Diesel vs gas

[rstreet]

Several years ago a knowledgeable GMC truck dealer G.M. would advise me on truck options etc. At that time he advised that 3/4 and one ton service vehicles(pickups) would not "pay off" with a diesel engine unless driven over 30,000 miles per year.

With gas and diesel prices rising and other cost issues we are facing what are some thoughts on that question only for 3/4 ton and one ton vehicles. I'm not attempting to review GMC vs. Ford vs. Dodge just generally the diesel issue.

The dealership was sold and the older G.M. has retired.
Thanks
Robert

 

[walkerheaders]

i learned the hard way............you'll never sell me a truck with less than 8 nuts holding the wheels on. i killed more than my share of 1/2 tons. beware of GM trucks with 2500 on the door, there are 3 versions. the first 2500 has 6 lug wheels. (1/2 ton in disguise) the second has a bigger 14 bolt rear but not full floating axles. this is a 7200 lb GVW and the third (mine) is the 8600 lb GVW. it's the good one.

the only way to make big power from an oil-burner is to hang a big 'ol hairdryer on it. $$$$$$
a non turbo diesel is usually a dog. and you may want to steer clear of a GM 6.2 diesel. (the Duramax is not GM) (the powerstroke is not Ford)(Cummins is not Mopar, and they sound funny IMO)

I have a 99 GMC 2500 4X4 for many years now. it has the Vortec H/O 454 with the port injection and dry manifold. will out pull and outrun any non turbo diesel at a far lower cost to operate. gets 12 mpg pulling my 8000lb trailer with the A/C on in the mountains.

my work truck is a dually F-350 with turbo powerstroke, 6 speed auto and really hauls the load. i have worked it hard enough to get only 6mpg. worked it so hard that i think a gas motor would have abandonded ship. and it keeps on tickin. just as reliabel as sunrise. but it cost $55,000.00 and my work trailer weighs about 20,000 lbs.

some times of the year, diesel cost less than gas, but mostly, way more.
for my money, and what little trailor li pull, i'll stick with the BBC.

i dont have any good conclusion other than ponder what are you REALLY gonna do with the truck. then decide.

 

[Fathead Racing]

I have just purchaced a GMC diesel dually 6.6 turbo. So I am new at this question. Marcia and I plan on loading it with a 12' slide in camper and pull the 60 to the track, or whatever race car I build. An enclosed trailer is my wish. I didn't think anything less than this would get the job done. Truck is loaded.

 

[walkerheaders]

super nice truck the Duramax / Allison combo is top of the line. congrats.
you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.

 

[gabriel-cestaro]

hi i own a 2003 gmc duramax with alison trans 4 wheel drive crew cab it was a great truck 16 mpg last year went to gmc dealer to buy a new one and they told me could not order one until apirl so upset walked next door and bought a 2007 dually crew cab f 350 diesel i miss my gmc

 

[jim_ss409]

Fatride, Nice Truck!bang

I think the diesel is a nice way to go, but they sure aren't cheap. Whether or not it's worth the extra money might depend on what you need the truck for. I'm now pulling a 40' 5th wheel trailer with my 6 liter gas powered 3/4 ton. It actually pulls it better than I expected. It holds it's speed great on hills, but it does shift a lot. I'll probably get a diesel in the next truck. I figure the better fuel economy and higher resale will make the diesel worthwhile in my case.
I just thought I'd add that my last pickup was a 1/2 ton with a 5.3 liter engine. When I got the 3/4 ton with the 6 liter engine I noticed a BIG drop in fuel economy. I think most of the reason for that is because the 3/4 ton just weighs a lot more.

 

[No409]

i get 10-13mpg with my 6.0 2500hd around town. havent made any good highway voyages with it yet.

my last truck i picked up almost a extra 50 miles per fill up just with k+n filter and a cat back, but it was a half ton with a 350

and my 76 gmc 3/4 ton gets a awesome 6mpg!

 

[bignbad60]

I'm running a F*&d f250 superduty turbo 7.3L and 6 spd manual trans. Supercab longbed 4x4 .She's a 99, that I bought back in 98...and I have nothing bad to say about this truck, has never let me down and besides oil changes and a couple of glow plugs, pretty trouble free. I did go and look at a new Duramax and after seeing the sticker and running back to my truck I think she'll last a few hundred thousand more miles.

Now as far as Gas vs Diesel, Isn't it still true that a diesels life is twice that of a gas powerplant " under normal average driving coditions ", and they seem to hold their resale value much better. I've always been told by salespeople I know that it is much easier to sell a diesel with a 150k on it than A gas truck @150k.

Tim

 

[tripower]

I have a 02' 2500 HD 4X4 with the 8.1 (496CI) BBC and the Alison Trany. I tow a 14,000 GVW tilt bed trailer and a PC-40 small excavator that runs across the scales at 12,000 LB. which is the max tow weight for my truck. It gets 13 mpg with normal driving and just under that at 11-12 mpg when towing. I would have liked to have had the Duramax but could not afford the price or the maintenance. I looked at the 6 L but it gets about the same milage as the 8.1 but not near the poop. I also have a 92 Chev 2500 Work Truck with the 6-lug as Bob Walker commented on with a 305 and a manual 5-speed I have done everything that should have killed that truck but it still keeps going with 245,000 and still has never had the heads off.

 

[rwagon57]

My boss has a '99 3/4 4x4 Powerstroke and I have a '99 Chev 3500 HD Crewcab Dually with the 7.4 BBC. We both bought new and have similar mileage (around 112K miles). He gets 15-16 mpg in town and around 19+ mpg highway. I get 10-12 mpg in town and 13+ mpg highway. Both trucks have camper shells that help with fuel economy. He has spent more $ on maintenance/repairs and I can out pull him everyday. I believe it takes 300,000 + miles to recoup the price of admission on a diesel and it may be higher than that with the new norm of diesel being .25 to .50 more/gallon than 87 octane swill. My truck runs just fine on 87 octane.

When I do replace this truck if ever I will buy another gas engine.

 

[No409]

not to change the subject, but i just did my first PM on a hybrid toyota corolla.

6500 miles on it. i figured ide take it for a test drive to see how it drove.

instead of a tach its got a Mpg gague.

my personal input was if you want to move out of anyones way, or just get the car moving, you had to be 3/4 throttle and the MPG gague was well under 20 mpg. i was not impressed. for the extra $$$$$$$$$ you spend to buy one, and how it performs, my personal opinion was its a waste of money

i would rather drive my truck with less than desirable MPG than half to drive an underpowered POS hybrid

my 2 cents

 

[droptop62]

I like new trucks sometimes as much as I like old cars.
Only thing is, I get to drive the truck everyday. I haul an occaisional car trailer,
lots of materials for stuff around the house, always buying and selling and parting out whatever classic car stuff I can find. I can get both kids in the back seat and go to the cabin with all our stuff and then some. My last three trucks have been Diesels, and I love them. Lots of stuff out there to mod your diesel if you want to. I usually add a tuner and cold air intake. Diesel might be overkill for my needs but, I wouldn't want a half ton after owning 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks. Hopefully I just need to keep one long enough to make it worth while. I have a tendancy to want a new truck a little too often.
My last three are pictured below. 03 GMC Duramax/Allison, 07 Ford F350 6.0 Powerstroke (total work horse, hated it for my needs.) 07 GMC 2500HD DUramax/Allison 6-speed. I love this truck. (some of you old schoolers will hate my custom wheels) The stock wheels go back on in the winter.

 

[MRHP]

I had 2 2003 Chev trucks. One 1/2 ton reg. cab shortbox 4x4 z71 5.3 auto with 4.10 gears and posi. The other is a 2500 h.d. ex. cab shortbox 4x4 6.0 auto 4.10 gears and posi. I dumped the 1/2 ton after a year and got a h.d. The h.d. is the best darn truck ever. I only checked fuel economy once, on the way to the K.C. convention. Tommy the wheel man and I ran 70-100 mph the whole way there and back. We got 14.8-16.2 for fuel economy. Ask Don D. how my truck runs. He rode with us to the dragstrip and back. He kept commenting on how this truck hauls ***! I do have a power programmer and custom dual exhaust. A diesel in my opinion only pays for itself if you tow or haul for a living. Service work on diesels is much more expensive than its gas counterpart. Price a 4l80e trans and an Allison. 2 batteries, spendy oil changes, and fuel is more expensive than gas! Hevan forbid your Duramax needs a set of injectors, it will be a few grand! If it runs on home heating fuel, there is somthing wrong with it.

 

[SSpev]

interesting....

as I work for Cummins, R/D
You can't out do a Cummins in a Dodge, for a pickup.
MOST don't even need it.
used $$$$$
new $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I got a 2000 Chevy 454 this spring and love it 13mpg: Pullin Impalas all over with it, quiet too. 120 k showing

New Cummins about 13mpg, as for Ford/Chevy??? Most likely the same thanks to EPA
I have friend with an older Cummins that just rould 500k miles and still going. It is a TRUE big truck engine in a pickup. You ever see the rockers in a Duramax:eek:

FYI I work on 409s hear quite often...new 6.7 B series
Phil, this could be a new one for the collection.

 

[droptop62]

New Cummins about 13mpg, as for Ford/Chevy??? Most likely the same thanks to EPA

My new GMC Duramax is getting 17mpg I expect it to get better with break in. It will do better on the freeway but daily use is 17. My 07 Ford was getting 13.

 

[impalakrazy]

2007 vortex max

When the 07's came out the new body style didn't trip my trigger but they started to grow on me so I stopped to see what we could work out. I traded my 02 gmc crew 3/4 ton 6.0 in on a 07 gmc crew 6 hole( 20's) with the vortex max trailer option - higher horse 6.0 and hd trany and does this thing run!!! I pull a 30 ft. camper , 18 ft. car trailer, skid loader and other landscaping things The one thing I can feel differant is the differance in weight ( of the truck) when i'm pulling the camper. Couldn't justify the 50 + grand for diesel when I wouldn't be using it like it should.
I like the fact that I drive it every day 13 - 20 mpg is the best part. When you put the hammer down the stock pipes sound great ( comes out under the rear bumper from the factory). There was a vidio clip on the net from the inside of a dodge ram hemi while a gmc vortex max was blowing it's doors off in a race. The comments were great.