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Gas or Diesel


cockneyboy

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I own a 07 2500hd Chevy duramax. Tow with it all the time. I recently got an 18 2500 HD gasser. I hooked up the goose neck trailer to move some hay bales. I will never tow a real heavy load with that truck again. It was so doggy. Granted I was over loaded on soft gravel roads but my duramax and the farms dodge with a cummins handle the same load a heck of a lot better than that gasser did.

On the other hand my brother has a ford gasser and he loves it. He has a 36 ft TT.  He likes that high RPM engine. I prefer the low RPM high torque diesel. But he never leaves Nebraska. He stays on the flat. I make a yearly pilgrimage to Kentucky. Even the Duramax struggles in the mountains.

We get the same MPG when towing our campers. I have 33 ft 5er. HE a 36 ft TT.

Farmer, Trucker, Equipment operator, Mechanic

Quando omni flunkus moritati-When all else fails, play dead
I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess.

 

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On January 10, 2018 at 3:07 PM, cockneyboy said:

Just drove back to Texas from Arizona on Interstate 10. Regular gas was around 2.15 to 2,25 per gal. Diesel was 3.09 to 3,29 per gallon.

Now I am no mathematician, but it seems crazy to buy a Diesel truck with that much difference in fuel prices, initial costs and maintenance cost.

I'm sure you will hear from many diesel-mathematicians who beg to differ.  They will argue that while gas is cheaper per gallon, diesel is cheaper per mile - so the issue is cost per gallon per mile.  I don't think that's what motivated most of us diesel types.  I believe everybody weighs out a tradeoff between what we want and what we can afford, limited by what we need. Everybody needs a safe RV.  You can get that with gas or diesel.   And gas has a lower up front cost.   Few buy a diesel thinking they are going to spend less on fuel.  For those of us who picked diesels there was probably some factor, other than cost, that  made us choose diesels.    If you value performance, and can afford to indulge that desire, diesel is a pretty good choice.   For me the additional costs of up-front , fuel and maintenance costs is a good price to pay for the difference in performance.  I've lived on the other side of the split, too.  

Jinx and Wayne

2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

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  • 2 weeks later...

All has to do with weight of trailer. I tow a 7k pound,20' toy hauler. Have been using a 2006 Cummins for past 12 years. Getting a new truck next week and it is a gas 2018 6.4L Ram. 

HP and Torque are near to my 06 Diesel. Granted at higher RPM.

I think towing anything over about 10k pounds and I'd be looking at another Diesel. But the cost difference for identical trucks is $8k in my neck of the woods. And the gas truck has nearly 1000 pounds more payload should I want another truck camper.

Reports of the 6.4 as a tow vehicle are very positive.

No DEF fluid, no particulate filter, no turbo, about $1.00 to $.75 per gallon difference and fuel mileage is only about 20 percent less for my size trailer. Saving about $30 every time I fill up. Only drive the truck about 15,000 miles a year. 

You can't imagine how much time I've spent making this decision. 

RoyB

South of Boston

2021 Dodge 2500 - 6.4L

Forest River 19RR Toy Hauler

Roofnest Falcon Rooftop Tent

www.rvbprecision.com

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5 hours ago, OkieBoomers said:
  Per Gal MPG Miles Traveled Gals required Total Cost
Diesel 3.09 10 300 30  $    92.70
Gas 2.25 6 300 50

 $  112.50

It is really not that simple. Your math is correct for the assumptions that you've made, but I am pulling a 15,000 pound fifth wheel with my Ford V-10 and I average better than 6 mpg. And many folks who tow with a diesel will have different numbers as well. 

There is no correct answer here.  To do the "Life of the Truck, cost per mile" correctly you've got to figure in initial cost, maintenance costs, fuel costs, how many miles you intend to drive the truck before you trade it in or sell it, towing capacity, etc. And even then you won't know the true answer until you get rid of the truck!

Folks are going to buy what they want to buy, which is often what they are used to driving. There is a guy on the  Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum right now with buyers remorse because he got rid of his diesel and bought a similar gasoline truck. His biggest complaint?  It tows fine but shifts too much going up hills!!  In spite of many excellent explanations regarding gasoline engines making their power in different rpm ranges and simply needing to shift more often, he is unhappy with his new truck. Go figure...

Mark & Teri

2021 Grand Designs Imagine 2500RL, 2019 Ford F-350

Mark & Teri's Travels

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On May 3, 2018 at 8:57 AM, OkieBoomers said:
  Per Gal MPG Miles Traveled Gals required Total Cost
Diesel 3.09 10 300 30  $    92.70
Gas 2.25 6 300 50

 $  112.50

Right now in my location (Bangor, Maine) summer prices are setting in. Diesel is $3.20 and gas is $2.75.  My 2017 F350 dually diesel 10.5 mpg with a 16,000# fifth wheel towing at 58 mph on the highway.  That is 28.6 gal for 300 miles = $91.52.  For gas at 6 mpg that is $137.50 for gas.  At 7 mpg for gas it is $117.86. 

I have a 12,000 mile trip coming up.  That is about 1,143 gal or $3,657.60.  DEF isn't much of a cost.  I get about 450 mpg towing or about 27 gal at $2.75 per gal for an additional $74.25.  For gas at 7 mpg it is 1,714 gal or $4,713.50.   

But as I said before, It all boils down to personal preference.  If cost were the only factor in our purchases we would all own the same thing; that would be whatever had the lowest overall cost.  I like the performance of a diesel.  Some folks find the tipping point is the lower upfront cost of gas.  Some folks want all of the bells and whistles in a truck interior.  Others are happy with fewer amenities.  We make tradeoffs.  Diesel is not better than gas and gas is not better than diesel.  They are different.  We are people.  We are all different.

Jinx and Wayne

2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

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Maybe I missed it scanning through this thread, but I haven't seen time/distance towing versus driving uncoupled as it impacts cost of fuel and maintenance.
If the vehicle spends most of its miles towing then Diesel certainly makes the most sense, as GlennWest points out. HDTs are generally used for towing and not much running about town or sight seeing, especially in fleet use.
If most miles on the TV are unhitched, say tow for 200-400 miles to a site that the RV will sit parked for several weeks and the TV is used for general running around then the economic scales tip back towards gasoline.

There are just too many factors to consider to say one or the other is best for all.

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I can understand that. I have heard from folks that have owned diesel pickups that later models don't seem to get the mileage they use to and gassers are certainly getting better mileage on the whole than they used to. 

The things I've been seeing lately while researching for my next truck have shown that Highway MPG on otherwise similar trucks are pretty close nowadays. Towing is where the real differential comes in, diesels maintain their mileage better in those conditions. So less time towing would lead to less advantage for diesel. Now there are the factors that properly cared for diesel engines can have a longer life expectancy, which should certainly be taken into account as well. 
 

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