F250 gas or diesel?

One thing that truck buyers don't take into account is always, a 4 wheel drive truck will have a lower (in bed) cargo capacity than a comparable 2 wheel drive truck because the added componentry lowers the 'payload' capacity.

4wd is nice (I have it) but down the road it always costs more in component replacement as well.

I had a 2002 GMC 2500 gas pot pulling a 27 ft 5er, I had my foot in it so much that my leg got sore. I traded that truck in after one year of leg pain for a 2007 GMC 2500 diesel, pain went away.
I had more power truck had no issues with pulling and the fuel costs went down, a bit....
This year I traded that truck in for a 2017 GMC 3500 diesel and now pull a 34 ft 5er no issues period. Allison Transmission, exhaust break make it a dream coming down mountain hills.
I have ordered a 2018 Northern Light 8-11 and take position early september and I know it's the right truck for hauling that. I also will be towing my CanAm Commander XT in an inclosed trailer so I know I won't be over loaded I will be able to stop and I will have the power under the hood to go anywhere I want.
People that live the Mountains of British Coulumbia hardly ever pull or haul any RV with a Gas pot . There are some, but not many.
Now not sure of what the geography of where you live is like, but for the extra cash you have to put out for a diesel to haul or pull anything will be done with ease. When I traded my 2007 2500 it had over 240,000 km on that truck (150,000 miles) and it was still running like a dream.
This new 3500 rides and runs like a Cadillac with 4 wheel drive ( smile) when we are pulling that 5er, heck I hardly know it's back there.
It will be the same come this fall when we down size and start using the new camper.
I would never ever buy another gas pot to haul anything ever again.
Soup.

And yes there are about 1000 topics on the same here if you need to gather even more opinion or intel.

jimanjo wrote:
OK. But do any of you have a 2017 F250 gasser?

I have plenty of experience with the diesel--over 200,000 miles hauling my old camper and nearly 20,000 with the new one--at least 4-6 weeks a year. Separate adventures to AL, OR, CA, AZ, Many to CO from TN.

I want to know what mpg the gasser gets hauling a 3,000# load! 70mph on interstate and 55 on other roads.

Any maintenance issues? I had none with the 7.3. Already 2 extensive visits with the 6.7.

Had a 2013 and 2015 version, same drivetrain as the new ones afaik.
Hauling about 1500lbs in the bed and a 3500lb vee nose single axle trailer is a similar load to a truck camper. Averaged 8.5mpg Seattle to Anchorage. Doing 70-80mph when the roads were wide off open but half the trip was much slower avg 40-50 mph, mountains and frost heaves.
The 6.2 gasser combo will work just fine, it will not get good mpg.
Same thing in a diesel will get you about 4 mpg better. Not stellar either but if you're concerned about fuel mileage, loading a TC on the truck is a bad idea.

In general, pushing an 8x12' wall down the highway nets me about the same mileage as pulling a 7000lb 32' cargo trailer.

ppine wrote:
I am in love with the Ford 7.3. People seem to have trouble with the extra cost. Now that my 2002 Ford is older and has 160,000 miles on it, the value is actually going up. Diesels pull better, get better mileage, but they also hold their value much better than gas trucks. Join the winning team.

Price is going up on the older Cummins as well because, like the 7.3 they have less problems. The truck forums have ironed out what experiences and aftermarket modifications are needed to help keep them for a long time. New rigs cost so much more not to mention the injectors, poorer mileage and smog requirements. People know that better mileage is lower emissions, not the road tax garbage they threw at the new trucks.

Not a Ford, but a 15 Ram with the 6.4 Hemi and Auto. Previous truck was a 2004 Dodge with 5.9 and Manual transmission. Both hauling the same Lance 815 which weighs 2,400# loaded for a trip.

I run about 64 interstate and 57 backroads. On mostly flat highways, she holds 6th gear at ~1600 rpm which is actually lower than the Dodge did due to double overdrive. She will shift going up hills, but usually only 1 gear to overdrive at about 2k rpm. Worst case is on a 6% grade for 3 miles, she will get down to 3rd gear at about 3,300 rpm but will hold the 64 mph and doesn't sound like she's will handle it all day long. After 19k miles with the camper, hand calc is 12.4 mpg.

My father with his new diesel DRW hauling a 5k TC is only getting about 11.5mpg because he uses tow/haul mode because of how it improves the exhaust brake usage. But he didn't have a choice since he also has a 16k FW which required the extra torque.

I also have a 2,800# boat I tow behind on occasion and she handles the extra load with no problem. She will maintain 6th gear without bogging but only if I run 62 which I don't like to do. So I drop down to 5th gear and reduce my speed to 57mph which is about 1700 rpm and she handles it fine. With the boat my mileage drops to about 11mpg.

I track all fuel mileage in both trucks so have a good baseline comparison. If I had kept the 04 vice the 15, I would have only saved about $400 in fuel cost over the 45k miles I've driven the truck. Diesel in most places I travel is a 10-15% premium.

Yes, sometimes I miss the torque of the diesel. Yes, I mostly miss the exhaust brake of the diesel. But it wasn't worth the risk of the added repair expenses of the complicated diesel emissions nor the upfront cost.

If I suddenly had to replace the truck tomorrow, I would go gas again without hesitation.

ppine wrote:
I am in love with the Ford 7.3. People seem to have trouble with the extra cost. Now that my 2002 Ford is older and has 160,000 miles on it, the value is actually going up. Diesels pull better, get better mileage, but they also hold their value much better than gas trucks. Join the winning team.

Pretty hard to cuddle up to an engine IMO. I have a 7.3 as well and while I don't 'love' it, it's reliable and trouble free and yes, the older trucks, especially my OBS that is in pristine condition is increasing in value every day. Been offered 25K cash for it, which is about 6 less than I paid new, but it's not for sale.

Watch your insurance policy carefully. Most insurers will only pay out ACV if your truck is wrecked and totaled and that isn't much. I carry additional insurance through Haggerty Insurance for the 'value' of the truck, not insurance company ACV.

I am in love with the Ford 7.3. People seem to have trouble with the extra cost. Now that my 2002 Ford is older and has 160,000 miles on it, the value is actually going up. Diesels pull better, get better mileage, but they also hold their value much better than gas trucks. Join the winning team.

My opinion is...

If you plan on keeping the truck for a while, get the diesel. If not, get the gasser.

Torque is nice, torque also eats rear tires up faster.

The bulk of the up cost in the diesel is the emissions hardware, not the engine itself and be prepared for issued down the road (if you keep it long term), Tier 4 final emissions hardware is complex and the more complex any system is, the more chance of issues.

If you get a diesel (and plan on keeping it long term, I would strongly encourage you to get the Ford Motor extended warranty. You can go out to 10 years past the 3-36 standard warranty. Do the same with a Mopar and or GM diesel as well. They all share the same emissions controls.

As a side note, I went 8 years past on my new Ford Focus, not because I anticipate issues but because it's a GDI engine and long term issues aren't known yet.

Better safe than broke. Labor rates are exceeding 130 bucks an hour now.

If you're okay running at high RPMs and the low MPGs associated with such, and don't mind not being able to hold speed during steep climbs, than save some money and go with the gasser.

No, I don't have a 2017 gasser, this is just generic personal observations of gas vs diesel.