gas vs diesel rigs - your opinions wanted

[Gringo Pescador]

I am looking at buying a new (to me) truck (It would be for towing (probably 5000# or less), not a daily driver, but would get plenty of freeway miles when driven). I have never owned anything diesel but found one that I might be interested in.

Those that have experience with them, can you tell me the following:

The good (where they excell, what you like about em)
The bad (where they are lacking)
What to expect (that would be different from a gas rig)
What to look out for

[BentRod]

Hey GP,
Ah, the joys of truck shopping. I don't drive a diesel, but have done so much research that I think I can offer some opinions. What type/size/age of diesel are you looking at? 5000# can be towed by most 1/2 ton gas rigs comfortably, but a 3/4 ton would be the preferred option, in my opinion. Now, comparing a 3/4 ton gas to diesel, you're main difference is going to be torque. Gas milage should be increased with diesel vs. gas, but you pay more for diesel also. I'd say if you're not going to be hauling more than 5K, then you could go either way comfortably. If you're getting a used rig, then there are some that you would probably want to stay away from based on performance reputation.
If you want a lot of opinions and advice based on experience, go to the RV.net forum for tow vehicles: Linky
You'll see a gas vs. diesel thread right at the top.
Happy shopping!

[Gringo Pescador]

Thanks Bentrod - checking out RV net now (slow day at work).

The rig I am looking at right now is a 2008 F250, 6.4l twin turbo

[BentRod]

Thanks Bentrod - checking out RV net now (slow day at work).

The rig I am looking at right now is a 2008 F250, 6.4l twin turbo

GP, on the RV.net site, type in "2008 F250" into the search box. You'll get a lot of posts, both questions and opinions.

[Bodofish]

Look very carefully at the maintenanace issues associated with those engines. Especially if there are aftermarket parts involved. Diesel guys love aftermarket parts......

Selling a million mile truck after a couple years........

[smoke14]

The one area you hear the most is people feel they get better mileage with the diesel
compared to the gas, especially when towing. Although that may be true it is such a small
difference, usually 4-5 mpg that it is offset with the cost of diesel compared to gas. The diesel truck initial cost is higher and maintenance on a diesel cost more. I think a 2500 Chevy or Dodge would more than handle 5000lb all day.

[rjn cajun]

A ford? On a serious note 5,000lbs isn`t alot but when you consider the wear and tear it puts on any gas engine it is. the guys are right a 3/4 ton gas will do the job. I drive a diesel for work every day. I haul 24,000lbs. Before I had the diesel I had a gas engine 1 ton. Diesels are nice you can`t tell a load is behind you unlike a gas. When I get into my personnel truck on the weekends and pull anything I can definetly tell the difference. Again like stated above the maintenance on a diesel is alot more then a gas engine. But how often does it break compared to a gas? In my experience not often. Then there`s the price of fuel. Even when the prices are lower then now they got ya with a diesel. Not like you can put anything else in it. You will get alot of opinons on this one but if it was me I`d go with a diesel and a duramax at that:-" This is just my opinion.

[Dave]

I am looking at buying a new (to me) truck (It would be for towing (probably 5000# or less), not a daily driver, but would get plenty of freeway miles when driven). I have never owned anything diesel but found one that I might be interested in.

Those that have experience with them, can you tell me the following:

The good (where they excell, what you like about em)
The bad (where they are lacking)
What to expect (that would be different from a gas rig)
What to look out for

Hey Gringo,

I faced the same decision in November 2010 when my 1989 Chevy 2500 finally died at the beginning of a weeklong camping trip to Grayland Beach State Park. Thankfully my old Chevy died on me close to home and my fishin buddy from work handed me the keys to his 2004 Dodge 1-ton Mega Cab with the Cummins Diesel. Before we drove away he told me, "once you drive this you will buy one. Man was he right. It towed my 27' Komfort Coach like it wasn't even there and we got 16 miles per gallon. Yes diesel is more expensive than regular gas but when you are towing a trailer or heavy boat with a gad truck you will see maybe 5 to 7 mpg and maybe 10 to 12 when you aren't towing anything.

So we returned home from our trip and I went to Bickford Ford in Snohomish. I chose Bickford because nearly every one of my co-workers who own a truck, bought from Bickford because they are fair. In addition, most of the FD personnel where I work bought their trucks from Bickford and not one had a bad thing to say about them. When we arrived I told the sales person who greeted us that I didn't want to go through the traditional running back and forth between he and his "manager" to "work a deal." He blew me away when he told me that they don't do that at Bickford and that every sales person has the go ahead to negotiate a price themselves eliminating all the BS that comes with car dealers. He also didn't jack me around with what I could pay or with interest rates. The interest rate I got on my loan was based solely on my credit rating. So after he ran our credit score and we told him how much we wanted to spend per month on a payment, he showed us what he had in our price range. There was no trying to sell us something we couldn't afford. It was simply amazing. We discussed mpg comparisons between diesel and gas trucks and how they differ. We learned that diesel trucks get fat better mileage both when towing and when not. We ended up buying a 2004 Ford gray F-250 cab and a half Lariat super duty diesel short box with 78 original miles. I'm told by me long time mechanic that these diesel engines run 300K miles before needing to be replaced. It was in line new condition and it was on their lot for 21K. To make it happen they dropped the price 2000.00 and made it happen. No bickering and no running back and forth trying to get me to cave. Sorry to ramble but it was a great experience and one I believe you won't find at most dealerships. I will never buy a truck anywhere else! I believe that a diesel is the best bang for the buck mpg wise and their towing ability is outstanding. If I could of afforded it, I would have bought the Dodge Mega Cab with that Cummins diesel engine because it had so much more power than my F250 does but I couldn't afford one. That will be my next truck. Best of luck to you. Here is a pic of my new to me truck. I only drive it on occasion due to the outrageous price for fuel in general and my Toyota 4Runner gets 22 mpg so its the primary. My truck gets 16 mpg towing out travel trailer and 21 highway, not bad at all! If you buy a Ford diesel I would recommend anything 2005 or newer. In 2005 they made like 100 new upgraded changes to their truck so 2005 or newer is a great choice, I just couldn't afford anything newer than my 04.

[hewesfisher]

I am looking at buying a new (to me) truck (It would be for towing (probably 5000# or less), not a daily driver, but would get plenty of freeway miles when driven).

Gringo - If you don't plan to routinely tow anything more than 5000lbs, then why even consider a diesel? You can buy a half ton pickup from ANY mfr and do that with ease and not incur the additional expense of owning a diesel, including the hefty up front cost for the diesel option. Choosing a diesel also means you are limiting yourself to 250/2500 series trucks and larger as I don't think anyone is putting diesels into the 150/1500 series yet that I know of.

Pick a long box truck or an extended cab for the best towing platform, the longer wheelbase helps a lot and usually comes with a more powerful engine.

For comparison, my '04 Ford Ranger SuperCab 4x4 is rated for 5500lbs max towing capacity and I routinely tow our 20' Hewescraft with it. I get 15mpg while towing the boat which weighs 3600lbs loaded with gear, ice chest, full fuel tank (48gals), motors, etc. I have no problems whatsoever with that combination. Here they are in the Seven Bays parking lot at Lake Roosevelt...

[mav186]

The major difference here Hewes, is you live on the Dry side and fish on the Dry side. A lot of us here live on the West side and some of us do a lot of fishing over the Hump (among other places)...and getting over the hump is where a larger truck makes ALL the difference in the world!

[Dave]

I didn't realize when I read his original post that he wasn't planning to tow something heavy, so my reply is kinda irrelevant. I also agree with Mav about towing over the Cascades but if he wasn't goin east he would be fine with just about any truck. Heck, I tow my Hewes Craft with our V8 Toyota 4Runner just fine. JMO

[hewesfisher]

The major difference here Hewes, is you live on the Dry side and fish on the Dry side. A lot of us here live on the West side and some of us do a lot of fishing over the Hump (among other places)...and getting over the hump is where a larger truck makes ALL the difference in the world!

You're right about that Mav I was only trying to provide a real world comparison for towing reasonable distances. My point being that towing up to 5000lbs does not dictate a diesel or 3/4 ton truck to get the job done, over the hump or not.

[tnj8222]

Very nice truck im jealouse! I got a 05 colorado because of gas and want more towing power. It got warm going up lakeland hills to go to tapps. Going over the pass I will use tje beast old school f-250. Once again nice truck.