Diesel Question for truck campers
I believe a diesel engine is the best for hauling a truck camper. With the price of diesel going up more each week is it still worth it? Just looking for opinions. Today in Canada a gallon ...
Forum Discussion
I have been driving diesel trucks for decades but with large saddle tanks. Pickups are another story and if fuel was so easy to find then one has to question the sanity of people spending $1100 or more to put larger tanks in their pickup trucks. How stupid they must be when there is a diesel station every 150 miles!
My truck has a 30 gallon fuel tank and that translates to less than 300 miles with a heavy load going through the mountains or when it is windy and the truck has to overcome the air drag of the camper. I don't want to run out of fuel with a diesel (some may not understand why but it is a factor) so I will fuel up when I have a quarter of a tank left and often much sooner to make it to the next place that actually sells diesel - in the area I am traveling which by the way is not Arkansas oddly enough. Last time I checked Arkansas was in the east.
Out in the western United States where evidently many on this forum have not traveled it is a very different situation. Many small towns have only one gas station and it seldom has diesel at the pumps. Do a trip routing from Los Angeles to Taos, New Mexico and through the Canyonlands area and check gasbuddy.com and see how many places sell diesel along the scenic routes. Damn few. Check routes through the California gold country or along Highway 1. Take the time to see what you can find instead of talking about your town.
The question should be what does one gain with a 4,000 lb. camper load by spending an extra $9000 for the diesel engine option compared to the gas V-8 with low gears. Does a zero to 60 MPH time of 8 seconds instead of 10 seconds make that much of a difference and how often is this the case?
My truck has a diesel engine but I would be kidding myself to think for a second that I needed it to haul around my camper or tow my bass boat. It's like the old fart with the new Corvette that puts out 500 HP - it becomes more about bragging rights.
I put the best lubricants I can into the engine and transmission of my truck to protect my investment. I don't use a synthetic 5W40 oil as I don't live in an area with sub zero temperatures. A 15W40 gives me the best year round protection and I consider hauling a camper through the sierras a severe duty use of the truck and that means changing the oil more often and the theoretical longer life of a synthetic is not going to matter when the oil is drained. I use the top rated dino oil for diesels.
Seems like many of the people on this forum have their minds made up and heaven help anyone who brings up new information that contradicts their preconceived notions.
My truck has a 30 gallon fuel tank and that translates to less than 300 miles with a heavy load going through the mountains or when it is windy and the truck has to overcome the air drag of the camper. I don't want to run out of fuel with a diesel (some may not understand why but it is a factor) so I will fuel up when I have a quarter of a tank left and often much sooner to make it to the next place that actually sells diesel - in the area I am traveling which by the way is not Arkansas oddly enough. Last time I checked Arkansas was in the east.
Out in the western United States where evidently many on this forum have not traveled it is a very different situation. Many small towns have only one gas station and it seldom has diesel at the pumps. Do a trip routing from Los Angeles to Taos, New Mexico and through the Canyonlands area and check gasbuddy.com and see how many places sell diesel along the scenic routes. Damn few. Check routes through the California gold country or along Highway 1. Take the time to see what you can find instead of talking about your town.
The question should be what does one gain with a 4,000 lb. camper load by spending an extra $9000 for the diesel engine option compared to the gas V-8 with low gears. Does a zero to 60 MPH time of 8 seconds instead of 10 seconds make that much of a difference and how often is this the case?
My truck has a diesel engine but I would be kidding myself to think for a second that I needed it to haul around my camper or tow my bass boat. It's like the old fart with the new Corvette that puts out 500 HP - it becomes more about bragging rights.
I put the best lubricants I can into the engine and transmission of my truck to protect my investment. I don't use a synthetic 5W40 oil as I don't live in an area with sub zero temperatures. A 15W40 gives me the best year round protection and I consider hauling a camper through the sierras a severe duty use of the truck and that means changing the oil more often and the theoretical longer life of a synthetic is not going to matter when the oil is drained. I use the top rated dino oil for diesels.
Seems like many of the people on this forum have their minds made up and heaven help anyone who brings up new information that contradicts their preconceived notions.
