New truck

[snowstorm]

to get better fuel mileage with an older truck you will have to go back over 10 yrs. in 04 they started using egr. in 08 it was egr and dpf mileage went down. now with def the mileage has come up a lot

[gspren]

  I have a 2013 F450 equipped to pull a 14,000 lb 5th wheel. I have a 65 gal Titan Tank replacement fuel tank on order. We previously towed with a 6.4 Powerstroke and a Duramax/Allison and I like the way Ford kept their duallys lower in the bed than GM or Ram which is better for towing and work in general. If you like diesels you will never be happy towing with gassers but if you don't really like diesels you can justify staying with gas. As to long range cost, I don't care!

[pappy19]

If maintained correctly any newer gas truck should have the same life expectancy as a diesel. There are tons and tons of newer GM 5.3 and 6.0L trucks with 300K plus miles on them and the motors have never been opened up. Years ago that argument was valid but anymore gassers just keep on running.

I certainly agree with this and in fact, there are very few diesels out there that go 300k without an injector pump, glow plugs, or some other fuel issue which will cost a bundle. I know of many Ford V-10's with nearly 300k and a whole bunch with over 200k, not to mention the thousands of F-150's with 300k. Not that uncommon anymore. I've had diesels in the past, but the maintenance alone plus the initial cost factors don't make it worth it to me.

[mainiac]

Test drove a 2013 F350 supercab 4x4 diesel today. I am very impressed. It was comfortable and very peppy. ;) My next step will be to test drive the Dmax, but it has its work cut out to impress me over the Ford.

Also found a brand new 2009 tag a long camper to go behind it. Might be a package deal in the works.

Thank you all for the feed back. Still interested in people's opinions before I pull the trigger on something.

[Magicman]

I am well pleased with the driving comfort of my 2012 F250, but I have no Diesel or Duramax experience.

[woodandtractors]

As Snowstorm said,the older trucks will get better mpg. My '08 will do 10 mpg in cold weather,partly because of warmup time. Fueled up and checked mileage Friday,it's back up to 12 again. Here in NH,as yet there's no check to see if all exhaust components are in place,so a tuner and a muffler help the mileage. I don't use my truck for much but work,so power is more important to me.
Waiting to hear how impressed you are with the Duramax.
Mike

[scsmith42]

I have an '08 F450 with the 6.4 diesel that I use primarily for towing.  Most of my CGVW is in excess of 40K lbs.  Once it was out of warranty I made a few modifications to the engine, and am really pleased with the results (50% increase in fuel mileage and WOW the power is incredible).

I've been making some 120 miles trips to the concentration yard bringing back logs.  This last trip had a combined gross of 43K and 10.2 MPG average round trip. 

My truck has the King Ranch package, and the comfort level is very high.  It also has 4WD and 4.88 gears.  If I had it to do over again, I'd go with 4:30's, considering the weight that I routinely tow. 

I just don't see a gas truck providing me with the pulling power and fuel mileage that I'm getting.

[customsawyer]

It has been a long time since I have owned a gas pickup. I like the way the diesels work and consider the extra cost one of the expenses of my business. It sounds like you do enough towing and plowing that you will enjoy the benefits of the diesels.

[Ken]

My 05 Chev is the first diesel I've owned.  The 6.6 duramax works great and knock on wood I haven't had any issues with the motor yet and it has just over 300K kms (180K miles) .  Although a gas motor would be adequate most times the diesel is sure nice when I pull my dump trailer.  I get between 17 and 20 mpg.

[snowstorm]

the guy that helped with my rottne is gm all the way. he works for a large landscape co. they have quite a few 5500 gmc,s with plow and wing sander setup. he says most have had 2 sets of injectors by 40000 miles have broken several rearends this winter. they also have several new f550,s. he says have been real good. and stand up much better

[johnjbc]

In 1994 I had an 1982 dodge with a 318 and after installing smaller jets, lowering the float level and advancing the timing I go it up to 12 mpg (9 haling the pickup camper and pulling the boat).
I bought a new 1994 with the $6000 Cummings option.. Loaded up the camper and hooked up the boat, and went on vacation. Got 17 mpg. Did the math and the payback on the diesel option was about 82K miles. I still have the truck and it has 150k on it. It has a few dents and a little rust on the door bottoms. If I were selling it I would ask $6k and you can buy gas models like it for under 1500. Used 12 valve 6BT engines start 2k and the 5 sp are about the same. So I have doubled my 6K diesel option.
Would I buy another diesel, you bet.

Just had this 09 shipped up from Texas and it getting between 15 and 18 empty depending on speed. Not bad for a truck with a GCVW of 26k. With some deletes, a chip, and summer fuel it should do a lot better.



 



 

[samandothers]

I have enjoyed the pulling power I get from my 2004 Dmax. When we first bought it we would get 20 to 22 around town.  Then low sulfur diesel and mileage dropped about 4mpg.  We have had 2 sets of injectors.  First at 90k and second at 180 k, both on GM's dime.  I had thought about getting rid of the truck before we get to 270k as the pattern is injectors every 90k. Dealer indicated new injectors are better and we should not have additional problems.  I am a bit skeptical. 
I like the truck and the Allison transmission and the way they pull our tractor and equipment trailer or camper.  Not sure if I had to replace I'd go back with diesel as we don't pull all the time and diesel fuel is so much more expensive I don't think we get the payback.  It was a different story in 2004 when fuel mileage was better and diesel was less expensive.

[mainiac]

Finally test drove a 2013 Duramax this morning. Salesman lives 5 miles from me and he brought it home for me to try. It is a VERY smooth and quiet truck and has a lot of get up and go. The Allison has to be the smoothest transmission I have ever driven. That smoothness though, did take away from the wow factor the Ford gave me. First real downfall to the GM truck is the placement of the urea tank. It hangs along side and below the frame under the passenger door. Very noticeably so that it is a concern to me. I am not sure where Ford has placed their urea tank. Down fall no.2 with GM is that they are not producing a 3500hd extended cab short box anymore and 2013 is the last year for the 2500's in that set up as well.

Current thinking is GM truck will go gas 2500hd and 4:10 gears and add air bags or Timbrins for the weight capacity or go Ford diesel F350. Might just come down to numbers.

[Woodboogah]

The newer diesels seem to be a lot more costly to maintain, not that older ones are not costly.  If you are going to work it, it will most likey last you longer and you get your moneys worth.  I will never go back to a gas truck, however, I will try real hard to stay away from the new diesels.  I have an 05 F350 with the 6.0 and has had some issues but overall I like it.  The older the better though, that's my opinion.