Gas vs Diesel for Towing a Fifth Wheel!!!

I always hear the diesel guys beating their tom tom's about resale. Do you have to trade those things quite often? :h :B

Too funny.. You guys crack me up..

Keep it coming.

Mitch

john&bet wrote:
Whats the difference between a gas power 36' plus motor home class "C" or class "A", non pusher, and a pickup with 5th wheel say up to 40'? Same basic size,same basic weight give or take a few #'s, driven over the same roads etc.?

Very little in terms of power and mileage, IMO.

Whats the difference between a gas power 36' plus motor home class "C" or class "A", non pusher, and a pickup with 5th wheel say up to 40'? Same basic size,same basic weight give or take a few #'s, driven over the same roads etc.?

3?!! I’ve had numerous old big-block gas Fords and Chevys and all got 5 to 7 while towing really heavy.
Something is wrong if you’re only getting 3.

I have a gasser. I get 3 MPG when I hook uop to the trailer. I think that explains enough.

rhagfo wrote:
LOL! Love comparing a 12 year old diesel to a new gas engine!!
Yes, pulling power of gas has come a long ways, but so has diesel even with the emissions gear!

5th wheels keep getting bigger, longer, and heaver, best choice is still a diesel for any 5er over 12,000#.

I'm with you. And the difference between a 05 LLY & a 18 L5P is like going from the 04 6.0 to the 05 6.6. I own a diesel DRW truck because I want to. I like having more truck than needed. If you need to justify the cost of RV'ing, you have the wrong hobby.

You have to look at more than what the book says the stock numbers are.
The book says my old Cummins only makes 420 ft/lbs and 215 HP. In reality, with a few relatively easy changes it makes twice that and if I want 700 HP, all I have to do is swap a couple more pieces. I probably will, just for fun.

I don’t think “which is better for towing a 5th wheel” can be answered without defining “better”.
Gas trucks generally can get the job done with a lower overall cost.
If you tow your trailer on the sand dunes, gas trucks are the only good option, diesels are too nose heavy and they plow in and get stuck too easy.
Whatever you hauled up a mountain with a diesel, someone did it before with an old gas truck. Just not as fast.
Diesels are generally more powerful, and a lot more fun to drive with a heavy load. You don’t really “need” all that power, but I sure do like it!

The exhaust brake on a diesel is a big plus coming down the mountains, but gas engines don’t need them as much because they make a lot more compression braking power on their own, they essentially have an “intake brake”. The reason diesels have so little compression braking is they have no throttle plate. Air is free to run right through them.
Gas engines are throttled, they get corked up at the intake, kind of like how an exhaust brake corks up a diesel at the other end.

I think everyone agrees the diesel is “better” at hauling heavy loads, but one of the reasons they go uphill better is you’re carrying a much lighter wallet.

You can’t compare to big-truck diesels. Some pickup diesels make as much power as many big-truck diesels. But the huge 15-liter big-truck motor is way understresswd. It COULD make a zillion HP. It’s detuned to where it can run full throttle uphill under a huge load all day long without even getting hot.
That’s why they go so many miles. But the truth is by 500,000 they’re usually pretty tired or have already been overhauled.

I pulled several trailers up many a mountain with a gas pickup. It was the day of driving across South Dakota on Interstate 90 with a 45mph headwind that made me switch. Spool up the turbo a bit and off you go with a diesel.

IMHO, there are a number of differences between gassers and diesels. Just like heated seats and 4WD, each person has to weigh the differences in THEIR situation. Do you NEED heated seats when you could just throw down an extra cushion? Buy what suits you.

5th wheel and camper towing is about more than weight. Frontal square footage and wind resistance are also big factors.

When we looked at upgrading our TV, we considered gas vs diesel and decided it didn't make sense to buy new for our needs.

I'm about $20k into a nice 2002 7.3L Ford Excursion in very good condition (rust free) with just a few minor issues (new seat leather likely later this year for about $1k), and I've already rebuilt the front end and performed most of the 200k service interval items, which we accepted as part of the initial costs, but now good for another 200k miles.

In that cost we have also been able to increase the output and decrease the stress by about 30-50%. Dialing in the last part of it now.

Will our next truck be a gasser or a diesel? Who knows. Just like OP, we'll evaluate it at that time, look at the differences and then decide what is best for us.

I think people who respond to threads like this try to include "Why we are happy with our choice of diesel or gas" - likely more helpful than simply stating the differences that often deteriorates into an academic exercise of "who is smarter about engines" LOL.

The opinions I respect most are those who approach it from the position of "This is my opinion and here are the facts and reasons why," rather than "I know best and anyone who doesn't agree is an idiot" ;)

Longevity, comfort, solid reputation, DIY-maintenance capabilities, superb towing capabilities, stress free travel, pride of "self-built and modified," LEV rating without all the expensive EPA garbage, loads of interior passenger and cargo space, and low initial and ongoing costs are key reasons we purchased our diesel a few years ago.

Cheers!