The Gasser vs Diesel Thread

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
OK I'm tired of this creeping into every 3rd thread or so.
Here's your chance to keep hashing out this argument in the open.

Diesel vs Gasser for towing.
GO!

My take on it:

for the weekend warrior guy who tows a rig once a month, is it worth it for a diesel truck? The math says, no. Here's why:
lets say you drive 15k a year. And 2k of that is hauling your junk around. That's 13% of your mileage towing.
Diesel - lets say you get 16 mpg DDing, 14 mpg loaded. Maybe thi this is pretty optimistic. Somebody correct me. Over the course of the year, thats at average of ~15.75 mpg.
Gas - lets say you do a little better at 17 mpg DDing, but only 8 mpg loaded. Ouch. When you weight the average by 13% towing, that's an annual average of 15.85 mpg. Even at a DD of 16 mpg, it's still just 14.96.

Now factor in the extra cost of diesel (at what, 30% higher) + higher maintenance + the ridiculous cost of the truck.
This doesn't comes anywhere close to being worthwhile until you are doing 1/2 or more of your miles loaded.
 
For me its diesel all the way but I tow quite a bit in the summer months.A CC dually w a gas engine will not get the mileage my PSD does or perform like it does.I agree that the maint cost are more.two batteries versus one,18 quarts of oil versus 6/7,starters are usually twice what a gasser is and so on but Im willing to pay the price to have it.Diesel (fuel) prices vary widely depending on where your at,you NC guys get raped on fuel,but around here its usually not much more than reg gas.Deals are out there on desels you just have to be patient and a little lucky.
 
My diesel truck gets a lot better mileage than my old gasser did. Gets better mileage than my Tahoe does too. Of course, I use it two to three times a week so I can justify having it. If it was just a once a month deal I would go gasser honestly.
 
There is no debate needed (for the weekend warrior), none of these economics work. It's all insanity and stupidity. It's just a matter of how insane and stupid each of us want (and/or can afford) to be. The jeep economics don't work too well either but again the question is do you want to spend a little or alot. I've seen @ord.sgt.26NC run everywhere with his willys while I see built up wranglers with every piece of bolt on junk you can imagine struggle to move. If we go too far down this road we're all going to be driving corolla's or biking in to work and taking up knitting for a hobby. If I had any sense, I should sell the jeep, drive a prius to URE and walk the trails to promote good heart health and reduce the size of my fat ass. Fuck that, I will drag my 3500 lb jeep behind my dually and enjoy myself and never look back (other than in the mirror once in awhile to make sure I didn't lose the trailer that I can't even tell is back there). Screw it, enjoy yourself, life is too short.
 
its been said many times.. you dont need a diesel you want a diesel, unless your towing weekly / daily.

It is nice to average 11mpg over 5k miles with a total weight of 22k. Well its 22mpg when you split the cost with someone.
 
I like being able to drive my house down the road and not have to stop for 1300 miles before filling up.. I will keep my diesel :)
 
My DD as of right now is a '10 rubicon on 37s. Oil change every 5k miles with mobile one and oil filter is $60ish, fuel filter every 40k miles. I drove 165 miles this week and burned a 17 gallons of fuel. Shitty gas mileage is what it gets and if I went with a 6.0 2500 I'd probably get the same or less.

I'm looking at buying a new Cummins, guys are getting 16-17mpg of mixed driving, oil changes are $100 ever 15k miles, gotta do $90 worth of fuel filters then. Diesel is only .18-.25 more a gallon than the 87 I put in my jeep, not 30% when 87 is 2.13 a gallon.

If I take one trip a month that'll easily be 800 miles in one weekend, I live in Greenville, depending on if I only go to Tennessee or 1000 if I go to Kentucky. That's 12k a year if I go once a month. Plus 170 miles a week, 8800 miles. So that's more miles towing my jeep then I drive normally just to school or whatever in town. It's how I'm justifying me buying one in the next few months.
 
I tow one or two times a month, but the economics I use are totally different, I buy used gas commuter vans (Very Common up here around DC). You can get them all day long for about $1500, If you go with an E-350, You can tow 12,000lb without breaking a sweat, it gets about 8mpg doing it. You can run the thing for two years, and throw it away without investing much of anything in it, Rinse and repeat. Oh yeah, I have a bed in it to, so I don't have to pitch a tent.

The $700 a month car payment I don't have on it can buy lots of gas, so I'm not particularly bothered by that, and insurance is cheap on it since it's liability only. Even if I bought a 50K+ diesel truck, I wouldn't daily drive it...
 
I've read some change every 3k and some every 15k. But not a lot of folk have oil tests to back it up with...

The spectrum debate of cummins oil changes vary tremendously. I think it depends on the age of the motor and how it was driven more than anything. But the only true way to know if you are changing correct is to have the oil tested.

I'll stick to 5-6K until proven different. I've rebuilt too many gassers to know exactly what brand and how often oil was changed as soon as you pop a valve cover.
 
Black Bear said:
15,000 miles between oil changes? seriously?
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I was kinda shocked by it too but that's what's listed as Cummins interval for the new ram trucks, using rotella oil.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1443800597.817308.jpg
 
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I'm going to quote myself from another thread, and then correct that info for current market:
jeepinmatt said:
I guess facts are different for everyone. Here they are for me:
(Using local prices)

14 mpg @ 3.56 = 25.4 cents per mile (13mpg was more realistic in the 6.0 that I had)
18 mpg @ 3.79 = 21.1 cents per mile (17mpg is probably more realistic)

$30 oil change every 5,000 miles .006 cents per mile
$60 oil change every 10000 miles. .006 cents per mile

25.406 cents per mile for the gasser vs 21.106 cents per mile for the diesel

Cost difference between gas and diesel ~ $5,000

$5,000/ .043 cents = 116479 miles to break even

However, I see the cost difference as less critical because if you go to sell it, you will get the majority of it back.

Hooking up to a 10k pound load and not having to sweat it: Priceless
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14 mpg @ $2.09 = 14.9 cents per mile (13mpg was more realistic in the 6.0 that I had)
18 mpg @ $2.09 = 11.6 cents per mile (17mpg is probably more realistic)

Those numbers are from the 03 Duramax that I had. I bought it in 2012 for $6700 with 280k miles. I sold it in 2015 for $9000 with 335k miles. I spent about $600 in maintenance on ball joints, TRE's and an AC compressor over the 3 years I had it.

Currently diesel is the same price as 87 octane in west/southwest Charlotte area at about $2.09/gallon for each (1 store has diesel for $1.99 and regular for $2.06).

If the cost of fuel is the same, and the vehicle does not lose value, then why would i bother with a gasser? (this specifically applies to higher mileage diesel trucks, which is why I buy them)

I think the smart money is to buy an 07-older diesel truck with 150k+ miles.

My 08 F250 is only averaging 14-15mpg, so I'm taking a hit there, but still on par with gasser mpg. And its stupid fun to drive. I'm still looking for a sponsor for tires though :D :burnout:
 
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Like mobile homes gassers depreciate like a rock....keep that in mind. I can sell my truck for damn near what I paid for it 10 years and 100k miles ago. That won't happen with a gasser. If you towed once a month you probably don't "need" one, but then again you don't "need" that rig you're towing anyway. Do you "need" a newer car, or a bigger house , or another dog, or anything really?
 
For me it was also the fact that I daily drive my truck and work downtown Raleigh and park in a parking deck. I went with a 2006 1500 Silverado Crew Cab and its the biggest thing I would want to daily drive. I don't tow enough to buy a diesel, sure I want one, but I don't need one at all.
 
DSM Turbos said:
For me it was also the fact that I daily drive my truck and work downtown Raleigh and park in a parking deck. I went with a 2006 1500 Silverado Crew Cab and its the biggest thing I would want to daily drive. I don't tow enough to buy a diesel, sure I want one, but I don't need one at all.
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How much bigger is the same body configuration in a 2500hd diesel? Duallys I can understand but a 2500 meh it's the same size dude.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
How much bigger is the same body configuration in a 2500hd diesel? Duallys I can understand but a 2500 meh it's the same size dude.
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The 2500 is likely taller, which can matter in a deck.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
How much bigger is the same body configuration in a 2500hd diesel? Duallys I can understand but a 2500 meh it's the same size dude.
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Wheel base is longer, and it is taller. Not by a ton, but still there is a difference, which does make the parking deck more of a pain in the ass. It can fit in a deck fine by height, it just sucks to get around even more in the deck with a bigger truck.

for the 2006 Silverados.
1500
220-249" L x 79" W x 71-75" H

2500
225-259" L x 80" W x 76-77" H

3500
225-259" L x 80-96" W x 76-77" H
 
Yeah but you can't roll coal with a gasser, and you can't hang out with your coal rolling, flat bill wearing, truck squating diesel friends either :D
 
6BangBronk said:
The spectrum debate of cummins oil changes vary tremendously. I think it depends on the age of the motor and how it was driven more than anything. But the only true way to know if you are changing correct is to have the oil tested.
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Or you could just go by the owner's manual that says every 15k, or every 7500 for "severe duty".
 
jeepinmatt said:
I

If the cost of fuel is the same, and the vehicle does not lose value, then why would i bother with a gasser? (this specifically applies to higher mileage diesel trucks, which is why I buy them)
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thats great if you already HAVE the truck. But show me where I can buy a diesel that is otherwise comparable in used-up-ness to a gasser for the same price.
 
zuke said:
I tow one or two times a month, but the economics I use are totally different, I buy used gas commuter vans (Very Common up here around DC). You can get them all day long for about $1500, If you go with an E-350, You can tow 12,000lb without breaking a sweat, it gets about 8mpg doing it. You can run the thing for two years, and throw it away without investing much of anything in it, Rinse and repeat. Oh yeah, I have a bed in it to, so I don't have to pitch a tent.

The $700 a month car payment I don't have on it can buy lots of gas, so I'm not particularly bothered by that, and insurance is cheap on it since it's liability only. Even if I bought a 50K+ diesel truck, I wouldn't daily drive it...
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hm this is really worth considering. Did not realize they were so cheap up here, may have to look into it. Then the question is the utility-ness of van vs truck for non-towing stuff. But if it's an empty bed style it could be comparable a lot of times. Hmmm....
 
Bought my diesel used. Love it, but will probably never buy another one because I don't really need the awesomeness, or the towing capability that often. But, it is the best damn truck in the world because it is paid for!
 
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