Diesel Question for truck campers

[Bigfootchevy]

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 of diesel is worth about 75 cents more than gas!

With the extra cost of the diesel engine and extra cost at the pump, I am starting to rethink my decision to order my new truck with a diesel!

I cannot see me not ordering a diesel, but I just got back from vacation and drove pass the gas station and saw the new diesel price of $1.39 per litre cost, was a bit of a shock. Gas was $1.20 per litre. I believe their are 3.7 litres in a gallon.

Thanks

Paul

[1stgenfarmboy]

While I do believe having a diesel to haul your truck camper is the best option, I think you would be foolish to expect large savings in owning one.

when the gas trucks had 200 or so HP and netted a cool 6-7 mpg pulling/hauling a load and the repair/fuel cost of a diesel was the same or less than a gas truck then it was a no brainer, but with the higher cost of fuel and the astronomical cost of repair on modern diesels and the higher HP of todays gas trucks it is a strait up wash.

some of us (NEED) a diesel, some want one, in reality some of us could do just fine with a gas truck, no question some of todays gas trucks will do the job where trucks of the mid 90's just wouldn't do it, this is why I got into diesel trucks to begin with, my 96 2500 chevy literally would not pull my gooseneck loaded, and fuel was .40 cents cheaper than gas......well until I signed the papers then it jumped .50 cents over night.


Of course I say all of this living in flatsville USA ILL, and I bet some of you guys that pull out of your drive way and instantly need to pull an 8% grade are thinking ( no way will a gas truck work for me).


Dar

[deltabravo]

Bigfootchevy wrote:
This post is not about finding diesel, its about whether buying a diesel still makes sense today as it did in the past for people that own truck campers!

So far I believe "Go Diesel" is leading the way.

Paul

AGREED.

JumboJet wrote:
When it comes to ease of travel (at least for me) the diesel wins hands down. I have not tried any of the newer gas burners because I also tow heavy loads on a goose-neck trailer.

Just one good 30 mph headwind with a TC sticking up in the air as they do, the diesel burn rate goes up, but the set speed will not go down.

DITTO, and here's my story:

I just sold my gas powered Jeep (daily driver) and bought another diesel truck.

I now have TWO diesel powered trucks sitting in my driveway:
2009 Silverado 3500HD Dually (the camper hauler)
2006 Silverado 2500HD, daily driver, general purpose tow rig
(they are color matched!)

I bought the second one because it is so much more versatile than the rig it replaced. I can tow any of my trailers and do it stress free.

Yesterday I towed my small trailer between Lewiston, ID and Spokane, and aside from the hill coming up on to the Palouse, and going through some small communities, I ran with the cruise control on the entire way. That would never have happened with a gas powered truck of the same vintage.

[JumboJet]

Bigfootchevy wrote:
This post is not about finding diesel, its about whether buying a diesel still makes sense today as it did in the past for people that own truck campers!

So far I believe "Go Diesel" is leading the way.

Paul

When it comes to ease of travel (at least for me) the diesel wins hands down. I have not tried any of the newer gas burners because I also tow heavy loads on a goose-neck trailer.

Just one good 30 mph headwind with a TC sticking up in the air as they do, the diesel burn rate goes up, but the set speed will not go down. Anyone that has ever traveled across Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Montana, or Nebraska with a good stiff headwind knows what I am talking about.

[Butch50]

Redsky,

I think you better learn how to use gasbuddy a little better. I looked at Whitefish, MT ( this happens to be my home town, born and raised and lived there for a number of years). I searched and they are showing 3 gas stations on Gasbuddy in Whitefish and GUESS WHAT all 3 of them also have diesel. Try another story or at least do your research before posting something so full of BS that is so easy for someone to check on.

I also checked Gasbuddy in Browning, MT and they show 2 gas stations with gas but guess what they also have diesel per Gasbuddy. Get a new record it is really boring to hear the same one from you all the time and check your facts before making statements that you can't back up.

[Bigfootchevy]

With the camper on my truck I have been in every province and territory in Canada and seven States including Alaska for a month and have never experienced having a problem getting diesel. Been driving diesel trucks for over 10 years now and have never worried about finding diesel.

Have to admit before driving to Alaska I checked out the map for diesel stations but never had a problem once I hit the road. My truck holds 36 gallons.

This post is not about finding diesel, its about whether buying a diesel still makes sense today as it did in the past for people that own truck campers!

So far I believe "Go Diesel" is leading the way.

Paul

[campingken]

Last week I was in San Pedro CA and had a heck of a time finding a station that sold diesel.

This is the first time since I have owned the truck, 11 years, that I have had trouble finding a station that sold diesel. However most stations have lots of gas pumps and only a few diesel pumps. It is not uncommon to have to wait because the diesel pump is blocked by someone buying gas...

[skyhammer]

Redsky wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

JumboJet wrote:
New Nissan Titan - Cummins 5.0 diesel
New Toyota Tundra - Cummins 5.0 diesel
New RAM 1500 - "Italian" 3.0 diesel (8,000 first run dealer orders placed)

More cars getting diesel engines.

I might not have slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I surely doubt that the manufacturers and dealers would be excited to sell diesel powered vehicles if a fuel source was scarce (See CNG powered vehicles).

Proactive people plan fuel needs before they ever go on a trip. Starting in Salem, OR I traveled US20 from Albany, OR to Boise, ID in 2011 with my Lance 1050S. You can't get much more scarce towns and stops than that nearly 400 mile road. I didn't have any problems finding diesel.

Fuel source either way is a silly discussion for RV's. You can get diesel at most stations and gas trucks can cover reasonable distances.

Unless you cover insane miles and don't stop to take breaks, getting fuel and having enough range is an academic subject at best.

You cannot get diesel at most gas stations and only someone who does not get out much could be that ignorant. Take any city from San Francisco to Dallas and do a gasbuddy.com lookup for gas stations and see how long the list is for those where people have posted a price and then look at the diesel section and see how many places are shown.

My truck has a 300-360 mile range with its diesel engine depending upon the terrain and the wind conditions and the route taken. I have no way of knowing in advance whether I can get 300 miles or 360 miles so I plan on 300 miles when determining fuel stops.

Going into Glacier NP from the west I can get gas at any one of 10 stations in Whitefish but not one of them sells diesel. Going out the east side the first town is Browning where again I can get gas at any of the 3 gas stations but not a single one has diesel. If my truck used gas I would never give it a second thought but with a diesel truck I do and I go out of my way many times on trips to get diesel for the truck.

I do this when traveling and I have to do this around my house as well where it is 3 miles to 2 stations selling gas and 20 miles round trip to where I can buy diesel, not the cheapest diesel in the area either. I burn more than $10 in diesel to get to a place that sells diesel. I also get to pay $0.90 more for a gallon of diesel than I do for a gallon of regular gas.

This is a camper forum and I may be incorrect in thinking that the people who bought trucks and slide in campers did so to get off the interstates and out into the boondocks. From the emotional response I guess this was incorrect.

You are setting your self up for failure using gas m Buddy to find diesel,especially in rural areas.
Here is an example, gas buddy doesn't even list most places in my county(Humboldt)to buy diesel. The town I near(Garberville) isn't even listed as having any place to buy diesel, yet there are 6 stations that sell diesel within 10 miles.
The same goes for the rest of the County, at least 75% of the stations that sell diesel aren't listed.
As far as $.90 cents a gallon difference between gas and diesel, that is not even close to being accurate for N. Calif. Diesel is 10 cents more than regular and 5 cents cheaper than premium.
You need to get out more and use your eyes rather than technology to find your diesel.

[kbaum]

I have had several Diesel trucks with TC's for 17 years and 100's of thousands miles. I don't recall ever having a problem finding diesel Alaska to Florida to Oregon and Washington. Also, drag a 5th all over the place and never a problem even un rural Wyoming, go figure.

If your only argument against a Diesel truck is availability of fuel that's a poooooooor argument.

[JumboJet]

Redsky wrote:

Going into Glacier NP from the west I can get gas at any one of 10 stations in Whitefish but not one of them sells diesel. Going out the east side the first town is Browning where again I can get gas at any of the 3 gas stations but not a single one has diesel. If my truck used gas I would never give it a second thought but with a diesel truck I do and I go out of my way many times on trips to get diesel for the truck.

I traveled back roads and some Interstate all the way from Arkansas to Glacier NP, through Glacier NP and to Canada and then back through Glacier NP and OMG I never worried about getting diesel and never had a problem getting diesel. I am glad I do not live in your worrisome world. My nearly 300,000 miles of traveling to all the lower 48, Canada, and Mexico, and I have never fretted getting diesel. I did have to pay $4.89/gallon for diesel on that trip to Glacier in 2008 and that was at a truck stop on the Interstate.

Life is too short to worry about the small stuff. Be proactive. Plan. Get Delorme Street Atlas USA and download all the truck stops, Walmarts, etc. that sell fuel and stay ahead of the game. This is about one of the most Full of BS threads I have ever read and tried to contribute common sense to!

[jimh406]

Redsky wrote:
gasbuddy.com lookup

Since it isn't obvious, gasbuddy.com doesn't even pretend to list all stations to buy fuel.

It's easy to find diesel fuel with Montana's version of gas buddy or do an internet search. http://www.montanagasprices.com/index.aspx?fuel=D&area=Whitefish&dl=Y&intro=Y and http://www.montanagasprices.com/index.aspx?fuel=D&area=Columbia Falls&dl=Y&intro=Y

There are similar sources for San Francisco. 15 listed as lower prices. http://www.sanfrangasprices.com/index.aspx?fuel=D

I suggest an alternate search method to find diesel besides the generic gasbuddy app, or just stay with your gas engine.

For those of you who might be new to diesel, diesel signs aren't always prominately displayed at stations.

[Redsky]

valhalla360 wrote:

JumboJet wrote:
New Nissan Titan - Cummins 5.0 diesel
New Toyota Tundra - Cummins 5.0 diesel
New RAM 1500 - "Italian" 3.0 diesel (8,000 first run dealer orders placed)

More cars getting diesel engines.

I might not have slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I surely doubt that the manufacturers and dealers would be excited to sell diesel powered vehicles if a fuel source was scarce (See CNG powered vehicles).

Proactive people plan fuel needs before they ever go on a trip. Starting in Salem, OR I traveled US20 from Albany, OR to Boise, ID in 2011 with my Lance 1050S. You can't get much more scarce towns and stops than that nearly 400 mile road. I didn't have any problems finding diesel.

Fuel source either way is a silly discussion for RV's. You can get diesel at most stations and gas trucks can cover reasonable distances.

Unless you cover insane miles and don't stop to take breaks, getting fuel and having enough range is an academic subject at best.

You cannot get diesel at most gas stations and only someone who does not get out much could be that ignorant. Take any city from San Francisco to Dallas and do a gasbuddy.com lookup for gas stations and see how long the list is for those where people have posted a price and then look at the diesel section and see how many places are shown.

My truck has a 300-360 mile range with its diesel engine depending upon the terrain and the wind conditions and the route taken. I have no way of knowing in advance whether I can get 300 miles or 360 miles so I plan on 300 miles when determining fuel stops.

Going into Glacier NP from the west I can get gas at any one of 10 stations in Whitefish but not one of them sells diesel. Going out the east side the first town is Browning where again I can get gas at any of the 3 gas stations but not a single one has diesel. If my truck used gas I would never give it a second thought but with a diesel truck I do and I go out of my way many times on trips to get diesel for the truck.

I do this when traveling and I have to do this around my house as well where it is 3 miles to 2 stations selling gas and 20 miles round trip to where I can buy diesel, not the cheapest diesel in the area either. I burn more than $10 in diesel to get to a place that sells diesel. I also get to pay $0.90 more for a gallon of diesel than I do for a gallon of regular gas.

This is a camper forum and I may be incorrect in thinking that the people who bought trucks and slide in campers did so to get off the interstates and out into the boondocks. From the emotional response I guess this was incorrect.

[Sheriffdoug]

RamTC wrote:

Bigfootchevy wrote:
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 of diesel is worth about 75 cents more than gas!

With the extra cost of the diesel engine and extra cost at the pump, I am starting to rethink my decision to order my new truck with a diesel!

I cannot see me not ordering a diesel, but I just got back from vacation and drove pass the gas station and saw the new diesel price of $1.39 per litre cost, was a bit of a shock. Gas was $1.20 per litre. I believe their are 3.7 litres in a gallon.



Thanks

Paul

I pondered the same myself, but for me the diesel option became less about payback dollars this time. After a few close calls in my previous underpowered diesel, I promised myself that I'd buy the most capability available in my next truck. I think I made the right choice but I have not had the TC on yet. I'm certain this time I won't run out of I-95 ramp trying to get up to hwy speed. Makes no difference whether I camp 1x or 20x per year, better to play it safe.

I have a 2012 Ram 3500 Laramie diesel 6.7 Longbed crew DRW(non DEF) and this IS the most comfortable & powerful vehicle that I have had so far. Having previously owned a 2002 Ford F250 7.3 diesel and then a 2011 Silverado 2500 Duramax.

The Ram on a 4000km trip last year from Sydney to Perth, I arrived without a backache after four days and had great takeoff at 60mph/100kph to pass Semi's very quickly. Very quiet in the cab too! This trip was without camper.

I get around 13.6-14mpg with my 6000lb loaded camper at 95kph/60mph.

GO DIESEL!

[silversand]

....with reference to diesel vs gasoline prices over time: take a close look at the Brent to WTI (west Texas intermediate) spread-- particularly lately, as the two start to close in towards parity.

Also, have a look at the crack-spread from 2008 up till today: crack-spreads were in the 50 to 100+ range in the hay-days; today, we're in the realm of negative crack-spreads (this massively affects refiner's margins!). Refiner processing is slowing down; according to the Zacks analyst blog, "refiners are in a funk", as of the writing in late 2013. As light truck owners and users of inordinately large quantities of diesel (and, especially gasoline), watch the "crack-spread" closely!

//

[silversand]

What about all the other factors? Long term cost of ownership. Reliability. Durability.

...The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, did a independent research study on cost of diesel vehicle ownership vs. gasoline and resale price. I can't site the actual study without written permission from CMU's Tepper School of Business, however, I'll cite the CMU write-up on the paper: "Not only were diesel cars more fuel efficient but their residual value was up to 30 percent higher than traditional gasoline vehicles". And, "Despite the sticker shock at purchase, these vehicles have lower operating costs and higher resale value over time." Also, "A new Carnegie Mellon University study reveals that cars with diesel engines are a better value than gas cars."

The study looked at hybrid, gasoline and diesel cars and light-trucks.

Now, the actual paper is considered a "working paper", not to be cited without explicit permission. Published 2010-09-03. The corresponding author is: Elisabeth A. Gilmore.

This is a link to CMU's piece here--> (a link to the working paper, in PDF format, is found at bottom of the web page)

[valhalla360]

Less Stuff wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

JumboJet wrote:
New Nissan Titan - Cummins 5.0 diesel
New Toyota Tundra - Cummins 5.0 diesel
New RAM 1500 - "Italian" 3.0 diesel (8,000 first run dealer orders placed)

More cars getting diesel engines.

I might not have slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I surely doubt that the manufacturers and dealers would be excited to sell diesel powered vehicles if a fuel source was scarce (See CNG powered vehicles).

Proactive people plan fuel needs before they ever go on a trip. Starting in Salem, OR I traveled US20 from Albany, OR to Boise, ID in 2011 with my Lance 1050S. You can't get much more scarce towns and stops than that nearly 400 mile road. I didn't have any problems finding diesel.

Fuel source either way is a silly discussion for RV's. You can get diesel at most stations and gas trucks can cover reasonable distances.

Unless you cover insane miles and don't stop to take breaks, getting fuel and having enough range is an academic subject at best.

Academic subject maybe, Insane? yes most likely.
Yet my diesel experience spanned 11 years and over 180,000 miles.

My three almost out of fuel experiences had me looking for diesel whenever the tank got to the half full mark.
Not worrying about getting fuel is a liberating feeling for this guy.

My last diesel powered trip covered over 11,000 miles and lasted 4 months.
A gas powered truck would have cost more for fuel but cost less in stress.
Plus not having that heavy diesel engine my truck would not have been overloaded.
Swan Song

No one ever said it you are towing something beyond the ratings of the bigger gas engines, you shouldn't consider diesel and isn't relevant to my post.

There has been a lot of back and forth that you are certain to run out of fuel if you buy a _____(pick a fuel type).

That's just dumb. We have these fancy things you can get with your truck called...fuel gages. If you are paying even the slightest attention, you aren't going to run out of fuel.