Diesel vs gas......................

Sport45 wrote:

By nature, people are pretty defensive of their possessions. As long as there is more than one option in powerplants folks will be taking sides and arguing that their choice was the right one, and it could very well be.

Looking back on my previous posts, I wasn't very clear on my point so let me see if I can do a better job this time....I hope I can.

There are plenty of magazine and internet articles that try to compare diesel against gas. Some of those articles say diesel has the advantage and others say gas has the advantage. How is someone trying to shop for a TV supposed to figure out which testing was biased and which was not? I've seen people on various forums that are very passionate about their choice and believe everyone else should make the same choice they did, even going as far as trying to degrade others for not making the same decision they did. Factoring this together, it makes it difficult (not impossible) for someone shopping for a TV to make a fully informed decision. We all know these tow vehicles, whether we buy them new or used, are very expensive and we want to make the best choice possible to suit our needs. Somehow we have to separate fact from hype in order to make that decision and doing a lot of reading and talking will help make that decision. Due to generous family and friends, I was lucky enough to sample various vehicles under towing conditions and when I looked at my towing miles (how often and where I tow most of the time) and my empty miles (commuting to work and general errands) I was able to choose the best overall TV for me.

I know the previous paragraph doesn't help the overall subject of "diesel vs gas" so, for anyone who is interested, I will give the Readers Digest version of my experience. When I had a 23 ft trailer (5,500 to 6,000 lbs loaded) the 5.3L had good power and acceptable fuel economy. When I moved up to the 30 ft trailer (9,000 to 9,500 lbs loaded) the 5.3L just didn't do the job anymore. Due to family and friends, I had experiences with the GM 6.0 gas, the GM 7.4 gas, the Dodge 5.9 gas (I think that was the size), the GM 6.5 diesel, and the 6.0 PSD. When I looked at my overall situation (towing the TT, towing the gooseneck stock trailer loaded with cattle, and towing the gooseneck flatbed loaded with farming equipment, and commuting to my 40 hour job) I decided the diesel was the best overall vehicle. When my kids are grown and moved away, I might purchase a smaller TT. If I am done farming at that time, I will go back to the 5.3 in an instant. It has already proven to me that it is a strong and reliable engine and I had no complaints when I was towing the 23 ft TT.

My uncle has the same truck I do but never tows anything with it. He bought it new in Feb 2006 and he is starting to have EGR issues. This is purely theory but I believe he is having the problems because he never uses the engine the way it was designed to be used, he only uses it to commute to work. Looking at the way he uses his truck, I think he would have been better off getting a 5.3 or even a 4.8 because they get roughly the same mileage. I, on the other hand, bought mine in April 2006 and have not had any EGR codes come up but my truck spends a lot of time hooked to heavier trailers.