Gas or diesel for 3/4 ton 4x4 truck

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gnarles

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Posts
8
I am truck shopping and trying to figure out which makes more sense, gas or diesel. I will be hauling a Northstar Laredo SC, not the heaviest camper in the world. I will be doing some winter camping and a lot mountain high elevation trips.

I have been doing a lot of internet research and get conflicting info. The torque is definitely better diesel, but operating expenses and repairs can be high?  The purchase price on diesel is obviously more, but so is the resale, so I consider that a wash.

Any thoughts or opinions?
 
IMHO the choice of gas or diesel is a question of the right tool for the right job. If you are going to be driving in mountains then a diesel is your best choice.
 
If you can handle the extra cost of the diesel, go for it. Maintenance costs are a little higher than gas but not that bad. Diesel fuel costs more but you have so much more truck with the diesel.
 
That depends on use. Is the truck primarily a daily driver with occasional camper duty? If so, gas might be more practical. Fuel mileage will be about the same commuting to and from work and getting groceries, diesel is more expensive and the initial cost of the truck is substantially more. However, if it sees a lot of highway duty go diesel, more torque and fuel mileage is much better. Maintenance costs are higher but less frequent so that's a wash. After towing all over BC and the western states we would never go back to gas. The Cummins doesn't know the trailer is back there and we easily run all day on one tank of fuel.
 
Thanks for the info and opinions so far.  Much appreciated!

The camper will not come off the truck. I have a car for commuting. This truck is only for camping trips.  The short trips are 400 miles, the long ones thousands.
 
Once you get used to the performance of a turbocharged diesel in the mountains its real hard to go back to a gasser.  As long as I'm towing, I'll have a diesel. 
 
i have both -  i have a 1500 silverado with a 6.2l fully loaded LTZ and i have a 3500 silverado diesel fully loaded LTZ so exact same truck but 1 is gas one is diesel the gas gets less than half of the mileage the diesel does on the highway UNLOADED - loaded i get 3 times the mileage pulling a 15000 lb 5er than my wife pulling a 5000lb boat and i often find her struggling on hills if she doesn't time it right - the torque in the diesel is undeniable. As for maintenance they are about the same except the diesel takes almost twice the oil at oil changes due to the larger oil pan, fuel costs are different diesel here is more expensive during the winter and cheaper in the summer. When i get another truck it will be another diesel for either my wife or myself and i will get rid of the gas truck, my only regret is i didn't buy a diesel sooner but i was afraid because i was a little ignorant to the diesel advantage.
 
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