Gas Vs Diesel

jayjma20 · June 12, 2008

hey i'm looking for my next truck, and am debating to go gas or diesel, the truck sees very little driving during the week, and even the weekends will not see that much driving in the summer it wil tow an 8000lbs holiday trailer, any thoughts or input?

jefferias · June 12, 2008

hey i'm looking for my next truck, and am debating to go gas or diesel, the truck sees very little driving during the week, and even the weekends will not see that much driving in the summer it wil tow an 8000lbs holiday trailer, any thoughts or input?

if your not using much and towing in the summer i'd prolly get a diesel. i personally don't like them but they are pretty incredible and mileage stays the same whether you have 20lbs or 2000lbs pullin. aftermarket is readily available and fairly cheap hp/torque increases with minimal costs

jayjma20 · June 12, 2008

my only concern with the diesel sitting that much is the maint costs, i've heard diesels are meant to be run hard, and sitting and intown driving are pretty horrible for the diesel, just what i've heard

jefferias · June 12, 2008

im a rookie i suppose in the diesel world, but what you mean by ran hard? they dont like revs but yes making them "work" doesnt affect them like say it would to a gas engine. reliabilty issues im kinda skeptical of cause there are and have been many diesels sold for just city use-ie, smart cars, volkswagon and so on. im sure someone more suited will give you some better info!

redvett · June 12, 2008

Do the math and figure out costs but unless you tow 27000 mi a year and that is probably low now that diesel is $5+ a gallon your going to not even come close on costs between it and a gasser. $7K will buy a lot of gas even a $5 a gallon. The diesel will only shine when towing as far as costs go.

alaska511 · June 12, 2008

hey i'm looking for my next truck, and am debating to go gas or diesel, the truck sees very little driving during the week, and even the weekends will not see that much driving in the summer it wil tow an 8000lbs holiday trailer, any thoughts or input?

if your not using much and towing in the summer i'd prolly get a diesel. i personally don't like them but they are pretty incredible and mileage stays the same whether you have 20lbs or 2000lbs pullin. aftermarket is readily available and fairly cheap hp/torque increases with minimal costs

Huh??

OP: do the math, if you are only driving it that much, then you will not benefit from the diesel. The added cost upfront to purchase it, and the added cost of fuel will never add up to anything but a loss.

Sounds like a 2500HD with a 6.0 is what you need, since you won't be driving it that much. You will love that platform for towing that weight.

jefferias · June 13, 2008

i was just throwing it out there. there was no mention of cost or financial worries on the original post so i disregarded that fact. btw the diesel will pull it alot better than the 6.0litre in my opinion

jayjma20 · June 13, 2008

thanks for the input, how are the 6.0l for towing? vmax vs the 2500hd or even the 6.2l in the denali

HawkeyeOC · June 13, 2008

my only concern with the diesel sitting that much is the maint costs, i've heard diesels are meant to be run hard, and sitting and intown driving are pretty horrible for the diesel, just what i've heard

If it's going to sit a lot forget the diesel. The premium you will pay for what you want to do doesn't sound worth it.

Tucson_02Silverado · June 13, 2008

Are you looking to buy a new truck for only towing a few times a year?

The better monies spent would be to try and find a hardly used 97/98 6.5TD

slimjim2525 · June 13, 2008

IMO, if you're buying new get a 2500HD with a 6.0l. If you're gonna buy used, get an 04-06 duramax.

daddysLBZ · June 13, 2008

The best 6.6 ya can get you're hands on is the 2006-2007.5 with the LBZ engine,I got one and love it.Now if you only gonna do the occasional tow,don't throw away ya cash,BUT if ya wanna tow 10,000 lbs. with ease,idle it to take a nap,and blow that snot nosed punk at the light away with ease,get the diesel.I run a tow tune on mine and I get great mileage,[not towing],better than my 5.3 for that matter.Being able to tow anything ya need,GOOD,longevuty,GREAT,looking into the face of bthe Mustang owner that you just smoked in the presence of his girlfriend,PRICELESS!!!!

maxwell1 · June 13, 2008

If you are looking to buy used.

My buddy has a 2003 Ford 350 4x4 diesel with all options, he has been trying to sell it, with 57K miles. It is one beautiful truck and man would I love to have it.

So far he has not gotten even one offer.

So if a used truck in your market plan, I would look at a late model used Diesel, per my friends experience you almost can not give one away. Dealers in our area will not take a large pickup or suv in on trade, they do not want any money tied up in what they can not sell.

If you are going to pull, you need torque and diesels are the king of torque.

good luck, wish i were in the market for a new truck.

HawkeyeOC · June 13, 2008

My buddy has a 2003 Ford 350 4x4 diesel with all options, he has been trying to sell it, with 57K miles. It is one beautiful truck and man would I love to have it.

So far he has not gotten even one offer.

There are very good reasons why there have not been any offers on a Ford diesel of that era