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 find that gasbuddy it the first source to go to for information on where to find fuel. If that fails then I can go to Google Maps and for each small town on the route do a search for gas stations. I can then phone the stations and see if they sell diesel. I had to do this for a trip last fall through NM and AZ and it took a great deal of time. I would not have had to do this if my truck burned gas instead of diesel.
The Alcan is hardly a typical route for 99% of the people hauling truck campers but I would expect closer to 90% will at some time visit the western USA to go to places like Yellowstone and Zion. Why not stick to what is the real world for most people using a truck to carry a camper.
If you felt the need or desire to have a diesel engine then go for it. Lots of people feel the need to have a Jeep or a Hummer when they never venture off the pavement or wear cowboy boots but will never get on the back of a horse. The OP in case anyone can remember was asking about the value of a diesel engine for a truck camper rig. But unless someone is planning to tow a 10,000 trailer behind their camper a gas engine is more than enough and it is being silly to say that they NEED a diesel.
I was used to large trucks pulling horse trailers with a dozen horses and the diesel made a big difference on the grades. The trucks also had large tanks and could go 500 plus miles between fuel stops. I bought a diesel truck in 2011 to haul a camper and my thinking at the time was that I would have 20% more range per tankful with the greater fuel economy of the diesel engine.
It was a rude awakening to find that on our trips over the last three years that I spend as much time planning fuel stops where I can buy diesel as any other aspect and often the locations of stations selling diesel determines our route. Having driven many thousands of miles with the diesel truck all over California, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona, and going to scenic areas and that is seldom along the Interstates (compare I-5 in California to Hwy 101 or Hwy 1 for example), diesel has been a negative element most of the time.
The Alcan is hardly a typical route for 99% of the people hauling truck campers but I would expect closer to 90% will at some time visit the western USA to go to places like Yellowstone and Zion. Why not stick to what is the real world for most people using a truck to carry a camper.
If you felt the need or desire to have a diesel engine then go for it. Lots of people feel the need to have a Jeep or a Hummer when they never venture off the pavement or wear cowboy boots but will never get on the back of a horse. The OP in case anyone can remember was asking about the value of a diesel engine for a truck camper rig. But unless someone is planning to tow a 10,000 trailer behind their camper a gas engine is more than enough and it is being silly to say that they NEED a diesel.
I was used to large trucks pulling horse trailers with a dozen horses and the diesel made a big difference on the grades. The trucks also had large tanks and could go 500 plus miles between fuel stops. I bought a diesel truck in 2011 to haul a camper and my thinking at the time was that I would have 20% more range per tankful with the greater fuel economy of the diesel engine.
It was a rude awakening to find that on our trips over the last three years that I spend as much time planning fuel stops where I can buy diesel as any other aspect and often the locations of stations selling diesel determines our route. Having driven many thousands of miles with the diesel truck all over California, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona, and going to scenic areas and that is seldom along the Interstates (compare I-5 in California to Hwy 101 or Hwy 1 for example), diesel has been a negative element most of the time.
