Diesel

[Tarheel]

I have an Old Dodge Cummins 92 with 137,000 miles on it. It has the Banks package, 4x4, 5 speed stick 3.54 rear end with oversize 285 tires on it. I pull a 34' and my total package weighs in at 17500 lbs. I get 12.8 when pulling at just over legal highway speeds, 13.5 just under leagal highway speed and 19-22 mpg solo. I do my own oil changes, filter $5.00 3 gallons of Rotella T $18.00 and $1.00 for the grease so it costs me about $25.00 to service the truck every 5,000 miles. Just a word of warning about the home heating oil, yes no. 2 fuel oil is the same and it will work but it contains a dye that shows up with untraviolet light. A stiff fine comes along with the use of home heating oil or off road use diesel if you are caught. Something like bootlegging and not paying road taxes.

[fastrob]

Bought Gas, new GMC Sierra extended cab 4x4 for $20,000.

Get 10-12 mpg snow plowing, 10-12 towing Airstream, 16-18 usual driving.

The diesels were over $30,000. Maybe next truck, but I drive them to death then buy new.

[ZoominC6]

We tow our 30' Classic S/O with a Silverado Duramax, 2500HD (3/4 ton), 4X4 Crew Cab with Rancho 9000 shocks. At 65 mph we've averaged 12.3 mpg. The truck has a little over 60Kmiles and is just now getting broken in. Mileage starts improving at around 25K on a Duramax. At 70 mph we get 11.1 mpg. All of this is flat land towing. The maintenance is a little higher than a gasoline engine but the diesel, with good care, should last much longer than a gasoline power plant. The torque on this truck is just amazing and I just love it.

[sarmimi]

We drive a 2005 Ford Excursion with a 6.0L V-8 PowerStroke Diesel, 3.73 rear axle. It has less than 8,000 miles on it, about 90% of the miles put on this current road trip. Our average mileage is 13.7 mpg, high is 22.36 mpg solo coming down from Mt. Shasta CA into the valley, low was 11.62 mpg towing uphill in CA with A/C on. My average fuel costs $2.419 per gallon, which is about the same as or in between regular unleaded and the next higher octane unleaded, but well below the premium unleaded price.

I've been keeping detailed records of mileage, mostly b/c I have nothing better to do on this trip . Here are our stats:







Miles/Gal $Price/Gal Total Cost


Average 13.693 $2.419 $1,050.65








Date Gals Miles MPG $/Gal Total Notes
05/18/05 35.653 543.40 15.241 $2.479 $88.38 Trailer dry run from Putah Creek to San Francisco w/trailer

05/20/05 25.054 324.50 12.952 $2.499 $62.61 SF to East Bay RV, Concord CA to Escalon CA w/trailer

05/22/05 26.190 337.70 12.894 $2.499 $65.45 Yosemite, CA w/out trailer, Yosemite Pines to Turlock CA w/trailer

05/23/05 40.987 476.40 11.623 $2.399 $98.33 Yosemite Pines CA, Turlock CA to Las Vegas NV w/trailer

05/26/05 22.135 261.70 11.823 $2.289 $50.67 Local Las Vegas NV/LV NV to Hurricane UT w/trailer

06/02/05 30.214 434.60 14.384 $2.209 $66.74 Hurricane UT to Kanab UT w/trailer/local NPs Zion, Bryce

06/08/05 40.975 533.50 13.020 $2.209 $90.51 Grand Canyon AZ, Kanab UT to Page AZ/Lake Powell to Flagstaff AZ w/trailer/Sedona

06/09/05 25.922 353.70 13.645 $2.189 $56.74 Local Flagstaff AZ/Flagstaff AZ to Albuquerque NM w/trailer

06/19/05 40.175 595.70 14.828 $2.459 $98.79 Albuquerque NM to Santa Fe NM w/trailer/Local SF/Taos high and low road

06/21/05 24.740 334.40 13.517 $2.439 $60.34 Local SF NM/SF NM to Pagosa Springs CO w/trailer

06/27/05 26.259 339.60 12.933 $2.359 $61.94 Pagosa Springs CO to Ouray CO w/trailer, Local Ouray, Telluride, Norwood, Montrose

07/05/05 30.332 460.00 15.166 $2.399 $72.77 Ouray CO Local/Ouray CO to Gunnison CO w/Trailer/Local Gunnison

07/14/05 39.620 564.30 14.243 $2.599 $102.97 Gunnison CO to Breckenridge CO w/trailer, local Breck, Vail, Dillon, Keystone



Yes, it cost more upfront to buy diesel. But we have been towing in the Rockies and other high elevation areas. Great thing about diesel is you don't lose pulling power like gassers at high elevation. If I recall correctly, gassers lose about 3-4% power every 1,000 feet of elevation. Our first diesel, and we will always use a diesel to tow.

[Silvertwinkie]

4.10s are not needed with a diesel. 3.73s would do just fine. Diesels have gobs of torque, so there is no need to multiply the torque by putting in 4.10s.

If you have the extra 5k laying around for a diesel, great. If you don't mind it taking a while to pay that 5k back, even better. Clearly a diesel tows better and gets better fuel economy. If the answer is no to the first two, you can in fact buy a LOT of gas for $5,000.00 (2,096 gallons approx a little under 57 fills with a 37 gallon tank).

[sarmimi]

We drive a 2005 Ford Excursion with a 6.0L V-8 PowerStroke Diesel, 3.73 rear axle. It has less than 8,000 miles on it, about 90% of the miles put on this current road trip. Our average mileage is 13.7 mpg, high is 22.36 mpg solo coming down from Mt. Shasta CA into the valley, low was 11.62 mpg towing uphill in CA with A/C on. My average fuel costs $2.419 per gallon, which is about the same as or in between regular unleaded and the next higher octane unleaded, but well below the premium unleaded price.

I've been keeping detailed records of mileage, mostly b/c I have nothing better to do on this trip . Stats attached below.

Yes, it cost more upfront to buy diesel. But we have been towing in the Rockies and other high elevation areas. Great thing about diesel is you don't lose pulling power like gassers at high elevation. If I recall correctly, gassers lose about 3-4% power every 1,000 feet of elevation. Our first diesel, and we will always use a diesel to tow.

[Porky Pig]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

If you have the extra 5k laying around for a diesel, great. If you don't mind it taking a while to pay that 5k back, even better. Clearly a diesel tows better and gets better fuel economy. If the answer is no to the first two, you can in fact buy a LOT of gas for $5,000.00 (2,096 gallons approx a little under 57 fills with a 37 gallon tank).

You should be able to recoup that $5,000 when you sell it. I just went over to kbb.com and priced out my truck ... as a trade in (the worst scenario ) ... then did it again with the V-10 gas engine.

The diesel returned $4,925 more than the gas. I realize this is only a guide ... but it gives me a pretty good idea where I stand at the end of the day.

Also, I could be wrong here, but a gas engine with over 100,000 miles on it would probably appeal to a smaller group of buyers than a diesel with the same mileage.

And finally ... I didn't purchase my diesel because of mileage ... I bought it for towing performance. So if you have the 5 grand to spend now ... go for it ... it should pay for itself in superior towing performance ... and again when you sell it.

[47WeeWind]

Like Tarheel, I own a 1992 Dodge Turbo Cummins diesel, purchased last year from a friend. This club cab [extended cab] pickup is a 3/4 ton W250 [4X4] with 106,000 miles, a 3 speed automatic w/overdrive, and 3.54 ratio axles. I get 15.0 mpg towing my ~3,300 pound [fully loaded] 1964 19' Globe Trotter at 65-70 mph and between 19-20 mpg when not towing. The Cummins just passed the Colorado diesel emission test with flying colors and plenty of "spec" room to spare.

The test guy said the Cummins is just getting broken in. The truck does not accelerate fast, but it has sufficient torque to maintain speed up most hills. I love the power and mileage. Intelligently buying a used diesel truck kept the cost affordable, and being wholly unfashionable, I see no reason to ever sell this wonderful tow vehicle. Like Tarheel, I do my own periodic maintenance, which I consider a privilege of ownership.

[Joe62984]

Pahaska, how do you handle your fuel delevery from the in bed tank? Do you have a fuel pump in bed tank that pumps directly to truck fuel system?

Thanks, Joe Logsdon

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by Joe62984

Pahaska, how do you handle your fuel delevery from the in bed tank? Do you have a fuel pump in bed tank that pumps directly to truck fuel system?

Thanks, Joe Logsdon

There is a solenoid valve under the truck that switches both the source tank and the return tank (modern diesels circulate excess fuel to cool the electronics). I have a toggle switch on the dash that switches between the tanks.

The fuel gage is also switched, but the gage reading from the aux tank is not very good. What I do is run on the main tank until it hits half full, then switch to the aux tank and keep track of the miles travelled after switchover. When the aux tank might be getting low based on my known fuel mileage, I switch back to the main tank and know I have at least another 125 miles before starting to getting desparate.

When pulling from Springfield, MO to Austin, I towed for two days without refueling. That allowed me to find $2.089 diesel at a new station in Corsecana I passed on the way north (it was $2.069 when I went north). I could easily have gone on to the Flying J in Waco with the fuel on board to get better a price.than the typical station I pass.

[Pahaska]

I keep hearing folks quote $5000 as the price difference for a diesel. That is MSRP and no one should pay that.

First, there was a $1000 rebate on the diesel when I bought mine. In addition to that, I paid nowhere near MSRP for the truck and some of that reduction was in the diesel portion of the price. Lastly, folks seem to forget the additional price for the 8.1L engine over the small blocks when they quote the $5000.

Whatever I paid for the diesel, in this part of the country I'll get that and more back when I sell the truck someday. In the meantime, I have a truck that tows better than any gasoline engine I have ever seen.

[flyfisher]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

I keep hearing folks quote $5000 as the price difference for a diesel. That is MSRP and no one should pay that.

First, there was a $1000 rebate on the diesel when I bought mine. In addition to that, I paid nowhere near MSRP for the truck and some of that reduction was in the diesel portion of the price. Lastly, folks seem to forget the additional price for the 8.1L engine over the small blocks when they quote the $5000.

Whatever I paid for the diesel, in this part of the country I'll get that and more back when I sell the truck someday. In the meantime, I have a truck that tows better than any gasoline engine I have ever seen.

The 2006 Ford 6.0L Powerstroke diesel has an MSRP of $5,100 with a dealer invoice cost of $4,335. I assume that most people pay mcuh closer to invoice cost than to MSRP (without taking any incentives into consideration, and now with employee pricing in effect, you'd pay something under dealer invoice cost on 2005 models. (If I remember correctly from my days working for Ford, Ford's employee price was 3% under dealer invoice cost.)

John

[Chaplain Kent]

Thought I would slip in this thread with a motor home report. I have a 1982 28' classic with a new Isuzu 6BD1T industrial deisel engine. I am averaging 15 MPG after 6000 miles driving on this engine. I am thrilled with the result.

[PWRSTRK]

We have a 2004 Ford Excursion, 6.0l Powerstroke Diesel that crossed 20,000 miles today.

We love it and wouldn't have anything else. On the trip that ended today (all over the Rockies in Colorado) we got 11.5 pulling the trailer (heavy 28 ft with slideout)... we do 11.5-12.5 with trailer generally, 13-15 average around town and up to 22 on the road, though 19 is more typical and with leadfoot.

It's the best... too bad the Excursion is a thing of the past, though. :-(


Tom, and Frank