I surrender you Diesel guys win! I am coming!!!

[Dodge Guy]

I don't know! I love my gasser. I have passed many a diesel going up the side of a mountain. 5k RPM is music. I don't want anything to do with the new diesels! And I'm a CUMMINS tech! Give me a pre 2010 CUMMINS and maybe I'll consider. Until then my V-10 works for me!

[Torch]

150

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by porkchopjack

I like the power of the diesel but beware the cost of repair and maintenance is unreal 150.00 to change oil, 185.00 to change fuel filter and 4000.00 if you get some bad fuel and have to repair the injectors. I had the bid diesel never again. I will stick with the old gas hog ford.

I paid $54 for my oil change on my 2014 Duramax at the Chevy dealer. You guys that claim $150+ for an oil change must be doing something wrong.

[spock123]

I buy my oil at Walmart and change it myself. I would change the fuel filter but that's way to hard. I buy the fuel filter and let the dealer install it


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[BandJCarm]

I don't know what they cost. I negotiated 3 free oil changes and tire rotations when I bought the Dually in April. First one is scheduled for next week........at right at 6K miles. DIC says I have 14% left as of today, right at 5,900 miles.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by polishdon

I paid $54 for my oil change on my 2014 Duramax at the Chevy dealer. You guys that claim $150+ for an oil change must be doing something wrong.

X2. I think their mechanics see 'em coming in that fancy diesel and triple the prices

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by polishdon

I paid $54 for my oil change on my 2014 Duramax at the Chevy dealer. You guys that claim $150+ for an oil change must be doing something wrong.

At $54.00 your getting a pretty darn good deal, that must be non synthetic oil.

I do my own and can hardly change it for that.

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[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by jheacox1

After pulling the Rockies on I 70 west yesterday I surrender. The gasser white flag is waving. Haha!
Sure I did it. Sure I kept it at 45 to 55 but it was taxing on the gasser. 5000-5500 rpms the whole way. Just not really a confortable tow on those kind of grades for extended periods of time. Lost momentum once when I got trapped behind a slow moving big rig. That was not fun in any way.
Trading in the gasser as soon as I can and upgrading to the Diesel F350 (or maybe even a Ram 3500 or GMC Denali 3500).

Diesel contingent here I come!

2015 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8281WS
2015 F250 Crew Cab

Take a real hard look at the RAM 3500 - when we were still thinking 5er, this was our choice. Cummins engine and the Aisin tranny -- while not a Allison it was darn close!

[jbhodj]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

But IMHO I have yet to see a truck that has sufficient Payload Capacity for X trailer, and then fail to have enough towing capacity for that trailer.

Ford Chevy Dodge whatever it this statement right here, black and white is why I'm looking at upgrading to a 2500-3500. Payloads are weak IMHO on many of today's half tons and I was shocked when I ran mine across CAT scales and I bet many 3/4 would be surprised too


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[BandJCarm]

Originally Posted by jbhodj

Ford Chevy Dodge whatever it this statement right here, black and white is why I'm looking at upgrading to a 2500-3500. Payloads are weak IMHO on many of today's half tons and I was shocked when I ran mine across CAT scales and I bet many 3/4 would be surprised too


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I have undergone a major conversion since February.

I had a 2500 diesel. I thought "It's enough for anything out there". I was wrong. Payload was (still is, whoever owns it.......LOL) 2,286.

Fifth wheel I bought in April has 2,407 pin weight dry, probably 3,000 loaded. BAM. I was dead before I started.

So I got a Dually.

Then the arguments of diesel vs. gas go away.........ain't no gas Dually's.

[hondo]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I have undergone a major conversion since February.

I had a 2500 diesel. I thought "It's enough for anything out there". I was wrong. Payload was (still is, whoever owns it.......LOL) 2,286.

Fifth wheel I bought in April has 2,407 pin weight dry, probably 3,000 loaded. BAM. I was dead before I started.

So I got a Dually.

Then the arguments of diesel vs. gas go away.........ain't no gas Dually's.

You can still buy a new gm dually with a gas engine.

[kc5mhb]

Originally Posted by Dodge Guy

I don't know! I love my gasser. I have passed many a diesel going up the side of a mountain. 5k RPM is music. I don't want anything to do with the new diesels! And I'm a CUMMINS tech! Give me a pre 2010 CUMMINS and maybe I'll consider. Until then my V-10 works for me!

My 2000 F250 V10 is the same. I have the 4:30 gears so it's not too bad climbing hills except for the fuel economy. I looked for a 2000 - 2002 7.3 and wasn't about to pay what they were asking for those. I gave $9500 for a 58K mile truck that I've had little maintenance on and its paid for. It did come with the full Banks Power Pack on it but I've removed the chip and transmission shift module in lieu of a SCT X3 tuner from Mike at Five Star Tuning.

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by jheacox1

After pulling the Rockies on I 70 west yesterday I surrender... 5000-5500 rpms... upgrading to the Diesel F350...

For a number of years I drove a variety of gas & diesel 1/2, 3/4 & 1 tons for construction related work, helped maintain the fleet & was aware of their expenses. Diesels are a MUST if you are towing anything over 10,000... However, over their lifetime the diesels always had a higher annual cost of ownership, sometimes 2X what a gasser cost & IMO it is only worse now with added emissions & DEF issues to deal with...

We will spend 40+ days camping this year, but only about 8 of those days are actually traveling/towing, and then only about 4 days in the mountains... IMO I'm not going to pay $10K - $15K+ more over the lifetime of a truck just so I can have a better towing experience a few days here & there... I'd rather invest that money into assets that appreciate - like our house/property in the country or kids' college funds...

For instance, in 2013 I purchased a rust-free 2 year-old 2011 Ram 2500 CC w/5.7 Hemi & balance of powertrain warranty for $14K. In comparison $14K would have only landed me a rusty 2004 era diesel w/double the mileage & no warranty. Incidentally, about a year later Ram replaced my Hemi under their powertrain warranty & provided an additional 3 year warranty on the new engine...

So, now the truck is paid-off, the new engine only has 15,000 miles on it, and it's still under warranty. In comparison, had I bought a 2004 diesel, it would be nickel & diming to death right now - based on our fleet experiences... And had the diesel developed major problems, like the 6.0's did, then I might be out $6000+ more - just to have a slightly better towing experience a few days a year in the mountains...

With a GCVW of 15,000 my 5.7 Hemi has no issues maintaining 65 mph throughout the Appalachian/Smoky Mts. It's supposed to run at 4,500+ developing max torque, so I just let it do it's thing. My engine/tranny temps never climb in the mountains, so all must be good. Within 2 years we'll plan a trip out West. Yes, I will drop to 35 mph on some Rocky Mt. passes, but so will the semi truck & gas motorhomes in front of me. By not expecting to be first up the mountain I'll be saving $15K+ over the lifetime of this truck, so I'll just sit back & enjoy the scenery... Also, by being frugal, buying used gear, etc. we are able to spend more days camping & less days working...

[itat]

If I were looking at a 5er, I'd probably be thinking like The_Rhino since we wouldn't be actually towing more than 10 days a year and it would be a daily driver (unloaded) the rest of the year. In my case, the only reason I have a truck at all is the TT.

Clearly, the diesel is tops for HP and torque - no argument there - but is it justifiable financially if you're towing a typical 5er that's well under 10,000#? For me it would come down to the cost of ownership (COO). The big gas engines seem to get much poorer MPG but is that really offset by lower maintenance costs? And you have to factor in the higher initial cost. Re-sale value only counts if you're going to trade/sell it in less than 7-10 years.

Does anybody have a link to a non-biased review of the COO for a 3/4 or 1 ton gas vs diesel when maintenance is done by a mechanic? That might help the OP and anybody else considering moving to a diesel, rather than subjective opinion. It would be really helpful to see a COO comparison based on the percentage of mileage towing vs. unloaded so you can see the tipping point when the diesel becomes a no-brainer.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by itat

Does anybody have a link to a non-biased review of the COO for a 3/4 or 1 ton gas vs diesel when maintenance is done by a mechanic? That might help the OP and anybody else considering moving to a diesel, rather than subjective opinion.

Good luck with that! I would think that would almost be impossible given all the variables.

Everyone assumes diesels initial cost is much more, and repairs are inescapable and astronomical. I haven't found that to be the case. We bought our now 10 year old diesel new for the same or less than gassers at the time. Just have to wait for the right deal. This particular diesel has had zero repair cost (other than standard maint) which is why we keep it. We have had other trucks (some gas, some diesel) that required major repairs and we didn't keep them. All our trucks are always daily drivers. We aren't rich enough to buy a truck only to pull the RV But 6 years (and counting) of no payments is very nice on the pocket book.

At this point this discussion is purely academic. If the OP finds a good deal on a truck.. buy it! If it's diesel, then even better. He won't regret it. He might even get a truck as good as ours

[prestonj12]

I've had my Duramax for several years. Bought it with 60k miles. Have near 100k on it now. A total of $32 in repair. Two glow plugs. Everything else has been scheduled maintenance.


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[Hersbird]

Our Duramax needed a metal shim placed in the fuel pressure regulator. Not a new regulator mind you just a thin peice of sheet metal placed under the regulator. $550. It was a TSB which means probably a common problem but past warranty so out of pocket. Oil changes were at least $50 more, maybe you can go more miles but in our case we didn't even put 2000 miles a year on the truck so it was a time limit, not a mileage limit and gas or diesel we would have had the same number of changes. We buy used and sell used so resale isn't a factor, sure the diesel has great resale but that kills you buying a used one. We will probably keep a truck 5 years so a $20,000 diesel goes to a $15,000 diesel while the same truck used in gas may go from $13000 to $8000 percentage worse but my wallet sees the same $5000. The main thing I pointed out before, a 1500 gas makes a decent daily driver, while a 2500 diesel sits most of the time because it's only good for towing

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

The main thing I pointed out before, a 1500 gas makes a decent daily driver, while a 2500 diesel sits most of the time because it's only good for towing

Maybe a 2500 diesel sits and is only good for towing but my previous daily driver was an F250 and current daily driver is a 2016 F350. It is the gas SUV that sits in my garage.

[BandJCarm]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

Maybe a 2500 diesel sits and is only good for towing but my previous daily driver was an F250 and current daily driver is a 2016 F350. It is the gas SUV that sits in my garage.

Me too.

Best daily driver I ever had was the diesel 3/4 Chevy. I drive the 3500 daily now. I hate driving the wife's 1500...........

[Hersbird]

What on earth do you like more driving a 3500, unloaded day to day in a working commuting environment vs a 1500? They have crap suspensions unless loaded. My Hemi mpg beats the Duramax mpg in normal daily use. The emergency handling and stopping distances of the diesel compared to the Hemi is almost a danger to others on the road in comparison. I think it's a fair thing to say a 1500 makes a better daily driver then a 2500 diesel for the vast majority.