Newbie diesel vs. gas question

[caissiel]

I surely agree, I towed 2 cords of Hardwod on a heavy 2000Lbs trailer with a 4 cylinder Ford Ranger. At the time you would not have got in my way because I was getting those loads out of the woods. Did that for 7 years, the ranger lasted me for 160K miles with no problems. It was not 70MPH but it got the job done. I once talked to my milkman and he had 300K on his 1/2ton and was about to get a motor job, so he asked the Mechanic to check his clutch, the clutch was like new and original. He was a truck driver that came from the old school, drive to make it last.

P.S. It was his delivery truck that the engine was worked on.

 

[westxsrt10]

All depends on the weight of your trailer....12,000 or more i'd go with Diesel. The only real Gas engine that can pull is a Ford V-10 6.8, I can pass most diesels going up hills.

 

[Cyncwby]

Getting back to the original question w/o the .....my gas rig is better that your diesel rig......look under the hood of 98% of the 3/4 - 1 ton pick ups towing big TT or 5th wheels........then look under the hood of ALL the Pete's, Kenworths, Freightliners etc. What do you find??? For those of you towing with gas rigs enjoy, but for the OP looking to buy a new truck? .......Diesel, it's really just that simple.

 

[caissiel]

Ram has no Gas HD trucks for the last few years, GM president say that Diesel is the way to go for Heavy Duty trucks. I say, every car should be an oil burner. The payback on a VW Diesel is 6500 Miles per year. Who does less then 6500 Miles per year.

 

[biggziff]

Getting back to the original question w/o the .....my gas rig is better that your diesel rig.....

Hmmm..I must have missed that part. All I saw were people pointing out other options.

Merry Christmas

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Our other vehicle is a 2004 VW Jetta TDI Sport (a diesel). It gets amazing fuel economy, not quite as good as those little "golf carts with doors" which are the Smart Cars, but still very good. With 70%/30% hwy/city we generally get about 45 mpg.

 

[sunflower]

After owning 4 diesels and countless gas trucks,I find this article right on the money.I never drove one of them that I did not feel comfortable or stressed out with.If lots of power makes you feel comfortable,what level do you become complacent at?

 

[JoelC]

I own a 2006 F-350 Lariet, Dually, Diesel. I chose the Ford due to the heavy frame and the amount of weight it can pull. I've got a 6.0 and the lowest rear Ford makes (4.3 rato) which allows me to tow about 23K. As this is my first truck, I can only speak with the experience of the one I have. It has gone 22K and so far no problems. Under tow I get 12 mpg and w/o tow about 16mpg. My reasearch showed that while a single rear axle was better in the snow, the dually was better for stability. My 5er is only 10K, but I got a bigger truck so if I upgrade my 5er I won't have to change trucks. We do plan to make the move next year to a larger 5er if our house sells so we can go full time.

I do change oil, air filters and diesel filters myself. Everything else I will leave to a professional. If you do get one, be sure to get all the tow packages, 4X4 and built in trailer break.

 

[Rockerga]

With all the less favourable gasser comments above, would these apply to the F350 with the V10?

Eh!

A gas engine is a gas engine. Diesels are a completely different animal made for the long haul and long life with LOTS of torque as a natural byproduct of the mechanism.

IMHO hauling or towing on a "regular" basis any kind of WEIGHTY RV is best done by a diesel. Someone also wrote in an earlier post to "Buy the RV first then select the pull vehicle.....I am not sure about that either as you do quite limit yourself down the road and may not buy enough TV to get you everywhere you may eventually want to go.

Again it is all about what you plan to pull and where (Also HOW FAR) you plan to pull it! Safety and piece of mind are HUGE factors that should always be added to that equation!

My .02

 

[biggziff]

With all the less favourable gasser comments above, would these apply to the F350 with the V10?

Eh!

Nope. Plenty of V10 trucks working every day as rollbacks, tow trucks, construction haulers, etc. The V10 is known for 300,000+ mile service life with very few issues. Get an 05 or newer and you get the 3 valve heads and the TorqueShift transmission. Bulletproof.

 

[lwmcguir]

We have gas and diesel engines. If you are an occasional tower, then get the gas engine. The extra cost of air and oil filters and oil changes are high. If you don't tow a lot of miles then the gas engine will do fine. If you tow a lot you will not like the fan and engine noise when pulling grades or going against the wind with the gasoline engine. The better transmissions now with more gears make the gas engine work out much better. However if you tow a lot then Diesel is the only way to go.

 

[caissiel]

Diesels are for the ones that want economy and endurance. You can do the same with gas for sure, but while towing the gas engines run hot and for my experience, they tend to crack exhaust manifolds a lot. Gas RV's are known for exhaust manifold failures. They are also $100,000 cheaper. Must be a reason for that to, might just be popularity.