Gas VS Diesel F250

[beachbum5]

I am looking at new F250, I have f wheel about 8000lbs. I would like to know gas mileage while towing and not towing, also on diesel. How would gas handle the load?

Thanks

[RustyJC]

I've been towing with Cummins 5.9L & 6.7L diesels since 2001. I've never spent a cent for anything other than routine maintenance, nor have I ever been stuck on the side of the road.

Why did I go from gassers to diesels? Our 1996 Ram 3500 dually (8.0L V-10/47RE 4 speed automatic) got 6.5 MPG pulling our 2000 Jayco Designer XL 3610RLTS on a given route through the Texas Hill Country. Pulling the same trailer over the same route, our 2002 Ram 3500 dually (5.9L Cummins HO/6 speed manual) got 11.5 MPG. On the 6% grade on I-10 into the east side of Kerrville, the 1996 was in 2nd gear at 3500 RPM to hold 55 MPH when towing. The 2002 would pull the same grade in 6th gear at 65 to 70 MPH towing the same trailer at 2200/2350 RPM (4.10 axle).

Here in Texas, you can hardly give a gas engine dually away at trade-in time, whereas the diesels will bring a premium.

To each his/her own, but a diesel (especially pulling the 5th wheel we're towing now) makes perfect sense for us.

Rusty

[shepstone]

Wait till you get to pay out for , belt tensioners, turbo oil lines, fuel filters, the water pump on my 7.3 literally grenade'd and took a bunch of other stuff with it and scarred up the rad that was over 2g's. Over the 5 years I had it it cost me over well over 5 thousand in just the engine related repairs without the tows or maintenance costs, or the downtime for my business, there is a lot of money lost when you got 5 guys on the jobsite being held up and having to shut down, even for only a day, but you still gotta pay them. These are not even major repairs when it comes to a diesel no matter what brand. Sure it can happen with a gasser to but not nearly as much cost and downtime. My 6.0 Savvana has been in the shop twice in 4 yrs one for ball joint @$400 and one for corrosion on a connector under the fuse panel@$200 no engine related issues at all and no shut downs. Almost no const companys own diesels around here I know cause I work with most of them and neither do the utilities. & if you think that a diesel in Ontario gets better value when you sell it then think again cause rust is a great equalizer and it doesn't care what engine is in the truck

[neal10a]

My F350 6.7 SRW diesel got 12.2 mpg average over 3200 miles pulling a 40 ft 16500 GVW 5th wheel. I have got as high as 21 mpg empty and some times 18 mpg. It depends on the Ctane rating. B20 cuts 1 mpg while B5 increase the mpg because it actually increases the Ctane rating over 45 While B20 decrease Btu's too much. Some states like California require a Ctane of 50 which is the same as Europe. However most states allow a Ctane of 40. A Ctane of 50 will provide the best fuel mileage as well as better lubrication of the injectors.

Diesel trucks are better suited of heavy loads and some 5th wheel trailers demand a diesel truck which provide the best performance as well a towing capacity.

[goducks10]

So just for comparisons sake. My 12 Ram CTD cost $68 for an oil change. A 2500 6.4 is $40.00 at the same dealer. An F150 5.0 is $46.05, probably cause of the 8qts needed. If paying $22-28.00 more twice a year is way more expensive then I guess some need to ride a bike. Not all diesels are expensive to maintain. 1 $60.00 fuel filter a year for my Ram. I should say I do go to the bank and get loan every year so I'll have enough money to maintain my CTD. Not. 🙂

I've spent $40-50.00 (difference for two oil changes) on a crappy dinner and guess what? I still go out to eat.

[spud1957]

rhagfo wrote:

spud1957 wrote:
Seems a lot of talk about the gasser's "redline" needed to go up some steep grades. The 6.2's redline in 6000. Way above HP and torque. Absolutely no reason to go that high.

In another thread there is picture posted by a strong diesel proponent of his dash showing pulling a grade at 60mph. What the picture also shows MPG at about 4 AND 3000 rpms which is 500 rpms below his redline. So, a diesel roaring up a hill just below his redline is OK and isn't as loud as a gasser?

Maybe the fact that he is climbing a 6% grade running 29,000# GCW and still able to go 60 should be why diesel owners smile.

I believe that he was showing 2.800 rpm, which is about 80% of red line. If a 6,000 rpm red line gaser it could only turn 4,800 rpm and with trying to 29,000# would not likely happen at 60 mph.

My point is not a 6.2 pulling GCWR of 29,000lbs. That's ludicrous. The diesel is pulling a 6% grade at less than his rated GCWR and he is at 80% of his redline. If I had a GCWR of 29K, I too would have a diesel.

I am almost at 90% of my GCWR and I too can pull a 6% grade at 60 MPH and do it at 4000 RPMs or 66% of my redline.

So for diesel owners mocking gassers that they have to pull 6% grades at redline is not completely accurate and also a bit hypocritical.

[brooks379]

I don't get it. All the gas guys say how cheap it is to maintain and repair the gas motor. All the dealers are charging close to $100 per hour labor rate. I have owned diesels for over 25 years and could count on one hand the times any of them were in the Ford repair shop. I keep all the filters and fluids changed regularly. That must do the trick !! I hear from people all the time how it cost an arm and a leg to get their car/truck repaired. If you own a diesel and it has motor problems or if you own a gas motor and it has motor problem and goes back to a dealer it is going to cost big bucks !! They don't work on gassers any cheaper than they do diesels. That excuse is getting kind of old. There is a...right tool for every job... why do you think all the Construction Co, Utility Co, Gas and Oil Service Co , etc. etc. all run diesel trucks ? Sure they have gas trucks too but they are for just carrying people and small items around. I don't care what anyone decides to own...but there is a....right tool for the job.

[pawatt]

I tow 12000 lbs with my 6.2 gas, it does fine including in the mountains. The diesel had more power but cost me bundles to keep maintained and repaired. It was the old 6.0 diesel so hopefully none will be as bad again.

[rhagfo]

spud1957 wrote:
Seems a lot of talk about the gasser's "redline" needed to go up some steep grades. The 6.2's redline in 6000. Way above HP and torque. Absolutely no reason to go that high.

In another thread there is picture posted by a strong diesel proponent of his dash showing pulling a grade at 60mph. What the picture also shows MPG at about 4 AND 3000 rpms which is 500 rpms below his redline. So, a diesel roaring up a hill just below his redline is OK and isn't as loud as a gasser?

Maybe the fact that he is climbing a 6% grade running 29,000# GCW and still able to go 60 should be why diesel owners smile.

I believe that he was showing 2.800 rpm, which is about 80% of red line. If a 6,000 rpm red line gaser it could only turn 4,800 rpm and with trying to 29,000# would not likely happen at 60 mph.

[krazymatt]

wing_zealot wrote:

krazymatt wrote:

zedd wrote:
Anyone tow with a gasser in the mountains in the West? The hills back east really pale compared to a lot of the stuff out here. A gasser trying to haul up a 7% grade at 8000 or 9000 ft altitude is really straining. Quite a different environment. I've passed lots of gassers laboring up mountain grades at 25mph screaming at near red line.

X10!!! Zedd is absolutely right! The hills out here are savage and in my opinion most gassers are past the verge of abuse engine and transmission wise. #REDLINE

That statement is so overblown as to be REDLINE VERBAL ABUSE. Lots of hyperbole - no substance. Just to stick with the basics, today's vehicle computers won't let you abuse the engine. If it's not in limp mode it's good to go. Nice try but you need to get yourself a new dance card, the old one is worn out, tattered, and expired.

Now I expect to hear about how you passed 12 gassers sitting beside the road in the mountains. More rhetoric, when facts are scarce.

I never pay much attention to "passing gassers (pissing match)" type stuff as far as I'm concerned as I'm way past grade school age. What I do know is where I usually camp means an upwards change in elevation +5,000ft from home about 70 miles away and I'm not exaggerating one bit. Now if I was a flat lander and lived in say Texas and camped at the lake with minimal elevation change in the hundreds I could totally see a gasser. I see lots of the folks arguing real hard in favor of the gassers aren't from the west. On a similar note I pretty much NEVER see a gas truck towing a big 5er around here and on the rare occasion I do they aren't NM plates on the back. The hard facts are yes diesels are more expensive across the board and yes they do hold their value pretty well and yes they will outlast a gasser in the long run although most folks replace trucks at around 15 years and 200k miles regardless.

[goducks10]

I paid $36,000 for my 12 2500 CTD 4x4 CC LB ST July of 2012. That was after a $10,000 discount. I think $36,000 for a new diesel truck is a pretty good deal. I agree that the prices are way too high. But if one shops around, good deals are out there. The wife and I just bought a new 2015 Camry. After the discount they had on it we actually paid less for it than we did for the 2003 Accord it replaced. Both were/are similar trim levels. Plus the Camry has more neat features than the Accord did.

[shepstone]

The price of trucks these days is ridiculous , but the level of technology and engineering in them is way beyond what it used to be . Having said that I'm still not convinced that they are worth the kind of money they are asking, I think that its more of "everyone wants one" type of thing and that's what drives up the price. There are more and more "Queens" on the road than ever now..

[goducks10]

Bamaman1 wrote:
A couple of years ago, I did a detailed cost analysis of purchasing, maintaining and selling a F250 Lariat crewcab with the 6.2 gas vs. 6.7 diesel engines. I researched dealer cost/retail prices on front end and depreciated the trucks according to NADA and KBB used truck prices. Maintenance was also estimated.

If I sold a 6.2 truck at 10 years and 120k miles, the total cost to ownership would be just over $3,000 cheaper than buying, maintaining and liquidating a diesel truck.

The prices of "heavy duty" light trucks is up dramatically since that time,however. If I was buying a SuperDuty today, I'd be ordering a F350 dual rear wheel diesel, but with the XLT cab and the $795 appearance package. By not going Lariat's leather seating, you can pickup most of the cost difference in the diesel option. It's still a nice truck, but it's also not in "The $60's."

That's exactly what I did. They didn't have the 6.4 Hemi when I was looking so I passed on a nicer 5.7 gasser and went to the ST with the Cummins. Mines pretty much the same inside, sans some trim and power seat stuff. I still have carpet, chrome appearance. Funny thing is my truck after discounts was close to what an XL trimmed F150 with the Heavy Duty payload package was before any discounts. Hard to get big discounts when ordering a truck. Plus the XL doesn't trim out as well as the ST Ram does. Point is if you really don't need the bling you can get into a diesel pretty cheap. Not faulting anyone for wanting bling. I'd love to have a Lariat/Laramie trimmed truck. But I'd rather have the CTD instead. It's all about budget for most and what fits your needs.

I'm not really sure my CTD cost $300.00 more a year to own though.

[Bamaman11]

A couple of years ago, I did a detailed cost analysis of purchasing, maintaining and selling a F250 Lariat crewcab with the 6.2 gas vs. 6.7 diesel engines. I researched dealer cost/retail prices on front end and depreciated the trucks according to NADA and KBB used truck prices. Maintenance was also estimated.

If I sold a 6.2 truck at 10 years and 120k miles, the total cost to ownership would be just over $3,000 cheaper than buying, maintaining and liquidating a diesel truck.

The prices of "heavy duty" light trucks is up dramatically since that time,however. If I was buying a SuperDuty today, I'd be ordering a F350 dual rear wheel diesel, but with the XLT cab and the $795 appearance package. By not going Lariat's leather seating, you can pickup most of the cost difference in the diesel option. It's still a nice truck, but it's also not in "The $60's."

[spud1957]

Seems a lot of talk about the gasser's "redline" needed to go up some steep grades. The 6.2's redline in 6000. Way above HP and torque. Absolutely no reason to go that high.

In another thread there is picture posted by a strong diesel proponent of his dash showing pulling a grade at 60mph. What the picture also shows MPG at about 4 AND 3000 rpms which is 500 rpms below his redline. So, a diesel roaring up a hill just below his redline is OK and isn't as loud as a gasser?

[wing_zealot]

krazymatt wrote:

zedd wrote:
Anyone tow with a gasser in the mountains in the West? The hills back east really pale compared to a lot of the stuff out here. A gasser trying to haul up a 7% grade at 8000 or 9000 ft altitude is really straining. Quite a different environment. I've passed lots of gassers laboring up mountain grades at 25mph screaming at near red line.

X10!!! Zedd is absolutely right! The hills out here are savage and in my opinion most gassers are past the verge of abuse engine and transmission wise. #REDLINE

That statement is so overblown as to be REDLINE VERBAL ABUSE. Lots of hyperbole - no substance. Just to stick with the basics, today's vehicle computers won't let you abuse the engine. If it's not in limp mode it's good to go. Nice try but you need to get yourself a new dance card, the old one is worn out, tattered, and expired.

Now I expect to hear about how you passed 12 gassers sitting beside the road in the mountains. More rhetoric, when facts are scarce.