older (2000-2008) dually car haulers .....

Going from a medium duty C7500 to a light duty Ram 4500/5500 is NOT an "upgrade"...even if it is a little newer. Even if you go with the smaller C4500, it isn't really much of an upgrade going from an '05 to an '11...certainly not enough to justify the hit you'll take selling/trading the '05 with 6 months of extra miles on it after only 6 months. May as well just keep running the '05.

 

I had a 2006 C5500 with the 6.6 Dmax. It was ok. Wandered like a drunk, rode like a lumber wagon. Power was nothing to write home about compared to today's diesels.

 

Wiring on the GMC/Chevy sucks.

 

The C5500/4500 platform require a lot of upkeep. We ran a fleet of 2005-2007's. Lots of issues with various powertrain seals leaking. U-joints never seemed to last and the disc brakes would get eaten up in less than 10,000km if they seen mud regularly. Not much room under the hood either.

 

The man writing the check didn't care how rough it rode. The man has to start somewhere. I wish I had my first truck right now. Still see it going down the road sometimes.

 

Myself, I wouldn't buy any of the trucks you mentioned to pull a loaded 5 car. Don't get me wrong I love Ram trucks, it's the majority of what we use in our business. However there's a limit to how much we will pull with them. Our limit is 24,000 trailer and load combined.

If I was planning on pulling a 5 car I'd probably be looking at a 2 axle semi. And no, not that C7500.

Have you looked on the Penske used truck website? I'm thinking maybe you could get a decent used tractor on there for about the same money you're talking about?

The fuel mileage on a Ram pulling a loaded 5 car would probably be the same as what you'd be getting with a 2 axle semi. Here's the thing though, if you buy a 2 axle semi make sure it's geared to run the highway and not low geared like a lot of bobtail and city tractors are.

Hope this info helps.