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Time for a new truck! 3/4 ton options
- Thread starter GAbuckhunter88
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EuroTech
Senior Member
2500 HD Duramax 6.6 diesel is the way to go IMHO!
Love mine with 195,000 and no problems! Towed everything you can think of in the fourteen years I have owned it .
Love mine with 195,000 and no problems! Towed everything you can think of in the fourteen years I have owned it .
Greene728
Senior Member
For you "diesel is higher maintenance crowd" I respectfully disagree. I've had both and towed pretty extensively with both. Yes, the diesel is more up front. However, I assure you that you will recoup the cost in the end whenever that may be. In equal trucks the diesel will get generally much better mpg loaded or unloaded than its gas counterparts. The diesel goes longer on oil changes also. The newer diesels are stretching out to 15k on OCI. Fuel filters can be pricey but are changed once a year at most for Joe Blow truck owner. I change my own fuel filters and purchase them on Amazon for $90 once a year. And DEF is a non issue really. I've had my 15 Ram with the 6.7 Cummins for 16 months now and have added roughly 10 gallons of DEF at a whopping cost of $28 dollars total. Wally World sells it for $7.98 for 2.5 gallon jugs. Bottom line is both engines have their place and one must decide what's best for them in terms of intended use and financial comfort. But the argument of maintenance cost is a wash IMO all things considered. The one area I'd give the gas the nod is in major repairs when the vehicle is out of warranty. The diesel can sure get expensive when it comes to turbos, injectors, fuel systems etc. But man what pulling beasts they are! And reliability has come a long ways in today's diesels with all the big three offerings. I pull a 34ft fifth wheel at 11,500lbs about 15 plus times a year, 24ft deck over GN with tractor slightly less at roughly 9000lbs a few times, and my Cummins truly does it without effort and steadily returns 11-13mpg (speed and weather depending) every time. Unloaded its 17-18.5mpg mixed, and 20-22 interstate. My F-250 I had with the 6.2 gas and 3:73 gears also pulled the same loads and did it ok, but power and fuel economy was abysmal. It was a fine and very reliable truck. But problem was I had a diesel before it and switched to gas for a while for many of the same reasons listed in this post by others. And fact of the matter is I just couldn't adjust and was having torque withdrawals. As someone else stated, once you own and use a diesel for any length of time, anything else is tough to swallow! There is a very good reason the diesel is more up front.
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T-N-T
Senior Member
Not just is diesel more up front,but you get it back at resale.
These extra cost for the motor on day one is mostly returned on the last day when you sell it off.
thumper523
Senior Member
Sierra 2500 HD
I've got a 2012 Sierra 2500 HD 6.0 gas, I've had both gas and diesel. My current 2012 has 295,000 and it still runs great. My rear end is starting to whine a little and it's a flex fuel model too. Gas, E 85, cost $1.67 up here in Chattanooga. Still rides good and comfortable on long trips.
I've got a 2012 Sierra 2500 HD 6.0 gas, I've had both gas and diesel. My current 2012 has 295,000 and it still runs great. My rear end is starting to whine a little and it's a flex fuel model too. Gas, E 85, cost $1.67 up here in Chattanooga. Still rides good and comfortable on long trips.
lonewolf247
Senior Member
The 6.0 is probably the best gas engine GM has ever made, and IMO the best HD gas engine, on the market today. I've even seen a couple reports of them going 1 million miles. Their 1/2 ton engines are good too, and the 6.2L even is rated as more horsepower, but they are made with aluminum blocks, reduce down to 4 cylinders on the hwy, which is all good for fuel economy, but more things that can go wrong.
The 6.0 is a cast iron block, designed to run at low rpms, and built strong and for the long haul, to last. It holds 6 quarts of oil, as the half ton, takes 8.5 quarts. It's designed for fleet use and low maintenance.
I'm not knocking diesel engines at all, they are great, for what they are best designed to do. They are built to work hard on a daily basis, and when it comes to towing heavy loads, the torque they put out, can't be matched with the gas engines, at least not with any level of economy.
However, not everyone tows daily, and runs up and down the interstate making a living, towing across the US. In the OP case, it sounds like he tows occasionally, and with upper moderate loads, at times. Enough, where I would recommend a 3/4 ton truck, over a half ton, but for a daily driver, I recommend a gas engine, when you only tow occasionally.
In my case, a tow a tractor, with heavy duty bush hog or disk, 3-4 times a year, other moderate loads of pipe, scrap iron, wood, etc. Other than that, I tow a fourwheeler trailer several times during the year. However, 90-95% of the time, I'm towing nothing, or nothing heavy at least.
I just think for me, 3/4 ton gas, is all I'll ever own.
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