2500 TV Gasser vs Diesel

[Joe_A]

We are looking for a 2500 TV Chevy Ford or Dodge.
I prefer a Gas truck but having trouble finding a GAS in the higher trim levels.
Not sure the premium being paid for the Diesel is worth the extra costs of the truck plus the ongoing higher fuel cost.

However a local dealer is offering a great deal on a new 2019 LTZ Duramax.
Trucks that are 2 years older are the same price that is being offered.

I am able to find more RAM 2500 in Gas / Hemi pre owned in my area
not wanting to go older then 2017.

All input welcome

[Daquenzer]

What are you pulling? How often are you pulling? So you are going to get a ton of responses. There are pros and cons.
1) Gas will be cheaper maintenance; oil changes, repairs, etc. Oil change on a diesel is going to be north of $100 easy (maybe more). If you get a diesel make sure you get a good warranty. Repairs are costly.
2) Diesel will have more power and you will have better engine breaking. If you plan on being in mountains a great deal I would say if the price is right go with a diesel.
3) Resale on a diesel is better, which will offset other costs.
4) If you are pulling a great deal the diesel will get better mileage and last longer (generally).

If I had the opportunity to get a diesel at the same price as a gas truck I would go with diesel.
And I'm no fan of diesel by the way. I use an F150 to pull my 28AS and my next truck is the F150 heavy duty payload. But I don't pull all the time (about a week a year throughout the camping season) and don't drive in the mountains at all. Plus I use mine as a daily driver.

[Bill M.]

I have driven a diesel for the last 11 years. (240,000 miles). The fuel cost a bit more per gallon but you use substantially less of it. I got 9-11 pulling my trailer with a F150 and I got 14-16 pulling with the diesel. Running unhitched I got 17 mpg with the older F150 and I get 19 with the diesel.

If you tend to keep trucks for a long time and are going to pull a lot then I think the diesel is well worth it in terms of pulling and will not cost much more in the long run. Short time truck turn over, only a few pulls a year, then maybe a gasser.

I would jump on the Durmax deal. (And I currently drive a Dodge).

[Joe_A]

Originally Posted by Daquenzer

What are you pulling? How often are you pulling? So you are going to get a ton of responses. There are pros and cons.
1) Gas will be cheaper maintenance; oil changes, repairs, etc. Oil change on a diesel is going to be north of $100 easy (maybe more). If you get a diesel make sure you get a good warranty. Repairs are costly.
2) Diesel will have more power and you will have better engine breaking. If you plan on being in mountains a great deal I would say if the price is right go with a diesel.
3) Resale on a diesel is better, which will offset other costs.
4) If you are pulling a great deal the diesel will get better mileage and last longer (generally).

If I had the opportunity to get a diesel at the same price as a gas truck I would go with diesel.
And I'm no fan of diesel by the way. I use an F150 to pull my 28AS and my next truck is the F150 heavy duty payload. But I don't pull all the time (about a week a year throughout the camping season) and don't drive in the mountains at all. Plus I use mine as a daily driver.

Pulling International 27FB..... I have looked @ some F150 but feel the Payload is not high enough. We plan on doing some extended trips cross crountry. We are also not far from Blueridge mountains.... ThankYou

[lsbrodsky]

My advice is do not look here for advice. This is one of the most frequent issues debated on the forum. People are polarized about this and most of the opinions are well placed. You will find yourself siding with one side because that is the way you were thinking before you asked the question. Follow your heart...and, oh, I drive a 2500HD gas.
Larry

[Joe_A]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

My advice is do not look here for advice. This is one of the most frequent issues debated on the forum. People are polarized about this and most of the opinions are well placed. You will find yourself siding with one side because that is the way you were thinking before you asked the question. Follow your heart...and, oh, I drive a 2500HD gas.
Larry

Thank u a Hard to find Gasser 8^)

[CRH]

I use a F350 gas with 4.30 gears. It does a great job, IMO.

[SilverFire]

FYI: While many of us prefer the torque and power of diesel, metropolitan areas on the West Coast are moving against pm pollution with diesel fuel. Diesel licensed vehicles becoming problematic on West Coast in metro areas. Depending where you are located, maybe a consideration in your choice. DMV's creating licensing problems for diesel owners in these metro areas.

[drbrick]

I really like my F-150 FX4 ecoboost 3.5 gas great gas mileage high torque good payload. I also use this truck for daily driving.

[panamerican]

Having had a good gasser, I feel that it's more than enough for a 27' trailer, but I will say that the diesel is a really great TV. Torque at very low RPM, better MPG, longevity. Mountain towing the diesel is just king, not that a gasser won't do it, it just has to rev to get the same torque that the diesel gets at around 1800rpm. There is a reason why nearly all semis are diesel.

The only downside to the diesel is that oil changes are not for the timid in terms of cost (far more quarts of oil in a diesel than a gasser) and the larger upcharge for the diesel....other than that, if I had to do it over again, I would for sure have gone diesel.

[spark01]

I drive a Ram 2500HD Gas as well and never felt a need for anything else while pulling FC 28RBQ for 15,000+ miles.

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

My advice is do not look here for advice. This is one of the most frequent issues debated on the forum. People are polarized about this and most of the opinions are well placed. You will find yourself siding with one side because that is the way you were thinking before you asked the question. Follow your heart...and, oh, I drive a 2500HD gas.
Larry

[Atwebs]

Love our Chevy Duramax Diesel. Just did 3 weeks towing (Ca to Kentucky and back. 27 2019 GT) and averaged 14 mpg...that included lots of mountain driving. No issues at all, and most of the time our fuel was the same price or cheaper than gas! Did have to remember the DEF, but really no issue there...it is cheap and easy to find.

[Mhphhoward]

Duramax 10 qts, Ford gas 6.2 7 qts

[n2916s]

You might consider the Nissan Titan XD with the gasser 5.6. Payload north of 2000#, towing 12,200. I have the diesel version — quiet, comfortable and never been back to the dealer for anything (now 56000 miles).

I have seen some remarkable deals posted on the Titan Forums.
You could get a new one with a 5 year, 100000 mile nose to tail warranty for less than a used Duramax.

[TMBashor]

Just FYI,


My 2500 RAM Diesel MaxCab Limited gets average 14mpg towing my 10,000lb trailer on the road to include Colorado and NM mountain passes. Doesn't even breath hard. In city without the trailer, it gets 20 to 22mpg. Luxury can't get better with that Limited. I will admit it was pricey as I ordered it straight out of the factory. But, my wife loves being pampered and I often forget I am towing.

[perryg114]

I tend to lean towards gas powered vehicles. Gas is cheaper and modern gas engines last as long or longer than diesel before expensive repairs. Modern diesels have a lot of costly repairs issues after 100k miles because of the DEF and DPF issues. Both of these systems reduce exhaust system life and cost a lot to repair. Yeah they are great till they break and even minor repairs cost you $20k. If you tow a lot in the mountains or high altitude you are going to like the torque of the diesel.


The days of getting 500k trouble free miles out of a diesel are gone. Thank the EPA for that. EPA Standards are also being applied to farm equipment with the same issues they have been having in diesel trucks.



Perry

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by Joe_A

Pulling International 27FB..... I have looked @ some F150 but feel the Payload is not high enough. We plan on doing some extended trips cross crountry. We are also not far from Blueridge mountains.... ThankYou

If you plan on extended trips then I would lean toward a diesel. But the gas will easily do the job with a 27'. My F150 with Ecoboost pulls my 28' very easily. By the way the F150 with Heavy Duty Payload package is around 2400lbs of payload. It is really more about what you are comfortable with and what your pocket book can afford.

Also the gas will have more payload FYI. The diesel engine is really heavy. But my guess is a diesel will have about 2500lbs to 2800lbs. More than enough for most people.

I would advise if possible to buy an extended warranty if you can on that diesel. If you do research on diesels the repairs can be REALLY expensive.

THE BOTTOM LINE: No right answer. Just what you are comfortable with when weighing all the pros and cons.

[77walter]

F150 Plt. crew every option 60,000 miles
3yr 40,000 warranty , maintance package
$42,000 ( 267-864-6171 )

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by Joe_A

We are looking for a 2500 TV Chevy Ford or Dodge.
I prefer a Gas truck but having trouble finding a GAS in the higher trim levels.
Not sure the premium being paid for the Diesel is worth the extra costs of the truck plus the ongoing higher fuel cost.

However a local dealer is offering a great deal on a new 2019 LTZ Duramax.
Trucks that are 2 years older are the same price that is being offered.

I am able to find more RAM 2500 in Gas / Hemi pre owned in my area
not wanting to go older then 2017.

All input welcome

Joe, congratulations on the new truck search - it’s exciting!

I just went through the same exercise and went with a gas Ram 2500 for our 27’ GT. We did a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in August and I don’t regret the decision. Plenty of power and very comfortable ride.

Have you tried the Ram site to build and locate a truck? You can change the a filter to go out 150 miles from your location. I found ours and showed the local dealer who did a trade. https://www.ramtrucks.com/bmo.html

BTW, we did have a Ram 1500 but found the payload wasn’t enough so you’re suspicion is correct. The 2500 has 2940 lbs. payload and we’re getting the same or better fuel mileage.

Good luck!
Jeff

[vanster]

Diesel...all day long.