Convince ME!! please....

[Tyrinius]

Home at last.....without a TV. However, we have made a decision! We have driven every vehicle that interested us (gas and diesel) within a 100 mile radius over the last three weekends. Today's endeavor lasted 12 hours, covered 4 dealerships and crossed 250 miles. It looks to be the most productive outing yet.

I'll have to tell you the results tomorrow so that I don't jinx it and I will post some pics if all goes well.

[AirsDream]

Originally Posted by bob34787

Your MPG will also suck in the diesel, I get 11.6 empty, 11.6 towing, 11.6 at 20MPH 11.6 at 100 MPH. With a gasser your mileage will be better when not towing.

Yikes! Must be something wrong with this machine. My truck averages over 20 mpg solo on the highway and about 13.6-13.8 towing ... best trip so far was 15.6 mpg towing, but that was at 65-70, mostly flat country, and was only 500 miles. And mine's not really broken in yet, with only about 25k miles on it. (My last diesel had fuel mileage keep improving until 60k miles, where it's held steady until the current 175k on the odometer and still doing fine.) And I don't drive 100mph, towing or not. But still ...

And on the GMC, torque peaks at 1600 rpm, with horsepower peaking at 3200. At normal towing speeds of 70 or so, the engine is doing about 1700 rpm, so it's near torque peak and doesn't need to downshift for anything other than a BIG hill / mountain pass.

So - do tell us what you decided.

[Mikethefixit]

I have driven diesels for 45 yrs, however I have only had my F350 7.3 SW Longbed Crew for 8 yrs and 80k miles. Im not a GM person but if I were buying today Id look at GM 2500 Duramax Crewcab.They are quiet. I cant atest to the fuel efficency but my 7.3 liter Harvester Gets 14mpg around town NOT TOWING and 20 mpg Highway NOT TOWING.
Average 15 to 17 mpg Towing depending on wind and speeds.
It takes a special touch on the throttle to do that. Warmups and cool downs are not a problem,you cant be in a hurry.I do my own maintenance and filters are a little expensive but you only do it once every 10k miles. Thats 3 normal oil changes on a gasser,do the math.
Its all in ones taste and what you are comfortable with. I kinda grewup(matter of opinion) with diesels,I would not have anything else.
Oh, Our F350 is also our daily driver WE DON'T OWN A CAR.

[moosetags]

Hi David. It was nice talking to you last night. I'm sorry that I couldn't be more help. One thing that I don't think that I mentioned on the phone is the Allison six speed transmission. That's a definite plus.

I am looking forward to hearing what you final decision is.

Brian

[JFScheck]

Other than cost - there is not a single reason not to go diesel (unless you don't like the particulates spewing out - but that too soon will be a thing of the past and already is for many diesels already on the market or just coming online)...

Diesel is much more efficient than Gas, the new Diesel's are now cleaner emissions than gas (US new models finally catching up to the German models), and the engines usually last longer!

Usually geared for torque - but can also be set up for speed (someone say Audi R10)?

[romap]

My suggestion would be the diesel for all the reasons previously stated. See my sig.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by JFScheck

Diesel is much more efficient than Gas, the new Diesel's are now cleaner emissions than gas (US new models finally catching up to the German models), and the engines usually last longer!

Hi, this is all great news, but let me know when thay stop the stink. Driving behind a Diesel nauseating.

[romap]

Hi, this is all great news, but let me know when thay stop the stink.

No stink. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) removes the black soot which is what stinks. Now there is a slight bleach like odor when the truck is in regen (automated cleaning of the DPF). Regen occurs about once every tankfull for most, but some driving conditions will cause it to happen more frequently.

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by romap

No stink. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) removes the black soot which is what stinks. Now there is a slight bleach like odor when the truck is in regen (automated cleaning of the DPF). Regen occurs about once every tankfull for most, but some driving conditions will cause it to happen more frequently.

Sorry, that's just BS (no pun intended)....I have an '08 diesel with the paticulate filter, and the exhaust STINKS, as does the exhaust of all Diesels. You are right there is no black soot coming out of the exhaust, but it still STINKS.

I can be stopped at a red light, or even a stop sign, and if the wind is from my rear blowing the exhaust foward, I can smell the exhaust sink that the truck's fresh air system draws in.

Diesel is much more efficient than Gas, the new Diesel's are now cleaner emissions than gas (US new models finally catching up to the German models), and the engines usually last longer!

Sorry, this isn't true of the new Diesels either. My new(er) '08 Diesel uses more fuel per mile than my '07 gasser, overall. The only time it is more efficient, and then only less than 10%, is when I'm towing. All the rest of the time, it uses more fuel.

[Tyrinius]

Wow, what a long strange trip it has been. The verdict is in and the jury votes…..Diesel. We searched far and wide to find what we felt was the best fit for us and everyone’s input we received in this thread was extremely helpful. For that we are greatly appreciative. I would like to extend an Honorable Mention to Brian McCabe for his insight and for taking my call while we sat outside the dealership at 7:30 pm intensely pondering the purchase of a beautiful 2500 gasser while the poor sales team waited for our decision. It just felt rushed and so we decided to drive the 2 ½ hours back home to think about it some more...

In the end, after hours and hours of reading, research, test drives, haggling with dealerships, the reason we chose Diesel came down to a simple phone call with a great friend of mine that has driven the Chevy 2500 Duramax since it was born. Granted, this call may not have carried the weight it did without all of your help, but I told him if he gets slow on work he needs to apply for a sales position at the local Chevy dealership because there was NO other option as far as he was concerned. He uses it as his daily driver, hauler, vacationer, etc. and they drive it everywhere. You know he was right; the truck is unbelievably enjoyable to drive and the noise we thought would be an issue went into the back of our minds immediately.

During one of our test drives I stuck my face near the exhaust (kids don’t try this at home) and it was not even close to the stigma that I always associated with diesel engines; it was clean. I understand we have only put 100 miles on it since we signed on the dotted line, but we haven’t smelled the first bit of diesel.

I imagine the gas mileage will not be my favorite point of discussion, but we bought it for durability, torque, and comfort when towing. Since we decided on newer models anyway, the fuel economy of the gas burners is nothing to write home about either, especially when towing.

Navigating the gauntlet of choosing the “Ultimate Tow Vehicle” can be demanding and we are grateful that is has finally ended, so without further adieu here’s our new 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Diesel!!:

[moosetags]

She sure is a beauty. Best wishes and safe travels. Your diesel experience will impact our next tow vehicle selection.

Brian

[SteveH]

Tyrinius,

You will be happy. Nice truck. I would only recommend one thing....go back to the dealer and have him exchange the side mirrors for the bigger ones that pull out to give you better visibility around the trailer.

Please report back after you have a few thousand miles on the truck, and tell us what you fuel mileage is under various driving conditions. And one thing about that...don't believe the Driver Information Console, because they lie. Do it the real way by deviding the miles driven by the fuel consumed over several tanks.

[THEPILL]

Enough said!!



Shane

[Tyrinius]

Originally Posted by SteveH

Tyrinius,

You will be happy. Nice truck. I would only recommend one thing....go back to the dealer and have him exchange the side mirrors for the bigger ones that pull out to give you better visibility around the trailer.

We plan on exchanging them out within the next few weeks. I just didn't do it during the purchase to keep the dealership from hiding any additional expenses....not that they would EVER do that....

[THEPILL]

OOPS, MY bad. Ididn't see you already made a decision. Nice truck......Stream Safe.

Shane

[BillTex]

Ty...great choice...your towing experience just got a whole lot more relaxing! Towing with the Allison is...amazing?!

BTW; you will not get any "gas" mileage with your diesel...at least not on purpose!

Those Folks that claim deezul stinks, I notice they are likely driving a gasser...and I don't like sniffin' gas fumes any more than I like sniffin deezul fumes...my drug of choice is endorphins.

Lots of Folks go gasser because they don't want to commit to the truck, the RV lifestyle, etc...when you buy a diesel, you really are making a long term commitment...for many reasons...you considered all this, took your time, and made a great choice.

Load up (as much as you want!) and go Streamin'

Bill

[romap]

Nice truck Tyrinius. Looks like a carbon copy of mine! Is it an LTZ? Good luck with it and happy towing.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I'm sure you will be happy with your decission; Do make sure you get the trailer towing mirrors. I didn't have that choice with my tow vehicle so I have to use slip-ons.

[romap]

Sorry, that's just BS (no pun intended)....I have an '08 diesel with the paticulate filter, and the exhaust STINKS, as does the exhaust of all Diesels. You are right there is no black soot coming out of the exhaust, but it still STINKS.

I can be stopped at a red light, or even a stop sign, and if the wind is from my rear blowing the exhaust foward, I can smell the exhaust sink that the truck's fresh air system draws in.

Steve,

If you smell diesel from your truck then perhaps you have the dreaded turbo downpipe misalignment problem. If you do, there will be a signature diesel smell because the exhaust is leaking before it reaches the catalist and the dpf. If you don't believe me, search the diesel forums and you will find truth in what I say.

Sure there is a smell from the exhaust if I run my truck in a semi enclosed area, but so would a gas engine produce a smell - only different. However it does not have the old diesel bus odor at all.

On another note, my truck repeatedly gets 20/21 mpg on the highway (70 mph) unloaded not towing. When towing on the highway (65 mph), the worst was 11 and the best was 15 including some Adirondack runs. I suspect that crossing the Rockies will produce less stellar results.

[JFScheck]

Originally Posted by SteveH

Sorry, that's just BS (no pun intended)....I have an '08 diesel with the paticulate filter, and the exhaust STINKS, as does the exhaust of all Diesels. You are right there is no black soot coming out of the exhaust, but it still STINKS.

I can be stopped at a red light, or even a stop sign, and if the wind is from my rear blowing the exhaust foward, I can smell the exhaust sink that the truck's fresh air system draws in.



Sorry, this isn't true of the new Diesels either. My new(er) '08 Diesel uses more fuel per mile than my '07 gasser, overall. The only time it is more efficient, and then only less than 10%, is when I'm towing. All the rest of the time, it uses more fuel.

Sorry Buddy - but we are gonna have to agree to disagree...

Diesel has more "power per volume" than gas - simple fact...

The emissions from the new TDI based vehicles (European and the soon to be released US engines) not only are pretty much odorless, but don't even leave a stain as can be seen via this test...