Gas vs Diesel for Towing a Fifth Wheel!!!

valhalla360 wrote:

DiskDoctr wrote:


Fuel savings are one thing, but when you consider a single diesel to outlast...maybe 2 or 3 gassers...Then you have $50k-$70k savings x 2 or x3 with perhaps $2k per year to keep the diesel parts fresh and not worn out.

So $50k every 5 years for a new gasser...buys a LOT of diesel, LOL.

Lots of other things to consider, but this is the one that attracted me to diesel the most. Longevity. Sure, nearly constant "something" needing done, but it's getting less and less expensive. Figure about $2k every 200k miles, with a $5k bump for a HD transmission upgrade ONCE for lifetime, depending on your truck.

Of course, you have to be okay with driving an older truck. Some people like to drive a new one every couple of years, though. To each his own :C

Again, as stated, they don't make gas engines for commercial trucks that last as long as diesels because there is no demand for the engine but that is fuel costs driving the process. Technologically, it can be done fairly simply.

But given the available engines, the idea that a typical non-commercial diesel will outlast a gas engine by 2-3 times is just silly. Gas engines routinely get 200-250k miles and that typically corresponds to around 20yrs. By that point other parts of the truck are failing and it's no longer cost effective to replace them.

Of course, if you really are putting 500k miles on a pickup (maybe 50k/yr on the carnie circuit), for less than the original cost of the diesel upgrade, you can have a new gas engine dropped in.

If you simply want a diesel and can afford it...go for it.
If you are pulling heavy beyond what the gas engines are rated for...go for it.
If you really want an exhaust break because you spend a lot of time in the mountains...go for it.
If you want a balanced comparison of which makes more sense...longevity is no longer a viable argument.