Why diesel trucks?

mpg is always tricky issue.
I've been recording mpg on my vehicles my whole life, even in the past androids and fuelly.com did not exist and I had to carry notebook.
In highway cruising crucial is frontal area and speed.
Even with my 12' camper I can get 30 mpg and I think 4 mpg would be manageable too. All depends on speed.
Sure we can talk abut different needs for different climates.
In Las Vegas summers, I have to wear long pants and gloves.
Touching parked vehicle door, or seat with bare skin will give you 2nd degree burn. No worry about diesel gelling , but gasoline would blow its light fractions in parked vehicle in just few days. Than I would have to set a tent with cooler in it :)

Kateg1 wrote:
Diesel #2 (summer blend) has gelling point about 10F, so it would take 0F overnight to bring tank to this point (will wary with wind chill).

That would be fine where you live maybe but not where I live/lived and play..It is common to get -25F or more in our mountains..When my diesel gelled I had to go 20 miles to get a winter blend/#1 diesel..I had to put a tent over my diesel truck to warm it enough to get it to run that 20 miles and I had a gas engined pickup following with a good chain.

By the way,I get almost the exact gas mileage you have in your signature for your '17 Ford with my TC loaded and from Missoula to Kooskie over the pass(Lolo) then another grade(Harpster) to get home..11.6 mpg hand calculated for my 460 Ford DRW but with only 4K for a TC...

Diesel for your needs and gas for mine..Go figure we both have different needs and uses for our TC haulers and the different area's we use them in.

jaycocreek wrote:
What happens with diesel engines when you just filled it up with summer diesel and on your hunting trip it turns cold,really cold like below zero?

Mine would not run because the fuel gelled..

Diesel #2 (summer blend) has gelling point about 10F, so it would take 0F overnight to bring tank to this point (will wary with wind chill).
That got more complicated in last years as you no longer can buy 100% diesel fuel in USA and bio addition can mess up some characteristics.
Still when I was to Dakotas in -20F winter, no station would carry winter blend as there was no real demand for it.
Daily drivers with full tank will not gel overnight, so the only issue is truck park for a week that somebody would want to restart at -20F morning.

jimh425 wrote:
jaycocreek, that's another reason why you should use additives year round.

If I had one,I sure would but that's just one reason a diesel is not right for everyone..

Another is most of my time is spent atleast 100 miles from the nearest gas pumps(in the mountains) that serve diesel..Everyone seems to have gas around for gen sets etc but none seem to carry extra diesel if a guy needed it.

Certified diesel mechanics are few and far between in my area that would or could work on a diesel pickup if it needed.Even in town here it is 100 miles to the nearest Ford dealer.

The extra cost/maintenance and fuel cost is just not worth the headache over a gas engine...

I went to gas buddy and checked the price difference in fuel and at one Maverick store in Lewiston Idaho 100 miles away,diesel was .50 cents a gallon more than reg gas..It usually runs about .15 cents a gallon more or used to in this are.

Diesels was my life for many years from pickups to semi's and heavy equipment like dozers/skidders/loaders and jammers..So I do know diesels and there pro's and con's enough to know there just not for everyone and everyone's needs.

jaycocreek, that's another reason why you should use additives year round.

What happens with diesel engines when you just filled it up with summer diesel and on your hunting trip it turns cold,really cold like below zero?

Mine would not run because the fuel gelled..

Some of y’all are dating yourselves here, lol.
My first house was $150k so apparently a $60k truck, 23 years later is still a bargain by that math!
(Truth be told, I still choke on that price, but I’ve been known to be cheap.....)

BradW wrote:
Having said that, I would still take a new 7.3 over a new 6.0 if I had the option today.

My 6.0 was relatively free of issues. I had one turbo that had the vanes rust together from lack of use. My 6.4 isn’t supposed to be a good one, but I’m way over the expected “life” according to most of the detractors. Of course, it got way better after some of the parts fell off.

I wonder what people will be saying about all of the newer tech in the 6.7s in a few more years. Will it hold together? Time will tell.

Kayteg1 wrote:
My 1979 Chevy flatbed was not delivering 5 mpg with 454 engine.

Just double checking my memory via a few internet searches says your truck engine probably had issues. Normal would have been nearly twice that even in normal city driving.

ppine wrote:
I feel the joy every time I fire up the 7.3 Ford. I have been driving it for 17 years and it is going up in value with 170k miles. Every mechanic says "Never sell it." That's why.

I had a '96 and a '01 7.3 PSD. I also had a '06 6.0 PSD. Even though I kept the 6.0 longer (12 years) than the two 7.3's combined, I had many more problems with the 7.3s. I had the 6.0 for 12 years and it never saw the shop a single time and it never left me broke down on the side of the road like both 7.3s. Having said that, I would still take a new 7.3 over a new 6.0 if I had the option today.

bradw