Need help choosing new tow vehicle
I know there are a lot of people on RV.NET that tow all sorts of things with a lot of different tow vehicles so what better place to ask your opinion on my tow vehicle choices so far. Right now I am ...
Forum Discussion
LIKE2BUILD wrote:
I don't buy the maintenance cost argument in the gas vs diesel debate. I do my own maintenance so my only costs are supplies. Every 15,000 miles my RAM 6.7L Cummins requires 3 gallons of oil ($22/gallon), a $10 oil filter, and 2 fuel filters ($60 total). So basically once a year I put $136 into routine maintenance. My old Chevy with 6.0L required 6qts of oil (about $35) and a $5 oil filter every 5,000 miles. At $40/oil change about 3 times per year I spent roughly $120 on supplies for routine maintenance. Both are using full synthetic oil and quality filters.
So the diesel costs $136/year for oil and filters and the gas cost me $120. Are you really going to get worked up about a difference of $16/year? I'm not. I'll take the power and capability of my diesel every single day. I'm not about to bash my old truck.....no way. It was reliable as can be and served me well for 10 years, we simply jumped up into 5th wheels at a weight that just wouldn't work with the old gas engine.
In your case you have legitimate choices of gas vs diesel. I just think you need to decide which truck you like best (F150 3.5L or Ram 1500 3.0L) and go with it. Either one will serve you perfectly well. The maintenance cost argument just isn't the big deal some folks make it out to be.
KJ
Excellent assessment in my opinion. In my experience with a different breed of truck the filter costs were higher and I also invested in some additives for cetane improvement and diesel fuel gelling. Some people might not buy additives but you will be buying DEF and dealing with those maintenance issues. But the biggest difference I see is in repair costs if they arise. The Labor and Parts costs, by comparison, will rip the wallet right out of your pants, especially if you need something like a high pressure oil pump or some fuel injector work. Don’t forget to add In the cost of that Diesel engine option. Also, mpg stats are usually better with a diesel but cost per gallon is usually higher and (I have found) fuel quality may not be as good.
Don’t get me wrong- diesels are great if you feel you need them, but you also need to work them fairly hard to keep them running well. Hope that helps.
