GAS VS DIESEL

[4D55 Performance]

I have had many pickups over the years. Personally I prefer diesel vehicles but it is hard to justify owning one when you have such a large discrepancy in fuel prices. I had a 2005 CCSB 4x4 Duramax with 6speed manual that would get 25mpg on the open road as long as I kept it under 70mph. I have a new 2014 Ram in the same configuration and it only gets about 21mpg in the same conditions. That being said, the Ram is 10x the truck. I sold the Duramax because it rode so harsh. There is more to a truck than engine or transmission.

 

[forest522]

Like many here, I love my diesel. Not a daily driver - not necessary in my current occupation. Other than the family mini van, the ole 6.2 Blazer is our other family vehicle. It has retrieved Christmas trees, taken us all on great adventures in the mountains and helped us relocate from the Pacific NW to the desert SW. Yes, I pay a lot of attention to the maintenance and minor repairs however, I do the same for our 171k mile Sienna.

Friends and family have the newer Ford diesels and do love them. They are very reliable and great on the highway. All of them worry of the big 'remove the cab' repair too. If I had my way, I would certainly have a second mid '80s GM Diesel. They are just plain fun!

 

[mdmead]

...except for the Fords blowing spark plugs out of the cylinder head...

Yup, there is that! (Blew my first about a month ago at 167K miles. Refused to let it strand me and drove it to my local mechanic's shop.)

 

[haven]

Looking strictly from an off-the-pavement perspective, I think diesel has two advantages:
1. high torque at low rpm, so you can ease over obstacles, and
2. extended range, which means less weight in fuel to travel a given distance.

If you're thinking about international travel, the requirement to run ULSD in our modern diesels means trouble when you head south of the border. I spoke with Mercedes about taking a new USA-spec diesel Sprinter into Mexico, and their advice was simple: Don't do it.

 

[JHa6av8r]

Looking strictly from an off-the-pavement perspective, I think diesel has two advantages:
1. high torque at low rpm, so you can ease over obstacles, and
2. extended range, which means less weight in fuel to travel a given distance.

If you're thinking about international travel, the requirement to run ULSD in our modern diesels means trouble when you head south of the border. I spoke with Mercedes about taking a new USA-spec diesel Sprinter into Mexico, and their advice was simple: Don't do it.

I've always had a gasser and got my first diesel a little over 2 years ago. These are exactly the reasons I love my truck. We carry about 2,000#'s in the bed with the camper and except for size, mainly width, can go pretty much anywhere.

 

[Sooper Camper]

i like my carbureted big block.

 

[Kaisen]

Looking strictly from an off-the-pavement perspective, I think diesel has two advantages:
1. high torque at low rpm, so you can ease over obstacles, and
2. extended range, which means less weight in fuel to travel a given distance.

In theory, that might sound true. In reality?

Have you seen the weight difference from a gas V8 to a turbodiesel? Pick a brand, any brand. The "weight savings" in fuel is absolutely dwarfed by the weight of a diesel motor. A Cummins 5.9 6BT, larger radiator, turbocharger, intercooler and plumbing, mechanical injection pump, etc is several hundred pounds heavier than a 5.7L Hemi. Several hundred pounds.

How much torque does a Ford EcoBoost make at low rpm? Over 400 at 1250 rpm? Isn't that a gasoline powered motor?

 

[bfdiesel]

1200 rpm is not low rpm. 800-900 is. And that is where diesels and big blocks will creep out, more rotating mass to keep them going. Also feel free to post up the torque curve showing 400 ft lbs at 1250. All the ones I see put it under 215.

 

[kmlacroix]

I have a '14 diesel JGC. We got it to tow a 5000 lb camper around western/central colorado. I also put over 20k miles per year on a vehicle. The diesel works for me. My wife runs gas. I would suggest that if you do not really need a diesel get a gas truck. I rented a semi ram to tow a smallish travel trailer(<3000lbs). it got around 12-14 mpg going up and through the Ike, but it could have pulled at 80mph easy. I did not want a full size pickup, therefore the Jeep.

 

[Kaisen]

The newest version of the 3.5L EcoBoost makes 400 lb-ft at 1250 rpm, and peaks at 460 lb-ft at 2750 rpm. It is currently available in the Lincoln Navigator and will soon be available in the F150 Raptor.

My 8.1L gas makes 455 lb-ft at 3200 rpm, and 400 lb-ft at 1250 rpm

The "holy grail" 24v Cummins H.O. with a manual didn't cross 400 lb-ft until 1200 rpm

I'd say for crawling they are all pretty equal at low rpm. Gearing, tires, loaded weight, etc will make more of a difference

 

[Sooper Camper]

its amazing how gutless a diesel feels off the line until the turbo spools up once you've spent a while driving a big block around...

 

[JHa6av8r]

its amazing how gutless a diesel feels off the line until the turbo spools up once you've spent a while driving a big block around...

There's no lag in the new diesels. Push the pedal and off it goes.

 

[technoweenie]

Old diesels.... are awesome - no smog, mechanical pumps, stone-cold reliability, 0-60 measured on a calendar, noisy, smokey.... imo perfect.

I couldn't agree more.

Modern diesels have emissions components, urea, and a bunch of other nonsensical crap to go along with it...

Older diesels are much simpler, much more reliable, and a lot easier to fix when/if something does go wrong.

No electronic injectors, or electric fuel pumps to go bad...

 

[bfdiesel]

The newest version of the 3.5L EcoBoost makes 400 lb-ft at 1250 rpm, and peaks at 460 lb-ft at 2750 rpm. It is currently available in the Lincoln Navigator and will soon be available in the F150 Raptor.

My 8.1L gas makes 455 lb-ft at 3200 rpm, and 400 lb-ft at 1250 rpm

The "holy grail" 24v Cummins H.O. with a manual didn't cross 400 lb-ft until 1200 rpm

I'd say for crawling they are all pretty equal at low rpm. Gearing, tires, loaded weight, etc will make more of a difference

The 2015 24 valve HO makes 865 ft lbs, also it makes more torque at 800 rpm than the raptor 3.5 eco boost does peak. So it's apples and oranges, that's all I am saying. 1250 rpm is not low for a diesel, 800 rpm is. When I am on trails I am at or below 1000 rpm most the time, and since that's my driving style a diesel works well. I would have a big block if it didn't suck so much fuel. The diesels do weigh more, but they also carry more and will naturally run cooler for an equally loaded gas engine.
Both have their trade offs, the op looks like he wants a gas rig and that's awesome. It will meet all the needs stated in the original post.

 

[eggman918]

My rig is a much older rig than what the OP is talking about but it is a good comparison as far as gas to diesel in that I've been driving it for 25 years 20 with the 390/6.4L v8 and 5 with the 3.8L Cummins 4 cyl. The 390 is an ideal truck motor except it's fuel consumption it tows well and works like a mule so no real complaints but when it was time to rebuild it the last time we chose the oil burner route being a '68 ford the 6BT was just too damn long/heavy for my needs plus all I wanted was to do the same thing the 390 did,I didn't need/want a sled puller,drag racer and had no desire to "roll coal" I started with a 105HP VE pumped non inter cooled 4BT the only HP mods done to it were a large I/C and a HE221W 6cm turbo with the pump turned up to match the turbo,the "little"221 is an ideal fit to the 4BT's strong points instant response from 1400 and will pull to the de-fuel point of the 3,200rpm spring without smoking unless you try to make it smoke and even then it's only a very light haze so fairly modest fueling rates. The 4BT easily out works the 390 in every way,the 390 averaged 8-10 mpg the 4bt has been averaging 16-20 doing the same job so for my needs the gas to diesel change was a winner.Now there are a few traits of the 4BT that I could live without it is LOUD and it shakes like it has the DT's and with ~200,000 miles it is a bit slow to start when temps drop below freezing, but overall it's been rock solid reliable and the harder I work it the happier it seems.to sum it up I have 1/2 the displacement doing more work with better reliability using 1/2 the fuel I know the numbers would not be as favorable with newer engines but replacing a late '50's gas V8 with a late '80's diesel 4 banger made sense for us.FWIW