Who's got GAS?

[Chasnracin]

I have been contemplating trading my TV again. While I love the Duramax/Allison combo, I'm not sure it is the best option for me. The only heavy towing I do is the Monty and that is recreational weekend stuff with the annual big run somewhere. 90% of my driving is highway/city commuting. I've been eyeing a 2010 Chevy 3500 with the big gas in it. Before all of the Diesel guys (me included) jump in, I know the pulling power difference. Just looking at long term difference in cost. Thoughts from you gasser guys and gals?
(BTW, my current mileage is about 13-14 mpg with the LBZ motor. That is the worst diesel hog they ever made!)

[DQDick]

I get 18-20 on the highway with my diesel, but city traffic it's a big no.

[richfaa]

We had a 05 Ford one ton dually gas motor V-10 and the best we got solo was 12MPG.

[bethandkevin]

My 07' D/A gets 15.5 average driving everyday. 12.5 towing Hannah. My big Brother's 02' 8100/Allison gets 13 everyday driving and 6.5-7.5 towing his lighter than Hannah SOB. I pay a little more for fuel than his gas, but I think I'm further ahead. BTW, he says if GM put the 8100 in a new model pickup he'd buy another one.

[bigred715]

You would probably have to buy a lot of gas to make the difference between the price of a diesel rig against the gas. I understand you lose a lot of power in the mountains with a gas rig and have to run up the RPM's to get power. Had a 2005 chevy with gas on a smaller trailer, and it had to work pretty hard.

[Tom S.]

The pluses to gas is initial purchase cost is lower and fuel costs are lower (not taking into consideration fuel economy - just the price of gas vs diesel). Maintenance is lower too, because it doesn't take as much oil when changing it, nor do you have to change the fuel filter as often.

The minuses are trade in / resale value is considerably lower, fuel economy poorer - especially when towing, and towing capacity is typically lower, and even when rated the same or similar, there's a still a large difference on how they pull. Nor do the gasser's have the 'cool factor'!

BTW: If you are averaging 13 - 14 mpg around town, that is not bad. Remember this: a man will lie about two things - and his fuel mileage is one of them. Don't believe people who tell you they get 20 mpg around town, or 18 mpg towing because they are full of manure.

[Carl n Susan]

Hopefully Charlie (aka 8.1al) will be along. In his signature he lists

"2001" 2500HD
8.1
Allison trans.
4.10 rear

And he annually commutes from Michigan to Arizona with his combo.

[Chasnracin]

And I'll miss my "cool factor". :-)

[bigskyjimmy]

Had a Ford F350 V10 before my Duramax, GREAT motor BUT had the wrong gearing 3.50 Not a good combo for towing a 15k rig that Motor was Screaming at 5000RPM going up any Hills... Yikes! Put it out of it's Misery and Bought 03 Duramax LB7 AHHHHHHH 10-12MPG towing and 19-21 Empty, if you buy a Gas even if you are driving mostly HWY you HAVE to have at least 4:10 gears for it to work IMHO

[Hooker]

The term "long term" means diesel.

[GregN]

There is nothing like the smell of diesel in the morning, smells like power. Engine longevity is a factor also.

[8.1al]

As Carl stated we have a 2001 2500HD with the 8.1 liter engine and 4:10 rear. We get on average just shy of 8 mpg towing, 12 city and 13-14 highway. This engine has 340 HP and 455 lb-ft of torque, I have no idea what the power is on the newer models. It has done a respectful job of towing our 14,000 lb. Montana even in mountains and the only time I really wished we had more power was going up a 10% grade. Based on the roads we travel if I had a heavier trailer I would have the Duramax. Hope this helps

[Art-n-Marge]

My opinion is that if you want to keep your truck a long time, then the diesel is the way to go, because fuel savings alone will overcome the initial savings for purchasing a gas engine. Then the first few trips of any distance and the diesel getting double the mileage on the average helps overcome the initial cost of the diesel powerplant. Finally, there is the untold comfort being able to get up and down hills and towing any load with a diesel than hearing your gasser whine. You can't put a price on that.

I think if you asked the opinions of a truck in a forum where the trucks are used at the max loads and you get people rooting for a diesel for the long term. If you go to a different forum and ask about truck for quiet and comfort and frequent trade-ins, then they'll vote for the gasser. The diesel wins for strength, longevity, power and mpgs. The gasser wins on the short term ownership, infrequent load and short term cost.

I knew a contractor who bought gassers once a year because he drove around to sites a lot and wanted to keep things looking new and pretty in order to drum up business while occasionally picking up stuff. But his employees drove diesels that they kept forever and because they were constantly loaded up with tools and materials to perform the jobs their contractor boss got them.

[Phil P]

Hi

Our 2009 Crew Cab DW HD 3500 Duramax gets 16 unloaded and I just finished a 3,800 mile trip and averaged 11.9 loaded. This was a combination of about 75% reasonable smooth ground and 25% steep mountain grades.

Phil P

[Petmoose]

TomS said that there were two things that a man will lie about and one was the mpg.......i wonder what the second is ?

We have a 2011 F350 Diesel and on our trip to Yellowstone last year we averaged 10.5 mpg pulling the 3582 and 18+/- when not pulling the Monty. In a trip from Dallas to Houston my wife averaged 21-22 mpg. We only have 11k on it so I hope it will improve a little with age like I tell my wife everything does. :-)

[richfaa]

The data on the 05 Ford Dually V-10 that I mentioned mirrors what 8.1al says about his 8.1 gasser. I do not think however that we ever saw 13/14 highway. We were overjoyed when we saw 12 maybe 12.5 solo. It also pulled our 06 3400 up all the big ones out west but it made a lot of noise doing it and we ran out of Motor on a few of the big ones.

If I was a weekend camper and a low user I think the gasser would be a good choice. These Montana's are heavy and when you do pull with the gas motor you will know it.

[racerjoe]

We have a 12 ford f250 6.2 v8 with 4:30 gears, 4wd automatic. It tows our monty well. we also camp part time. I feel we made a good choice in going with a gas motor at this time. saved over $7000 dollars from the diesel option. On the road not towing we get about 12 mpg around the area. We took it to N. Carolina from New York, just the truck and got 14.5 to 15 mpg. works for us

[bethandkevin]

I forgot to add in my post, my brother has to drive at least 75 mph to hold 5th gear in his 2002. I don't know what gear is in the r/e. I know this is a major factor in his crappy gas mileage when towing, maybe 8.1al can chime in on this.

[8.1al]

quote:Originally posted by BethandKevin

I forgot to add in my post, my brother has to drive at least 75 mph to hold 5th gear in his 2002. I don't know what gear is in the r/e. I know this is a major factor in his crappy gas mileage when towing, maybe 8.1al can chime in on this.

In tow-haul mode our truck will shift into 5th at 60-62 mph.

[Chasnracin]

Thanks for all he input. Although I would love to step up to a 3500 or a 350, I have already put just over 100k on the 2500 D/A and she has treated me very well. That plus just having put $1700 into her, I think I might just keep it for a while longer. Maybe next year Santa will be good to me.