Gas vs. diesel

JaxDad wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I have owned both with the same trailer.

The gas got 9 to 10 towing my trailer.

The diesel got 12 to 13 towing the same trailer.

Where I live, the diesel comes out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay on top. When I travel over the country, the diesel comes out waaaaaaaaaaaaaay on top.

Just out of curiosity, what makes the diesel come out "waaaaaaaaaaaaaay on top"?

At first glance I thought maybe you meant fuel savings, but at an (average) savings of 1.5 mpg (9.5 - 11) and an average fuel price of say $4 / gal. the savings would only be in the order of $0.08 / mile.

At that rate I doubt many people would ever keep the vehicle long enough to recoup the cost of the diesel upgrade.

What am I missing?

Let me answer your question with an example; my vacation last year. Your figures are not my figures.

Here are "my" figures, and I have owned both a gas and a diesel rigs so I have no grudge or love for either. They both worked great. I have owned the same trailer and have towed it with both so it's apples to apples.

I traveled close to 5 thousand miles on my vacation last year in my 06 Dmax and TT. I keep every single price I pay for fuel and how much I take on. After the trip I added everything up and did the math on it. It came out that I got a hair over 12 MPG. That means I bought 416 gallons of #2. The average price for this fuel was $3.65/ gallon. The average price for regular gasoline was around 25 cents cheaper at that time. (Although it' about 50 cents cheaper now where I live)


Being that I have only 3 weeks vacation a year I have to haul a$$. 70 to 75 MPH is usually the limit on the freeways I travel and I'm at it all the time. There is no way in He!! my gas truck would get even 9 MPG at those speeds. 8 would be more like it. (The gas rig would get 9 to 10 at 55 to 60 MPH)

That is a 4 MPG difference. So lets do some math:

5000 miles / by 8 MPG= 620 gallons of gasoline.
5000 miles/ by 12 MPG= 416 gallons of #2 diesel.

$3.40 / gallon of gasoline x 620= $2,108
$3.65 / gallon of #2 diesel x 416= $1,500

That is a savings of $600 bucks on ONE vacation trip alone.

7 vacation trips x $600 savings = $4,200 in fuel savings over the 7 years I have owned my truck. (that's not figuring cheaper diesel, and sometimes it was cheaper than gasoline.)

I'm in the black with my truck now and have been for a few years because of the fuel savings. My Dmax gets 19 MPG out on the hwy and the 6.0 gas work truck I drove got 14 to 15. So another 4 MPG savings even when I'm not on vacation.

Since I keep my trucks 20 to 25 years the savings can really add up.......for "me."