GA1dad wrote:
Okay???? Clearly there is a reason the Diesel vs Gas thread got to be near 400 pages,,,,,, there's some pretty strong opinions on the subject. Heck, this one hit four pages in a day. That said, thanks to all for keeping it civil.
I will try to answer some of the questions I saw,,,,
My TT is listed as #5000 empty.
I will be towing mostly in upcountry SC,NC, TN, GA and VA. That said, there is a lot of "foothills" around here. That's where my current F-150 really bogs down. That puny little 4.6 struggles to pull our two Harley's which with trailer runs around 2200 lbs.
Once you sort through it all, you guys give some really sound information,,, thank you. It sounds like if you are able to do your own wrenching, diesel might not be too bad on the wallet, but if you have to farm out, expect to pay for it. I'm sure the same is true for gassers.
With that kind of trailer weight, a better 1/2 ton will feel like a diesel to you. Find a newer (than your 4.6) 5.7 Hemi, 6.0 GM, or potentially a newer 5.0 Ford and it'll handle the weight towing much better.
You got 7 pages of peoples opinions and prolly more before it's over.
Based on your posts you are not looking at anywhere near a new diesel, so no worry about the dpf emissions on the 07.5 and up and the def fluid on the '11 and up trucks.
Diesels command a premium, so expect to shell out close to $20k for a sub 100k mile mid 2000's Cummins or Dmax. Dont bother with a Power stroke 6.0, but if you can find a good 7.3 that's good but with Fords bad history, the 7.3's are hard to find without a ton of miles. They've all been used up while FOrd floundered with about 8 years of questionable diesels.
If you don't do your own maintenance and minor repairs then the stealers and mechanics will fleece you even more than they would for a gasser.
Fact, though, a Dmax or Cummins is really no more expensive to maintain (yourself) than a gasser. Yes they take 10-12 qts of oil but will run 7-10k miles on an oil change.
Filters are reasonable if you know where to buy them. I can do a full service at home on my 07 Cummins for about $60 including oil, filter, air filter and fuel filter. Fuel filter needs to be done every other oil change minimum and air filter as needed. S every other service is only about $40. Add a trans filter for $10 every other oil change to a Dmax with Allison trans. No need for any additives either.
Remember you're only doing this half as often or less than a gasser, unless you're spending big $ on synthetic for the gasser.
The real cost difference is the cost of injectors or injection pump IF you have a problem. In general, expect 200k + out of both of these components with a 10-20% chance that one will go bad before that 200k mark. Pretty good odds, jsut expensive if you lose the bet.
I have one of those Cummins like a guy mentioned above that likes power steering pumps. The new design pumps are EXPENSIVE, but I'll take my $70 Napa autozone re-man pump every 30-40k miles average now no problem.
ALot of the talk about front end problems on Dodges are overstated too. Many folks getting taken by alignment shops saying the ball jts are bad. I've had "bad" ball jts on my Dodge for about 50k miles now. There is nothing wrong with them. Been out of spec on caster for several years now. Tires wear great, no problems.
Advantage diesel (or gasser 3/4 or 1 ton) is the rest of the components are heavier than a half ton, so if you do alot of daily driving with it you're not wearing out brakes, u joints , unit bearings, transmission, etc near as fast as a smaller vehicle. Have yet to put front brakes on a diesel before 100k miles and never have done rears in 150k mi.
Bottom line with any used truck, it will be as good as the person who owned it previous. If it was beat up and not maintained it will cost you money. If it was well cared for, it will be much better.
