Diesel or Gas

[ladykiller]

Going to keep this short since I'm doing this from my phone.
I'm in the market for a new truck.
It won't be used for a daily driver, that's what the R1 is for.
It will be used for my landscaping, home repair/improvement, moving (possibly helping friends move, that's always what seems to happen), camping, and maybe hauling a boat.
I’m planning on keeping this for 10+ years. I sold my first car after 10 years because I was tight on cash at the time and didn’t really drive it.

Reasons I’m leaning towards diesel:
-torque
-the wife’s 335d gets awesome gas mileage. But, from what I’ve heard there isn’t much difference in mpg in a truck
-last longer (?)

Reasons I’m leaning towards gas:
-cheaper
-cheaper fuel
-may last just as long as diesel (?)

Why should I get one over the other?

[emmettlodge]

The only diesel trucks on the market here in the US are large full sizes.

- They won't get better fuel economy than their gas counterparts.
- But they will make towing up long grades less frustrating.

Are you towing? If not, just get gas.

[GermaniuM]

Diesel is more expensive in winter and cheaper then gas in the summer. Depending on what kind of boat you're towing, you can go either way. If its a smaller boat I would go with gas. For heavy towing I'd go with diesel.

[Flavo Cadillac]

Depends on the vehicle really. Figure out what you need as far as power first. I have an f250 power stroke diesel and everything on it but the body panels are more expensive then say an f150 that I could have gotten away with if I wasn't worried about the weight I need it to pull. Just the oil change alone takes close to 5 gallons of synth.

[bigbumpmike]

if not planing on towing more than say 9,000lbs go with gas. if you planing on towing more then that or have alot of 6% or 7% grades get the diesel. v6 base f150 is rated at 23mph hwy. i personally haven't seen many diesel full size trucks with four wheel drive get better than 24mpg hwy empty.

[cryption]

My gas GMC 1500 averaged 16mpg on the highway

Dad's F-250 power stroke gets 18, close to 19.....

[2.0T_Convert]

Diesel trucks seem to cost more new & used.

And then there is this... took this photo myself. Give me the gas please.

[GermaniuM]

Diesel trucks seem to cost more new & used.

And then there is this... took this photo myself. Give me the gas please.

And wait until summer time and it will be the exact opposite.

[TurboWraith]

And wait until summer time and it will be the exact opposite.

Depends entirely on where you are at in the world. If the OP's fuel costs are anything like they are around here, diesel is almost always more expensive, year round. Summer, the difference is usually closer, but it is still higher.

OP, unless you are planning on regularly towing 8000+ lbs, I'd go for the gas 1/2 ton.

[g60vwr]

Diesel is about 30% more efficient vs. gas.

In a large truck that is driven trying to keep an eye on gas its possible to get decent mileage from a diesel truck.

My PSD gets around 18-20. Pretty much the same even towing <5000 lbs.

I did however drive it 75-80 one day and it tore through $60 in fuel pretty fast

Towing with a gas truck that gets you 12 mpg empty will tow at about 8 mpg.

[GTIRS]

I drive daily my 2009 Ram 2500 3/4 ton with a Hemi and tow once a year if that but I am always hauling firewood, topsoil, wet mulch, equipment, etc and at times its loaded to the max and I need something to handle the extra wieght, thats why I bought the 3/4 ton. Plus I am not a fan of IFS in trucks i have always liked solid front and rear axles. I get about 11 mpg mostly city driving but I am running a 3" lift, 34" tires and a tuner for more power so not bad. best mpgs I have seen on a trip was about 15-16 mpgs doing 65mph. I have never had a problem with power, if you are going to tow a **** load I would get the diesel otherwise gas does just fine.

[dunhamjr]

- They won't get better fuel economy than their gas counterparts.

thats not quite true. my dad always ended up going with diesels because they got better mileage than comparable power gas engines.

this is especially the case if towing is involved.

[Art Vandelay]

Diesel is more expensive in winter and cheaper then gas in the summer.

That hasn't been true down here for several years.

[emmettlodge]

Diesel is more expensive in winter and cheaper then gas in the summer. Depending on what kind of boat you're towing, you can go either way. If its a smaller boat I would go with gas. For heavy towing I'd go with diesel.

Nope. Diesel is always more expensive here, sometimes as much as a dollar more per gallon. And the season doesnt really affect the price difference.

[mike_A3]

Diesel is more expensive in winter and cheaper then gas in the summer. Depending on what kind of boat you're towing, you can go either way. If its a smaller boat I would go with gas. For heavy towing I'd go with diesel.

Maybe in Toronto, but Ohio diesel is always 15-20% more expensive. Used to be the opposite, 6-8 years ago.

As far as the OP is concerned, I'd go gas. Make these assumptions.
5k miles per year
Gas is $3.70
Diesel is $4.20

Silverado 1500 or Ecoboost F-150 4x4 (similar real-world mileage)
Price = $35,600
MPG = 17/23 so 20 combined (seems high to me but okay)
so $0.185 per mile for gas

Sierra 2500 or F250
Price = $44,800
MPG = hard to find, say 24 combined (reasonable comparison)
so $0.175 per mile for diesel

The fuel efficiency of a diesel is going to save you $.01 per mile, or $50.00 per year at 5k miles.

I say get the diesel, it'll pay for itself after only 184 years.

[chris@revotechnik]

New new or new to you?

If new new then for what you say you will use it for gas you will never recover the cost increase in the diesel.

If just new to you with the little driving you will use it for finding a 3/4 ton that is 4-5 years old with 100K will be a very good value and last forever with some basic maintainence. You can find Ram 3500 duallys with 100K on them for 15-20K for say an 05-07 (haven't looked recently), those were 50-60K new.

[GruuvenNorth]

Right now where I am, gas is $1.22 a litre and Diesel is $1.30 a litre. In the summer, it changes from ~$1.30 for gas and ~$1.19 for diesel.

[emmettlodge]

Right now where I am, gas is $1.22 a litre and Diesel is $1.30 a litre. In the summer, it changes from ~$1.30 for gas and ~$1.19 for diesel.

Must be a canadian thing. Does your diesel also come in bags?

[GruuvenNorth]

Good for shipping.

[85_305]

if not planing on towing more than say 9,000lbs go with gas. if you planing on towing more then that or have alot of 6% or 7% grades get the diesel. v6 base f150 is rated at 23mph hwy. i personally haven't seen many diesel full size trucks with four wheel drive get better than 24mpg hwy empty.

You haven't? Because my extended cab long bed 6spd superduty got 21mpg city driving (18mpg city if really ragging on it), and 23-25mpg highway depending on speed and ac use. My 1-ton dually club cab long bed 12v cummins would get 20-21mpg city and 24-25mpg highway. Going 90-95mph in my dually cummins gets me about 15-16mpg.

I drive daily my 2009 Ram 2500 3/4 ton with a Hemi and tow once a year if that but I am always hauling firewood, topsoil, wet mulch, equipment, etc and at times its loaded to the max and I need something to handle the extra wieght, thats why I bought the 3/4 ton. Plus I am not a fan of IFS in trucks i have always liked solid front and rear axles. I get about 11 mpg mostly city driving but I am running a 3" lift, 34" tires and a tuner for more power so not bad. best mpgs I have seen on a trip was about 15-16 mpgs doing 65mph. I have never had a problem with power, if you are going to tow a **** load I would get the diesel otherwise gas does just fine.

You get 11mpg city driving with an almost brand new Ram? Ouch sorry to hear that. My 1997 F250 powerstroke with a 7.3 liter motor (read: 8,000lb truck) extended cab long bed with a 6" lift and 35" fierce attitude mud tires gets 18mpg in the city. And thats with an automatic.



Lets put it this way. If you are a man and need to accomplish mans work, you need a diesel. If you have childs-play petty bs to do, get yourself a gasser.

My 1997 f250 thats been drivin in salty ny since being born, has a good lift, large tires, and has NOT been babied and it's sitting at 240k miles right now. There's not a damn thing wrong with it, and if I wanted to I could go start it up from sitting the past 3weeks, pull a house down, and still get better mileage than most modern luxury cars will in the city. My TDI has 220k miles. My cummins had 260k miles. My superduty had 140k miles. Not ONE of those vehicles had any problems or major repairs done. More than I can say for my buddy who bought a gasser hemi and went through FIVE automatic transmissions.. AND HE DOESN'T EVEN PULL. My gf's dad had a brand new gasser 2500, and was in the shop 6x after being left stranded for 2 different problems. AND HE DOESN'T PULL either.

[romanl]

D2

[Sporin]

Depends entirely on where you are at in the world. If the OP's fuel costs are anything like they are around here, diesel is almost always more expensive, year round. Summer, the difference is usually closer, but it is still higher.

OP, unless you are planning on regularly towing 8000+ lbs, I'd go for the gas 1/2 ton.

Nope. Diesel is always more expensive here, sometimes as much as a dollar more per gallon. And the season doesnt really affect the price difference.

Same here. I can't remember the last time diesel was cheaper then petrol here in New England.

Sounds like you won't be putting a ton of miles on this truck, nor hauling extra heavy loads with great regularity... so it will take a looooong time for the higher purchase price of the diesel truck to make up for it in fuel price savings.

Bear in mind that if you are buying new, rarely do the deep discounts and great deals you hear about on full size trucks apply to the diesel versions.

[emmettlodge]

As usual, Fuelly.com is a great resource for checking out what people actually get MPG-wise on specific vehicles.

Compare diesel F-250 (most fuel efficient diesel truck you can get from the "big three") to F-150 (most fuel efficient full size available from the "big three") :

You can judge for yourself, but I just don't see any tangible MPG benefit from such large diesel trucks. And it definitely doesn't offset the fuel cost.

Diesel:



Gas:

[85_305]

Are you seriously griping that a truck with 400hp and 735ft-lbs of trque that can haul 30-40,000lbs *only* gets a few better mpg than a weaker, lighter, less-capacity pulling gasser? I'm astounded.

Also, let's keep in mind that the new powerstrokes have a ton of pollutions crap that when removed add a sizeable chunk of power and mileage.

Oh and one last thing, the fords actually get the worst unladen mileage of the big 3... The gm's duramax gets the best mileage because they use super light fenders and a dinky frame. The ford gets the best mileage under load tho, as the cummins and duramax efficiencies drop off greatly when under load.

No, I lied. I'm not done; I'm going to EDIT this. Who on earth buys a much more expensive, heavy duty truck just for the mileage over a gasser?? That's just one of the added benefits of a diesel over gasser.

[someguy123]

Must be a canadian thing. Does your diesel also come in bags?

[VW1.8Tsunami]

Based on the OP's requirements, a gasser would work just fine.

My friend has a '10 F150 and does all the same things. He has a 26' boat that he tows every now and again. No complaints from him.

[GolfVIDriver]

I went through this cost benefit analysis with my trucks. And basically the jist is this:

Unless you are towing in the mountains, AND/OR towing very heavy loads (over 8,000 lbs) AND you are towing regularly (more than 3 - 4 times a week, lets say) then there's no point in going diesel, for the above reasons. If you are using the truck occasionally, then it will actually be cheaper in the long run to stick with gas.

1. For one, the cost of the diesel fuel is high and in many cases higher than gas.

2. The cost to buy a diesel rig is a LOT more, new OR used.

3. "The engine will last forever" in a diesel, but the rest of the truck is the same as the gas engine. And I know plenty of gas engine trucks with 300+K on the odo with no issues.

4. Lack of use on a diesel is REALLY bad news in the modern diesel trucks. This is where the "how much will you use it" factor comes in. I know on many Ford Powerstroke models, occasional and short-trip use is a recipie for early engine problems, and repairs on those engines are seriously big bucks.

For all those reasons, I would never choose a diesel over gas.

[gnavs]

Also, let's keep in mind that the new powerstrokes have a ton of pollutions crap that when removed add a sizeable chunk of power and mileage.

^ this

v THIS!!


972hp, 27MPG, 12V Cummins

[GermaniuM]

Must be a canadian thing. Does your diesel also come in bags?

Does your brain come in a bag?

[85_305]

Does your brain come in a bag?

hahahahahaha holysh*t thats funny. I was lol'ing at the 'diesel in a bag', but holy balls this place cracks me up

[abcdennis]

get a gasser and never look back.

[GotEuroCorrado]

Does your brain come in a bag?

burst out laughin in class.... thanks

[ladykiller]

Thanks to verizon's network outage and my work schedule, this is my first chance to reply.

I should have been more specific, I was looking at new new 2500HD trucks. I did look at used for a while, but for a little (being a relative term) more money I could get a brand new one exactely how I want it.

Diesel is usually 25 or so cents more than regular in my area. Except a few years ago when gas went sky high.

GolfVIDriver said that short-trip use on diesels is a recipie for early engine problems. On two occasions I have test driven a diesel, both times we jumped in, fired it up, went for a 5 (give or take) mile test drive and turned it off. If short trips are a problem for new diesels, why would the dealer do this?

[AZGolf]

And wait until summer time and it will be the exact opposite.

I don't think diesel has been cheaper than regular in Phoenix since before ULSD became law.

[urbancynic]

GolfVIDriver said that short-trip use on diesels is a recipie for early engine problems. On two occasions I have test driven a diesel, both times we jumped in, fired it up, went for a 5 (give or take) mile test drive and turned it off. If short trips are a problem for new diesels, why would the dealer do this?

I've never heard of that before.

My vote is for diesel if costs aren't a concern. That way you will always be able to tow and haul anything you need. Upgrades are very plentiful with diesels.

The cummins diesel is a damn good motor too.