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Towing mileage with gas rigs?

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If you look at it that way, you'll probably never pay for the Diesel.

If you look at it in the sense that the Diesel will last MUCH longer, and has a lot more torque than any gasser, and isn't working anywhere near as hard to carry the same load, the Diesel looks like a bargin at twice the price.

Anyone who's ever towed in the mountains is probably begging for a turbo to save their ass. Even on hilly terrain I can't stand towing with a gas engine.

I agree with the above posters that say Diesel is the only way to go for a tow rig. I agree 100%.

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Don't get me wrong, I definitely agree that a diesel powered truck is the best for towing. If I was towing more frequently or lived in an area with mountains than the diesel option may have gotten the mod. But I couldn't justify the extra money for my once per month wheeling trips that are about 2 hours away. The diesel option on the Chevy would have been right around an extra $100/month.....with that money taken straight out of the trailer and Blazer fund.

Sure, the diesel will PROBABLY last longer but by how much? My dad was always able to get at least 120,000 - 140,000 miles on his gas powered Chevy work trucks with no engine problems, but rest of the truck also started falling apart and would have started to "nickel and dime" you to death.

I hear guys talking about how a Cummins engine will go 300,000 miles all of the time....that's great, but you have to rebuild everything else on the truck twice and wind up spending more than just buying a new truck....
 
With any vehicle, it will only last as long as you take care of it. My old man has an 85 2wd Sub that has over 330,000 miles on it. Still has the original engine in it. I used to have an 83 olds with the 4.3 desiel in it. It had 267,000 miles on it when I got rid of it cause the head gasket went out when I lost the water pump.

I just recently went and got one of the new Cummins. They are suppose to be a 350k mile truck, I do not think the rest of the truck will give me all that many problems. If you really look at the Dodges, they are simple. Not a lot to break, not a lot to maintain. The only thing I am worried about over time is the motor for the power driver seat, and window motors. Everything else should be rock solid for a long time.

I think it has been figured that after about 3 years the desiel option has paid for it self. In doing the rough numbers I think it is about 4 years, but a lot of it depends on how much you drive it.

The maintenance on is desiels is less expensive. You don't have caps, rotors, spark plugs, wires, etc. to worry about.

For some people it is a wash, I just know that my fill ups are cheaper than my sub, and I can get a heck of a lot more range out of a tank. So rather than spending $75+ a fill up, I am only spending about $52 a fill up.

So you take all this with being anal on the maintenance, deseil was the best investment. This maybe the last truck I buy for me for a long time. Figure my next truck would be one of those cool hoover craft vehicles that you see in all the movies that protray the future. /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif
 
I don't think a Diesel will ever pay for itself for most people, but it's the way to go IMO. Absolutely priceless when you have a load behind you.
 
I dunno about that
6.2 Diesel, Average mpg: 20-23 (highway)
5.7 TBI: AVerage mpg: 14-16 (Highway)

And Im sure we've all read posts of people getting signifantly lower than 14.

Most of the diesel guys have mild lifts and tires- Doesnt seemt o affect their fuel economy much. Try the same for the SBC, and you'll notice a significant drop.

Ok, lets just say, per gallon, that the 6.2 gets... 5mpg more.

On a yearly scale, average of 15000 miles:
1000 gallons of reg unleaded @15mpg
750 gallons of diesel @ 20mpg

a savings of 250 gallons. 250 gallonsx 1.65 (cheapest regular unleaded within a 200 mile radius) would net a savings of 412.50 in savings.

Since diesel is ususally cheaper than gas (by like a dime) is like a 75 dollar savings on top of that. So we're pretty close to 500 dollars in gas savings a year.

So payback on a 5000 dollar diesel option is 10 years, or 150,000 miles.
 
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I just recently went and got one of the new Cummins. They are suppose to be a 350k mile truck, I do not think the rest of the truck will give me all that many problems. If you really look at the Dodges, they are simple. Not a lot to break, not a lot to maintain. The only thing I am worried about over time is the motor for the power driver seat, and window motors. Everything else should be rock solid for a long time.



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That's a nice truck and I would like to have one, but do you seriously think it will last 350k miles? Of course I think a lot has to do with what people consider to be "normal maintenance". If completely rebuilding the transmission, front and rear axle, transfer case, suspension, and numerous other odds and ends are considered to be "normal" to you, than the truck probably will last 350k.
 
At which point do you consider it "not normal maintainance"?

Tranny'? Engine? everything except the frame?

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[ QUOTE ]
I just recently went and got one of the new Cummins. They are suppose to be a 350k mile truck, I do not think the rest of the truck will give me all that many problems. If you really look at the Dodges, they are simple. Not a lot to break, not a lot to maintain. The only thing I am worried about over time is the motor for the power driver seat, and window motors. Everything else should be rock solid for a long time.



[/ QUOTE ]

That's a nice truck and I would like to have one, but do you seriously think it will last 350k miles? Of course I think a lot has to do with what people consider to be "normal maintenance". If completely rebuilding the transmission, front and rear axle, transfer case, suspension, and numerous other odds and ends are considered to be "normal" to you, than the truck probably will last 350k.

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Normal maintenance, in my book and according to most manufacturers, is changing fluids, filters, brake pads, tires, plugs, and maybe a few sensors (i.e. O2) and a few adjustments (like trans band adjustments on some vehicles)........just normal wear items. You won't see a service schedule in an owner's manual that says "replace transmission at 150,000 miles" /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif
 
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