Ram 2500 Cummins Mega Cab Fuel Economy
From : mikec
Q: hello i am a first time poster here. i am currently looking at purchasing a 2006 ram 2500 cummins mega cab 4x4 4spd auto / 3.73 ring and pinion. the one concern i have so far is the reported fule mileage of this beast. a friend of mine recommended using the newgroups to get an honest report from actual knowledgeable users. the dealer tells me that he has customers that report up to 30mpg with their trucks on the highway. i on the other hand have read many conflicting reports about this trucks fuel consumption. so far ive found the mileage to be anywhere from 15mpg all the way up to 30mpg which is a pretty broad range. i was wondering if any cummins owners could shed some light on the real fuel consumption numbers of this engine. i am speciafically looking for; a city driving b highway c actual combined average day-to-day city/highway driving any insight that you could give would be mighty appreciated. thanks for you time. mike c i have a 05 2500 quad cab 4x4 with auto and 411s. i have yet to see 20mpg. city 15 highway 17maybe 18 if i drive very gently. i find it a little odd that you would be worrying about fuel mileage. it is a huge truck with the aero of a brick and will probably cost in excess of 40k. imho if fuel is a worry you probably shouldnt be buying a truck anyway. roy .
Replies:
From : tom lawrence
..this afternoon im going to get it x rayed and see what the doc has to say sue has been after me since it happened to get some pics taken so she will be happy. roy good idea sue ;- -- i figured a somewhat black ankle could be normal for a tear so took me three days until my leg started going cold and i went for pics and found out i fractured my leg below the knee and broke it clean off at the ankle -- actually breaks can take less time to heal than tears so try not worry. if you need a cast try to get an air cast -- they are much lighter dont cost much and you can open them up a bit to let the leg/ankle breathe and gently rub at the scum with a cloth or even get in the bath take the cast off and soak it if you are allowed best of luck its not fun either way rach rachel i know youre new around here but ive seen ole roy. they dont make casts that big... vbg denny yup! there aint enuf plaster in paris...... or rome........or seattle....... or geneva....... or berlin........ or boston......... hell you get the idea..... ;^ mike hmmmmm.... seems to be a tag team from the seat boys. the wide seat and the heated girly seat. vbg roy .
From : tom lawrence
standard poodle a little larger than a german shepard and being hit by a 81 caddy. . . and i never got a scratch. but those repeated impacts ah i think there might have been some damage.g roy .
From : big al
...this afternoon im going to get it x rayed and see what the doc has to say sue has been after me since it happened to get some pics taken so she will be happy. roy good idea sue ;- -- i figured a somewhat black ankle could be normal for a tear so took me three days until my leg started going cold and i went for pics and found out i fractured my leg below the knee and broke it clean off at the ankle -- actually breaks can take less time to heal than tears so try not worry. if you need a cast try to get an air cast -- they are much lighter dont cost much and you can open them up a bit to let the leg/ankle breathe and gently rub at the scum with a cloth or even get in the bath take the cast off and soak it if you are allowed best of luck its not fun either way rach .
From : advocate
where did i say it was rated for side impact read it again; i said if i had been in my lebaron i would have been dead ... yet the lebaron has side impact beams. they might stop an angry bumblebee . . . . i got for you i would not want to be in that car in any crash because ive seen a few similar cars after accidents and that four star and five starratings crap fails in the real world at impact speeds over 35. good grief dont you listen to your local about all the people getting clobbered in those five star rated vehicles its simple kinetic force. stand an empty soda can your crush zone up and smash it with another soda can . . .and you get a certain amount of damage. stand another can up and smash it with a sledgehammer . . . .your crush zone just flattened out and the bench just got most of the force. so much for that 35 mph rating system. the cans would flatten just as much if the collision speed were increased as that increases the kinetic energy. now repeat the experiment with a couple pieces of 4 diameter 0.125 wall tubing with plates welded on the ends. . . . . yep low speed impact bounces off that is not where the most deaths / injuries occur but the cylinder now absorbs more of the sledgehammers impact. yeah that tough old valiant withstood hitting a mule deer doe a full size standard poodle a little larger than a german shepard and being hit by a 81 caddy. . . and i never got a scratch. budd budd cochran wrote you missed my point that newer cars are not as safe as their cracked up to be. if i had been in my 95 lebaron for example i would be dead in that accident. did you read the comment of the side impact beam the car had a 4 star rated impact safety iirc. it was supposed to have protected the driver according to the experts caps for emphasis only the 95 le baron had a 4 star rating but only for a frontal crash. side impact was not rated by nhtsa for 1995 le baron. john .
From : pj
any time -- -chris 05 ctd 99 durango thanks this is a done deal now. mike that rtv was factory i do believe correct me if im wrong and asside from the air hose idea i have no easy way to suggest to you. you may try a rubber mallet to tap sharply on a lower corner tryin to work it loose but no gauruntee there either. -- -chris 05 ctd 99 durango hello everyone. sorry for cross posting - the other group looks still sleeping i did some googling to no avail. 1992 dodge caravan 3.0 mitsub. engine. i have removed all the bolts holding the oil pan in place after removing all the darn engine mounting brackets of course but the darn pan wont come off. i am afraid damaging the pan sealing surface by being rough with it. i am hoping there may be a better and more professional way to remove it. originally some one probably repair shop used reddish rtv of some kind so now the pan is feels like glued to engine. thank you for any hint in advance. mike .
From : roy
on sun 22 jan 2006 112107 -0500 roy roy@home.net wrote no rach i didnt pick a fight with it. just made a mistake happens every so often. one of the deals that come with any motor sport ya tumble. -- this time you came out quite well -- hope the golf ball if going down. you are right a few lumps and bumps was fortunate coulda been a lot worse. the swelling has gone done a bit but im sure feeling my age this morning.g roy so tell us bro.. how does it feel to be 90 *ducking* well bro.. i havent reached you age. actually feel pretty good managed to get my boots on and the plow on the truck so i guess ill go into work this afternoon and see how things go. if the swelling gets unbearable ill stay home for a day or two and stay off my feet. roy mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : mikec
it still doesnt answer the question. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving like i said stuff it tom. budd this doesnt answer the question budd. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving and apparently neither of you have been a 64 valiant during an accident. and when were you were a 64 valiant lol gee tom how darn stupid are you do you need someone to remind you to breathe go to the bathroom read the freakin thread or do you need someonre to do that for you too budd .
From : tom lawrence
the dealer tells me that he has customers that report up to 30mpg with their trucks on the highway. he is absolutely flat-out lying to you. the only way youre going to see 30mpg is to get up to 70mph or so going downhill and reset the overhead computer. typical mileage ranges from 15-19 in mixed driving 18-22 highway and 13-16 towing. thank you tom for your response. in order for me to do a proper vehicle cost analysis i need real world numbers. as well it confirms my belief that the dealer was grossly exagerating the efficiency. which in turn makes me question his potential sale. much appreciated. mike c .
From : mikec
budd cochran wrote total damage drivers seat back bent back one inch one cracked taillight lens one waved right rear fender and a slight twist to the bumper. 15 minutes with a power puller and the wave was gone from the fender. finally swapped out the /6 at over 350k miles for a fresh 100k engine. yeah sure those foreign cars are safe . . . . i wont own one and im not super comfortable with my 95 lebaron gtcmitsubishi v-6 german transaxle etc. for that matter. id rather have another old valiant or such. one point only... do we care about the car damage or the potential passenger injuries well now did you bother read the estimated speed at impact how much good would your five-mile-per-hour bumpers done my wife is the night e.r. / adsmissions clerk for the local hospital and from the description of injuries sustained in newer vehicles imapacted at slower speeds im darn glad i was in the valiant. a couple years back a car with side impact beams and bags was t-boned on i-70 making an illegal turn into a media crossover both drivers and two passengers died and the skid marks gave an impact speed of 35 mph clear dry pavement. your example really means nothing as you only described 1 vehicle as a possible crumple zone type and yet the drivers from both were killed. i would say that the vehicle with the side impact beams was actually stronger than your valiant and the driver still died which would indicate that if he / she were driving a valiant they would still be dead so what exactly is your point it is true that older cars took less impact damage... who then received the excess kinetic energy not me. the seat back in my car bent 1 backward and i had only a lap belt oem the people in the caddy were buckled in with the three point system no airbags iirc and the mans 64 mother 82 only got a small cut on her forehead from a loose inkpen. imho i mentioned that i stopped a couple car lengths behind the car ahead of me a chevy vega coupe belonging to a fellow sergeant from my national guard unit. after impact he came back to check on me i sent him to call the police and i went back to check on the caddys occupants who were both concious. the caddie that you have mentioned has front and real crumple zones and them and the fact that you stopped so far back saved your ass. had it been my buddies 71 fleetwood that hit you at 35 mph they would have been burring you with what would have been left of your valiant as that car had no crumple zones and would have probably shot you into the back of the car in front of you like a flee being hit with a tennis racket. the investigating officer a man i went to high school with said that there would have been deaths if i had not stopped so far back from the light. now whether you8 believe or not i believe god told to stop where i did. im sure that it did but what does this have ti do with crumple zones perhaps the officer was referring to deaths in your car. the reason newer cars get so easily totaled is that the cars absorb the kinetic energy and not the passengers. the lady got a cut from a flying ink pen i got nothing from the accident explain that . . . because the crumple zone in the front of the caddie did its job. of course it was nice to have a car that would drive nicely after an accident and pay less for repairs hehe what about having to pay for the hospital bill and what about having to be in a hospital in the first place no hospital stay no examination for me and the elderly lady was sent out in an ambulance because she was so shook up she couldnt stand up. the cut did not require stitches. her son was fine . . .so much for that theory. his theory is completely in tact as the car that hit you had crumple zones. had that caddie been even 5 years older the results of that accident would have been much different. well that is my 0.02$... stelios the question i have for you is what prompted you to make a negative comment about a man driving what he could afford . . .or preferred that car averaged over 30 mpg handled as well as a corvette accident avoidance capability and often out accelerated v-8 cars. where did he do this he simply gave his personal opinion as to what he preffered not what others need to do. hey if you want to pay outrageous monthly payments for the vehicle and the insurance / license costs to cover it that is your choice. ill just drive my old cars that dont cost an arm and a leg drive defensively to keep out of accidents pay $25 / mo for my car insurance and $35 / year for my plates if you dont mind. and who said that you should do anything different oh thats right nobody. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : big al
just wondering if dodge van owners have had problems with the roof rusting out seems like my daughters 2002 van had a problem and mine now is rusting. clyde .
From : christopher thompson
hello i am a first time poster here. i am currently looking at purchasing a 2006 ram 2500 cummins mega cab 4x4 4spd auto / 3.73 ring and pinion. the one concern i have so far is the reported fule mileage of this beast. a friend of mine recommended using the newgroups to get an honest report from actual knowledgeable users. the dealer tells me that he has customers that report up to 30mpg with their trucks on the highway. i on the other hand have read many conflicting reports about this trucks fuel consumption. so far ive found the mileage to be anywhere from 15mpg all the way up to 30mpg which is a pretty broad range. i was wondering if any cummins owners could shed some light on the real fuel consumption numbers of this engine. i am speciafically looking for; a city driving b highway c actual combined average day-to-day city/highway driving any insight that you could give would be mighty appreciated. thanks for you time. mike c i have a 05 2500 quad cab 4x4 with auto and 411s. i have yet to see 20mpg. city 15 highway 17maybe 18 if i drive very gently. i find it a little odd that you would be worrying about fuel mileage. it is a huge truck with the aero of a brick and will probably cost in excess of 40k. imho if fuel is a worry you probably shouldnt be buying a truck anyway. roy thank you roy for your input. it is nice to have some actual fuel consumption numbers it makes a big difference in the overall operating cost. the intial cost of the vehicle is not so much of a concern as it is to operate it fuel insurance servicing maintenance. trucks are all ive driven the last 18 years and ive noticed a drastic increase over the years to own and operate one. so the price of fuel and the amount the truck consumes is a factor. if the numbers warrant the extra initial cost of the cummins then i will be more than happy to make a sound purchase on both a financial and emotional level. thanks again for your help. mike c .