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Old 12-29-2006, 08:36 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B&J
I am thinking of buyiing a new 2008 Super Duty F-250. Instead of the new 6.4L Power Stroke Diesel, I am considering the V-10 gasser. I pull a 28' CCD International (7300 GVWR), so the V-10 should be adequate. For improved mileage, I'm thinking I need the higher gearing/lower ratio rear-end (4.10). I also plan on having a Banks Power Pack installed to help with the performacne. My question is, would this be a good alternative to the diesel? Am I analyzing this correctly? The cost of a gas engine (even with the Banks upgrade) would be less than the cost for the diesel engine. Also, the fuel cost per gallon between regular gas and diesel fuel is significant. Would like feedback from anyone that has some thoughts and advice. Since we live on the west coast, we will be traveling up and down steep grades.
B&J - From your post you seem to be mostly interested in the vehicle for towing. For that reason I would recommend the DIESEL - the power range and torque of the F250 Diesel in my opinion (and you get what you pay for there) are what you are looking for. I have a V10 at work and in Mississippi flat land driving I am not so impressed compared to my personel F250 7.3L diesel.
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Old 12-29-2006, 10:45 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by Canoe stream
And for that reason I said results may vary. Tow/haul the way I understand it raises the shift points so that each gear is carried to a somewhat higher speed -- don't know that it'd really affect transmission function at cruising speed.
Point taken.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DFord79
When people tell me the Allison is better than the Ford auto....they have never reasearched anything ...period. The Allison is a great transmission and its built by GM. Fords auto is also a great transmission. Matter of fact the torque rating for the Ford auto is higher than the GM....look it up.

I can only say that you find Allison transmissions in a lot more than GM trucks. There is a reason for this I would think.
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Old 12-29-2006, 11:41 AM   #23
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I have two cents too!

I have been 100% happy with my Duramax/Allison. My mileage agrees with others' comments - 14 towing and 19 otherwise. The torque is such that backing and hitching is a breeze - low idle and foot on the brake will move the rig very slowly - never any need to touch the gas pedal to get the rig to move. My travels take me frequently on I-81 through the valley of VA (long ups and downs) - you can set the cruise at 65 and the rig never needs to downshift; this reduces fatigue of the driver.

As for fuel vs gas - diesel at this time of year competes with home heating oil - same refining line. You can look for prices to begin falling relative to gasoline after the winter begins to wind down.

Oil changes - service interval is 10k miles; you don't have to wait that long, but clearly every 3k is overkill.

If you buy diesel, be sure to buy the truck you want to live with for the long haul - so get a nice one. The longer you keep it the longer it will pay dividends. If you buy what you want to begin with, you will be happy.

For long trips, or just a lot of trips - you'll enjoy hauling with a diesel.

OK - maybe that was 3 or 4 cents worth.

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Old 12-29-2006, 10:10 PM   #24
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On the Ford V-10, I test drove one in an F250 before buying my '01 2500hd Chevy with 8.1 engine. There was a big difference in the performance of the 8.1 over the V-10 in my opinion and that was why I bought the 8.1 Chevy. I know that Ford made some improvements in the newer V-10. I sure hope so because it didn't seem to be able to get out of it's way for the '02 model year.

I think you will find less transmission downshifting with the diesel engine in front rather than the gas engine.
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Old 12-29-2006, 11:05 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davidz71
On the Ford V-10, I test drove one in an F250 before buying my '01 2500hd Chevy with 8.1 engine. There was a big difference in the performance of the 8.1 over the V-10 in my opinion and that was why I bought the 8.1 Chevy. I know that Ford made some improvements in the newer V-10. I sure hope so because it didn't seem to be able to get out of it's way for the '02 model year.

I think you will find less transmission downshifting with the diesel engine in front rather than the gas engine.
Hi, and yes the chevy has more power and you are compareing 6.8 L against 8.1 L . But you may notice for some reason the V-10 gets a lot more power in the motorhome chassis.


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Old 12-29-2006, 11:13 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B&J
I am thinking of buyiing a new 2008 Super Duty F-250. Instead of the new 6.4L Power Stroke Diesel, I am considering the V-10 gasser. I pull a 28' CCD International (7300 GVWR), so the V-10 should be adequate.
hi b&j

perhaps you've looked at the specs for 2008 already....

here they are.

2008 Ford Super Duty F250 F350 Technical Specifications

the 3.73 will get a tiny bit better mileage and either 3.73 or 4.10 wil tow your rig fine...

the v10 is more than adequate for towing your 28 footer or anything else a/s makes.

my 250 is a diesel. i like the diesel, but the v10 will do the duty just fine.


with your expected towing miles, some basic fuel price points and service costs, you could run the numbers and get a pretty good idea of the dollar differential....

that would not however account for resale/trade-in value for the 2 powerplants....

trying to calculate which is cheaper over time is tricky....

the 2008 looks great but IF you really wanna save money, buy a 2006 now or a 2007 (very hard to find)...

ford has 5-7,000$ incentives right now...and the v10 really doesn't change much for 2008. 06/07 pricing is very very good...

cheers
2air'

i really like the 'banks products' but would not suggest adding this on a new v10.
power and torque are already adequate.
mileage will not improve much if any and you will place the 5yr/100k warranty in jeopardy...
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Old 12-30-2006, 08:28 AM   #27
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Just my $0.02 worth if you put the Banks system on the gas truck you will have an investment equal to the price of the diesel and you won't get your money back. The V-10 will pull a 34' without difficulty. My choice would be either gas un modifed or diesel. I had the banks on my cummins because I needed it and I loved it.
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Old 12-30-2006, 08:47 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS
Hi, and yes the chevy has more power and you are compareing 6.8 L against 8.1 L . But you may notice for some reason the V-10 gets a lot more power in the motorhome chassis.
Bob
Bob, I tend to forget that the V10 is indeed a smaller engine. I guess I get caught up in the fact that I think 10 cylinders would add up to more cu.in. than the V8. I wonder if Ford is doing what Chevy has been known to do, use some type of torque management via computer in order to keep down stress in the driveline. I would definately think that Ford as well as Chevy would know that they need additional power to move heavier equipment so they pull some of the stops out in the larger chassis applications.
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Old 12-30-2006, 08:59 PM   #29
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No one ever seems to talk about servicing the diesels. I understand that is somewhat expensive as compared gasoline engines. Is this correct?
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Old 12-31-2006, 06:23 AM   #30
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Folks go round and round with this question on the tractor forums that I hang out on.
I think the general consensus is that a diesel will last longer than a gasser and it gets better mileage.
Personally I don't like diesels.
They STINK and they are incredibly NOISY.
As for size, I just bought my second Chevy 2500 HD.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...evy-28451.html
It's got the standard 6.0L, auto, and the trailer tow package.
I pull a 7000 Lb. trailer a lot with it and can't imagine why I would need more horse power.
A diesel is at least $5000 more than a gasser too. It would take a lot of miles to pay that off with the increased fuel mileage that a diesel gets.
Since I never run mine more than 150 K I would never get it back.
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Old 12-31-2006, 06:31 AM   #31
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Extra fuel tank

How many people have an auxillary fuel tank in the bed of their trucks..??? We are about to put one in our diesel truck.
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Old 12-31-2006, 08:44 AM   #32
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Marvin, An extra fuel tank would increase your weight by several hundred

pounds and would just decrease your existing gas mileage. Unless you use

your truck for business, it may not be cost effective. If you just want

a safety net carry a 5 gallon jerry can mounted inside the bed of your

truck.

Just a thought

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Old 12-31-2006, 11:40 AM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Happycampers
How many people have an auxillary fuel tank in the bed of their trucks..??? We are about to put one in our diesel truck.
I have considered it due to the 26 gallon fuel tank on my shortbed 2500hd (holds just over 27 gallons though). At 10-11 mpg towing, it would be nice to have a 50-80 gallon transfer tank in the back just so that I can buy gas at the price I want to pay rather than being at the mercy of a late night high priced pump. I wouldn't think that the added weight would effect the big block or diesel engine that much.
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Old 12-31-2006, 04:12 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultradog
Folks go round and round with this question on the tractor forums that I hang out on.
I think the general consensus is that a diesel will last longer than a gasser and it gets better mileage.
Personally I don't like diesels.
They STINK and they are incredibly NOISY.
As for size, I just bought my second Chevy 2500 HD.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...evy-28451.html
It's got the standard 6.0L, auto, and the trailer tow package.
I pull a 7000 Lb. trailer a lot with it and can't imagine why I would need more horse power.
A diesel is at least $5000 more than a gasser too. It would take a lot of miles to pay that off with the increased fuel mileage that a diesel gets.
Since I never run mine more than 150 K I would never get it back.
The new generation of diesels do not stink/smoke like older diesels. And boy are they quiet, the direct inject (common rail) really quieted them down in this latest generation. Several of my buddies, have looked at me puzzled when they saw I was driving diesel but couldn't hear me coming!
Also, you don't buy a diesel, or any TV based on HP, it is the torque that gets you towing. And this diesel torque is really the reason many of us have gone diesel, not the economy (although it doesn't hurt!). I am pretty sure no one got into the AS game thinking they would save $

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Old 12-31-2006, 05:03 PM   #35
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I am currently driving an 04 E 350 12 pass van with a 6.0 diesel. It replaced my 15 pass E-350 with a v10. by far I prefer the diesel. The fact that it is a full size van makes it the perfect tow truck. It lets me carry more of the accessoriies for camping, easy to load and unload and gives me good mileage. If you seriously look at all the info including the price of diesel contained in this thread, you will realize that the costs are really the same over 100k miles. Things like depreciation, insurance, original cost all even out over time if you keep the truck long enough. Therefore, buy what you like to drive, enjoy the travels, and stay out of these endless and useless discussions, because if you are driving the car you really like, you will enjoy the trip that much more.
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Old 12-31-2006, 08:36 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stagecoachbill
I am currently driving an 04 E 350 12 pass van with a 6.0 diesel. It replaced my 15 pass E-350 with a v10. by far I prefer the diesel. The fact that it is a full size van makes it the perfect tow truck. It lets me carry more of the accessoriies for camping, easy to load and unload and gives me good mileage. If you seriously look at all the info including the price of diesel contained in this thread, you will realize that the costs are really the same over 100k miles. Things like depreciation, insurance, original cost all even out over time if you keep the truck long enough. Therefore, buy what you like to drive, enjoy the travels, and stay out of these endless and useless discussions, because if you are driving the car you really like, you will enjoy the trip that much more.
I second that.



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Old 01-01-2007, 06:55 AM   #37
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It would be a tough call for me, if I had to replace my Duramax/Allison combo. With the D/A option getting close to $8K and diesel 20-30 cents higher than regular, it's going to be a hard decision in the future. However, since I have owned mine, diesel fuel has dipped as low as 30 cents lower than regular on several occasions. Fortunately it was low in 2004 during my move to Florida where I made 5 trips back to Ohio!!!

I would give the big block gasser a serious look if you are using it 12K a year or less.
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Old 01-01-2007, 07:29 AM   #38
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Make sure you are paying attention to the important stuff. To me, big blocks and diesels pretty much do the same job. the real question is overall weight - braking system - comfort and pleasure of driving - visability - and most important of all "color". Gotta be silver. Make sure there's a comfortable place for the dog!!
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Old 01-01-2007, 08:31 AM   #39
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Here's my thoughts on this...with a bit of math from our recent trip.
I tow with a 2001 Chevy 2500 HD...4:10, w/ 8.1 with Alison tranny. This truck could pull anything I'd ever put behind it and pulls our 27 FB with ease no matter what the terrain or altitude. But it does drink gas. Above 70mph the gas mileage drops to 8mpg...7 if I'm bucking a head wind. But at 65mph I usually get 9mpg. Considering that the truck gets 10-11 mpg without a load, driving around town, that doesn't seem to be a considerable drop while towing. The power and performance of this truck are worth it. I've been considering a newer truck, and switching to diesel 4wd, but have been wondering if there would be any savings down the road. Considering that I don't use my TV for daily driving and normally use it only to pull the AS, which is about once every 60 days with a couple of long trips per year, the gas consumption hasn't bothered me. The Alision tranny is all it's cracked up to be and provides up and down hill service without comparison so it will be the tranny of choice from here on, despite the gas/diesel choice. Our last road trip, just a month ago, showed gas at an average of $2.20 and diesel at an average of $2.60. The trip was a 2500 miler. We purchased approx 312 gallons of gas = total $685. The same trip with diesel would have consumed approx 192 gallons ( @ 13 mpg average)..and run approx $500 in diesel fuel expenses, a difference of approx $185. My two long trips per year and several short hops around Texas might end up totalling $600 difference for the year in a gas/diesel comparison. The question is this: would switching to a diesel truck offset that savings? (My 01 just hit 90K miles and still has many years of service left). Over the course of ownership...say 8 years...that would be a high end total fuel savings of around $4800. Compared to the initial cost of $6500 for the duramax diesel option plus the added expense of oil changes it looks like the gas hog comes out the winner in the long run, if 8 years and approx 100K miles is the ownership/use duration. Even at 10 yrs the gasser would come out ahead in expenses. In my particular use scneario to equal out road expenses the ownership term of the diesel would have be exceed 11 years. Fuel for thought....
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Old 01-01-2007, 09:17 AM   #40
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No one ever seems to talk about servicing the diesels. I understand that is somewhat expensive as compared gasoline engines. Is this correct?
It hasn't been the case for me. I bought my '99 F250 7.3 new and it now has 109,000 miles. I do my own oil changes and routine maintenance. The engine has required no repairs-only oil and filters. The oil filter costs about $10. and it takes nearly 4 gallons of oil at about $28. so these costs are a bit higher.
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