Help a Newbie, question about gas vs. diesel

Welcome to the forums.

My class C comes in at 13,750 lbs fully loaded. Ford V-10 has no issues. It does enjoy frequent visits to the gas bar! * grin *

One reason I would go with diesel over gas is it can be a pain in the butt getting into and out of a lot of gas stations with that big trailer behind you. Diesel . . . any Truck Stop . . . Right in and out

By gas 250, you are not saying what year, what engine, but the V-10 will work, as will the newer 6.2 V8. If you may go to a larger/heavier FW at some point, then the diesel 350 would be a good choice.

Jerry

I towed a 10,000lb TT and equipment trailer with a 2015 F-250 gasser and an 2018 F250 gasser and both did well. The 2018 was superior though.

"Towing a fw"

How much of payload are you going to have left after hooking up to 10,000 fw to a 3/4 ton?

OK in general I'd say that east of the Mississippi a gas engine is fine. Cheaper too. But once you hit the mountain states you will be sorry if you do not have a diesel. Diesels shine pulling loads up and down (engine brake) grades.

And as mentioned above do not buy a 3/4 ton, the one ton is slightly more money but it will pull much better. No different in the way they drive either.

You will find that flats are no problem with a gasser pulling that weight. Once you get into hills or mountains, the engine will consume more fuel and rev higher to keep speed. If this is only occasional, you may be fine with a gasoline engine. If you live or plan to spend most of your time in the mountains, you will be happier driving the diesel even if the initial acquisition cost is high.

Any newer 3/4 ton pickup with the tow package will tow 10k lbs reasonably well. The issue with a 5er is that many 3/4 ton trucks will be limited on their load capacity. A 10,000 pound 5er should have a pin weight around 2200 to 2500 lbs, some of the Ran 2500 models in particular struggle with that cargo weight.
Remember the truck has to meet both cargo and tow caps.

Oh one other thing, one add on you will want is the hitch bed prep. This makes taking that heavy fifth wheel hitch in and out of your truck much easier and it also leaves a flat truck bed when the hitch is removed.

I also urge you to get the bed step or whatever they call it, that step on the tail gate that makes it easier to climb into the truck bed. That may be standard on some trucks now.

Of course there are questions and things to consider like:

- How much are you going to tow vs daily driving

- Are you willing to spend an extra 10k for the diesel option

- Resale is much higher on a diesel

- Slightly higher maintenance cost. ($100 for dealer oil change and tire rotation)

- Diesel much more expensive to repair

- Modern Diesels need to Regen about every tank of fuel or so. So stop and go traffic doesn't work well if thats all you do.

- Diesel will have a longer towing range vs gas (12 mpg vs 8-9)

- Diesel will put a grin on your face towing grades ;)

I'm sure there are a lot more but as for me I love my diesel so far and with all the downsides of owning one that people are going to tell you the upsides are better if you want the power. I have 3 trailers that I pull around including our fifth ranging between 5k and 10.5k with one of them being hitched to the truck better than 50% of the time. I'm not saying gas motors aren't up to the task for what I tow but the more frequent downshifting and higher rpm's required are like nails on a chalkboard for me as I have a low tolerance for that stuff. I've had diesel for the last 15 years and I'm almost certain my next one will be as well.

With that being said if it's a daily driver or have a lot of city type driving and your not pulling your trailer far or often a diesel is probably not for you.

Dan