New 2025 Ram 1500 with hurricane engine.

[WinterDeere]

No way.
Gas truck towing specs are still pretty much a joke compared to diesel on the cab & chassis weight trucks.
Ram diesel GCWR is 44,000lbs. Gas is way down from that.

Then there’s the fuel economy difference between gas & diesel, especially when towing. Gas is down in the mid single digits while diesel stays up in the low double digits.

For me it’s towing specs. Gas aint there. The towing numbers difference is a deal breaker.
For a guy towing lighter weights, gas may be fine.

I guess that's the difference, if you're really using your truck more for towing than for daily travel. Most probably never need anywhere near that 44k lb. max towing capacity, so that's wasted cost on them. And if your driving the thing daily, but only towing occasionally, it gets real hard to justify costs based on fuel economy differences that only rear their head when pulling a heavy trailer.

 

[Hay Dude]

I guess that's the difference, if you're really using your truck more for towing than for daily travel. Most probably never need anywhere near that 44k lb. max towing capacity, so that's wasted cost on them. And if your driving the thing daily, but only towing occasionally, it gets real hard to justify costs based on fuel economy differences that only rear their head when pulling a heavy trailer.

And that’s why diesels are still offered.
You have a job to do with a lot of weight to tow and gas engines would puke & die attempting that kind of weight rapidly.

A lot of people proclaim that “gas engines have come a long way” or “hard to justify a Diesel now”

But many of them fail to realize diesels have also come a long way
The average diesel truck is now almost 2X the HP/TQ as a MY 2000 diesel.

My 2000 Ford Powerstroke was about 235HP and 520 TQ.
Todays version is 400+HP and 1,000TQ

 

[DarkBlack]

Nope, 1500 Tradesman, no listing on Rockauto.
From the dealer the front pads were $370 for just the pads, yup....just the pads, Front rotors $274 each and that was jobbers price. Full retail was another $100 or so more each. I gave up after those prices, even the parts guy said "You're not going to buy them here".
The tradesman package is a bit more I believe.

2019. This screenshot is of the highest price premium kits…
I think you paid too much

 

[WinterDeere]

And that’s why diesels are still offered.
You have a job to do with a lot of weight to tow and gas engines would puke & die attempting that kind of weight rapidly.

A lot of people proclaim that “gas engines have come a long way” or “hard to justify a Diesel now”

But many of them fail to realize diesels have also come a long way
The average diesel truck is now almost 2X the HP/TQ as a MY 2000 diesel.

My 2000 Ford Powerstroke was about 235HP and 520 TQ.
Todays version is 400+HP and 1,000TQ

Good points. I'd guess that for most who might be using their truck as a daily driver all week, and then towing a heavy boat, camper, or horse trailer on weekends, the gasser is looking more attractive. But for you small crowd of guys using the truck almost exclusively for towing, or towing extremely heavy loads, the diesel will continue to win.

The trouble I predict for you is that, with more of the weekender types switching to gassers, they are probably making fewer diesels. Reduced sales volume always comes with higher relative costs and pricing.

 

[Hay Dude]

Good points. I'd guess that for most who might be using their truck as a daily driver all week, and then towing a heavy boat, camper, or horse trailer on weekends, the gasser is looking more attractive. But for you small crowd of guys using the truck almost exclusively for towing, or towing extremely heavy loads, the diesel will continue to win.

The trouble I predict for you is that, with more of the weekender types switching to gassers, they are probably making fewer diesels. Reduced sales volume always comes with higher relative costs and pricing.

It's the price you have to pay if you want to farm.

 

[ponytug]

When they build a gas truck that’ll do this 75 times a year, I would consider it.

Heck, my empty weight with trailer is 21,000
Now throw 13-14 tons more on the trailer lol


View attachment 2003397

The local guys I know who grow and haul hay have all moved to class 7 or 8 trucks. Does that make sense in your area? Just curious.

All the best,

Peter

 

[jyoutz]

Good points. I'd guess that for most who might be using their truck as a daily driver all week, and then towing a heavy boat, camper, or horse trailer on weekends, the gasser is looking more attractive. But for you small crowd of guys using the truck almost exclusively for towing, or towing extremely heavy loads, the diesel will continue to win.

The trouble I predict for you is that, with more of the weekender types switching to gassers, they are probably making fewer diesels. Reduced sales volume always comes with higher relative costs and pricing.

In my area where trucks don’t rust to junk, the diesel is a winner. A diesel truck with 300k miles still has decent resale value, but a gasser truck with that many miles is bound for the junkyard.

 

[Hay Dude]

The local guys I know who grow and haul hay have all moved to class 7 or 8 trucks. Does that make sense in your area? Just curious.

All the best,

Peter

Absolutely. Class 8 all the way. I’m at the point where having the Ram with a 39,000lb trailer and a class 8 would be really helpful as the business grows.
The Ram is nice because I can drive it home and park it in the garage on my house. It also gets into places those trucks can’t. I can also use it for typical small truck use, which a big truck is impractical.
I am going to buy a class 8 hay truck at some point, but this Ram has been solid for 13-14 ton loads of hay for 5 years.
No complaints.

 

[ponytug]

@Hay Dude Yes “my” hay guy has to park in the road and use his class 8 squeeze to unload from there. It is a process, but I’m thankful for it as he is the only hay dealer in 70-80 mile radius that really knows hay. Sadly, the rest are just poor odds roulette in terms of quality. He hauls in from a 500+ mile radius. I ask because we track trace minerals and the geographic origin makes a lot of difference in California.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Hay Dude]

I’ve been looking for the right class 8 tandem 24’ flatbed truck for close to a year. Come close a few times…..
Having 2 hay hauling rigs would be a big plus for me.