Pickups: Gas or diesel?

[SHOOTALL]

I think you will find a better trans in the new Fords , A 6 speed .

[Drilling Man]

  If this has become a "bragging" thread, he11, i'll throw mine in.
 
  I also owned Ford, Chev and Dodge all at the same time.  And i pulled loads from Alaska to Mi and back with the Chev and Dodge.  In fact with the Dodge/Cummins i pulled one combined load of 26,000 pounds from Alaska to Mi., that's 4,600 miles one way. (yes i weighed it on cert. scales)
 
  OK, long story short, the Ford cost me the most to own, and i sent it down the road!  The Dodge is the second most costly to own, if it was worth anything i'd send it down the road.  AND, like i said above, i just bought a new Chev., so you know what brand has been BEST/cheapest to own for me...
 
  That's about all i have to add to this thread!
 
  DM

[Land_Owner]

OK, long story short, the Ford cost me the most to own, and i sent it down the road!  The Dodge is the second most costly to own, if it was worth anything i'd send it down the road.  AND, like i said above, i just bought a new Chev., so you know what brand has been BEST/cheapest to own for me...

How is the Chevy's maintenance under your driving comparable to the others?  We'll all a bunch of good old boys describing our toys.  Glad you posted.  My Ford experience is eerily similar. 

[LONGTOM]

Let me add one thing.
My experence, though vast in years and miles stopped with the 2002 Chevy 3500HD.
This is because of three reasons.
1--The economy, I no longer drive the miles I used to when I was on the road almost 7 days a week, averageing 150,000 miles a tear.
2--The cost of a new truck is now so high that a lot of people can't keep their payments up so there are a bunch of low mileage trucks out there at a large reduced price.
3--Sadly, GM dropped their really big motors the last couple of years, (7.1-454ci, 8.1-497ci).
At the time the only motors that could run with those two v8s were the v10s from Dodge and Ford but they got terrible fuel mileage.
Had the Ford v10 once, never again!
There are good and bad ones from all three brands and everyone has their own favorite.
Mine happens to be GM.
Really, if you want to talk diesels then let talk CATAPILAR V8s.
A 3208 Cat set up right in a pickup will out run & out pull all the motors we have talked about including the V10s!!!
It has been done.
 
 
LONGTOM

[SHOOTALL]

We have had as many as 40 trucks in our fleet at one time , we run them to as close to 200000 miles or over as enomical. We have been in business for 21 years before that I drove personal and company trucks . Over the years Ford has been the most dependable in Gas engines and suppension . Our trucks are for construction and shown little loving care.

[eye shot]

LongTom
running heavy equipment for 41yrs. I wouldn't wast time or money to put a 3208 in anything. The 3208 is the least desirable of all Cat diesels, too heavy for a pu, terrable on fuel, and only 210hp-none turbo. The small Cummins is a better choise.

[Empty Quiver]

Something I have not heard mentioned here. Outrageous expense when engine work is required. After warrantee you will have to foot the bill to REMOVE the cab to have any type of head work done. By head work include a relatively normal tune up. EGR systems on Diesel engines are the bane of the industry, google up diesel particulate filter too, that ought to give you pause. Diesel engines are where gas engines were in 1980 IMHO. Emission standards are being changed every two years giving the manufacturers little time to develop a proven system before having to invent a new one.


Sit down with a calculator and run realistic numbers on how much towing you do vs. how much running errands you do. If you enjoy being a beta tester for the auto industry buy in soon. <2003 or new gasser, my opinion only.

[LONGTOM]

LongTom
running heavy equipment for 41yrs. I wouldn't wast time or money to put a 3208 in anything. The 3208 is the least desirable of all Cat diesels, too heavy for a pu, terrable on fuel, and only 210hp-none turbo. The small Cummins is a better choise.

 
I have had two of them, (250 HP both with turbos).
Only two problems ever and that was a blown turbo hose at about 160,000 and a bad governor seal at about 65,000, both on the same engine. (1986 model)
When I sold the last truck (C70 Kodiak with a 28" Jerr-Dan steel rollback bed) it had over 345,000 miles on it and still going strong.
I know what you are saying because our local milk company ran them and had lots of problems but I never experenced them.
In all fairness I was about the only driver or was in the truck myself for almost every mile ever put on them.
The milk co has every who ever driving them and we all know how hired drivers can be.
As for the extra weight, the cat is only a couple of hundred pounds more than the old 454.
Granted they are not the BIG CATS on the road but a friend that delivered camper trailers and horse trailers had one installed in a 85 Chevy 1 ton with a Clark 5 speed and it was a horse bact then.
With 20 more horses than the 454 and a turbo it did a fantastic job and fuel mileage was about on par with the 454, around 9 or 10 loaded.
His loads were not all that heavy.
Mostly in the 7 to 12,000 lb range.
I loved my litty kitty cats.
 
 
LONGTOM

[SHOOTALL]

Something I have not heard mentioned here. Outrageous expense when engine work is required. After warrantee you will have to foot the bill to REMOVE the cab to have any type of head work done. By head work include a relatively normal tune up. EGR systems on Diesel engines are the bane of the industry, google up diesel particulate filter too, that ought to give you pause. Diesel engines are where gas engines were in 1980 IMHO. Emission standards are being changed every two years giving the manufacturers little time to develop a proven system before having to invent a new one.


Sit down with a calculator and run realistic numbers on how much towing you do vs. how much running errands you do. If you enjoy being a beta tester for the auto industry buy in soon. <2003 or new gasser, my opinion only.

 
My 97  Ford 7.3 needed a water pump $1100.00 installed .

[Larry L]

I didn't see what the OP was going to tow or how much weight it's going to be. If 7500lbs or less, you want a gas engine. Gas engines are far more user friendly and the maintenance is MUCH less than a current diesel. If you are towing over that and often, you need a diesel. Diesels are high in torque which is the ability to do the work. Horsepower is what builds speed- you need torque pulling heavy loads. If the trailer is going to be over 10,000lbs, you need a dually for the added stability running down the road. Personally, I wouldn't pull anything over 7500lbs unless the truck was a dually. Have flat tire on the single rear and you'll find yerself upside down in a ditch. But diesels are not a cheap date to own. They require diesel rated oil and a lot of it. Most take 15 qts versus most gas engines 7 qts. You won't find an oil filter for less than 5 bucks like a gas engine and the air filters can be expensive. Make sure to do yer homework on maintenance items as it gets expensive versus gas. You might want to know that you need to be a little picky about the diesel fuel you buy. If you pick any up with water and it surges the water separator the engine is toast. You can also pick up a bacteria that will grow in the tank causing major headaches to get rid of it. You might want to know that the new diesels will require you to run urea which is an emissions fluid that you must keep in a separate tank. This could be an issue if you are running a lot in the boonies where it might not be available.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/03/chrysler-diesel-exhaust-fluid-system-previews-nox-reduction-solutions-for-2010.html

In regards to trade in. Any of the 3/4 or 1 ton trucks may not have any trade in at all. In 2006 most of the dealers wouldn't even accept one in on trade as the value was zero. Fuel prices had just gone thru the roof and the economy was sinking like a rock. You could buy a 2 year old low mileage diesel most any where for under 5 grand. Let diesel hit 5 bucks a gallon and yer new truck will be worthless. The gas trucks in the same segment won't be much different.


If you decide to buy a diesel there are a few things about all of them you need to research. The Dodge has the Cummins engine. AS an engine, it's a medium duty engine in a light duty truck. This engine finds it's way in smaller trailer trucks like a beer hauler and such. Problem with the Dodge is Dodge. Great engine with a crappy truck built around it. You'll be replacing the lift pump at 80,000 miles just like you will the transmission. If you buy one, get rid of it at 50,000 miles or expect a MAJOR hit on repairs. The Ford has been a dismal failure with the new one having lots of issues. They're already on the 5th PCM reflash and the multifire event has been eliminated from the programming which means it's going to be noisy at idle and running down the road. While I'm a Ford fan, the best of the light truck diesels is the GM offering. It comes with issues as well like the A/C systems that are problematic and gasket materials that leaks but they have far fewer issues than the rest. Might take a look at all of them and decide for yerself but if it's a dead heat which to buy, get the GMC.


If you decide to go gas, there's only one worth looking at- the F350 with the 6.2. It's pretty much been a flawless introduction. There's nothing real high tech about it and it's been extremely reliable. It's not bad on fuel mileage running empty but like any of these rigs, pulling a trailer and it'll probably be close to single digits.

[Lloyd Smale]

I worked for a fairly large power company and in this day and age of cutbacks and saving all you can they did a big survey or test if you can call it that. Previously if one of the remote locations needed a new pickup and it was approved the manager of that shop had the choise where and what he bought. So we had a mixed lot of cars and trucks, mostly chevs and fords with a few dodges thrown in. They decided to check to see which was the most economical to run. They tested every truck in our fleet for 5 years. Figureing fuel, upkeep and depreciation and all i can say is the  whole fleet is GM right now. It was pretty much a toss up for reliability. But in fuel economy and depreication the gm trucks blew the fords out of the water. Thing that was noted in it though was the fact that this test could be repeated in two years and the findings come out totaly differnt.

We have had as many as 40 trucks in our fleet at one time , we run them to as close to 200000 miles or over as enomical. We have been in business for 21 years before that I drove personal and company trucks . Over the years Ford has been the most dependable in Gas engines and suppension . Our trucks are for construction and shown little loving care.

[SHOOTALL]

Our trucks are loaded , Some of our 1 ton trucks corss the scales at 12000 lbs or more. Most all are loaded to capacity . We run mostly 3/4 and 1 ton. A few 1/2 ton but very few. That might be why our experince along with location has been different than what some others have experinced.

[jamesrus]

I have owned an 89 f250 naturally aspirated 7.3 diesel when i sold it it had over 350k miles on it with no work on the engine ever....the guy who bought it kapt it for 4 more years and used it on a farm.
i had a 95 f250 7.3 powerstroke deisel with 336k miles on it when i sold it, no work ever done on engine . A pipeliner bought it and used it for several years pulling a tool trailer.
Next i had an 01 f250 7.3 litre powerstroke diesel it had 216k miles when i traded it in. once again no engine problems ever.
Now i have an 08 f350 6.4 litre powerstroke diesel with 116k miles on it currently, once again no engine problems ever.
 
All of these truckes were used as daily drivers, hauling 4 wheelers, towing boats, towing utility trailers, and getting groceries. I have absolutely no complaints about the ford trucks. BUT i also serviced them on a regular schedule and fixed any minor problems before they became a big problem. The only problems i have ever had were the transmission in the 89 and the 95....but with the mileage on them i couldnt complain at all...i rebuilt both manual transmissions at about 300k miles. the 89 because of a frozen throw out bearing and the 95 because i lost 2nd gear.
 
Jamesrus

[SHOOTALL]

FWIW , been driving a F250 with 6.2 gas engine up to 19 mph on hwy and about 14.9 in town . So far about 1300 miles on it.

[ppine]

 a 7.3 liter Ford diesel that gets almost 24 mpg empty on the flats.

[Axehandle]

'94 2500 Dodge here...  12 valve Cummins with mechanical FI.  Short cab long wheelbase 4x4 with heavy duty towing package and a manual trans.  20-22 MPG driving to and from town or 75 MPH down the interstate. Might get better on the interstate at 65-70.  Daddy bought it new and says that it did.   Closing in on my first 200K miles.   Just about to pass my 15 year old daughter the 2010 Toyota Corolla and go back to the Dodge as my primary.  Planning for another 200k Miles.