Some interesting comments Doug.

I have a6.2 diesel,4 Speed manual, purchased new in 84 . I also have a 99 5.9 liter Dodge Cummins with the 24 valve engine and 5 speed manual.

The non turbo 6.2 is a good engine. Unfortunately the injection system has been less thasn reliable as has the glow plug system. The engine is very underpowered (non turbo) but will always get you there as long as you are patient. With the 4 speed manual the noise in the cab was so bad that it was impossible to carry on a conversation in the cab until a Gear Vendors auxilaury transmission was installed. Another disadvantage of the Non Turbo engine ( any brand)is that it will make tremendous quantities of black smoke when pulling hard at higher altitudes and it is difficult to clean off the trailer. The 6.2 tends to want to run at higher RPM similiar to the gas engine.

The new Dodge on the other hand is much quieter in the cab than the Chev. This may be good cab insulation as it is very noisy when outside the cab. Most of the Chev noise is telegraphed up the shift lever so an automatic may be quieter.

The Dodge Cummins delivers its Torque over a very flat RPM range and is very powerful. The acceleration, in my opinion is impressive, far superior to the non turbo 6.2. I have no comparision to the newer turbo 6.2 or 6.5.

Of course it doesn't take much acceleration to impress someone who drove a VW diesel for a while

I curently have over 18K on the 99 in the last 2 months.All my towing has been delivering trailers for a transport company and all towing has been in the east. About the steepest hills encountered have been on I 80 and the WV turnpike. at no time has it been necessary to shift to any gear lower than 4th (direct) on any grade, even with a 36 ft 5th wheel rated at 18000 GVW. Fuel economy runs about on a par with that experienced with the Chev 6.2, ranging from a low of about 11.5 with a large trailer to 23 running empty.

The quality control was excellent on the 99 Dodge. I have not had to return to the dealer for any reason. This may be true of other makes today also.

In my brief experience with the RV transport business I have noticed that almost all the tow vehicles used Either Dodge Cummins or Ford Power Strokes. In fact I have seen only one GM truck in use. I don't know why this is but am guessing that it may be the lower tow rating of the GM product. I have not heard any horror stories regarding them, they are just not there. This may also be influenced because all towing is done with pickups ( have to be able to tow fifth wheels) which eliminates those who would be using a Suburban

Many of the drivers I have spoken too are well past the 300k mileage point and generally do not seem to be having any engine problems. Transmissions seem to be another story, whether manual or automatic.

All the above is just personal observation and is not intended to make a case for any particular vehicle. Your experiences may be entirely different.

Rick Davis 1602
54 Safari
69 Ambassador
70 Globetrotter
Amateur Radio K8DOC
NSS 14876