RAM 3500 vs 5500. What is the biggest difference?

What you are trying to say is for the ones of us that sleep in our truck, our life is horrible?
Personally I like sleeping on a bed that only I have slept on and keep my linens clean.
Every take a black light into a motel where you have stayed? Do it sometime and you will be amazed at the things you will find.

 

Seems alot of people have in their heads that a dually gets better fuel mileage than a SA tractor. This is NOT the case unless the truck is deleted and tuned. And with that there's always the risk for big fines if you're caught.

There are some cases where the dually is the right tool for the job, for example pulling a flatbed hauling pipe. In that environment 13+MPG is possible. But hook to a wedge trailer and back a van or pickup in the #1 position and see what that does! A SA tractor will get 8-9mpg pulling that load vs the duallys 5-6

 

I talked to a hotshot owner and he told me he's getting about 10 mpg loaded and 13 empty pulling what looked like a 34' gooseneck loaded with 20k lbs. He had a Dodge 3500 either 2011 or 2012. Sometimes he pulled 2 cars on his back haul.
So a 3 car wedge gets significantly worse mpg being same weight?

 

But on the TV show they made a lot of money! If it is on TV surely I can do the same thing. Who cares if the producers only account for 10% of the expenses to promote a website?

 

There are 2 things that guy said that should tip you off that he's an idiot. First is backhaul, second is that he splits his mpg up and says "about 10 and about 13". I guarantee you that he has not a #### clue what he is actually getting or what his cost per mile actually is. And really, who the hell cares what a truck gets empty?! Do empty miles pay?

Here are all of my fuelups for almost 200k miles that I ran my Dodge. I was loaded nearly all of those: http://www.fuelly.com/car/dodge/ram_3500/2008/terryp/138353

 

Thanks Terry. So 9-10mpg is realistic. What kind of trailer did you have and what was you average load weight?

 

That trailer I had was one of the best for fuel mileage, way better than a wedge! Infinity GN400 avg gross 32-36k

 

That is a nice looking trailer. I see one on ebay for $21K new but don't see any used ones for sale.
Were you not overweight on your drive axle? Did you have any issues with it? It looks like a good compromise between 3 and 5 car trailers.

 

Oh yeah you really had to watch what you put up front. Like I said before SA semi is the ticket, no more worrying what you put up front and it blocks the wind. And you get much more from the trailer that way, add some extensions to the front and you could even put a dually f350 up there!

But if you have 20k to spend on a trailer DO NOT buy an Infinity(or any non Air Ride/Air Brake trailer for that matter)

Look into a Sun Country 4 car

 

Just to give you an idea, when I pulled my 2 car enclosed with my 6.0 Ford, I got 9. When I hooked my 14.7L CAT to it, it got 8 mpg, and that's with an engine 2 1/2 times as big.