Diesel Question

[Robspana]

Question for my father in law.
He is looking at buying a pick up to tow a fifth wheel. He doesn't plan on using the truck all that much, really only to tow.
Someone told him not to get a diesel then, because it's not good to let them sit without driving them.
Is there any truth to that?

[rockfordroo]

You are opening a giant can of worms. Biggest debate on the forum. Stand by for many strong opinions. You'd have been better off just doing a search on "diesel vs gas" and reading the hundreds of threads that have already been written.

I am going to try to stay out of the debate!

[Robspana]

Was it the title, I changed it... it's really just a diesel question...

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Robspana

Question for my father in law.
He is looking at buying a pick up to tow a fifth wheel. He doesn't plan on using the truck all that much, really only to tow.
Someone told him not to get a diesel then, because it's not good to let them sit without driving them.
Is there any truth to that?

RockfordRoo is certainly correct about this being a high energy subject. We tow about a 9000 lbs bumper pull as do our friends. We have an older (2004) F250 diesel and they tow with a similar but 4X4 with the V10 gas. Now there is obviously nothing wrong with a V10 as they power all most all new Class A coaches, BUT our old diesel will run circles around the V10.

So it comes down to preference or desire. I think letting the Diesel sit is better than firing it up daily to go just a few miles locally. I felt so strongly the I bought my wife a Honda for her daily life and we SAVE the old Truck which actually at 13 years old has only 110,000 miles on it.

If you father in law does not mind being a bit under powered on uphill stretches and is patient about acceleration so be it.

THE BIGGEST thing is to buy a truck that is truely big enough to handle the Fifth Wheel he plans to buy, It is said over and over on here, DO ONT LISTEN TO SALESPERSONS about Towing Capacity of your Truck or what the Trailer Sales Clown says can pull the big maamu

Be sure that you/He learns to understand the Cargo Capacity of his Truck and the REAL requirement to tow the trailer. For interest in California to tow a trailer with high Gross Veh Weight may require a Class A license (OK Non commercial Class A so no log books) the limits are over 10,000 GVW bumper pull and over 15,000 obs GVW for a 5er.

More universally, The load capacity of his Truck The sales clowns will say OH you will be all right if you just add some load levelers or some Air Bags but if the Truck is not heavy enough the add on will not change that. Think of the overload appliances as just something that makes the ride better. The biggest problem for big Fifth Wheels is that the sales world, Truck and Trailer salespeople will LIE to you straight up to make a sale. Of in other words they will tell you what you need to hear or what you want to hear to get you to buy the truck/trailer.

Let the Buyer beware

Good Luck TOM

[Big1]

Yep, this is a loaded question and I would do your search, their are endless of information on the world wide web. I have a bumper pull that weight about 9,500 to 10,000 and for my TT it pull like no other.

But on the other hand I can pull some 5'er, my payload is 3000 lbs and towing is 15,650 I want win no race but I will get there. There is a lot of question you or he should think about those, what size, are you going to tow long or short distance but with in the limit. Yeah this is a loaded question and I would do my search.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Robspana

Was it the title, I changed it... it's really just a diesel question...

You changed the sub-title of your first post, not the title of the entire thread. I'll change the thread title. It is what appears in thread lists.

[Wileykid]

Understand this question is not what will pull better or weight, just if any negative issues of a diesel sitting for a length of time over a gas engine.

How many farm equipment sit around for several months not being used. There is a number of people that pull rv's only during the summer, and park the diesel trucks all winter.

The only issue may be fuel, but there are treatments for that.

Mark

[Iwannacamp]

X2 on the fuel. Research what's applicable to the Diesel engine you choose and use a stabilizer type supplement and probably a anti-fungus treatment. Schaeffers has good products just read on the Internet and decide what's good for you. I would not suggest dryers as most have alcohol. Good luck.

[SeaDog]

to answer your (OPs) question it is not the best to let any piece of equipment set, but there is no difference between a diesel or a gas rig with that regard. With that said the real problem is fuel and how you stabilize it. I use only SeaFoam in everything I own including my boat that sits allot.

[Jim34RL]

Originally Posted by Robspana

Question for my father in law.
He is looking at buying a pick up to tow a fifth wheel. He doesn't plan on using the truck all that much, really only to tow.
Someone told him not to get a diesel then, because it's not good to let them sit without driving them.
Is there any truth to that?

OK, I am going to answer your question with a question? How many Heavy Equipment Tractors and farm equipment sit all winter without running? My back ground is designing heavy equipment I spent 40 years in the design field. Diesel engines can sit longer than a gas engine machine with no start up issues or life issues.

What you need to do his add a stabilizer to the diesel fuel if the diesel truck/equipment will sit for an extended period of time. This is to prevent build up of water and other contaminates in the fuel. I would use something like this in my tanks for extended periods of down time on the truck.
Clear-Diesel Fuel & Tank Cleaner | Power Service

[bob213]

My diesel is a 2005 with 34K miles on it. It does not leave the garage without the trailer or boat behind it. It sits from Oct. to May without a startup in between. We do not get freezing temps but I still put a biocide in my final tank of fuel at the end of the season. No problems in 12 years. I bought the diesel to pull my boat not the trailer, but I have to say the extra power and torque when pulling the trailer is a nice bonus. Lot's of extra $$ to purchase the diesel but you can't put a price on "peace of mind".

[Robspana]

Originally Posted by Wileykid

Understand this question is not what will pull better or weight, just if any negative issues of a diesel sitting for a length of time over a gas engine.

How many farm equipment sit around for several months not being used. There is a number of people that pull rv's only during the summer, and park the diesel trucks all winter.

The only issue may be fuel, but there are treatments for that.

Mark

That's exactly what I thought

[Robspana]

Ok, thanks for the responses. Sorry about the initial Title mix up, I should have worded it better.

But when he told me I thought exactly what you guys said. Plenty of farming equipment and construction equipment that are diesel sit for periods of time.
I didn't make sense to me, but I figured maybe I was missing something.
I'll pass on the advice of the aditive, thanks again

[lmiken]

I agree that sitting any vehicle for long periods of time is bad. When I bought my F350 I drove it more than my F150 (1994, was not worth any trade in value so I kept it). My next door neighbor only used her diesel truck for occasional camping trips and had to replace the gaskets after 2 years. Then I had to replace my gaskets on the F150. My mechanic told me that you needed to run it around occasionally or the gaskets dry up. My neighbor received the same advice on her truck.

[RubyDually]

Originally Posted by Robspana

He doesn't plan on using the truck all that much, really only to tow.
Someone told him not to get a diesel then, because it's not good to let them sit without driving them.
Is there any truth to that?

The question was about letting them sit without driving... not a diesel vs gas pulling debate...

I leave my Duramax sit in the garage for a month or two often. I won't drive the truck for short trips if I can help it.

As mentioned farmers leave their diesel equipment sit idle for months all the time.

Trucking company's will sometimes leave their excess trucks sit idle with no problems.

[The_Rhino]

In addition to adding fuel stabilizer/cleaner, it is recommend to keep the tank topped-off so that there is little room for condensation...

Today's diesel has low sulfur so it does not handle water condensation well from sitting-around in half-empty tanks (like you used to be able to do w/farm tanks...) So... the condensation sinks to the bottom of the tank where micro-organisms like bacteria and algae thrive & feed off of the petroleum product. This gunk clogs fuel filters, injectors, etc. and doesn't burn-off very well...

OP, is there a reason why your F-in-L does not want to use a PU as his daily driver?

[llr]

My personal opinion is the newer "clean" diesels are more sensitive and I would take it out for a good run at least every month and use a good fuel stabilizer.
I have a 1985 medium duty box truck that sits a year or more at a time and the fuel is 5-10 years old and it always starts right up and runs good. I wouldn't do this with a new.
I doubt if the construction equipment has all the new "clean" technology.

[Robspana]

//OP, is there a reason why your F-in-L does not want to use a PU as his daily driver?//

He has a GMC 1500 now that I think he'd is keeping, so assume that will remain his daily driver.

[340xlr]

Any newer diesels have DEF, diesel exhaust fluid. It does have a shelf life. I would not recommend letting it set for months at a time.
Also, what size fiver is he looking at?

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by 340xlr

Any newer diesels have DEF, diesel exhaust fluid. It does have a shelf life. I would not recommend letting it set for months at a time.
Also, what size fiver is he looking at?

✔️✔️✔️ I forgot about DEF