i am looking at 2 trucks. my current ride is sold and i need to move fast on one of these two...

08 2500 dodge laramie mega cab with 5.7 hemi 75K-miles
or
06 3500 dodge laramie quad cab wiht 5.9 ctd 140K-miles

both trucks are near identical as far as options and both very clean - the mega cab would be great for my family but the diesel would be better for towing. i do think 3500 is over kill for my 28 footer. the miles make me nervous on on the 3500 but it has been well maintained and very clean. i have my choices narrowed down to these two trucks and would love to hear some opinions. - thank you!

CTD hands down. The kids need to sit down and shut up in the back anyway. They don't need a romper room.

The Hemi will kill you on towing fuel mileage, plus the mega is a VERY short bed.

Is the diesel a dually? I had a 2006 quad cab dually with the 8' bed and the interior was adequate for my needs but 99% of the time I was the only one in the truck.

I never had one second's trouble with that truck. It ran flawlessly and it handled flawlessly. Its turning radius was almost as small as my Ford Ranger's, an incredible achievement considering it was twice as big as the Ranger.

The 5.9 gets great fuel mileage too, I saw 25mpg many times on flat ground below 2000rpm and the wind behind me and this in a 7500lb truck! Oh and it had the 6 speed manual. The auto will get 2-3mpg less.

Don't worry about the mileage. The Cummins will go 500,000 miles before major surgery, and the best thing about the 3rd Generation trucks(2003+) is they will last almost as long as the engine now.

thanks for the replies. my tote my kids around all the time - 4 of them! but they are all pretty young yet.

Depends on how much and how far you tow. If you dont go that far I wouldnt get that 350 because when you arent towing its going to suck diesel worse than that 2500 would.

Cummins Dodge....no exceptions.

I would go with a standard dodge diesel dually 4x4. I would not go with an automatic or a non dually. Went through 4 tranmissions in one summer with an 2002 automatic dodge diesel dually 4x4. I am towing around 15,000lbs. I currently have a 2007 Dodge Dually 6 Speed manual tramsmission Mega Cab 5.9 Diesel 4x4(BLACK) with 108,000miles. The only problem I had that was not my fault was the U-Joint in the rear axle. It was worn out due to the load. I did have to get the slider gear in the manual trasmission replaced because I broke some teeth off it. I did something stupid and it was my fault. It cost me $1000. The new slider gears are heat treaded, better than the stock 2007 gear. In 2007, the larger diesel OPTION came out that was bigger than the 5.9. A lot of problems with that diesel. Don't get it. Stay with the 5.9.

Diesel all the way

Is the diesel an auto or manual? Personally I hate the 4 speed, don't like the gearing or lag and imo it sucks when towing compared the 5 speed auto Fords and GMs .. feels like it's holding the cummins back....I know too many people who have had issues with that pos trans blowing. The manual trans is so much better.

The 5.9 ho cummins paired with the new 6 speed auto would have been a sweet ass combo.

I'm averaging right around 12-13 mph towing a 288 sunsation with my Hemi.