Gas vs Diesel for towing vehicle

CakeHenn said:

My other consideration is getting one that will fit in my garage...my Tundra has about 5"s.  I actually remove my trailer hitch to park it.  Some of the Dodge 2500s look to be around the same length but the Ford F250s look longer....not sure about Chevy.

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20'-9" for my GMC extended cab long box. Luckily my garage is 25' deep but the moldings around the door opening give me about 2" on each side and 2" above. I have to make sure there is no snow packed in the driveway and drive in & out reeeaaally slow!

According to the website my Tundra is 228.7"...so that's just over 19'.  I need to measure my garage but I'm betting it's 20' even based on how much room I have...maybe less.  Pretty funny how that's a factor for me. 

Wish the 'Beast' fit in the garage.... Has to sit out in the weather next to the SRX...    O well, kids still get to fight over which one of their cars get to be in the garage.... that's always entertaining!

jje1960 said:

Wish the 'Beast' fit in the garage.... Has to sit out in the weather next to the SRX...    O well, kids still get to fight over which one of their cars get to be in the garage.... that's always entertaining!

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LMAO--I'd put my ATV or derby car in there, not my kids...your such a nice dad compared to me... ;D

I have a Chevy 2500 with the crew cab and I think it's close to 22ft long. I have about 2 inchs infront of the truck and a couple inches behind the truck. And, my antenna hits the top of the garage door on the way in! So I dont have much room at all!

Joezeppy said:

20'-9" for my GMC extended cab long box. Luckily my garage is 25' deep but the moldings around the door opening give me about 2" on each side and 2" above. I have to make sure there is no snow packed in the driveway and drive in & out reeeaaally slow!

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I just learned that leason with the canopy and the garage door...  :-[ I'm the same way tight fit in the garage. 

I upgraded from a '71 Ford F-250 v8/390 to a 2000 F-350 dually CC 4X4 diesel last summer and absolutely love it! We have an older Alpenlite 27 foot 5'er and the difference is like night and day. The old Ford actually did ok as far as handling and braking (with a good brake controller), but the engine just didn't have the stuff. I would have eventually killed the engine with how hard it was being pushed in the mountain roads around here.

My recommendation is to get a bit more truck than you think you'll need. You'll be happier. The diesel Ford gets literally twice the mileage of the older truck (12mpg vs. 6mpg) towing the exact same load, and at higher speeds on the hills and corners.

On the dodge...  Actually I don't think a Dodge is any more or less reliable than any other truck...  Yeah, the rear end COULD have been from towing, although the 3.73 rear end should have been able to go forever. 

But, I attribute the engine problems to the dealers, not the manufacturer...  NINE visits, and every time they came up with something else...  First it was the "non-factory" spark plugs - which were actually an alternative recommended for towing.  Having them put in plugs cost $320, yes $320.  From that point on, EVERYTHING they did was on the extended warranty...  First they decided it was plug wires.  It wasn't then it was an injector.  It wasn't.  THEN it was an intake manifold gasket.  It wasn't.  Then it was just reprogramming the computer.  It wasn't.  and on and on....  FINALLY, they decided on of the heads had a "problem", which it may have or may not.  But, once it was changed, the light stayed off and a couple weeks later we dumped the truck. 

105,000 miles.  The bigger problems were that the thing had to be taken out of overdrive to tow, couldn't get past 65, and was dismal climbing hills like I-70 to the Eisenhower at higher altitude.

I'd buy a Dodge diesel or a Ford diesel or a Toyota diesel (if we had any) or a Nissan diesel (if there was a 3/4 ton).  Just happened to find a Chevrolet equipped the way I wanted when we needed one.

On the cost of fuel...  I must be really old compared to all you guys...  I can remember when gas was $.17/gallon.  The REALLY good stuff we used in the street drag car - Sunoco 260, was $.27/gallon......  And diesel was less - as I recall (which is always suspect), it was right around a NICKEL a gallon.  But that was back in the 60s when I started driving. 

We pick up the new 5th wheel Saturday morning.  After 12 years with the old one, my wife fell in love with one with a couple slides and a LITTLE more length.  Going from 26' actual to around 27' actual length, and it'll weigh in about a thousand pound more at 6700 dry, so it'll be interesting to see how it tows.

I love my diesel! I fill up at the truck stops. No gas stations. All summer we travle with the fifth wheel and air cond on all the time. The  brake is wonderful. Pulling power is very nice. The cost for oil filter and fuel filter is worth the added cost. Very nice transmission auto. ;D

We just returned from a 3000 mile round trip to Rochester NY, Myrtle Beach and back to Atlanta Area.
We towed a 30 ft TT with our 2011 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi. We got about 10 MPG average and have a 26 gal tank.

We will be swapping the 1500 5.7 Hemi for a 2500 Cummins diesel before we do that again. for 3 general reasons and 1 that no one ever mentions.
1) The Hemi has enough power but @3000 to 5000 RPM
2) The new 2500 diesel Rams have an exhaust brake.  The Hemi provides some engine braking but nowhere near as good as diesel exhaust brake
3) The range between fill ups is horrible 200-230 miles which means more stops trying to find a station that  addresses the worst problem;

**** The biggest pain in the rear on the whole trip. and the one I never see mentioned ******
Getting to and from the gas pumps while towing is a pain in 99% of all gas stations we found on the road including some Pilot and Flying J stations.

We had little cars (Honda Civic, Mini etc.. ) box us into the pumps assuming we can maneuver as easily as they do. At one Pilot station in WV we had to wait 20 minutes while the little cars stacked up and left no room for anyone to get around them. 
The pumps have no room to turn while pulling 30 foot of trailer behind you.
The pumps are jammed so close you have to spend time trying to get close enough to fill up and or wait for an outside pump to open up.
The truck lanes in the rear didn't have gas, all they had was diesel.

You'll find the Cummins producing it max torque at as low as 1,800 to 2,000 RPM and pull like a crazed mule. Yes it way nice to whip around the back and use the truck pump for diesel fuel less hassle for long RV's too. Still as much as people complain about diesel price being high you'll find the cost per mile for fuel in a diesel is lower than your hemi. I typically get 13-14 MPG in my old school Cummins. (But I'm no light weight @ 400 HP)  8)

The truck lanes in the rear didn't have gas, all they had was diesel.

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Msgtregester: You probably won't be able to fuel your Ram diesel at the truck pumps because the truck pumps are all large diameter (high volume) nozzles and most pick-ups only have a small diameter filler port, probably the same skinny size as is used for gasoline.

One option is to use Flying J with RV islands.  They are easier to get in and out of than the car islands and have both gas and diesel.

donn said:

Before buying ANY trucks, first you must decide how much trailer you are going for.  Gas motors are fine for towing up to about 10,000 pounds.  Anything over that get a diesel.  Also please forget a 2500 (3/4 ton) trucks.  You will run out of load capacity long before you get much trailer.  A fifth wheel will place approx 20% of it's loaded weight directly over the rear axle.  So even a 10K fifth wheel will put 2000 pounds on the truck.

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I tell you I have towed 10000 lbs with chev 8.1 and ford v10 and they both suck power wise when it comes to large hills or mountain passes
I personally would not have anything but a 6.7 cummins or a chevy duramax.

DIESEL>>>DIESEL>>>DIESEL.  Ok, just my opinion, but had a 25 ft Class C with a 454 gas and slowed WAY down on hills, got about 10 mpg.  I sold it, bought a 2014 GMC 1 ton diesel with the tow package (exhaust brake, etc.).  I pull a 40 ft fifth wheel that's about 15,000 lb loaded.  Hills were never a problem.  I just got back from a 7000 mile trip and averaged 12.5 mpg.  Drove 60 mph (because the ST tires are only rated 65 mph max.).  No problems at all.  The new diesel (6.6L) that uses DEF allows the torque to be upped to over 800 ft lbs.  More than enough to pull a big trailer.

aubreyshaw said:

What about the price difference in gas vs diesel FUEL right now?  It's about .60 per gallon MORE for diesel fuel where I live.  Will the better fuel efficency with a diesel even this out?  Do you really get better with diesel?

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Ford states on their web site that the F-150 EcoBoost specs are based upon using premium gasoline. Where I live, diesel costs less than premium gasoline.

Gary RV Roamer said:

Msgtregester: You probably won't be able to fuel your Ram diesel at the truck pumps because the truck pumps are all large diameter (high volume) nozzles and most pick-ups only have a small diameter filler port, probably the same skinny size as is used for gasoline.

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Good to know, thanks.   

We are looking at the new V6 EcoDiesel. Evidently everyone else is too.  Dodge can't make them fast enough. Once GM and Ford offer something in the 1500's we may see some deals but it is a sellers market right now.

The RV lane we found at one Flying J was worse to maneuver thru than the car lanes because of the rest of the parking lot. 

Yeah, the RV lanes at many Pilot/FJ's are highly congested because of adjacent car lanes and heavy entrance traffic. And many of the older stations are just plain small. We use the truck lanes instead for our motorhome.

the only bad thing I find about the large high volumn nozzles is you get serious foaming when filling the MH