Diesel vs gas......................

[blt2ski]

OK folks, there have been a few to many diesel vs gas threads that have shall we say gone to "Hell and a hand basket"! So if all of you would put in you BEST, no flaming reasons for going gas vs diesel, pro and con, I will either leave your thread, or copy and paste pertinant info to the 4 posts of pro and con of diesel or gas. This can include the GM 8.1 vs Dmax or Ford V-8/10 vs PSD etc too.

Be real and honest in you answers, not hear say, flaming etc PLEASE!

If posts are good ones, I will leave, if inflamatory or trolling in nature, they will be deleted! I will get this stick'd to the top for future parusing for those that need this type of info.

Added 6-23-04

We are getting closer to answers I am looking for etc.

Stuff like Ken's - T-Bone posts are good. There are a few others of you that have not posted, some with a 9 point question and answer type to figure out how you went with one or the other. If you are one of those, PLEASE repost in this thread. I may have to look up whom has done this and PM you, but if you think this is you, you now know what to do.

Also, for those of you with $ per gallon for either fuel right now, I would prefer to see a post with ...."in my area, diesel is typically .10 less than unleaded" then explain your numbers. As currently in the Seattle area, diesel and unleaded are any where from 2.05 -2.30 per gallon, with mid test .10 more and premium about .20 more, with equal high low splits. Two weeks ago those prices were upwards of .30 -.40 per gallon more. people were posting $ per gallon that were for me. "I wish" If someone is reading your post a year from now, they may want to know where your paying 1.65, when the price of fuel is over $3 per gallon. Let's keep prices out of it if possible.

Bert and tin tipi, got into a good discusion on the pros and cons of RPM's, drive train etc. I would prefer to NOT see the quote of the other in responding threads, maybe just write a quick wording of re tranny gearing, instead of the whole 40 words or so in that paragragh, so the repsonse is shorter if possible quicker and easier to read etc.

I have deleted some 15+/- posts, that were off topic etc. Please note, I am trying to keep this at the top, as the ONLY gas/diesel thread in this area. So if one is trying to decide, we do not have to go thru this BS any more. As such, I will be deleting ANY future posts close to resembling this type of topic. I may have to change "this" title to a better one, if one has a better sounding title, to be more positive, better claification, let me know here, or in a PM/e-mail, what ever you feel most comfortible with.

Again thank you for all of you that are keeping responses positive, etc.

Also we could use a few more positive reasons to go gas, as many can see I have both gas and diesel, both have a place! Both have positive reasons to buy that fuel, lets keep the threads etc to that purpose only!

Marty

[Truckboy]

I had a 2004 F-150 that was gutless pulling a 3000lbs. trailer. I got 8 TO 10 MPG With it ,OH Yeah, it was a gasser. I now have a 2004 Dodge 4x4 2500 W/a cummins Diesel. I get 14 to 16 while towing the same trailer. I Don't have to down shift on every off or on ramp , hill or rise in the highway I get 23mpg Highway & 17.4 combined . I use the truck as my main transportation. The Ford got 17 on the road & 12-13 in town. The cummins will run for 400,000 The ford was finished at 124,000. The ford had to have the oil changed every 3500 mi. The cummins will go 7000. Diesel is 40-50 cents higher than gas. Think about this. FORD, 24 GAL Tank AT 17MPG = 408 miles. DODGE 35 GAL Tank AT 23MPG= 782 miles. There is a big trade off here. In the long run the savings are worth it. IT'S your call. I Drove Fords for twenty years. They are a good Vehicle . Check out thier diesel & GM's as well. Do NOT ,,,DO NOT buy the JEEP .You will be buying the best friend a MOPAR mechanic ever had.

[RFOneWatt]

enginenut wrote:
RFonewatt

i like how you say eventual children. three little kids side by side in the back seat is pretty rough. remeber the "Mom he looked at me", or "he's touching me" or anything else that starts the seemingly trivial arguments. and then who sits up fron with us if a friend is along. EVERYONE wants to sit with the friend. remember being a kid? thats the interior difference. but i get the rest of what you are saying. thanks

I hear ya, but haven't experienced ya. Yet. 🙂

Yeah, those are the trade-off's given the choice of what's on the market these days. Seriously though, the amount of room in the Crew Cab really surprised me. Go check out this post and look for the pics of the inside of my F250. Better yet, go drive one!!

F250 Crew Cab Interior and Exterior Pictures

I'll PM you some additional interior pics as well.

-T

[enginenut]

RFonewatt

i like how you say eventual children. three little kids side by side in the back seat is pretty rough. remeber the "Mom he looked at me", or "he's touching me" or anything else that starts the seemingly trivial arguments. and then who sits up fron with us if a friend is along. EVERYONE wants to sit with the friend. remember being a kid? thats the interior difference. but i get the rest of what you are saying. thanks

[rcpd34]

TexasBorn wrote:

rcpd34 wrote:
I'm with you. I'd buy a Duramax Suburban tomorrow. GMC did just unveil the Denali 2500HD/3500HD; nicer interior, but no additional room. If money is no object convert one here:

www.duramaxsuburban.com

Very hard to come by and crazy expensive.

WTF!!??!! Who in their right mind would pay for that? $80K for an '05? Heck even a 2012. Thats crazy.

Apparently they sell every one they make. It takes them a long time and they're obviously all hand made.

[RFOneWatt]

enginenut wrote:
for me, it's not about the costs. The Yukon is just at it's limits. Every trip we take is through mountains. i run it floored and watch the temp gauge. when I lose a gear I cannot get it back. so by the crest I am in firct gear at like 5000 rpm and 30 mph. I have to run in the truck lanes so my speed has to match the trucks which means sometimes I am in first gear at the beginning of the climbs. the reference to the interior is what we talk about the most. the space inside a Yukon XL/ Suburban is great and its not just about leg room. We have 3 kids and often bring one or 2 of their friends. It's obvious what I need; the yukon with a Duramax. but that is not going to happen which is why we are looking at a pickup. hard to give up the interior though

I just went through the same thing with my 2k7 Expedition. Absolutely LOVED the vehicle to death but it just couldn't cope with the mountains and I had to get a F250 6.4.. No doubt I miss several of the creature comforts of the Expy, and of course the SMOOTH ride but being able to hold my own in the mountains more than makes up for it.

Having a Crew Cab and long bed helps with the missing interior/cargo room, and there is plenty of room for the eventual children.

🙂

The difference in the interior between a higher end Expy and higher end F250 isn't all that great to be honest.. You'd be pleasantly surprised. I know I was!

-T

[Biggziff]

It's interesting that so many are now reporting 8-10 MPG towing heavy (7000 or better) with the diesels. Sounds like the MPG advantage has gone the way of the Dodo. Too bad....

[TexasBorn]

enginenut wrote:
for me, it's not about the costs. The Yukon is just at it's limits. Every trip we take is through mountains. i run it floored and watch the temp gauge. when I lose a gear I cannot get it back. so by the crest I am in firct gear at like 5000 rpm and 30 mph. I have to run in the truck lanes so my speed has to match the trucks which means sometimes I am in first gear at the beginning of the climbs. the reference to the interior is what we talk about the most. the space inside a Yukon XL/ Suburban is great and its not just about leg room.
We have 3 kids and often bring one or 2 of their friends. It's obvious what I need; the yukon with a Duramax. but that is not going to happen which is why we are looking at a pickup. hard to give up the interior though

Man that must be terrible having to drive like that. Sounds like you need some ACME rockets to strap on you TT. 😄

[TexasBorn]

rcpd34 wrote:
I'm with you. I'd buy a Duramax Suburban tomorrow. GMC did just unveil the Denali 2500HD/3500HD; nicer interior, but no additional room. If money is no object convert one here:

www.duramaxsuburban.com

Very hard to come by and crazy expensive.

WTF!!??!! Who in their right mind would pay for that? $80K for an '05? Heck even a 2012. Thats crazy.

[qbert10]

rcpd34 wrote:
I'm with you. I'd buy a Duramax Suburban tomorrow. GMC did just unveil the Denali 2500HD/3500HD; nicer interior, but no additional room. If money is no object convert one here:

www.duramaxsuburban.com

Very hard to come by and crazy expensive.

Your not kidding, crazy expensive, the one they have for sale on the web is $79,999. I can't believe that they sell them.

[rcpd34]

I'm with you. I'd buy a Duramax Suburban tomorrow. GMC did just unveil the Denali 2500HD/3500HD; nicer interior, but no additional room. If money is no object convert one here:

www.duramaxsuburban.com

Very hard to come by and crazy expensive.

[enginenut]

for me, it's not about the costs. The Yukon is just at it's limits. Every trip we take is through mountains. i run it floored and watch the temp gauge. when I lose a gear I cannot get it back. so by the crest I am in firct gear at like 5000 rpm and 30 mph. I have to run in the truck lanes so my speed has to match the trucks which means sometimes I am in first gear at the beginning of the climbs. the reference to the interior is what we talk about the most. the space inside a Yukon XL/ Suburban is great and its not just about leg room.
We have 3 kids and often bring one or 2 of their friends. It's obvious what I need; the yukon with a Duramax. but that is not going to happen which is why we are looking at a pickup. hard to give up the interior though

[rcpd34]

Sport45 wrote:
The F-350 won't have as nice a ride as the Yukon and a lot less room inside. But you will see better mpg's on the road with the diesel and you gain $1,600 on the trade. That will buy enough fuel for you to travel "free" for a while. I'd probably do it. (And I am a proponent of gasoline engines. ;))

Yes, but you are forgetting the much higher initial cost of $6K-8K for the diesel over it's gasoline counterpart. You're not traveling "free". Way back when I was on the fence about buying my first diesel I did the math and found I would have to drive 66K miles before the fuel savings made up for the additional cost of the diesel and I "broke even". And that was when deisel was less than regular gasoline! Now, I'm sure that figure is ober 100K miles. Since I've never kept a vehicle that long, I opted for the gas. A couple of years later, I got a great deal on a 2 year old Duramax, was bitten by the diesel bug and would never consider another gas truck. I had no idea what I was missing. If you are making your decision based soley upon fuel savings you'll never convince yourself unless you keep your trucks forever. But if you tow or haul heavy, it's a no-brainer.

[Sport45]

I am in the middle of a gas vs diesel decision. My 8.1L is a beast with the 4.10 rear end, the ride is better than a truck and for the last 8 years it has been great as the kids camped with us, including trips all up and down the east coast. Now I am in a position where if I want to ride from Syracuse to say myrtle beach the gas cost is making me think twice about driving my little car and grabbing a hotel.
So now that it is just my wife and I I am thinking about selling the 2001 Yukon with 60K plus miles for $12,500 (kbb private party value) and and getting a 2000 ford F350 short bed 7.3L turbo super duty with 97K miles for $10,900) I get 10mpg around town not towing and 6mpg towing in the hills and 7mpg towing on the flat at 70mph. Hoping the better mileage on the Ford would offset the higher cost of diesel in NY due to taxes. Interested in what the rest of you think about this.

The F-350 won't have as nice a ride as the Yukon and a lot less room inside. But you will see better mpg's on the road with the diesel and you gain $1,600 on the trade. That will buy enough fuel for you to travel "free" for a while. I'd probably do it. (And I am a proponent of gasoline engines. ;))

on edit: Should have quoted the post I was addressing 🙂

[Jarlaxle]

You had major problems. The F-550 rollback Liz drives, with 4.88 gears and weighing 12,000lbs empty, averages about 12MPG. Still going strong, just short of 900,000 miles.

[qbert10]

wingdavid wrote:
I am in the middle of a gas vs diesel decision. My 8.1L is a beast with the 4.10 rear end, the ride is better than a truck and for the last 8 years it has been great as the kids camped with us, including trips all up and down the east coast. Now I am in a position where if I want to ride from Syracuse to say myrtle beach the gas cost is making me think twice about driving my little car and grabbing a hotel.
So now that it is just my wife and I I am thinking about selling the 2001 Yukon with 60K plus miles for $12,500 (kbb private party value) and and getting a 2000 ford F350 short bed 7.3L turbo super duty with 97K miles for $10,900) I get 10mpg around town not towing and 6mpg towing in the hills and 7mpg towing on the flat at 70mph. Hoping the better mileage on the Ford would offset the higher cost of diesel in NY due to taxes. Interested in what the rest of you think about this.

I had an 01 7.3 PSD, and I was lucky to get 10mpg out of it. That is a bi thrusty motor, yet it did pull well. I now have an 06 Dodge with a 5.9 CT, and it gets better milage than the Ford ever did at 13, no matter the road conditions.

I think you would be happier with the diesel in the long run anyway.

Will-