Diesel vs gas......................
OK folks, there have been a few to many diesel vs gas threads that have shall we say gone to "Hell and a hand basket"! So if all of you would put in you BEST, no flaming reasons for going gas vs diese...
Forum Discussion
Rich,
It is highly likely that I’ll get a Ford F-250 with a V-10 gasoline engine as my first tow vehicle. There’s just too big a price difference between that and a diesel dually F-350 or Ram 3500 for me to get a diesel before I retire. Comparably equipped, comparable mileage 2005 models of those which are on sale within 100 miles of me right now are $18,000 for the gasser and $27,000 for the diesel.
The only real towing differences between a gasser and a diesel TV, before I retire, are that the diesel would be far superior for a few hours twice a year (coming and going over Donner pass) both uphill and downhill – the latter because of the exhaust brake - and that its higher tow capacity gives me more options in buying a 5th wheel, notably in getting larger used ones.
Against that I have to consider a worst case scenario of having to prematurely replace one of our existing vehicles, and use the tow vehicle for commuting instead of storing it with the RV. My Army truck friend says I’ll do more harm to a diesel dually, and reduce the its useful life more, using it as a commute vehicle than I’d hurt a gasoline V-10 lugging a 12,000 – 13,000 pound RV over Donner Pass twice each summer. A new model Crossroads Cruiser Patriot edition is about 9000 pounds empty, has a GVWR of 12,000 pounds and a hitch of about 1500. I doubt I’d fill the things so the total towing weight with hitch should be about 12,000 – 13,000 pounds.
And I won’t go over Donner Pass every summer before retirement. It looks like I’d take only one vacation a year outside California- three weeks each time- and the mountains getting to Oregon & Washington, plus those in the southern California Mojave Desert area getting to Arizona & New Mexico, are nowhere near as steep and high as Donner Pass in the central Sierra Nevada getting to Utah and Idaho. It’s possible we’d get as far east as Yellowstone. Oh yes, my location – draw a line between Sacramento and Fresno, California. I’m halfway in the flat flat flat.
The new models of Crossroads Cruiser Patriot edition, which my local dealer sells, are perfectly suitable for vacation use and right in my pre-retirement price range. I’m checking their bedrooms out today to make certain I can get my sleep apnea machine close enough to the bed. The Cruiser bathrooms and storage space are not adequate for the 3-4 months at a time trips I’ll take in retirement, but I can get a Crossroads Kingston, a Keystone Montana or a Carriage Cameo then with my vacation buyout. Those would require a diesel dually, but I could get that too allowing for trade-ins plus the rest of my vacation buy-out.
It is highly likely that I’ll get a Ford F-250 with a V-10 gasoline engine as my first tow vehicle. There’s just too big a price difference between that and a diesel dually F-350 or Ram 3500 for me to get a diesel before I retire. Comparably equipped, comparable mileage 2005 models of those which are on sale within 100 miles of me right now are $18,000 for the gasser and $27,000 for the diesel.
The only real towing differences between a gasser and a diesel TV, before I retire, are that the diesel would be far superior for a few hours twice a year (coming and going over Donner pass) both uphill and downhill – the latter because of the exhaust brake - and that its higher tow capacity gives me more options in buying a 5th wheel, notably in getting larger used ones.
Against that I have to consider a worst case scenario of having to prematurely replace one of our existing vehicles, and use the tow vehicle for commuting instead of storing it with the RV. My Army truck friend says I’ll do more harm to a diesel dually, and reduce the its useful life more, using it as a commute vehicle than I’d hurt a gasoline V-10 lugging a 12,000 – 13,000 pound RV over Donner Pass twice each summer. A new model Crossroads Cruiser Patriot edition is about 9000 pounds empty, has a GVWR of 12,000 pounds and a hitch of about 1500. I doubt I’d fill the things so the total towing weight with hitch should be about 12,000 – 13,000 pounds.
And I won’t go over Donner Pass every summer before retirement. It looks like I’d take only one vacation a year outside California- three weeks each time- and the mountains getting to Oregon & Washington, plus those in the southern California Mojave Desert area getting to Arizona & New Mexico, are nowhere near as steep and high as Donner Pass in the central Sierra Nevada getting to Utah and Idaho. It’s possible we’d get as far east as Yellowstone. Oh yes, my location – draw a line between Sacramento and Fresno, California. I’m halfway in the flat flat flat.
The new models of Crossroads Cruiser Patriot edition, which my local dealer sells, are perfectly suitable for vacation use and right in my pre-retirement price range. I’m checking their bedrooms out today to make certain I can get my sleep apnea machine close enough to the bed. The Cruiser bathrooms and storage space are not adequate for the 3-4 months at a time trips I’ll take in retirement, but I can get a Crossroads Kingston, a Keystone Montana or a Carriage Cameo then with my vacation buyout. Those would require a diesel dually, but I could get that too allowing for trade-ins plus the rest of my vacation buy-out.
