Gas vs Diesel for Towing a Fifth Wheel!!!

[Taylor90]

I have some issues picking a suitable towing vehicle to haul a travel trailer. Gas vs diesel for towing a fifth wheel? Which one is better? Any suggestion?

[zztinker]

I made the mistake of buying a new 2006 f350 diesel with the 6.0 engine. I sold it last month and bought a 2017 f250 6.2 gas truck. Out 5th wheel loaded weighs 10,000 . The 6.2 does a fine job pulling and to be honest I didn’t want to drop another $9000.00 on diesel. Our new truck is a gas hog, however here in California Diesel is $.50 a gallon more than gas, so it almost works out the same.
Our old Diesel only had 79,000 miles when I sold it. It started to overheat on steep grades and I got tired of cleaning egr valves. It would have cost $6000.00 to 8,000 to bullet proof it.

[ppine]

Easy one. Diesel all day long.
My 2002 Ford with the 7.3 is going up in value.

[camperkilgore]

Our 2005 fiver is only about 10000lbs loaded, so our Ram 5.9 Cummins does well even in the mountains. The Dodge is a 2003 model, and all the mechanics I've spoken with think very highly of the truck, and they all tell me to hang onto it as long as possible. I continue to take very good care of it.

However, if the time comes that we might want a new truck, I will more than likely downsize our camper and get a gasser tow vehicle. Maintaining a gas burner is cheaper than a diesel, and even though we might spend more at the pump I still think a smaller camper would probably offset that expense. Also, we are getting older and a smaller camper would be easier for me to pull around and get into tight spots.

Having stated those things, everyone should base the diesel vs gas decision on their particular needs. Diesel vs gas is a relative argument, and one being better than the other can only be true in particular circumstances.

[slapshot12]

I don't drive my truck much, maybe 6k a year, but as long as I'm towing a heavy 5er, it'll be a diesel. Having towed with both, the diesel doesn't work nearly as hard.

[joe_puma]

I don't worry too much about mileage, otherwise I wouldn't be towing a trailer. That said If the trailer is 7000 lbs or more, I would go diesel. I bought my duramax when I had a 28' TT, planing for my fiver. Even with my 12K fiver, it pulls easily.
Only drawback to diesel that I learned after having it for a couple years is that the emissions systems are ****, and WILL fail. They are a flawed system even on the newer ones. The diesel particulate filter, at least on my 2011 is not covered under the GMPP. Because it's a "filter". Its like $2000.
Even with the problems, I feel diesel is the way to go. Depending on where you live there are some work arounds to the problems. I''m sure you can find threads on that.
Good luck.

[wrvond]

Taylor90 wrote:
I have some issues picking a suitable towing vehicle to haul a travel trailer. Gas vs diesel for towing a fifth wheel? Which one is better? Any suggestion?

I love the old gas versus diesel debate. Almost as good as religion or politics.

I traded in my 2012 F250 CCSB 6.2L gasser with 3.73 differential for a 2017 F350 CCLB DRW 6.7L turbo diesel with 4.10 differential. I really liked that F250, it was very comfortable and dead reliable. I think the 6.2L gas engine is amazing. I never saw any ill effects resulting from operating in the upper rpm range. In fact, if anything, I flirted with disaster by forcing the engine to lug. I just really hate the sound of high rpm's, regardless of what my mind knows.
The biggest drawback was fuel mileage - or lack thereof. Pulling, I got 8 or 9 mpg. If I was really careful, I might get 10 occasionally.
Unloaded, the best I ever got was 13 mpg.

The F350 is a torque monster. I recently pulled a fifth wheel from Indiana to southern Utah. Going through the mountains was a non-event. I don't remember the truck ever dropping out of sixth gear.
Loaded mileage runs between 10 and 13 mpg while unloaded can be as high as 20 mpg.

One thing I really dislike about diesel trucks is refueling. Diesel pumps have got to be the nastiest places you can park your truck and walk around in. Diesel fuel gets on everything and leaks everywhere. I have yet to see a diesel pump without a black, oily puddle around it. I keep a box of nitrile gloves under the back seat and always put one on when refueling. Also, DEF is highly corrosive, so you want to be very careful about pumping or pouring it.

Today's diesel engine has to run on ultra low Sulphur diesel. This means there is not a heck of a lot of lubricity inherent in the fuel, which things like the high pressure fuel pump rely upon. The introduction of any appreciable quantity of water will wash away the fuel and cause the fuel pump to self destruct, resulting in high dollar repairs. This is only a potential downside. If you keep your filters up to date and check the fuel/water separator regularly, it is a non-issue. But you do need to stay on top of maintenance. No corner cutting allowed.

Unless you are towing the heaviest of fifth wheels, my truck would likely be overkill for your needs - it has two batteries, two alternators, two replaceable fuel filters and two independent liquid cooling systems with four thermostats. As well as a turbo charger. Not to mention six tires!
The gas engine equipped F350 SRW could have two batteries and two alternators, but otherwise is much less demanding maintenance wise.

Many folks like to point out that they can go 70 mph up the mountain. Personally, I drive 55 mph everywhere I go. Occasionally I will go 60, and rarely have I gone 65. Fuel consumption is very speed dependent.

So, there are pros and cons to either choice, and neither is the "best" for every person. I suggest selecting the camper you want, then buy your truck based on the next size up camper.

[waltbennett]

I did have a '00 Chevy 8.1L gasser that would have probably had little difficulty pulling our Monty when we were getting ready to buy it five years back. Problem was that it had 150k miles on it and only got 8 mpg pulling our 28' bumper pull. I found our '06 6.0L Ford that had only 28k miles on it for a good price. I've consistently gotten over 11 mpg pulling our Monty at 60 - 70 mph with it. It's also a dually and is vastly more stable than the single wheel Chevy. The Ford's got about 80k miles on it now.

[Allworth]

Diesel!

or Diesel.

Or, maybe Diesel.

[Hammerboy]

4x4ord wrote:

JIMNLIN wrote:

Taylor90 wrote:
I have some issues picking a suitable towing vehicle to haul a travel trailer. Gas vs diesel for towing a fifth wheel? Which one is better? Any suggestion?

Probable already mentioned but we have pages and pages of diesel vs gas over in the tow vehicle section. Usually mods/adm will move tow vehicle questions over there.....guess things are a bit slow in the 5th wheel forum.

Its really simple. Non of the gasser's can tow heavy trailers without lots of rpm and noise...and a diesel isn't necessary for a lighter weight trailer.
And if your trailer is between heavy and light weight then simply choose a gazz or a diezzul powered truck....in white of course 😉

It really is that simple. However 10 years ago a diesel was a huge improvement over a gasser for a 12000 lb Rv. Now a 12000 lb rv can be easily towed with a gasser. Most RVs are under 12000 lbs and most of us buying new diesels would have a pretty tough time justifying the need of one for our little trailers.

I guess that's an opinion. There's no way I'd pull something like that with a gasser, not eveen todays. I'm sure technically they can but it won't be a pleasant ride for me at least because I've been spoiled pulling with a diesel the last 14 years. My buddy has a newer generation GM 6.0 and sorry but it's a dog compared to any diesel. My unit only weighs 10k and we will see what gassers are like in about 5 years or so, who knows I may buy one.

Dan

[Fisher_Bill]

In my experiences pulling boats over the mountains to the coast a couple times a month from Portland to Tillamook with a 2500 5.7L Chev it was redlining on the hills, same with my buddies gasser ford and at the time the wife and I wanted to get our first pick up camper and we bought a used Arctic Fox 1150 and it was about 4000lbs.

So I shopped for weeks for a diesel because we like to travel over the cascades to eastern Oregon and beyond so with that kind of weight I knew I would probably get about 5-7 MPG in the gasser (based on 90's tech) and that I would want to pull an ocean boat in addition to the pick up camper.

Being frugal I bought a 2005 GMC dually with the 6.6 duramax for about $25K and enjoyed the power and usually lower costing fuel but it was totaled one year later so I replaced it with the insurance money with a 2006 Chev dually with the same 6.6 and I picked that one up for $23.5K.

Both had 150K miles on them, I had to replace the Turbo on both trucks at about 160K so that maintenance was about $2500 on each truck and the 2006 also called for a starter and a transmission control module at about 175K (along with the usual glowplug replacements).


Now we sold the pick up camper but the dually works good for us on the 32' fiver as well as the big boats and I know that I'll never buy a new truck, I'm just too cheap so I'm happy with 10 year old tech that gets the job done so if you're traveling a lot of hills I think the diesel is the way to go.

But as stated, if I were only pulling a 22' travel trailer you'll be fine with a newer gasser my rig fully loaded is about 9-10K and I feel safer with the diesel dually and it's heavy rated drive train but your results may vary.

[Dave_H_M]

I always hear the diesel guys beating their tom tom's about resale. Do you have to trade those things quite often? :h :B

[MitchF150]

Too funny.. You guys crack me up..

Keep it coming.

Mitch

[Super_Dave]

john&bet wrote:
Whats the difference between a gas power 36' plus motor home class "C" or class "A", non pusher, and a pickup with 5th wheel say up to 40'? Same basic size,same basic weight give or take a few #'s, driven over the same roads etc.?

Very little in terms of power and mileage, IMO.

[john_bet]

Whats the difference between a gas power 36' plus motor home class "C" or class "A", non pusher, and a pickup with 5th wheel say up to 40'? Same basic size,same basic weight give or take a few #'s, driven over the same roads etc.?