Diesel for overlanding- are you happy with the choice?

[basing110]

Some things I haven’t seen talked about on here which easily gets overlooked. I’m in CA so costs seem even to be higher when all calculated.

Diesel truck has higher upfront cost

Diesel is more expensive per gallon of fuel

Figure out cost of fuel for 5 years for how many miles your drive

Diesel can tow more and that makes a higher yearly registration fee

Figure out costs for maintenance for 100k” oil changers,filters,plugs etc....” do not guess on if truck has a problem that needs repair

Now take all those numbers and get total cost.

When I did this about 5 years ago I would have to drive and own the diesel for an extra 12 years to make it even out.

I don’t tow heavy in the mountains Anymore where the diesel would really excel. The last diesel I owned was a second gen dodge and it was harder to find diesel in the boonies/ sticks small mountain towns.I had that truck for 19 years.Gas motors have come along way specially now that we have more than a three speed transmission with overdrive or a four speed with overdrive.

I used a second gen sequoia with the 5.7 gas and towed a 28ft travel trailer in some good uphill twisty slow sections and it did fine. Just have to get used to the motor humming at a higher rpm. And time passing a little more. But honestly if I’m going the speed limit who cares... the older I get the less I want to blast past somebody up a hill doing 75-80 with a trailer in tow

 

[marshal]

That's an overly broad statement with no supporting evidence...but if that's what you want to tell yourself in order to confirm your purchasing decisions, well then go ahead.

diesel is on average a dollar per gallon more than regular gasoline across the country, assuming a generous 6mpg increase on the diesel vs a gasoline truck, and diesel engines carrying a $10,000 premium over gas engine as an option, you literally cannot argue the math.

Attached is the cost difference in fuel assuming linear pricing and economy across 250,000 miles based on current prices in my area for regular petrol vs diesel with known fuel economies. This is JUST for fuel cost, not counting the increased cost of maintenance on the diesel with larger quantities of oil, DEF and fuel filter changes.

oh and never mind the fact that the big three are all increasing spending on development and refinement of medium duty gasoline engines, with Ford alone spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the 7.3L Godzilla because fleet customers who have a semblence of a brain realize that unless they're towing in excess of 10,000lbs regularly, diesel doesn't make sense anymore

but if that's what you want to tell yourself in order to confirm your purchasing decisions, well then go ahead.

 

[Adventurous]

At least in my area, the diesel premium was negligible. I got my CTD for the same price as the 6.4s were going for. Maybe I'm just a master negotiator.

 

[Todd780]

Different market here (Alberta, Canada) I'm sure but, for the most part diesel here is about 10K more. Regardless if it's Ram / GM / Ford.

think at certain time per year dealers will advertise 'free' diesel upgrades. However, I'm sure that's some kind of rebate that is being used and a gasser would be 10K off too....

 

[F350joe]

Some things I haven’t seen talked about on here which easily gets overlooked. I’m in CA so costs seem even to be higher when all calculated.

Diesel truck has higher upfront cost

Diesel is more expensive per gallon of fuel

Figure out cost of fuel for 5 years for how many miles your drive

Diesel can tow more and that makes a higher yearly registration fee

Figure out costs for maintenance for 100k” oil changers,filters,plugs etc....” do not guess on if truck has a problem that needs repair

Now take all those numbers and get total cost.

When I did this about 5 years ago I would have to drive and own the diesel for an extra 12 years to make it even out.

I don’t tow heavy in the mountains Anymore where the diesel would really excel. The last diesel I owned was a second gen dodge and it was harder to find diesel in the boonies/ sticks small mountain towns.I had that truck for 19 years.Gas motors have come along way specially now that we have more than a three speed transmission with overdrive or a four speed with overdrive.

I used a second gen sequoia with the 5.7 gas and towed a 28ft travel trailer in some good uphill twisty slow sections and it did fine. Just have to get used to the motor humming at a higher rpm. And time passing a little more. But honestly if I’m going the speed limit who cares... the older I get the less I want to blast past somebody up a hill doing 75-80 with a trailer in tow

Diesel trucks depreciate way less than a comparable gasser. You get that upfront money back in resell, the longer you keep the diesel the farther ahead of the same gasser you become.

 

[F350joe]

diesel is on average a dollar per gallon more than regular gasoline across the country, assuming a generous 6mpg increase on the diesel vs a gasoline truck, and diesel engines carrying a $10,000 premium over gas engine as an option, you literally cannot argue the math.

Attached is the cost difference in fuel assuming linear pricing and economy across 250,000 miles based on current prices in my area for regular petrol vs diesel with known fuel economies. This is JUST for fuel cost, not counting the increased cost of maintenance on the diesel with larger quantities of oil, DEF and fuel filter changes.

oh and never mind the fact that the big three are all increasing spending on development and refinement of medium duty gasoline engines, with Ford alone spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the 7.3L Godzilla because fleet customers who have a semblence of a brain realize that unless they're towing in excess of 10,000lbs regularly, diesel doesn't make sense anymore

but if that's what you want to tell yourself in order to confirm your purchasing decisions, well then go ahead.

Where is it a dollar more? Here in CA it’s the cheapest gas even with a .40 tax added to it. Needs more oil but needs less frequent changes. Everything else is pretty much the same except for injectors that last a few hundred thousand miles. Not sure why nobody can understand that the cost of ownership includes resale value, math is hard for some I guess. Diesels cost more because you get more. More power, more mpg, more resale, more longevity. Everyone offers a diesel now, more are coming in various sizes. If you can’t afford a diesel a gasser will do the job, just not as well.

 

[IdaSHO]

FYI, nation wide diesel is roughly 8.5% higher than regular.

taken from here...

https://gasprices.aaa.com/

 

[IdaSHO]

Here in CA it’s the cheapest gas even with a .40 tax added to it.

Nope.

Not state wide. State wide in CA diesel is roughly 4.5% higher

 

[GreggNY]

Here in my area of NY, diesel is roughly 30-40 cents more than regular right now. Any truck I’m looking at is most likely going to be slightly used or certified pre owned. So that means two things that guys keep bringing up. First being the $9-10k upcharge for a diesel truck. Any truck that I’m looking at has already taken that first depreciation hit off of the lot so are priced $4-6k more than a comparable gasser. If I sold in 3-5 years, I doubt I’d lose much off of that. Second, the trucks will be under warranty for most if not all of the time that I own so major Powertrain repairs should be covered. Meaning no huge diesel motor repair bills. Ram 2500 has 5 or 6 yr/100k factory warranty and certified pre owned Ford F-250 have 7yr/100k. I would be keeping the Powertrain stock and only doing exterior mods. And light ones at that. Still test driving both gas and diesel though. And looking for a f250 6.2/4.30 gears to test

 

[F350joe]

Nope.

Not state wide. State wide in CA diesel is roughly 4.5% higher

In San Diego it’s usually about the price of regular. So statewide cost is about 1.50 more per tank not a dollar more per gallon as the other poster stated.

 

[IdaSHO]

I don't care what the other poster said.

Your still full of BS.

First you claim that diesel is the cheapest in CA, now you say its about the same....

FYI, here is actual for San Diego county. No BS needed.

 

[IdaSHO]

So statewide cost is about 1.50 more per tank not a dollar more per gallon as the other poster stated.

$1.50 per tank??

What math are you smoking?
Statewide in CA you are at 18.5 cents per gallon more for diesel.

For $1.50 different per tank, you would have to have a 8.1 gallon tank....



FYI, for a typical fuel up for a pickup, lets call it 35 gallons.
The difference per tank would be $6.48 in your communist state.

National average cost...
The difference would be $9.24 per tank

 

[F350joe]

$1.50 per tank??

What math are you smoking?
Statewide in CA you are at 18.5 cents per gallon more for diesel.

For $1.50 different per tank, you would have to have a 8.1 gallon tank....



FYI, for a typical fuel up for a pickup, lets call it 35 gallons.
The difference per tank would be $6.48 in your communist state.

National average cost...
The difference would be $9.24 per tank

Look at the chart you posted. Is diesel 18.5 cents more per gallon? The station near me.

 

[IdaSHO]

Look at the chart you posted. Is diesel 18.5 cents more per gallon? The station near me.

Uh... yes it does.

Statewide average, diesel is 18.5 cents higher

And you clearly made the claim statewide

So statewide cost is about 1.50 more per tank not a dollar more per gallon as the other poster stated.

 

[SoTxAg06]

Gas is $2.32/gal, and diesel is $2.79/gal here today. It’s pretty typical for diesel to be $0.50/gal higher here.


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