On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:09:46 GMT, "Larry L" wrote:

In an effort to do our little bit to get the economy going we bought a new
truck today.

The old one lasted 18++ years, 276,585 miles and is actually still going
strong although it's well past beat up and ugly

The new one is a Dodge 4 door short bed 4X4 with the Cummins diesel, it has
truly awesome power and I can't wait to hook up my trailer and head over the
pass.

However,

I feel very poor now :-(


Congrats. FWIW - and speaking only from relayed info, not personal experience -
you might wish to look into one of the after-market "chip programmers." From
what I've heard, the new models are "tuned up" to provide _significantly_ more
HP than the older models (as are all US diesel PUs in the "power wars" - IMO,
really, an advertising "numbers" war with little real-world application), which,
as you probably know, isn't always a good or even necessary thing with many
diesel engine apps. I have a friend who has a 90s model Dodge with the Cummins
and he says he gets 25-28 MPG, even when pulling his camper. He looked into
replacement with a new model, but didn't because of the fuel mileage difference.
IAC, and IMO, regardless of MPG, you can't go wrong with a diesel.

TC,
R