Decisions....Gas or Diesel

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I've owned 1 diesel truck, and it was nice, when I needed it. I just didn't need it that often, and I made too many "short" trips to use it as a daily driver. At the time, I was told unless driving at least 25/30 miles, better not to drive it at all. Things may have changed. Unless you're pulling through the mountains, I wouldn't be afraid to pull that with my 3.6 Pentastar Ram. The Hemi I had would have been a cake walk.
 
pre 2004 Diesel all day, after that they started adding all kids of emission crap on em. the new ones with the Deff and even more emission crap you can keep.
have seen plenty of the new lighter duty diesels ( in the 1500's ) stranded on the side of the road due to regen issues. I worked on the 7.3's & 6.0's at the dealer.
7.3's were indestructible, 6.0's were headaches ( unless you pulled all the egr cooler crap off ) and drove it like a diesel! I was pretty disappointed with the Ford - Dodge offerings when I was looking a couple years back. resale values were terrible due to all the rebates and offers? ended up with a Tundra, so far its been great.
 
vitamindart said:
pre 2004 Diesel all day, after that they started adding all kids of emission crap on em. the new ones with the Deff and even more emission crap you can keep.
have seen plenty of the new lighter duty diesels ( in the 1500's ) stranded on the side of the road due to regen issues. I worked on the 7.3's & 6.0's at the dealer.
7.3's were indestructible, 6.0's were headaches ( unless you pulled all the egr cooler crap off ) and drove it like a diesel! I was pretty disappointed with the Ford - Dodge offerings when I was looking a couple years back. resale values were terrible due to all the rebates and offers? ended up with a Tundra, so far its been great.
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Everyone I talk to around here that works on them all say the same thing. That the 6.0 Powerstroke is the best one ever made.........AFTER you spend 6K doing all the bulletproofing stuff. Once that's done, they are supposedly the baddest of the bad. I've seen a few and believe it. Mine was junk. At 36K it was pukin oil back through the turbo and losing coolant.....I diagnosed it myself. Head gaskets leaking. Just like most all of them. Dealer said it was the EGR cooler and put FIVE on it. Still did the same thing. I got sick of it and traded it. Had I bought one of the last 7.3s, I'd still have it. Oh well.
 
I had a co worker that had an early Duramax shortbed (1 of 2 made!, even had the unique rear wiring harness part number to prove it) , he claimed he almost got 40 mpg empty on flat desert highways. Diesel out here in CA is about .10-.20 over gas now but hauling I believe still gets you better mileage over gas. Darn M.A.N. injection system cracked an injector and hydrolocked his motor..twice! Yes, 2 factory replacement blocks were installed. Dealer was about to buy the truck back off him so they could get it off the warranty books. 16 quarts of oil at >$10 a pop? F that. I thought replacing 4 gas O2 sensors was bad.....came close to buying a 50 mpg Diesel 8 years ago...a diesel VW 'Caddy" truck!
 
66jim said:
I consider a truck a work tool, looks are secondary,some might think the Ford looks better? I have noticed Ford,GM and Dodge seem to be in a beauty contest, I get it
sell more. I wish they would focus on more on durability and less on bling. Form follows function.
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You need high heels when driving ford.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Everyone I talk to around here that works on them all say the same thing. That the 6.0 Powerstroke is the best one ever made.........AFTER you spend 6K doing all the bulletproofing stuff. Once that's done, they are supposedly the baddest of the bad. I've seen a few and believe it. Mine was junk. At 36K it was pukin oil back through the turbo and losing coolant.....I diagnosed it myself. Head gaskets leaking. Just like most all of them. Dealer said it was the EGR cooler and put FIVE on it. Still did the same thing. I got sick of it and traded it. Had I bought one of the last 7.3s, I'd still have it. Oh well.
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we made the mistake of trading in our 7.3 to get the 6.0 ( got a great deal because I worked there ) luckily we have avoided most of the 6.0 problems with ours.
260k on it now but, we deleted the egr cooler, put in a coolant filter and put a exhaust on it. the body is beyond toast due to the salty roads up here.
as soon as dad gets his new Ram she will be retired for and sold off ( before the bed blows off..... )
 
I am a "new" first time Cummins owner. I had a gas 3/4T, the old "white whale III" but it was a short cab and needed "something" IE a 5 speed instead of torqueflite, to tow better. I would have fixed it up, but "small cab." I found an 01 Cummins, big cab, and "I thought" I wanted a 2WD. I wish I'd bought a 4wd. It's a 5 speed, I did NOT want an auto. Unfortunately, it does not have a limited slip rear axle.

Other than wishing I'd gotten a 4x4 after all, I'm happy. I don't use it that much, and THERE IS ONE IMPORTANT consideration. That is 'short trips'. There's lots of stuff I do here, that is a couple miles, maybe 5. Even grocery shopping is only about a 10 mile trip, but of course I'm at the store long enough it cools off some. So properly getting it warmed up is an issue for "errands."
 
Here is my $0.02. The diesel costs a lot more up front. Plus diesel costs more at the pump. However, You will probably get enough better fuel mileage with diesel that fuel cost will likely be a wash. Oil changes cost more. Post warranty maintenance costs will likely be more. Usually, a good diesel engine will last longer than a gas engine, and if you ever sell it, I bet you would get most of the money spent on the diesel upgrade back. Lots of pros and cons. It really boils down to what you really want. Overall, I think the pros are better. I would drop the dime on the diesel.
 
I have never been passed by a gasser towing while towing up hill. I also can maintain the speed limit while towing up hill. The extra power is worth the extra expense, if there is any real extra expense.
 
Ram Diesel hands down. I’ve owned 3 since 1994. The only issue that cost me money other than oil changes and filters was when I had to have the differential bearings changed and that was because the dealer set it up wrong when I had them add a suregrip unit to it. All of the posters saying that there is a extra cost for the diesel up front are forgetting that the resale value of the diesel is higher also.
 
I have pulled with 454 1 t. chevies and cummins for decades. My newest Cummins now is a 95 I bought new. I had 3-4 late 80's. Stepson has a new Cummins.
What was rule for these beast years ago has changed somewhat.
The diesel costs more to maintain, repair costs an be higher, the new Cummins has crap added on for pollution? that robs mileage and costs extra $.
Diesels are for putting on lots of hard miles, pulling a load that requires its torque. A million miles out of a Cummins is not uncommon. The truck itself will fail (fall apart) first.
I read other day Ford is coming out with a new V8 gas engine, to compete with their diesel.
 
Diesels don't like cold weather. They take a long time to heat up and stink up the air when they are idling. But for constant heavy towing or heavy loads, they can't be beat.

My neighbor told me that new regulations coming out soon will require emissions testing of diesels. And ALL factory emissions gizmos will have to be on the truck and working. I don't know if this applies to all states.
 
That '95 3500 Cummins Ram I bought new, I hope will soon be worth big $$$$ to the guy that wants an old 12 valve Cummins without all the pollution stuff!!!!!! lol
I read other day in car mag where Ford has developed a new pretty good size gas v8 to compete with its Diesel?
 
Thanks SO much for all the replies!!! Sorry... I didn't say how we were going to use the new tow vehicle...For the most part it will just sit...we have a Ram 1500 that will take over most of the driving .....unless the wife & I are going in opposite directions on certain days. We live in NE Iowa so we do have some hilly country. The new truck will pretty much just be used for pulling the travel trailer. Now that we're both retired... we can pick up and go at a moments notice. We plan on taking one big trip ... NW... West...SW areas per year...and a few places out East to explore... then mostly a 150mi radius of home. Thanks again for all your suggestions Pro & Con.
 
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