Diesel as a daily driver, short distance.

[mojoroo]

I have been debating on a 2008 Chevy 2500hd with a 6.6. I am only a weekend warrior and only 6 months out of the year.
I have debated if the higher cost of maintenance is worth the switch from a 2004 2500 6.0 gasser. Also I worry about the short distances I would travel for work, which is 2.4 miles and to children's school on my days off of 1.7 miles.

[wintersun]

transamz9 wrote:
A gas engine has to warm up also to run efficient.:S

There is no comparison between a gas engine and a ultra high compression diesel engine and especially a newer engine with a DPF that requires regen cycles. My 2011 2500 Duramax is not providing optimum fuel economy until I have driven at least 30 miles down the freeway. My 2007 Prius is providing 45 MPG as soon as I leave my driveway.

A little knowledge is often too little to be of any value. Or to paraphrase the great Yogi Berra, it is not what you know but what you know that ain't so that causes problems.

[Beaker]

I have an 08 Duramax. The regen's are a pain in the rear. About once every two weeks i take it out on the highway for a good 20-30 minute drive to burn the DPF out. Fuel economy is crap, but i don't care since i can now tow my camper with the cruise control on. Couldn't do that with my 09 with the 6.0.

I have the same truck for almost 50000 miles and couldn't even tell you when a regen is happening. Fuel economy is******in town, but 17-18 on back roads and 18-19 on highway, 11-12 towing. Have not seen any "high maintenance cost" that I read about.

I drive 1.5 miles to work but I have an old junker for that.

Beyond wonderful towing with that Duramax!

[bmanning]

Lessmore wrote:
Always interesting to read posts re: recommendations for driving....in this case..diesels.

I don't have a diesel...so I can't make a credible recommendation one way or the other.

I would think that if there are special requirements for driving diesels....that the owner's manual would list them.

But perhaps this is naive on my part....if special requirements are necessary for diesels...maybe this is something manufacturer's marketing departments want to keep a low profile on to avoid creating buyer resistance to diesel purchase.

I dunno, just speculating possibilities.

But I do wonder why there is variance in opinion from diesel owner/drivers.

I tend to agree; just an opinion but I think the "short trips kill diesels" is a bit overstated.

No science to back up this hypothesis but I'm guessing it would take years & years of short trips to have any true negative effect other than the obvious, horrible mpg.

Tow trucks, delivery vehicles, ambulances, etc live a life of short, hard runs with lots of idling, and it appears many handle it without complaint.

[Lessmore]

Always interesting to read posts re: recommendations for driving....in this case..diesels.

I don't have a diesel...so I can't make a credible recommendation one way or the other.

I would think that if there are special requirements for driving diesels....that the owner's manual would list them.

But perhaps this is naive on my part....if special requirements are necessary for diesels...maybe this is something manufacturer's marketing departments want to keep a low profile on to avoid creating buyer resistance to diesel purchase.

I dunno, just speculating possibilities.

But I do wonder why there is variance in opinion from diesel owner/drivers.

[aclay]

I've had my truck for 1.5 years now and almost 15k miles and I love my diesel. I worry about short trips and warm ups too, but it is just fantastic for towing, especially through the mountains.

[kmbelt]

I have an 08 Duramax. The regen's are a pain in the rear. About once every two weeks i take it out on the highway for a good 20-30 minute drive to burn the DPF out. Fuel economy is crap, but i don't care since i can now tow my camper with the cruise control on. Couldn't do that with my 09 with the 6.0.

I also only drive 3-5 miles each way for work. dosen't hurt it, just has to do regens more often. I am also up to temp on the engine by the time i get to work, so no issues there either.

[Vulcaneer]

mojoroo wrote:
Maybe I should consider a Ford 250 v10 I saw the other day.....o_O

Now you're talking. Had an 06 30 valve V10. Great running, reliable as a sledge hammer, very good at towing heavy. Great truck. Fuel mileage as good as a 08 Ford F350 PSD. Which is not all that good. 11MPG around town. 13 highway. 7.5 Towing 14,250 over the road.

[Lowsuv]

there is no bad year for a chevy ..........

having said that i would much rather own any diesel regardless of brand over a gasser as long as towing a big square box is involved ..

[mojoroo]

Thank you the explanation. Never realized how different of a beast these diesels are until I started investigating the possibilty of owning one.

[chevor]

mojoroo wrote:

Dave H M wrote:
folks, look at the year of the diesel the OP is referring to.

Is this a bad year for Chevy?

Model years after 2007.5 have a Diesel Particulate Filter. It isn't good to run those trucks for short periods of time. The emissions system will plug up.
If the truck is running properly the DPF cleans out every 400 miles. At that time Exhaust temps reach above 1200 degrees. Clean out usually last at least 10 minutes. If truck is stop during cycle it will restart cycle again after truck is brought back up to heat.

[mojoroo]

Maybe I should consider a Ford 250 v10 I saw the other day.....o_O

[mojoroo]

Dave H M wrote:
folks, look at the year of the diesel the OP is referring to.

Is this a bad year for Chevy?

[mojoroo]

I would love to ride a bike, but that is not fun in Minnesota Dec-April along with rain every other day at times. This spring was horrible. Also it is thru the heart of a downtown that has 30000 plus people entering just for one employer.

I often times will need to run errands after work etc and it will be my vehicle if iI need to head out of town will if my wife's fuel efficient car is gone. I usually let vehicles run 5-10 before driving in the winter since they are out in the cold in driveway and not a heated garage.

[JeepCB]

I think the only real down side is it seems to me that repair part cost more for my diesel, I guess they need to be tougher because of more power?. I am glad I got one though, that power is great when you are towing up hills! I get better MPGs around town then I do in my Jeep on 35" tires. Plus, my 3yr old loves to hear it start up and shut down.
Commute is too short...go around the block or stop off somewhere new for coffee! 2.5 miles?... maybe ride a bike...just sayin'
Good luck!