Seeking opinions on less-noisy diesels

[aeblank]

It's speed more than anything.
Wind resistance goes up with the square of speed.

Of course, weight isn't insignificant either.

[B and B]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I’ll be the dissenting vote- from outside the truck, I find my 2012 Ram 3500 to be annoying loud. Inside the cab, it’s pleasantly quietly. But from outside, I can tell when my wife drives up when I’m home.

My buddy’s 2017 (I think) Ford is amazingly quiet, though. He had it running and we were 10-15’ away having a conversation. Which is impressive to me with hearing issues- background noise kills me.

I test drove a 2018 Ram and, from outside, it was still noticeably louder than my buddy’s Ford.

Doug is correct and I agree. Beside me at the camp I am at now the Dodge is very noisy, brand new 2500 2018 model. The owner mentioned my Ford SD is quite, he is correct. Chevy are quite than Ram as well.

[Lins]

Originally Posted by B and B

Doug is correct and I agree. Beside me at the camp I am at now the Dodge is very noisy, brand new 2500 2018 model. The owner mentioned my Ford SD is quite, he is correct. Chevy are quite than Ram as well.

I don't find the Cummins to be that loud, especially compared to older generation diesels, but I agree the Ram is probably the loudest of the three outside. Inside, our 2017 Ram is AMAZINGLY quiet. It puts our 2010 Tiguan to shame. There is no diesel smell from the exhaust unless it's doing a regen at idle, and the tailpipe still looks brand new other than some water spots inside it.

[DieselDrax]

Even my 2007.5 Ram 2500 with the first-gen 6.7L was decently quiet inside, much quieter than the gas V8 it replaced and especially so under load going up hills. Outside, sure, you could tell it was a diesel but it was only a concern at drive-thrus and if coming into campgrounds during quiet hours.

Loud is what you get from folks that do the emissions deletes and run straight pipes. As much as I love the sound of a diesel, that is just too much.

[Hersbird]

Is my 2004 Cummins stinky? I don't know but for some reason nobody tailgates me like in my gas trucks. To be fair it has 275,000 miles on it so I doubt it is a pure as the day it drove off the lot.

[Skyliner]

Both Ford SD and Duramax diesels are fairly quiet. The Cummins on the other hand is pretty loud and sounds like a garbage truck.

Given that my F350 has had repeated emissions issues and a cooling fan failure before 20k miles, I'll take a truck that sounds like a garbage truck any day over a Ford.

[VernDiesel]

Perhaps not big enough for the OPs trailer but the Ecodiesel is certainly the quietest and smoothest currently out. I agree Ram needs to work on quieting the Cummins down. Ford & GM have worked on it.

[007matman]

Originally Posted by Skyliner

Both Ford SD and Duramax diesels are fairly quiet. The Cummins on the other hand is pretty loud and sounds like a garbage truck.

Given that my F350 has had repeated emissions issues and a cooling fan failure before 20k miles, I'll take a truck that sounds like a garbage truck any day over a Ford.

Pretty much all of them have issues with emissions equipment at some point in their lives. It's not particular to Ford.

Why do you think so many people delete them?

I don't think that it mandates that they get loud though.. it just sounds better. :-)

[goduc]

Traded my 12 2500 CTD in on an 18 2500 6.4 4.10. Normal everyday driving the 18 6.4 is hands down quieter than the 12 CTD. Towing is a mixed bag. When needing 4th or 3rd the 6.4 is louder. When just cruising down the hwy @60 mph in 5th the 6.4 is still quieter.
The 12 wasn't noisy compared to a 5.9 or 7.3 PS. Zero stink as well.
If I were looking at diesels again and was concerned about noise I'd go Dmax.
If I towed heavy then yeah a diesel would be needed. I really like the way the 12 CTD pulled my 9300 lb 5er. The 6.4 does it good enough though and with less potential problems and no fuel filters or DEF to deal with. Plus I can get gas anywhere and not worry about finding quality diesel stations. That and $9,000.00 is still in my pocket.

[gorgerax]

Originally Posted by goduc

Traded my 12 2500 CTD in on an 18 2500 6.4 4.10. Normal everyday driving the 18 6.4 is hands down quieter than the 12 CTD. Towing is a mixed bag. When needing 4th or 3rd the 6.4 is louder. When just cruising down the hwy @60 mph in 5th the 6.4 is still quieter.
The 12 wasn't noisy compared to a 5.9 or 7.3 PS. Zero stink as well.
If I were looking at diesels again and was concerned about noise I'd go Dmax.
If I towed heavy then yeah a diesel would be needed. I really like the way the 12 CTD pulled my 9300 lb 5er. The 6.4 does it good enough though and with less potential problems and no fuel filters or DEF to deal with. Plus I can get gas anywhere and not worry about finding quality diesel stations. That and $9,000.00 is still in my pocket.

Thanks! Not sure I deciphered this all correctly, tho. Are you saying you have a 2018 gas 6.4L??? GM?

[wanderingbob]

REAL MEN DO NOT LET WIFE DICTATE TRUCK PURCHASE !
Please do not allow my wife of 47 yrs read this , she will take my Ram 2500 CTD and I will be back riding my bike !

[goduc]

6.4 Ram. GM uses the 6.0 gas.
If you need a diesel or just want one IMO the GM's are the quietest. Hard to tell a diesel from a gas GM. When sitting around the campground and a GM Dmax drives by I can't really tell if it's a gas or diesel. Same with Fords almost. Still really quiet. Cummins on the other hand are definitely louder than GM and Ford. But not loud at all compared to past diesels. Zero smell from any of them.
My wife is like yours. hates the smell and noise. After I got my 12 Cummins she became a convert. She still hates it when an older 5.9 Cummins or 7.3 Power Stroke guy drives by. Me I like it but only when someone else is driving it.

[goduc]

Originally Posted by wanderingbob

REAL MEN DO NOT LET WIFE DICTATE TRUCK PURCHASE !
Please do not allow my wife of 47 yrs read this , she will take my Ram 2500 CTD and I will be back riding my bike !

That and she doesn't like the looks of DRW trucks so I can only get an SRW.

[UT_Grandpa]

See my signature line.

I would love to have a new one but my '99 is still truckin' and I have another $70K in the bank by not buying one.

[Cypressloser]

Interesting thread, lots of bias and lots of opinions.

Fact: The Duramax and the Powerstroke are both short stroke V8, the Cummins is a long stroke inline 6, it must sound differently by nature as a woman's voice differs from a man's. A V8 may be more pleasing on the ear but is the inline 6 actually louder???

Unless somebody measures the sound level objectively with a sound meter at idle, under load, inside and outside and side by side this thread is only about 'my truck is better than yours'.
Btw.: Most straight pided diesels are off the road.

[timfromma]

My father and I both have 2013 Silverados. His is a 1/2 ton gas, mine is a 3/4 ton Duramax. His truck is louder and smellier than mine.

[007matman]

Originally Posted by goduc

[emoji106]

That and she doesn't like the looks of DRW trucks so I can only get an SRW.

My wife said that too until she actually rode in it and drove it a bit. You get used to it after a while and don't notice it.

She commented the other day that she doesn't mind driving it now except in tight spaces.. that's due to the LWB and the turning radius being that of a football field.. you get used to it after a bit and I rarely notice it now either. the only time I do is when I've been driving my Jeep a lot (it turns on a dime).

Bottom line was that everyone wants the SWB SRW CC and the prices are adjusted accordingly. I have a LWB Dually CC King Ranch and it was about 2-3k under what I could have purchased a similar SWB CC for (which was not the KIng Ranch version).

[007matman]

Originally Posted by Cypressloser

Btw.: Most straight pided diesels are off the road.

Lots of older Diesel trucks have had the emissions deleted.. in fact, most of them i looked at recently were all deleted and/or straight piped (regardless of brand).

I was looking primarially in the '03 to '07 range across multiple brands (including all that were mentioned here).

I did look at newer trucks too but didn't trust them based off the failures they are having.

[DieselDrax]

Originally Posted by 007matman

Lots of older Diesel trucks have had the emissions deleted.. in fact, most of them i looked at recently were all deleted and/or straight piped (regardless of brand).

I was looking primarially in the '03 to '07 range across multiple brands (including all that were mentioned here).

I did look at newer trucks too but didn't trust them based off the failures they are having.

Hard to delete what isn't there, the DPF/SCR emissions systems didn't exist on trucks prior to Jan 1, 2007 build dates. So 2003-2007 models wouldn't have had much of anything to delete and nothing that would have helped with smell. Some models did have EGR and some did have DOCs, but no DPF/SCR and the DPF is what reduces the smell.

[007matman]

Plenty of DPF and/or SCR solutions out there for newer trucks. Just because new truck buyers don't do the delete right away doesn't mean it won't need to be done.

EGR delete, Mufflers, and Cat deletes are very often done and it's what I was referring to in my post.

I drove several 6.4's and a lot of them had the DEF deleted already. Many had other work done to them as well.

I bought my 6.0 for about the same as I could have purchased a newer truck for. However, I've had all of the expensive work done. Guy at my church told me a few weeks ago that he dumped over 10k into his 6.4 recently getting it right after the turbo took out a cylinder.

6.7 seems better.