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Off Topic- Gas vs Diesel Truck

I own a 3.5 eco boost and it pulls our 5500# camper with ease. I rarely go over an hour away but I would have no concerns going further.

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I would look at the F250 with a 6.2 gas. My wife tows a 3 horse slant gooseneck, she traded from an 01 with 7.3 to an 2011 with the 6.2 last year. It gets comparable mileage and tows better than the old diesel did. She hauled 3 horses to Georgia and back last spring and said it did great through the mountains.
 
Diesels are nice , but a lot of cost associated with them , as already mentioned filters , fuel additive, oil changes way more than a gasser ,plugging in when bone cold. The other problem with em is all the emissions stuff that decreases mpg but will also be another expense as truck gets older , One has to determine how long you plan to keep it as warranty is great but it costs, bottom line your either making payments or have repair bills, I have 3 F550 power strokes, which are necessary for what I pull I need the torque and need that chassis to be legal, I ran a 1 ton dually as a personal truck another power stroke, but really a pain when it's cold like leaving at airport for a few days one year hunting out of town i was hesitant to shut off at night - 15 I didn't want to un gel a truck instead of deer hunting. Just bought the wife a new f250 I went gas 6.2 l she pulls a 30 ft gooseneck horse trailer and has no problems gets about 12 mpg . She's made 3 trips to Texas with it and loves it, One thing to consider is with a 3/4 ton is it won't ever ride as good as a half ton, however you have a lot better brakes, stronger tranny, rear end , driveshaft etc. If you're planning on pulling a lot go diesel 3/4 ton or bigger if you're spending most your time driving empty just rolling smoke IMO the juice is not worth the squeeze
 
flugge said:
The camper we will be pulling all over the US (not just Iowa) weighs around 5600 lbs dry without gear. Its 29 feet long.... My half ton (3.5 Ecoboost) I am not concerned with the pulling power of the truck, but as someone mentioned earlier, I get more worried about GVWR and GCWR with it. Half tons dont have a ton of wiggle room to play with after I looked at all my specs, thats my main concern about switching to a heavier duty truck. I take in the account of it will pry be "safer" to upgrade to a more suited truck to handle it. Heck, the wifes first 3 trips planned with the camper are 4+ hours away..
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I would go diesel hands down pulling a camper that heavy more than to the local campground. I would go airbags and an engine break is amazing. I prefer my pre def 07 Classic LBZ personally and it has the same hp as a new vortec 6.0 but twice the torque. I get 15mpg on avg. My dad has a 6.7 Cummins that's awesome as well with airbags and an engine break. I have airbags which is huge but no engine break. He gets 18mpg +. Remember a diesel with def is not designed for short trips on a regular basis. Takes some hwy time to regen on a regular basis although it sounds like that may not be an issue.

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Oct-Lull said:
I would go diesel hands down pulling a camper that heavy more than to the local campground. I would go airbags and an engine break is amazing. I prefer my pre def 07 Classic LBZ personally and it has the same hp as a new vortec 6.0 but twice the torque. I get 15mpg on avg. My dad has a 6.7 Cummins that's awesome as well with airbags and an engine break. I have airbags which is huge but no engine break. He gets 18mpg +. Remember a diesel with def is not designed for short trips on a regular basis. Takes some hwy time to regen on a regular basis although it sounds like that may not be an issue.

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Engine brake hauling 5k?? lol serious ?

Do you mean exhaust break? Engine brake is way overkill


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Yes I am serious. My camper is just over 6000# and in traffic it saves a ton on brakes and shifting. I wouldn't pull that much weight far or often with a half ton truck. That is not what it's made for.

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I've owned multiple 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks over the years and just bought my first Diesel pickup a year ago - a 2108 Chevy Duramax.
Average mileage over the life of the truck with my 6.0L 3/4 ton gas was about 12.5 - peak mileage was about 18
Average mileage so far on my Diesel is closer to 18 - peak mileage has been over 28 with lots of trips averaging in the 22-24 range.
I have not chipped or altered it in any way from factory - it just does really well on fuel on longer trips - more like 14-16 on short trips to the grocery store or treestand.
Pulling power is far better with the diesel, the gas 6.0 would pull our 32' camper just fine but it shifted a lot and the motor ran in lower gears a lot.
Seems like the diesel rarely down-shifts - it just does it without complaint and fuel mileage doesnt drop nearly as bad with a trailer hooked on as it did with gas.
I think I am hooked - pretty much guarantee my next pickup will be another diesel
 
I have a 3.5 eco, 3;73 rear end, max tow and 6.5 box so i have 12" more wheel base then standard. I don't think there's a more capable stock half ton out there on paper or in the real world. I also have a very good WD hitch and anti sway set up and I am anal that everything is right. That being said if I was going to pull all over the states there's no way I would NOT have a 3/4 and if I was going to do it on a regular basis I would also have a 5th wheel. Our trailer 5500# dry. It will also be for sale this soon.;)

Here are the results of the biggest trip I've pulled on. Mostly Interstate up to ND over into Montana then down to devils tower over to black hills and home. Truck did great, mileage sucked. Lucky there was no high cross wind on moving days. I drove like an a$$ and had a great time. I have had some white knuckle drives on more crowded interstates.

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I havent really came up with a decision yet to be honest, I currently have a 3.5 Ecoboost, but not with the max tow. Dealers push me towards a max tow 150, but I am thinking a 250 diesel (although more expensive in all aspects).. Talks of trips all the way to Utah make me want a bigger, more capable truck. However, the wife has spent the last month in and out of the ER, and finally getting answers, so the truck has been put on the backburner until we are 100% we know we got her fixed up. At 27 years old, seeing a spine surgeon isnt a really warm and fuzzy feeling. As soon as I really get decided, I will keep everyone updated. I greatly appreciate everyones input, just helps me know some real world situations compared to a dealer telling me what he just simply wants me to hear.
 
I’ve got a classic 2007 duramax diesel.
Installed a tuner to increase MPG.
Bought the truck new extended cab 8’ bed fully loaded. 40k with tax. Great deal compared to the price today.
I pull a 27’ fifth wheel a few times a year. My longest trip with the camper was from NY to AZ fully loaded truck and camper was 21k lbs.
I haul in stock mode. Lots of power.
Going up the MTN in flagstaff was brutal high EGT’s even crawling.

Overall great truck lots of power.
Doesn’t like 90 plus degrees when hauling up grades. EGT really climb. Largest repairs radiator and water pump at 200,000 miles.

I’d buy a dirsel hands down.
MPG much higher then gas when hauling.
 
Thinking back on this..... I’m about at my wits end on dealing with all the emissions garbage. I’ve have trucks and tractors in for expensive or warranty stuff way way too much this summer!!!! Fixing & solving all these issues with new emissions garbage.
I’m gonna change my tune here.... if u MUST pull all the time... get diesel & DELETE IT!!!! If u are not aggressively pulling- go with gas. Save urself all the headaches!!!!
 
Thinking of getting a newer truck.... the cummins runs flawlessly but all the little things becoming a headache that I just dont have time for (stupid stuff). Its a 2005 so to be expected. Runs awesome so on the fence a bit.

Anyone bought a truck lately. Prolly wanna stay under 35k. Thinking used diesel 2014-16 maybe? Model years to stay away from?
 
If you go Duramax I would go with the LML or newer personally paired with an Allison transmission. Believe that came out in 2011 and ran till 2016. I would stay away from the Ford diesel, 6.7 Cummins is nice but the Ram trucks feel a little lacking in the cab.

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Really quite a few variables. Although up keep on a diesel is higher, the longevity of the motors themselves will outlast the body of todays trucks. I have an 01 6speed cummins that I use for my seeding business, If I am driving back and forth around town I average about 26MPG on the highway on a 150hp tune (long as you keep your foot out of it and pyros down reliability is great). When I hook up to my 35' gooseneck and loaded down with tractor and seeding equipment I average about 9MPG, but have all the power needed. IF looking at newer diesel pickups (govt regulated) I would suggest getting the truck deleted and tuned. We currently have a 2015 duramax def and egr deleted on a 60hp economy tune and we get about 20MPG highway and 14 with a big trailer.

Downfalls to diesels of course is cold weather, multiple batteries, injectors, quality of diesel fuel used etc etc (could write a book on that one)

Todays new 3/4 ton gas pickups are not the greatest on gas, but are cheaper to maintain. Chevys new 2019 gas 3/4 pickups are terrible on gas with a trailer on them, averaging about 8mpg - we purchase new pickups every year for work and largely have gas pickups, a few guys on our construction crews have made comments on the fuel mileage. How most of the major companies are compensating for the loss of torque of a gas motor needed for todays haulers, are running a lower gear ratio rear end with a 10 speed transmission. Seems ridiculous compared to the old days of a 3 or 4 speed automatic that would be running 2500RPM down the highway with the torque convertor locked, but they are trying to maintain fuel mileage with technology now.

So my choice - DIESEL DIESEL DIESEL - Delete it and let her breathe.
 
Sligh1 said:
Thinking back on this..... I’m about at my wits end on dealing with all the emissions garbage. I’ve have trucks and tractors in for expensive or warranty stuff way way too much this summer!!!! Fixing & solving all these issues with new emissions garbage.
I’m gonna change my tune here.... if u MUST pull all the time... get diesel & DELETE IT!!!! If u are not aggressively pulling- go with gas. Save urself all the headaches!!!!
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Skip - only going to get worse with encryption codes now on computers - I deleted and tuned our 15 Duramax for $600. When the technology first came out to tune the new 2020's it was running about $10k (of course no one else had it yet so the guy had the market cornered) At some point in the next few years the sales of the diesel pickups will be fleet driven, most common guys would rather buy a diesel 10-15 years old that they can still do whatever they want with it. Which is also dumb in my opinion until I am a seller on my 01 Cummins. 10-20 year old trucks arent worth $20k!!!
 
What about the EPA going after tuning companies that sell the delete kits? I haven't been keeping up on it, but last I knew they were fining them, shutting them down, and contacting all their customers telling them their tune was illegal.

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