 but it just didn't sound like a real Diesel,
call me old school.. but I LIKE the sound of the Cummins !!!

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I'm with you, man. Years ago I started with the old 5.9L 12-valve before my current 6.7L, and the rumble/clatter of the old Cummins was always music to my ears.

steveblonde said:

I hear you but it gear ratio - my buddies Chevy will kick my Fords Butt big time off the line in a 1/4 mile yet i have more hp and torgue than he does but he has 3.73 and i have 3.55 so i get better mileage than him it was one of the reason i picked this truck after 17 gm,s - i like the option of the gear ratio 3.55 or 3.73 or 4.10

Some people are just die hard Ford GM or Ram fans that just the way it is 4.10s will smoke em all the way up the hill but never pass a fuel station.

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Hey! I pass stations all the time with my 4.10's...because I have a 100 gallon auxiliary tank!

A Ford F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost engine has plenty of power?375 HP and 470 torque. The engine has a reputation as a towing monster and mine certainly was, it took Monteagle and Fancy Gap in the east no sweat. And the motor does very well in towing tests done climbing to the Eisenhower tunnel in Colorado.

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Reminds me of a GMC I had with a straight Six pulling a flatbed trailer with a Goldwing trike on it. It did real good until we saw a hill coming. It would immediately drop a gear and then when we actually got to the pull it dropped another gear. Just the nature of the beast.

I have a F-250 7.3 pulling a small TT. Some would say overkill but it sure is nice to sit back and let the old dog loaf along. All my younger years I had Ford gas rigs, but no more. Sometimes diesels may be aggravating but they are worth it.

solarman said:

I had my eyes on a powerstroke 6.7 but it just didn't sound like a real Diesel,
call me old school.. but I LIKE the sound of the Cummins !!!

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It is the only one that has the medium truck/big rig sound because it is the only one that is an inline six.
I see a lot of hot shotters that pull the 40 foot gooseneck flatbeds hauling steel into and out of the plants in our industrial park.  Damn near every one of them has a 3500 Dodge Ram fender dually with the Cummins.  I have talked to a few of them and their reasoning is the cab/chassis trucks are "detuned" versus the 3500 dually.  They all say they love the 6.7 Cummins and the Aisin automatic.

pz said:

I'm with you, man. Years ago I started with the old 5.9L 12-valve before my current 6.7L, and the rumble/clatter of the old Cummins was always music to my ears.

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I still have my 1996 with the all mechanical 5.9 and use it as a farm truck.  I love my 2003 with the common rail 5.9 and although it is much quieter, it still sounds like a big truck diesel.  The new 6.7s are very quiet, but I have a friend that can fix that.  He has a 2014 4500 that he has "deleted" and it sounds a lot like my 2003.

The older Cummins were pretty noisy.

I have a 2015 Ram 3500 Cummins and it doesn?t seem loud to me. It is my first diesel and I was surprised at how quiet it is.

While all the pickup diesel truck have comparable power, the usability can be different due not only to the final gear ratio but by the transmission too. Mine has the Aisin which has a pretty low first gear that helps get a heavy load started. With the 3:42 rear end the engine is at only 1600 rpm at 75 mph and without a trailer cruise the highway at nearly 20mpg.

If you haven't seen the Steven Spielberg's movie "Duel", I'd highly recommend it to any Diesel lovers. The rumble of the old Diesel tanker is reminiscent of the old 12-valve Cummins, a rumble that I still love to this day. I currently own a 6.7L Cummins, and it is orders of magnitude more powerful, and I am amazed that it had that output with less engine noise. However, at about 40k miles only half way broken in, it is becoming more noisy and I love it.  ;D


Diesels might not be for everyone, but I really enjoy the old school Diesel engines.

Gas or diesel has a lot more to do with, what is your typical use for the vehicle, unless you plan on driving the Rockies many times.

Towing weight means little. Cargo capacity is what is important.

There are a few select models of  F-150s that can duplicate the F-250s performance but why not buy the F- 250 to begin with?

I used to live in Summit county, Frisco Colorado. Elevation 9,100. Had to drive over Loveland pass (12,000') to get groceries once a month in Denver. The tunnel was nice, shortened the trip. Yes, I was there when they opened the Eisenhower tunnel. My picture is probable on some wall in the tunnel museum. Watched the governor and other dignitaries drive old cars through it. They came up out of Denver.
Towing through the mountains isn't about speed up or down the mountain. Watch your gages, especially engine and tranny temps. Your speed is controlled by engine/tranny temps. They start to rise you back off the go, go, peddle. Brake fade is a real thing. When going down hill, start out slow and let the truck engine brake and gradually build speed, shift only when you have too. Don't ride the brakes, in fact, stay OFF the brakes as much as possible. Once they cook, your done. Seen it happen a thousand times. Macho guys drive through the tunnel doing the speed limit and ignore the steep grade start in low gear signs and end up at the bottom faster than everybody else. Unfortunately, 99% of the time, it's there last ride ever. We owned a wrecker (tow truck). Although when you drive off the edge and drop 2,000' to the valley floor the only thing left is scrap metal. If you lose your brakes, use the emergency ramps. They were built specifically to save your life and the life of others. Below is one video of a F150 pulling 9000 pounds up and down the IKE. They have more in the series, check them out. Real evidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z4isefQedA&t=111s

Me personally, I wouldn't even second guess hauling a 5th wheel over that mountain with a F150. No problem, especially with the 3.5L twin turbo (EcoBoost) engine. If the truck/trailer combo is within the trucks weight limits, it will haul it up and down that mountain. Them turbos work great as engine brakes too. In fact Ford programs them to function that way when towing, even on flat ground.