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Considering purchasing a gas 3500 Crew Cab long bed dually and my friends think I'm nuts

Someone previously posted in another thread that Tuttle-Click Ram in Irvine Ca has deals that are competitive with Granger/Mark Dodge, especially when taking shipping into consideration. I have no personal experience with this though.
 
DrTron said:
Depends a bit on where in CA.
But I think there's also a high-volume dealer in western Idaho, Dillon or something.
Might be worth a shot, although I don't know if they offer the same rebates as Granger/Mark do.
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I'm in northern California, in the foothills east of Sacramento.
 
DrTron said:
But I think there's also a high-volume dealer in western Idaho, Dillon or something.
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Dennis Dillon in Caldwell, Idaho. Great to work with. I ordered my '22 thru them and the price was as good as I could find, and they are local. My wife also bought her Gladiator from them, on the lot, and it was the best price we could find as well.

@RKCRLR shoot me a PM if you want some salesman info for DD.
 
AH64ID said:
Dennis Dillon in Caldwell, Idaho. Great to work with. I ordered my '22 thru them and the price was as good as I could find, and they are local. My wife also bought her Gladiator from them, on the lot, and it was the best price we could find as well.

@RKCRLR shoot me a PM if you want some salesman info for DD.
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Dillon in Caldwell was my second choice... they were GREAT to work with.

I ended up ordering from Bud Clary in WA who just barely beat out Dillon.

Flew up to WA from CA and drove home. Made a vaca out of it. Good times.
 
Seems like your reasoning is sound, the only thought I'd add is about resale.

The truck you want is a unicorn because no one buys them that way. Someday you'll want to sell, but no one will want it. Might make it worth the diesel just for that (along with all the other benefits).
 
Lerker said:
Seems like your reasoning is sound, the only thought I'd add is about resale.

The truck you want is a unicorn because no one buys them that way. Someday you'll want to sell, but no one will want it. Might make it worth the diesel just for that (along with all the other benefits).
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I thought about that but I'm 66 and this will probably be the last truck I buy. I tend to keep my vehicles for a long time, I've had my current truck for 20 years. The diesel engine will depreciate along with the rest of the truck. In 10 to 15 years it will just be another used truck and not worth much either way.

One thing I'm flip-flopping on is whether or not to add the 5th wheel package. It doesn't cost much to add now but I'll probably never use it, but I might.
 
AH64ID said:
Dennis Dillon in Caldwell, Idaho. Great to work with. I ordered my '22 thru them and the price was as good as I could find, and they are local. My wife also bought her Gladiator from them, on the lot, and it was the best price we could find as well.

@RKCRLR shoot me a PM if you want some salesman info for DD.
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Peterson in Nampa will also match the other high volume/low price dealers. I got my 2500 from them.
 
RKCRLR said:
I thought about that but I'm 66 and this will probably be the last truck I buy. I tend to keep my vehicles for a long time, I've had my current truck for 20 years. The diesel engine will depreciate along with the rest of the truck. In 10 to 15 years it will just be another used truck and not worth much either way.

One thing I'm flip-flopping on is whether or not to add the 5th wheel package. It doesn't cost much to add now but I'll probably never use it, but I might.
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I sold my 2003 dually with HO diesel after 19 years. While it was in good shape, I got almost half what I paid in 2002. And there were folks fighting over it. It was the diesel and condition that sold it.
 

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CdnHO said:
I sold my 2003 dually with HO diesel after 19 years. While it was in good shape, I got almost half what I paid in 2002. And there were folks fighting over it. It was the diesel and condition that sold it.
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It was also a Diesel with no SMOG , which really made it attractive .
 
Not at all trying to knock your choice, and by all means do as you see fit. Just a couple things to think about:

1. Exhaust brake (towing or hauling it’s a significant benefit. Saves substantial wear on your service brakes and provides a level of control that is completely unachievable with a gas engine.)

2. Resale value. (If that’s even a consideration for you.) Regardless of whatever savings you gain by opting for the gas engine, you will pay dearly on the flip side whenever it’s time to move on from that truck.

There is a really good reason it’s practically impossible to find a 6.4 powered 3500 DRW pickup truck on the market. (And also why they were pulled from the available offering on most of the trim levels).

My own opinion: A gas dually would be a mistake. And a SO 6.7 dually would be almost as poor a choice. Go with the HO / Aisin DRW. Bigger brakes, bigger axle, better drivetrain, stronger performer, better downhill control, significantly better resale value.
 
Nick said:
It was also a Diesel with no SMOG , which really made it attractive .
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Yes and no, I sold my 18 for more than I paid for it with the emissions intact.

Even 03's had some components stuff that were geared towards emissions, such as the cam and turbo.
 
Ordered my 2017 HO DRW for $53k out the door. Drove it 80,000 miles and never had to put a dime into it except tires and filter maintenance. Sold it in 2021 for $47k. 100% bone stock.
 
People recommending diesel engines for my situation don't seem to understand how I'm going to use the truck.

Even if I assumed I recovered 100% of the additional initial cost of the diesel engine when I went to sell it and ignored the cost of money over 10 years I'd still winding up paying more in maintenance.

While the additional towing power of the diesel would be nice it isn't my priority, payload is. When I add up the weight of camper and everything I want to carry (including the tongue weight of a 5K lb trailer) I could exceed 6K lbs. Admittedly this is under extreme conditions (like when I had to evacuate a campground with full fresh water and holding tanks) and most of the time I could keep it under 5500 lbs with a few compromises. I'm tired of even having to worry about it. I don't see how I could get a diesel truck equipped the way I want and retain a 6K payload.

Another thing is about half the time the truck will be used without the camper on. A lot of this use will be short trips like hauling stuff around my property, taking or getting stuff from my neighbors, short hauls, etc. While this isn't good for either engine gas engines are more tolerant of this kind of abuse.
 
RKCRLR said:
People recommending diesel engines for my situation don't seem to understand how I'm going to use the truck.

Even if I assumed I recovered 100% of the additional initial cost of the diesel engine when I went to sell it and ignored the cost of money over 10 years I'd still winding up paying more in maintenance.

While the additional towing power of the diesel would be nice it isn't my priority, payload is. When I add up the weight of camper and everything I want to carry (including the tongue weight of a 5K lb trailer) I could exceed 6K lbs. Admittedly this is under extreme conditions (like when I had to evacuate a campground with full fresh water and holding tanks) and most of the time I could keep it under 5500 lbs with a few compromises. I'm tired of even having to worry about it. I don't see how I could get a diesel truck equipped the way I want and retain a 6K payload.

Another thing is about half the time the truck will be used without the camper on. A lot of this use will be short trips like hauling stuff around my property, taking or getting stuff from my neighbors, short hauls, etc. While this isn't good for either engine gas engines are more tolerant of this kind of abuse.
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I would seriously consider a cab and chassis truck for your needs. Something like a 4500 C&C with the hemi would likely give you everything you need and then some while also (theoretically) making resale easier since those looking for C&C trucks have pretty different needs than those looking for a 3500 dually.
 
tchur1 said:
I would seriously consider a cab and chassis truck for your needs. Something like a 4500 C&C with the hemi would likely give you everything you need and then some while also (theoretically) making resale easier since those looking for C&C trucks have pretty different needs than those looking for a 3500 dually.
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I thought about a C&C. Having side boxes for cargo while the camper is on would be great. But I also need a truck with a bed for hauling firewood, gravel, etc. And when you add it up it would take to do something like this it would cost a pretty penny for a truck that gets used for 2K - 3K miles a year.
 
tchur1 said:
I would seriously consider a cab and chassis truck for your needs. Something like a 4500 C&C with the hemi would likely give you everything you need and then some while also (theoretically) making resale easier since those looking for C&C trucks have pretty different needs than those looking for a 3500 dually.
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100%, way better option for a gas camper hauler.
 
RKCRLR said:
But how would I haul firewood, gravel, dirt, etc?
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Side boards and/or rent a dump trailer.

I have a pickup bed and rent a dump trailer when I need to haul gravel/dirt and a flatbed with sideboards would hold a lot more firewood than a pickup bed.
 
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