JumboJet, your chart is extremely helpful. Thanks for passing it along!
To those who keep suggesting that I consider diesel or keep comparing their diesel experiences to gas, please read the following edited statement that I posted on a Chevy owners forum in response to the same repeated suggestions. The apples and oranges comparison is closer than the 1% vs 2% milk. The engines are very different and although HP is about the same, torque is superior in a diesel and achieved at very different RPM's. Truely apples and oranges, both good fruit but from different trees with different nutritional values, just depents on what your individual body (personal truck hauling requirement) needs! I really enjoy this site and the information!
"Yes I have considered diesel and was planning to purchase one until I started studying owner blogs and interviewing people I work with in construction who drive large trucks. Many are going back to gas because the MPG on the newer diesel trucks is poorer than pre-DEF engines, add DEF, bi-annual smog, unplanned fuel filter changes, etc. At current fuel prices, diesel and gas are a wash. Gas fills up more often, diesel pays more when they fill up. Add the more than double cost of routine maintenance, the up-front $9,000 (before price negotiations)and you get diesel in a HD truck for two reasons, you want it and/or you need it for very heavy hauling. Yes the engine may last twice as long and the diesel truck will be worth more if you ever sell it but both are very weak rationalizations for going diesel. The diesel truck will be worth more at trade-in time because you paid a whole lot more in the first place and at 15,000 average annual miles, a engine lasting 600,000 miles will be 45 years old when it wears out, do you really want a 45 year old truck? I don't! With a 4,000 lb load, it doesn't make sense for my purposes. Yes, the steep grades would be more fun with diesel but with a truck camper, it's all about payload and diesel adds between 700 to 800 lbs to the truck. Yes the mfgr's add things to keep the payloads similar but most truck campers run over their GVWR. What you don't want to exceed is your axle and tire maximums which are the same between diesel and gas HD trucks. Gas allows you 700 to 800 lbs more payload safety factor. Any well researched article on truck campers will acknowledge that gas trucks have a cargo advantage over comparable diesel trucks. The diesel noise issue has been resolved in my opinion but not availability of fuel. Even if a station has diesel, it is often limited to one or two pumps. What I'm hoping to get from this post are people with similar gas rigs and their driving experience with both the 4:10 and the 3:73. I have read that the difference between the two is minimal with the six speed trans. Given my light load, is the 4:10 even worth exploring. Much like a diesel, it will be better in the mountains but is it really that necessary given the load. Towing is over 9,000 lbs with the 3:73 and up to 13,000 with the 4:10. At 4,000 lbs of payload and not towing anything, will the 3:73 be OK or with the new six speed trans, does the 4:10 work just as well with no noticeable loss of MPG at HWY speeds due to double overdrive?"
