Ford F-250

[Chrishall]

I am changing trucks. I currently have a 2004 Ford F-350 6.0 Diesel pulling a 25 FBT flying cloud. I am considering a 2021 F250 non diesel. Large block Godzilla engine. It has Half the torque of the diesel but almost equal HP. I am mostly east of the Rockies.
Help me pick an engine.

[Downhill502]

Originally Posted by Chrishall

I am changing trucks. I currently have a 2004 Ford F-350 6.0 Diesel pulling a 25 FBT flying cloud. I am considering a 2021 F250 non diesel. Large block Godzilla engine. It has Half the torque of the diesel but almost equal HP. I am mostly east of the Rockies.
Help me pick an engine.

Hey there! With your current Airstream payload will not need to be at the forefront of this decision but still needs to be considered with you looking at a 250. I would suggest you go and test drive both of them. To my wife and I it was immediately apparent that we did not want to listen to the drone of the 7.3l while driving for hours at a time. It really is incredible how quiet the new 2020+ 6.7l diesel is. Everyone likes to bring up the upfront investment of the diesel but rarely mention the return if you decide to sell or trade later.

[moosetags]

We have the same Airstream. We have had two gas tow vehicles and three Diesel tow vehicles over the years. We have over 200,000 miles of Airstream towing all over the US and Canada. We switched to Diesel in 2011 and will never go back as long as we are towing. The horse power of the gas and Diesel may be the same, but the torque is twice as much with diesel. When towing a heavy trailer, torque is what counts. Horse power is academic.

Brian

[Bcc75]

Great points by Downhill and Moosetags. I have a ‘21 F250 6.7 diesel and love it. Do not regret my decision at all. I had a 2006 6.0 similar to what you have and the difference in that engine and the new diesels are night and day. Super quiet and yes, torque is incredible. I will also add that the engine brake on the diesels is a huge plus. This is in addition to the standard tow/haul mode. We just did the smoky mountains last week in NC and TN and the engine brake performed flawlessly. Never touched the brakes on the descents. 22 mpg non towing and 18.5towing. You won’t come close to that in gas.

[B. Cole]

Hey Florida -
Don't hesitate to go with gas engine.Plenty of towing power.Especially with most tow vehicles used as daily driver.
Diesels like to run hot, not great for them around town on short trips.
It's not like you're hauling a big 5th Wheel trailer, through western elevations..

[pjshier]

Good points, all. From the Ford Super Duty site - lots of chatter on this subject, and the big gas engine has a lot of fans in terms of capability towing, lower up front cost and higher payload without the heavy diesel. Detractors cite mileage, with a few reporting wonkiness with the Godzilla/10 speed/4.33 rear end - but don't know that that is widespread or really a "thing."

We have a diesel and are happy with our choice.

[majorairhead]

I'm towing a 30 foot with Ford's 6.2 gasser. MPG is 8.5 in hilly terrain, maybe as much as 10 on flat land.

I have 56k miles on the truck. Nothing but oil changes, but it does drink the gasoline, towing or not.

I'm going to guess the 7.3 does the same.

Both gas engines are more than enough power to tow an airstream.

Diesel has it's benefits too. It's a personal choice.

Payload was of utmost importance for me. I ordered the Ford, choosing the options I wanted. I have 3,111 pounds of payload. I like that. I can haul all sorts of stuff and not be anywhere close to what the truck is capable of.

My wife has never complained of the 6.2 growling from time to time. Pretty much guarantee if engine noise was a problem I would have heard about it

[Bcc75]

Originally Posted by B. Cole

Hey Florida -
Don't hesitate to go with gas engine.Plenty of towing power.Especially with most tow vehicles used as daily driver.
Diesels like to run hot, not great for them around town on short trips.
It's not like you're hauling a big 5th Wheel trailer, through western elevations..

Neither the Diesel I have now, nor the one I owned for 16 years prior have ever run hot on any length trip

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Bcc75

Neither the Diesel I have now, nor the one I owned for 16 years prior have ever run hot on any length trip

I think the intent was that diesels live longer when they spend most of their operating hours at/near their target operating temperature. "Hot" but not "overheated."

The short-cycle urban/suburban use case is hard on modern emissions-controlled diesels.

[uraljohn]

Diesel Pros....Plenty of power, Jake Brake when going down hills, Better MPG.
Diesels Cons...Upfront cost, Maintenance costs, Takes a large bite out of payload capacity especially in a F250, Have to use DEF (additional expense), Fuel smelly when you get it on your hands.

Gasser Pros....Upfront cost is a bunch less, 6.2 or the new 7.3 gasser (Godzilla!) still has plenty of power to do the job, Payload capacity goes up about 800 LBS, Super quiet, No need for DEF, No need to plug it in at night in the winter, Lower maintenance costs, Better front to rear balance of truck since gasser engine weighs less than diesel, You can gas up anywhere.
Gasser Cons....MPG will be lower, No bragging rights about having a big old stonkin Diesel, Have to pay a bit more attention to downhill runs.

Guess you can tell which way I lean to. By the way, I have almost 2 million miles driving Class 8 Semi Tractor Trailer trucks all over the country. I would never own a diesel for my personal use. The new gassers are plenty good enough to get the job done. Besides, most folks only tow about 10 to 20 percent of the time. That leaves 80 percent of living with a diesel.

Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck with whichever route you chose.

[n2916s]

While I don’t have a dog in this fight, isn’t the F250 the model with the “death wobble”?

[1StreamDream]

I also very recently got a new F-250, but I was coming "up" from an F-150 and I can't offer first hand perspective of gas vs diesel. I also have a 25' but mine is an RB twin. I will say even when I had my F-150 (5.0l V8) I felt like I had plenty of power, but I really hated the high RPM needed to keep me in the power band in the mountain areas. I have the 7.3L (godzilla) and it has all kinds of power, and no more high RPM whine. The 10sp helps with that too. I also have the standard 18" wheels, where many trucks I saw on the lot were 20" wheels, and that would help MPG very slightly. My only negative to offer about the gas engine is MPG. I wish it was a little better, but when I run the math, assuming a 5 mpg difference (diesel being 5 mpg better than gas) factoring in the higher cost of diesel fuel (on average), and the upfront cost of the diesel, it takes something like 10 yrs to break even. Then, on top of that, I have never owned a diesel so I probably can't do much work on it myself, and all the maintenance costs are higher (as reported by others) and that is in addition to my 10 year calculation. Others may have a different break even algorithm, and I agree mine is only approximate, but for me, gas is the only logical choice. I have *plenty* of power, and if you want to be on the conservative side of power, go with the 4.30 rear end gear. I did, and I will say I have so much in reserve (my judgement) that I now wish I had gone with the 3.73 hoping that would squeak out a little better mileage, but I have seen other reports that the 3.73 does very little to boost that. I don't have any hard data to support that, but after ~5K miles on my new F-250, the BEST mpg I have seen is about 14.7 (non-towing). I hand calculated that, over about 225 miles. The towing MPG (averaged over a recent trip of about 2500 miles) was 9.5 MPG, that was essentially flat land towing (suburban Chicago to Brownsville TX and back). If my truck got stolen and I had to start over, the only thing I would consider changing would be my rear end gear, but the 4.30 sure is fun when I want that kind of oomph, and it makes it feel like I don't have anything attached, even when my 6,000lb trailer is back there. Hope that helps you.

[ITSNO60]

Originally Posted by n2916s

While I don’t have a dog in this fight, isn’t the F250 the model with the “death wobble”?

death wobble is possible on any live front axle with worn parts. 32 years of owning F-250s and 1 F-350 with live axles and never a hint of death wobble.

[n2916s]

I stand corrected. I guess that myth is just one of those things that fly around the internet with no basis in fact.

Thanks

[B. Cole]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

I think the intent was that diesels live longer when they spend most of their operating hours at/near their target operating temperature. "Hot" but not "overheated."

The short-cycle urban/suburban use case is hard on modern emissions-controlled diesels.

Thanks! That's exactly what I mean.Like a Semi...

[Hans627]

I've had gas and I've had diesel. I like diesel better.

FWIW

[VeloBuckeye]

Many advantages for both gassers and diesels. One rarely mentioned diesel advantage is the ability to use the roomy, easy-in/easy-out truck lanes at truck stops and stations, versus dealing with the tight gas pump areas. And the TSD diesel fuel savings program.

[Capt who]

Mine is a 2020 6.7 PS 3.31 gear and 10 speed trans. It is my 1st 250 and I like this truck alot. With the 34 gal fuel tank I have about an 800 mi range @ 60 mph not towing and around 450-500 mi range towing my 25 FC RBT, this in in the East so no big mountains. I am not sure but think the fuel tank is smaller with gas so range would be much less, like 230-280 mi when towing. My payload is only 2400 lbs so the gas engine would win out there. At least you can get the 10 speed with the 7.3 gas which is a plus. I think the 6.2 only comes with a 6 speed but I'm not sure.

[1StreamDream]

yea, I didnt mention range specifically, but that is a 2nd negative with the gas engines. Since they have less than ideal MPG, range is directly proportional. My personal preference was to get a standard length wheelbase, so I could still park in my garage, so I have a super-cab short bed, in the gas model that comes with a 34 gal tank. If I had selected diesel, the tank would only be 29 gal (no other choice available), but even with the smaller tank, the higher MPG does get you much better range. In the diesel, you have to get a crew cab truck in order to get the 34 gal tank, and you have to get the 8' bed crew cab to get the really big fuel tank, neither of those length trucks were workable in my circumstance. I am glad I have the standard length, it fits in the garage (barely) and is a bit better to maneuver and park in shopping center parking lots.

[Labeda14]

Originally Posted by VeloBuckeye

Many advantages for both gassers and diesels. One rarely mentioned diesel advantage is the ability to use the roomy, easy-in/easy-out truck lanes at truck stops and stations, versus dealing with the tight gas pump areas. And the TSD diesel fuel savings program.

I was coming here to say the same thing! If your travel style will require fueling while towing, I would recommend the diesel. The truck lanes are such a breeze and most have def at them now too.

Also, Velobuckeye...WE ARE 😂