Movin' on up to a new Dually!

wintersun wrote:
The DRW makes sense with a 5,000 lb. camper but not the choice of diesel. The extra expense and hastle of a diesel is needed when towing more than 10,000 lbs. but it is hardly needed for half that load.

I have a diesel truck and I paid an additional $9000 for the truck, pay twice as much for an oil change which I have to have done twice as often, have to change the fuel filters every 10k versus 80-100k with a gas engine, have two batteries instead of one to replace, have an extra 800 lbs. of engine weight which is subtracted from the payload capacity, have to buy DEF as well as fuel, have less reliable emissions systems and sensors (had to replace a $700 NOx sensor at 12,000 miles), have to drive further to get fuel as none of the three gas stations in my town have diesel at the pumps much less DEF which I get at truck stops, and the fuel economy gain is negated by the greater distance to buy fuel and the cost of diesel which over the past 3 years has been higher than premium gas. And with diesel I have to worry a lot more about contaminated fuel and water in the fuel and algae and adding fuel stabilizers which has never been a concern with my gas vehicles. Diesel fuel economy also drops dramatically if one is making trips of less than 30 minutes or doing around town driving.

The diesel engine works well with the 3.73 gears on my pickup but I could get 95% of the power needed with a 5,000 lb. camper with a gas engine and 4.10 gears. Where people create problems is in buying whatever the dealer configures and the factory wants to sell which is high gear trucks that help with the EPA's CAFE calculations and does nothing for the people buying the trucks.

Sigh, I fear we are headed for another diesel vs gas debate again......

Both are fine and both have pros and cons specific to the buyers needs. For example, *YOU* have to drive farther to get fuel vs gas, but that may not be the case for others. Your other points are valid, specifically the oil change maintenance costs which most people don't even think of.

I've driven (and owned) both types before. My current F350 6.2 gasser gets up and goes like a mustang, I just hate filling up my 36 gallon tank every week. Got 9 MPG on my last tank, and I have the 3.73 gears! Having said that, the truck I was wanting to test drive was a Denali 3500HD with the 6.0L to see real world gas mileage. I don't trust any of these numbers people on forums say because they never seem to jive. I see people claiming ~ 20 MPG out of a SD 6.2L...... If I could manage 12-15 mpg with a gasser Denali DRW 3500 and I saw one on the lot I would buy it immediately. Also considered the 6.4L hemi but no DRW trucks with that config here. Local dealers here in Alaska are quoting me a 4 month wait time for a custom order, that is too long to wait for me so I will "settle" for whats on the lot. If it's diesel, so be it.

Still checking all the dealers around my area to see if I can find a Denali gasser or Hemi 6.4 DRW to test drive. Sucks here in Alaska, we really have no other dealers we can check. If you are in the states you can drive a few hours and check some other dealerships. I can check Fairbanks and Soldotna outside of Anchorage and the valley (Wasilla/ER), that's pretty much it :(