more ..Diesel vs. Gas.

[hanlon]

This topic greatly influences my search for my AS. It's,of course very complicated. Dad was in the oil biz for 49 years, and I sought him out; both load and cost issues. Here goes:
*diesel prices are seasonal 'cause of E. coast home heating needs.
*gas has gone up 42% in the past nine months, as has diesel.
*conventional wisdom says diesel with manual pulls the heavist TTs better.
*Diesel is cheaper and easier to refine- maybe, maybe not. Sometimes diesel costs up to 15% more to refine.
*In the old days, Diesel was cheap to make because it was just skimmed off the crude basically. It was relatively unrefined. Nowadays, it has to be heavily processed to remove contaminants and sulfur, both of which will clog up emission systems if left in, and getting the sulfur down below 15ppm is more expensive. *A weakening dollar hurts our prices (and the dollar's dropping again). *Diesel contains 12-15% more energy and therefore *should* cost roughly that much more than gasoline. Diesel engines are more efficient and are allowed to emit more toxins because of it.
*Just some notes I took; bottom line is very few people know anything about the future of prices. *I'm buying a bigger vehicle regardless of the new weight of my future AS. I'd prefer gas, but with a real heavyweight, will go diesel. *In my opinion, and Dad's, there is no right or wrong answer- period. Prices, environment, load, personal preference, reliability, upkeep- .......*Bottom line--the IMPORTANCE of the Travel Trailer tow vehicle will never, ever be underestimated in my search for my dream AS. Guys, thanks for keeping the thred alive.

[Minnie's Mate]

Well, it is a matter of preference. I am a Ford man so all my experiences and empirical knowledge is Ford based when it comes to trucks and diesels in particular. Chevy's and Dodges are equally good in my opinion, I just prefer Fords. My daddy was a Ford man and so am I.

If talking Fords, a V-10 gas F-250 will tow pretty much anything in the Airstream line-up. I have a F-250 PSD and really enjoy it. It, too, will tow anything in the Airstream line-up and then some. The V-10 is pretty much comparable in terms of fuel mileage when towing and does cost significantly less to buy new than the diesel. The 6.0 diesels had their share of problems, but the one I had gave me no problems mechanically in nearly 50K miles, but the '05 had a too firm ride and was messing up my back so I traded for an '08 and don't regret it. However, the 6.0 had more towing torque than the 6.4 has. I think this is because of all of the emissions control devises that the newer engine has. The 6.4 has the same emissions as the V-8 gas engine has. This is because of the catalytic converter and the particulate filter in the exhaust system. So diesels can be green after all, or at least they are greener today than in the past. Fuel economy is also less with the newer engine, again, I think that is due to the catalytic converter and other emissions controls. The ride does make up for the short comings of the new engine.

I have no reservations about having my 2008 PSD F-250 and would recommend the same for anyone considering the choice between a diesel vs. a gas engine. While I had no problems with the 6.0L, I'm not sure I would recommend one because of the history of issues they have had by other owners. The 7.6L was pretty much bullet proof and would be good if considering a used F-250. I think the rear suspension is over kill on the F-350 and wouldn't recommend one for an Airstream unless you want one of the Airstream Integrity 5th wheels or Argosy equivalents. My reason for the diesel is mainly durability. I tend to keep vehicles approaching 10 years so I wanted to make sure I would have something that would last that long while towing our 30' Airstream. Ours is lighter than it's Classic counterpart so I think I have nothing to worry about there.

Hope this has helped.

[Mike Leary]

All the Chev owners that tow that have the Duramax with the Allison rave about them.