Gas/Diesel Payload trade off

diver110 wrote:
This parallels a post I just made (the answer to which was, bascially, hey dummy, get a 1 -ton). I get that diesel is a better performer under load (and I am not trying to start a gas versus diesel discussion, which I am sure has been beaten beyond recognition on this forum). But getting diesel does mean sacrificing a fair amount payload, 650 pounds in some configurations. Are the advantages of diesel so great, that it is better to make camper fit the diesel truck, of is it defensible to go with gas to get more payload.

My simple answer is TC plus towing more than a small utility trailer or jet ski equals diesel.

If you don't need the biggest badest Truck Camper and you are not towing get a gas motor. Just watch the numbers....

I get it: If you need a diesel, get a diesel.
But for those of us can go either way, consider this:
The gas V-8 has been perfected for 40 years.
How many of us were stuck with the old Ford 6.0 diesel, or with the early Duramx engines with fuel injector problems?
I have read on this site, that time and time again, many of us were stuck with repair bills on Ford 6.0 & early Duramax diesel engines for thousands of dollars.
If a diesel in a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck is running perfectly than after 7 years of driving 10,00 to 12,000 miles a year, you will get your money back, in savings on fuel.
But if you were stuck with a big repair bill on a diesel you will never get your money back.
If someone is pulling just a truck camper and can go either way, gas or diesel, I can see how someone would go with gas because of all the horror stories they heard about bad diesel engines. I realize that Dodge trucks have a bullet proof Cummins engine but not all of us have a dodge trucks.
Miami Vice

Sleepy, If Wintersun lives along Big Sur south of Carmel he is right. No diesel south of Carmel or North of San Simeon in Big Sur. Other than that its all over down there.

The only place I have trouble finding diesel is in suburbia and metropolitan. In the country and along interstates, I have not had trouble stopping every 250 miles to refill my small tank. Maybe I'm just good at finding them since I have owned a diesel for over 30 years, but that doesn't explain why my DW can scoot around in her TDI for the last 10 years with out trouble and only drop a $20 in the tank when she stops.

Wintersun,

I've been up and down 395... and posted pictures. I apparently never had any trouble getting diesel... but then I always fill the tank.

I can then feel comfortable... knowing that some where in the next 450 miles there will be a station with diesel pumps.

If I was buying $10 woth at I time I guess that it might be a problem... are you filling your tank? What is your range with a full tank of diesel?

I seriously doubt that there is a place in North America that doesn't have diesel... do you have any idea how many pieces of equipment run on diesel... how many commercial trucks run on diesel?

I have bought diesel in Monterey too!

California isn't that backward...

Sleepy,

Even where I live I have to go 20 miles to the nearest station that sells diesel whereas there are 5 stations within 5 miles that sell gas. 20 miles means I burn 4 gallons of diesel driving there and back home to fill up the tank in the truck. Go along highway 395 in eastern California and most of the towns do not have diesel. We have to fillup when we may have half a tank of fuel in the towns where there is diesel so we can make it the rest of the way.

Three out of four gas stations in California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona do not pump diesel. More than half the time I am buying fuel at a truck stop and that means traveling along the major interstates.

Easy enough to go to gasbuddy.com and for any trip from one town to the next check out how many sell diesel and where you have to drive to get fuel and how far off your route you have to travel.

There is also the pain of negotiating through the diesel truck stops and having to go inside with a credit card each time, which is not great with a camper but would be a major pain pulling a trailer.

The point is that there is no substantial benefit to having the diesel engine in a truck that will have at most a 6,000 lb. load. It is like the guys and gals with their Hummers and Land Rovers that they use to go to work and shopping - not much need for that locking differential and not much point to a 10 MPG vehicle for that type of use.

Also consider that newer (DPF filter) diesels may require ULSD fuel which may not be available in parts of Mexico and Central America. Any issues with availabilty of the enzyme urea fliud additives needed on some of the recent models?

I don't recommend diesels for anyone who doesn't know anything about them.

I've driven gas trucks, 6.0s 5.4s, etc and they all have just enough power for any truck camper. May not win a race, but where ya in a rush to?

Wintersun... where is it that you go that you have trouble finding diesel?

I have been in 49 states, all over Canada over the last 10 plus years... it has been years since I wondered about diesel availability. I realize that 1007 nights traveling might not match your experience... so I'd like to know where diesel isn't totally available so that I can mark my maps.

As far as the price of a diesel powered truck... it's only money... some guys spend that much on fancy wheels, cow catchers, and oversize tailpipe extensions... and a fortune on chips and mufflers.

Folks... diesel availability is NOT a problem... buy the right truck the first time... you won't have to buy another or spend a loton make believe.

BTW... I get 450 miles on 30 gallens of diesel.

that ain't bad.

sleepy

A diesel powered truck with a heavy camper makes for faster acceleration onto freeways and faster passing on steep upgrades and for better grade control on steep downgrades. For that you pay an extra $9000 for the trucks.

A gas powered truck with a large V-8 engine and 4.10 gears will perform nearly as well or at least well enough for what people actually need, not necessarily what people may want. There is an ego aspect to wanting the truck with the greatest payload or best tow rating or most powerful engine that is very seductive for many.

I bought a diesel pickup in part thinking that I would get greater range on a tankful of fuel. I was only partly right. The reality is that I need to be more careful to make it to the next station that happens to pump diesel than I did with less range and being able to fill up at any gas station.

If you need to tow a trailer that weighs more than 10,000 lbs. a diesel is very nice to have and if the trailer weighs more than 13,000 lbs. it becomes a need to have upgrade. Diesel engines are by no means needed for hauling a 6,000 lb. camper around the country.