Gas vs Diesel truck? Pros/cons

[Bansh88]

My wife and I are throwing around the idea of a new/er truck.  

Currently, we have a 1500 that has been lovely.  We are considering a larger, possibly diesel truck.   

We do not have a specific need as far as heavy loads or trailers.  Just the idea of buying a truck for longevity, strength and potential for hauling larger cargo. 

As of now, we only haul a single axle open trailer for Glamis.  ZERO plans for a toy hauler or larger unit with big vehicles.   But would like the ability to pull a vehicle, trailer, equipment, if needed.  Especially with a move out of California always in the works.

Please. Pro's / Con's of gas vs diesel.  This could be my last truck purchase.  

[Dunerking]

I’m a diesel person. My wife’s 13’ Cayenne is diesel,daughters 11’ Audi A3 is diesel,my commuter 04’ Jetta is diesel,our 05’ Dodge 3500 is diesel, so my vote would be go that route. At least that way you won’t be under-trucked. 

Edited October 2, 2021 by Dunerking

[Fireballsocal]

I'm not speaking from experience, I'm a long time half ton owner. I had an F250 gasser but it didn't make sense to me. The new diesels are incredibly powerful but I feel that is now their only advantage. They used to get incredible mileage. Not any more. They used to be as reliable as a hammer. Not any more. Emissions bullcrap has made them so convoluted I wouldn't trust them to last longer than a gasser except for professional heavy hauler hot shot types. Even then, gas motor last a long long time in those conditions. They used to be affordable. Not any more. 

  And gas engines used to give up alot in the power department but with engines like Fords 7.3L gas engine and the 10 speed auto, they make great power and can lug down to almost diesel RPMs while driving. I'd go gas and not look back. Either the Ford 7.3L or Chevy 6.6L would make an awful nice pickup in a 3/4 ton. 

Edited October 2, 2021 by Fireballsocal

[Jersey_Jeff73]

if its only for local tow twice a year get a gas drive slow and take your time.   but got to love the power of the diesels that all i own. i pull a 48ft race trailer with my 2017 f450 across country jersey to glamis every year 36780 was my gross weight no problem doing 75 with power to spare. 39 hours door to door and its a comfortable drive. either way you cant go wrong unless you are going to tow something that requires duel rear wheels diesel will get better fuel mileage especially when towing. 

[RK Racing]

Red 2008 F350 Diesel….   Char.gray 2015 F350 Gas…. Red 2020 F350 Diesel…. Diesel is a lot more of a pain in the butt plus all kinds of extra money from the get-go… about 10,000 more for a diesel. I had a diesel when I absolutely needed it and then I got a gas when I needed it. Then I needed a diesel again five years later so I bought another diesel. My opinion is if you need it get it otherwise it’s a lot more money and a lot more maintenance.

Edited October 2, 2021 by RK Racing

[Johnny]

Thats a no brainer , If you have no plans of towing a trailer, You need nothing more than a 3/4 ton Gas truck. As far as price, they are all expensive. Don't buy new !!! .

 Find a gas truck that feels right for you and buy from a dealer . I personally love diesel trucks and own one, but bought it knowing I was going to haul a 31 foot toy hauler .In your case get gas, I would go test drive Chevy,dodge,ford,toyota and get the feel for what feels right. You won't beat a toyota for the longevity .

Good luck with your choice and be smart ,Do not buy new.

               Johnny

[Dylanshaffer]

Could be a good candidate for the Silverado 1500 with the 3.0 duramax. Kind of best of both worlds with great mpg. I don’t own one or know anything about their reliability or maintenance costs though. 

[Pennywise]

If you go 3/4 ton the diesel is the only way to go. You’d be hard pressed to find a new diesel owner going to a gas (and being happy). I have 2021 F250 diesel with the 10 speed and absolutely love it. My daily driver is 2021 F150 with 5.0 and it’s a great truck but the power, ride and stance of the F250 is head & shoulders better. IMO the only reason to go 3/4 ton gas is to save money, if you can swing it go diesel for sure. I just flat bed towed my Jeep up to Big Bear and I was shocked how it pulled the hills, I have 37’s on it and it still just rips the hills effortlessly. 

[Crusty]

My '03 6.0 has been as good as it gets for a 3/4 gas truck.

Stay with GMC or Chevy, you'll miss the IFS if it's your daily driver.

I probably fit your profile for needs, but have dragged allot of toyhaulers to Pismo, Dumont and Glamis with no issues. 55mph is not an issue...LOL

[Big_Daddy_Jp]

As stated above, you really have no need for a diesel. They cost more in maintenance and repairs when they are due. I love my trucks and they were all diesel including my current one but all I use them for is pulling. Can’t beat the torque of a diesel for pulling.

[Dockmaster]

If all you plan to haul is a small trailer, why not just stick with a 1/2 ton? Otherwise you are just paying for more fuel to haul around the weight of a truck you don't need. I'm partial to Ford, but to each his own. The F150, 250 and 350 all use the same cab so no difference there or in creature comforts. Usually you can get more options on a 1/2 ton if there are things you like. In the 1/2 ton I would go drive the newer Eco diesels being offered by everyone and then drive gas versions. Get whatever suites your fancy and budget. Do some math on fuel/mileage and decide what is best for you. You may want to have a look at a Tundra or similar as they are very reliable. 

As others have said, the newer diesels have lost their edge due to all the emissions crap. Mileage isn't really much better than gas and the fuel costs about the same. Get what you like and be happy 😀

[77charger]

13 hours ago, Crusty said:

My '03 6.0 has been as good as it gets for a 3/4 gas truck.

Stay with GMC or Chevy, you'll miss the IFS if it's your daily driver.

I probably fit your profile for needs, but have dragged allot of toyhaulers to Pismo, Dumont and Glamis with no issues. 55mph is not an issue...LOL

Agree i have an 04 like yours only 4wd and its been great.not the fastest but gets the job done.Oh just put a black bear tuned ecu on it definitely noticable gain.

 

As for diesel i would only own an older one new ones too many emissions and reliabilty aint there IMO and would only own if i towed heavy trailer or heavy loads.

[SANDPSYCHO]

I think you answered your own question. Diesel fuel is more, oil changes are more, repairs are more. If you don't need to haul a ton of weight why spend the money to buy and own. The cost isn't just up front. 

[Sausage450r]

Diesel doesnt make sense if you dont need it. Repair costs are 4x’s or more. Service costs way more. Unless you go early to pre smog the mpg is horrible. EVERYTHING Is exponentially more expensive with diesel. I still pay 480$ to register my 20 year old truck. 

The benefit in the past was longevity power and mpg. My wife’s excursion gets 17mpg is extremely safe, we are rolling up to 160k miles on it now, but cons are oil change is 15 quarts i use rotella t5 (120$ if i do it myself) and i change BOTH fuel filters every other oil change @$70 for filters. I did a set of injectors and fuel pump last year to tune of 5k$. 

I would never want to see a major repair bill for a modern diesel! 

If you are buying new daily driver. Get gas if no need for diesel. My friend got the new 7.3 gas and hauls a 30’ toy hauler no problem. My bro in law has an ‘18 diesel ford and gets 6-7 towing and maybe 12 driving. I average 14-15 driving my 7.3 and 12 towing. 

Why not find an older dodge 5.9 for when you need a truck and save yourself 50k$ the  buy a nice new suv for the fam to save fuel and $$

[richard h]

I will dispute the fuel mileage being way less in the new diesel trucks. Had a 99 7.3, loaded towing the mileage is within 1/2 a mpg to the 19 6.7. The new truck is 4x4 also where old truck was 2wd. BUT I drive this truck loaded towing faster down the hiway then I drove the old truck. Still waiting for it to get broken in also as mileage will go up a little when it is.

[J Alper]

Diesel sucks i would get away from it if i could,  it really does not tow any better than a gas on light loads,  i only have a Diesel due to the fact my toyhauler is so heavy,  even it being a 6.7 ford,  i still have to turn it off at some drive through's 

It takes a lot of oil and the maintain the the diesel is expensive,  the only cars i have owned that had to go to a shop have only diesels, the other vehicles i have owned that was a gas vehicle only needed brakes ect...

I would stick with a Gas 2500,  I am a Ford Fan,  but in a gas I think the Chevy is the way to go,  the LS or the LT is a proven platform,  I do not know much about the new gas 7.3 Ford but sounds like a beast,  

Edited October 2, 2021 by J Alper

[Kraut_n_Rice]

Wait until you move out of state, then buy a no emissions diesel truck.  My pre-emission LB7 DMAX would get over 20+mpg running a tune that put 600hp to the tire.. 

[Bansh88]

Great info, everyone.  Appreciated.

My current truck is having issues (new thread coming up) and we currently are in a place to take on a monthly payment. 

I'm definitely partial to Chevy.  But damn, the newer ones are ugly.

[raspadoo]

I have a 2020 super duty with the 6.7 and love it especially paired with the 10 speed. That being said if I could get away with a gasser I would. Diesels are way more problematic and way, way more expensive to maintain and repair. 

[matt86m]

Just picked up my 2013 Chevy 3500 from the shop. $780!!! DEF sucks! Stick with gas if you don't need to haul heavy.

[tjZ06]

I love my '11 Chevy Silverado 2500HD (Duramax/Allison) and it's been an exceptional truck... but it's also been deleted since about 5k miles (approaching 130k miles now).  I'll always have a diesel truck around, even though I went away from 5th wheel toy haulers, I still have heavy enclosed trailers and I'm sure another stacker is in my future.  If I was buying a new truck right now it'd be a 6.7 PSD F450 just to future-proof moving around a big stacker w/o having to always use the RV.  Ford is the only brand that gives you a greater-than-one-ton truck with a real bed, so that kind of settles that.  

Now, that said, I was recently looking at both Ford and RAM HD gassers.  Without going way down a rabbit hole, I have a small offroad trailer and do a lot of off road camping (*cough*overlanding*cough*).  I was thinking about replacing the current Grand Cherokee + trailer setup with just a regular cab, long bed HD truck with a Fourwheelcampers slide-in pop-up camper.  I didn't go that route after all, but the specs on the new gassers, especially the Ford 7.3, are impressive.  The RAM has the nicest interior (though I think Ford is re-doing the Super Duty interiors for '22 or '23) but the Ford wins in drivetrain (7.3 and 10 spd vs. 6.4 and 8 spd).  

Unfortunately Chevy/GMC just aren't in the game for me at this point, just too ugly and the interior is way, way behind.  And I'm a "Chevy guy".  

 

Anyway, for your use case I'd be looking at a F250 w/ the 7.3 gasser probably.  You don't need to pay $10k more for a diesel to pull a little single-axle. 

-TJ

[Bldrinker]

I have had both. 
 

If anyone tells you that you must have a diesel. 
They don’t know chit. 
If anyone tells you that gas is the way to go they also don’t know chit. 
 

The correct answer can never be made as a one size fits all solution. 
 

Depends on

Daily Driver? 
How much are you towing?

How often will you tow?

Do you have to tow at 75mph up hill? 

New or Used? 

Tolerance for costly repairs?

with out knowing the above I can tell you this. 
 

 

Over 13k often diesel. 

My 6.7 powerstroke gets the same mileage my 6.4Hemi got. 
 

 

[Rockwood]

Gas, 1/2 ton. Ram or Ford right now. If just your usual flatbed with quads, tent and a cooler: 2.7 Ford ecoboost has plenty of power, especially with the 10 speed. Chevy cylinder deactivation AND DI is going to be problems eventually, either from gummed up intake ports or lost cylinder deactivation lifters. Ford added port injection to solve the gumming, Ram 1500 is still port injection and their cylinder deactivation is a little more robust. Hemi has exhaust manifold issues, but at least that doesn’t take the motor with it.

Ford “ecoboost” is eco or boost though. Drive it like a grandpa, good mpg. Use the turbos, terrible mpg. 

[MWB]

Buy used, set a budget stick to the budget get the best truck for the money you can find.  You need 4 full sized doors and 4WD other then that buy what you get the most truck with the money you have available. All three of the US trucks are great just stay away from the 6.4 FORD, Even the Yota is a great truck and will last.  Lets face it this truck will take your girls and all of there girlfriends to events and school more than they will take you to Glamis. Thinking your buying the last truck you will need at your age is foolish.

[Orange_R]

On 10/2/2021 at 7:36 PM, matt86m said:

Just picked up my 2013 Chevy 3500 from the shop. $780!!! DEF sucks! Stick with gas if you don't need to haul heavy.

i just did a fan clutch, rear shroud, thermostat and temp sender and doing it myself in my 05 SD was over $800