Diesel vs gas for truck campers?
Have posted a few questios phere on the truck camper forum asking for help in down sizing to a TC and thanks for the help so far, I have been going over the weights of the TC's that we have looked at...
Forum Discussion
The problems with the fuel systems in modern high pressure common rail diesels are shared to some extent by all the Big Three (and a lot of foreign sedans). Google "water in fuel" followed by your favorite brand and you will get hundreds of thousands of hits for any of them. They are pretty much all using the same Bosch injection components. They won't run on c**ppy fuel like the old ones used to.
I am not convinced the DPF robs much (or any) power. Taking it off will net you little extra. The back pressure is constantly monitored and generally less than 0.5 psi. Most of the people deleting the DPF also tune, that can add power and rob reliability. The devil is in the details. My '15 F350 is identically spec'd to my '99 F350. They get almost identical mileage, while the '15 has WAY more power. The '15 does not smell like a diesel, is quiet, and produces no soot. Deleting all the smog equipment results in a mileage increase of around 0.5 average, according to several who have done it and kept careful records. This is on the Ford 6.7L, the 6.4L and 6.0L are an entirely different story.
There have been a couple of 2011 Ford 6.7L for sale back east with over 800,000 miles on the original engine, and quite a number over 400,000 so they can last a long time.
The smog equipment is another repair item, and can be an expensive one. For a comparison of repair costs, take a look at the price for an extended warrantee. We can presume this includes the actuarial probability of repair costs. A diesel will cost a couple of hundred dollars more than a gasser for a warrantee that covers 5 years. In contrast, 4x4 costs nearly a thousand more than 4x2, several times what the diesel upcharge is.
I am not convinced the DPF robs much (or any) power. Taking it off will net you little extra. The back pressure is constantly monitored and generally less than 0.5 psi. Most of the people deleting the DPF also tune, that can add power and rob reliability. The devil is in the details. My '15 F350 is identically spec'd to my '99 F350. They get almost identical mileage, while the '15 has WAY more power. The '15 does not smell like a diesel, is quiet, and produces no soot. Deleting all the smog equipment results in a mileage increase of around 0.5 average, according to several who have done it and kept careful records. This is on the Ford 6.7L, the 6.4L and 6.0L are an entirely different story.
There have been a couple of 2011 Ford 6.7L for sale back east with over 800,000 miles on the original engine, and quite a number over 400,000 so they can last a long time.
The smog equipment is another repair item, and can be an expensive one. For a comparison of repair costs, take a look at the price for an extended warrantee. We can presume this includes the actuarial probability of repair costs. A diesel will cost a couple of hundred dollars more than a gasser for a warrantee that covers 5 years. In contrast, 4x4 costs nearly a thousand more than 4x2, several times what the diesel upcharge is.
