Zumari

If they shot all 25 at the border, or had an electrified fence that torched all of them, the 68 year old driver of the big rig would be fine.

I provided the facts about owning a ram, which includes my interactions with the manufacture, the dealers and the owners. They had their two years to make it right. So, I'm switching back to Ford. Realistically, I'm switching from ram to anything else. In the last few months, we have bought a new Jaguar and a new Lincoln. We also considered MB, Volvo, Genesis, Porsche, Audi, and several others. But regarding the truck, we haven't ordered it yet, although I have the X plan pin and a dealer provided a price.

I said average several times in my original post. I guess, word comprehension for you appears to be the root of the problem, because you gave it your best effort. LOL.

I'm perfectly fine with that! In fact, I like the words you chose much better.

LOL. You're saying that that average Ford or GM owner won't have a problem buying a new truck that doesn't have a functioning heater? Or a function AC, or a functioning radio? Or other problems that aren't related to the engine? This doesn't apply in the way you think. The average diehard dodge/ram truck owners are a different breed.

In the process of selling a 2019 ram 3500 CC DRW Laramie. Prior to this, my wife and I always had Ford trucks, along with many other cars from many other manufactures. I ordered the ram the way I wanted and after I had it for a couple months, I was going to sell my 2005 F350 CC DRW (V10 with 4.30's). But my wife suggested keeping the F350 and selling my Jaguar XJR, which she didn't like (the seats were uncomfortable for her). Best decision ever. The F350 has never had a problem. In fact, we've never really owned any cars or trucks that have had problems. The ram pull great, is quiet and the engine braking is wonderful. But, the manufacture and dealers suck big time. The new truck has never had a properly functioning radio, heater or AC, along with other problems. It's been in the shop numerous times. Plus it's been in the shop numerous times for recalls. If the dealers or the manufacture could fix problems, or could do a recall in less than 3 appointments over a 6 month period, I might have a different opinion. But, after dealing with the low-IQ dealers and low IQ manufacture for 2 years, forget it. I'll never get anything ram/dodge/FCA/peugeot again. It's pulls our trailers great and the engine braking going down steep grades is great. What I've noticed is that the manufacture (ram) knows their customers very well. The average ram customer will buy anything that has a cummins engine. And, they will accept anything that the manufacture provides, including defects, as long as the truck pulls a heavy load up a hill. That's all the typical ram customer/owner cares about. And the manufacture knows it. So, they sell substandard trucks that can pull heavy loads up hills. But the rest of the truck? Who cares. What if the AC doesn't work and there are TSBs? Big deal. Dealers won't do crap. Radio doesn't work? Who cares. Heater doesn't work? Who cares. Safety recalls and you can't get the safety recall done? Who cares. Body clunks with TSBs? Who cares. Ram knows what to sell and the typical owner will defend the manufacture if the truck has any problems. It's fricken bizarre. So, ram sells crap because the average ram owner is accepting of crap.

It was a positive comment and you don't like it, just scroll on. LOL.

There are two different part numbers. One is FORD6.2 and you'll get a credit of $10,494 at the time of purchase. The other part number is FORD7.3 but the credit is only $8,790. Ram also sells a DPK and the part numbers are the same as above.

Ford sells them and they are very inexpensive.

The babble is probably a lot of other sentences your brain is inserting into a really straight forward statement. What I stated was simple. Buy a truck with a 7.3 and after a few years, bolt on a supercharger, etc. If you think that's babble, I don't know what to say.

Today, 600 hp is a bolt on. I bet 800 hp will be a bolt on a few years from now. Same thing happened to the Gen2 Lightnings. So, what's your issue?

I'm not buying a Camaro SS, Mustang GT, Challenger SRT, etc. I'm buying a truck. I would not be interested in installing a supercharger until more are available and the tuning is worked out. Nationwide, I bet less than 50 have been installed on 7.3 trucks and I wouldn't be surprised if it was only 10. If I want race car power, I'll drive my race cars. If I want to modify a truck, I'll do it when I want to. I did the same with prior cars and trucks - when I wanted to and how I wanted to. For some reason, I guess this doesn't make sense.

Show me the prices of supercharges 4 years into the future. They'll either be non-existent because of problems or there will be more for sale at a lower price. Same thing happened with the Gen2 Lightnings: more and better for less money.

LOL. 1. If someone spends 10K on a supercharger, they're a fool. You can buy them nowadays for about 6K and the install is stupid simple. 2. The power I'm interested is horsepower, not torque. 800 HP is easy.

This is an interesting thread to read, and I'm glad I read it. I've asked for XPlan pricing on a 2022 with the 7.3. Haven't heard back yet. I already sent them a PDF of the build sheet. The dealer wants me to come in and place an order but I haven't decided between a DRW and SRW. They're playing games and I know it. It's not a big deal to me. I'm not in a rush. I'll order one sooner or later. I ran the numbers on the cost of the diesel and I wouldn't break even on the cost of fuel/maintenance for 6-7 years. Until I read this thread, I had started to consider the diesel. If I bought it, it wouldn't be because I need it, just because it would be nice to not slow down anywhere pulling a trailer. And, the exhaust brake is nice. But now that I've read thru this, I'm settled on getting the 7.3. If I ever decide to spend money for additional power and torque, I'll put on a supercharger but after the warranty is up. To be specific and answer the OP question: "I assume cost plays a factor, but what are the other reasons?" To be honest, other than cost, I can only think of one: throttle lag. Now that I've owned a diesel (a Fiat Oui Oui 3500 HO DRW - manufacture is pronounced Fiat wee-wee), it's nice but the throttle lag is horrible. It's like mailing a letter to someplace in Louisiana that doesn't have phones yet. It'll get there but you'll have to wait a long time. I still have my 2005 F350 V10 and when I drive it, it's like driving a sports car in comparison. 0-40 around town is great. I don't race it but it's nice when you apply the throttle, something happens. With "La Puta" (the 3500 is a HO built in Mexico, thus the name), I've spooked my wife a few times pulling the trailer from a stop on left turns. She'll tell me "it's clear" and 3 seconds later she's wondering what's happening while we creep into the intersection. It's horrible. So, when read the comments here, I gave the 7.3 the edge. Other than that and no exhaust brake, every other reason is cost. Do I need the diesel? No. The 5th wheel loaded is less than 10,000 and it's not tall, so I'm not towing a huge sail. It's just really long: 37'. It's similar to a horse trailer with living quarters. But it has a garage in the rear large enough for a small open wheel race car. The other trailer is a car hauler I can put over 10,000 lbs inside but I'm not interested in hauling 15,000+ lbs with a 32 bumper pull trailer. So, the max weight I've towed was about 11,000 lbs (total including trailer), with 1,300 lbs on the tongue. With most of the heaviest stuff over the three axles, it has been very stable. Towing it empty in high side winds wasn't fun though. LOL. Thus, the reason why I'm debating between a DRW and SRW. I've driven the DRW for 15 years and love it. Parking it and getting it around town is no big deal. My wife drives the F350 a few times a week when she takes the dogs on hikes and loves it. Excluding the DRW/SRW topic, if I can tow fine with a 15 year old V10, a new 7.3 with a 10 speed should be much better. Would I be able to accelerate up a steep grade, like I can with the torque of the diesel? No. Will I need to use the brakes more when decending grades like Teton Pass? Yes. But I used to drive up and down steep grades with the V10. And, I installed 6 piston calipers on the front and 3 piston on the rear on the F350. So, Monarch Pass wasn't a big deal. Neither was Pike's peak. The slow cars in front of me with the problem. LOL. For fun, I might put disk brakes on the 5th wheel. It doesn't make braking a non-issue. It just makes it less of an issue. So, for me it's really a cost issue. I can afford the diesel but why spend the additional $10k, plus the oil changes, fuel filter changes, etc. when I'm only going to tow 10% of the time I drive it? I can spend that money on something else, or not spend it. Also, after owning several V10's, I learned that you can work them really hard and they're fine. Is the 7.3 proven like the V10? Not yet but I haven't heard of any major problems (yet). And the engine builders are having fun with 1000+ hp engines. 600 hp is easy. Maybe a supercharger will be proven somewhat reliable in a few years. If not, there's always the big easy button option: just leaving it stock.