Tow Vehicle Gas/Diesel?
I am new to the forum. I have been looking around and reading. I pull about 5000 lb trailer almost every week. I am currently using a 1995 Chevy Tahoe. The fuel mileage is about 6-7 mpg most of the ti...
Forum Discussion
For more than 12,000 pounds tow weight go with a diesel. For less than 10,000 lbs. a gas engine and 4.10 gears are good enough and will save you a lot of money and it will be a lot easier to find fuel along the highway.
Nearly half my trip planning in the west involves finding gas stations that sell diesel and making extra stops to be sure we make between places that sell diesel. This more than negates any gain from getting more miles per gallon of fuel. The price of diesel is higher than for premium gas which also offsets any dollar savings from using diesel.
And there is the matter of keeping the DEF tank full as well to avoid going into limp mode and the problems with the associate NOx sensors - I have already had mine replaced at 12,000 miles and when it happens out of warranty will be a $700 repair. Maintenance costs for my Duramax are double what they were with my Tahoe SUV.
With a 12,000 lb. trailer the greater torque from the diesel helps greatly with accelerating quickly and being able to safely merge with traffic. The exhaust brake can be very effective in maintaining a safe speed while going down steep mountain grades with minimal use of the brakes. But with a 5k-8k trailer load diesel is needed as much as the 450 HP engine in a Corvette.
Nearly half my trip planning in the west involves finding gas stations that sell diesel and making extra stops to be sure we make between places that sell diesel. This more than negates any gain from getting more miles per gallon of fuel. The price of diesel is higher than for premium gas which also offsets any dollar savings from using diesel.
And there is the matter of keeping the DEF tank full as well to avoid going into limp mode and the problems with the associate NOx sensors - I have already had mine replaced at 12,000 miles and when it happens out of warranty will be a $700 repair. Maintenance costs for my Duramax are double what they were with my Tahoe SUV.
With a 12,000 lb. trailer the greater torque from the diesel helps greatly with accelerating quickly and being able to safely merge with traffic. The exhaust brake can be very effective in maintaining a safe speed while going down steep mountain grades with minimal use of the brakes. But with a 5k-8k trailer load diesel is needed as much as the 450 HP engine in a Corvette.
