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Old 10-16-2013, 04:06 PM   #21
gearhead
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John I agree 100% on the numbers of gas vs. diesel $. If I could get a Chevy truck with a 502 motor I would probably go that direction. Our 6.0 gasser pulled fairly well in some longer uphills in Kentucky on the interstate, but I was "up on the wheel" for sure. No time for daydreaming. Looking way down the road and planning my moves so I wouldn't get bogged down by a surprise long pull or get caught in a pick by a 18 wheeler.
For you guys that recently bought crewcabs: did you get longbeds or standard? Whichever, would you do it again? I'm thinking 1 ton SRW long bed, giving room for a small toolbox; but dang I don't look forward to maneuvering through mall lots and boat ramps. Has anyone got recent experience in the ride quality of long bed vs. short??
Any input would help!
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Old 10-16-2013, 04:28 PM   #22
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Good reasoning of real world conditions but in my neck of the woods the reality is there are considerable discounts on the diesel option coupled with the fact that the diesel option is paid back as soon as you sell your truck at anytime after 4 or 5years. Might also add , that in my experience most diesels will exceed gassers mileage by an even wider spread not towing versus towing in all round driving.

I do agree that if your total mileage driven is low and includes short trips often, and you trade often, a gasser may be the way to go.

One thing I have found that if towing a larger 5th or TT it is easier to refuel with diesel and have room to maneuver at fill stations than to access gas (more often) at tighter fill stations.

Having at least double the size of factory fuel tank is a BIG + in my experience
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Old 10-16-2013, 06:23 PM   #23
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Littlejoe,

If we were towing over a 10K fifth wheel, I'd have a F250 XLT supercab long bed diesel. That's what I had previously in 93 (7.3L NA) and in 99 (7.3L turbo). Both performed flawlessly, were better than gas in mileage and power and when I sold them, I got back "most" of my investment. I'm definitely not against diesels. Heck if money were no object, I'd have at least one, maybe two <wink> But, given the reality of today's economy, the "stability" (or lack of increases) in retirement income, the uncertainty of the fuel market, the American economy and where it may be headed along with a host of other considerations, budget drives a great portion of my decisions.

It really hit home a couple of years ago when my grand daughter asked, "Grandpa, would you cosign for me to buy a new car?" The reality of having to live on what we have coming in and no longer being able to "work an extra shift" or "see a few more patients" or "add one more surgery to the schedule" to make up the loss if she defaulted hit home. When you look at the reality of living on a fixed income, even if there's more than enough right now, I just don't want to overextend on something that's "nice to have but not necessary"

15 years ago, 20 years ago, it was 'devil may care...buy it, we've got credit" Back then, we had lots of time left in the workforce to earn the money even for some mistakes in judgement. That's no longer our situation and I'd suppose the same is true for the majority of retirees and "near retirees" on the forum.

That reality is what motivated me to do the math, so to speak. Don't get me wrong, we're not "destitute" not even close. We have more than we need and feel very fortunate that we are able to do what we want, pretty much when we want without regard to budget. But there is an end to what's available for the future, and sometimes a choice doesn't include what would be "nice to have" or "the pick of the litter" rather buying what's practical for the situation at hand and being "thrifty" is prudent.

The gas vs diesel topic will be discussed till all is frozen down under, and not everyone will see the other side of the coin even then. My motivation for posting the comparison of fuel costs and payback for the diesel cost was just to put light on another part of the decision making process that some may not have thought about.
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Old 10-16-2013, 07:33 PM   #24
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at one time the power advantage of the diesel over gas was pretty signficant, and diesel fuel cost much less.

Now the fuel cost advantage is gone, and to a large extent the power advantage as well.

so, I agree, trying to justify a diesel on economics, or a huge towing advantage doesn't really pan out anymore. It's really a which do I want, pick one.

I love our duramax, would buy a diesel again, but its personal preferance, not economics or any big towing advantage.
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Old 10-18-2013, 06:02 PM   #25
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Rockies new Duramax

Hello Rocky, I too have a new Duramax but 2012 with 249 miles. I LOVE it. My fourth diesel. GMC Detroit, Toyota 4cyl, Chev suburban Detroit. This one is leap years ahead. The best driving vehicle I have ever owned. You do have to be aware of where you buy your fuel. WIth one, I get 19+ consistantly. With another 17.5 and with a third 18.5. I have been playing with shifting by the RPM gauge and seem?? to do better esp at low speeds. Anyone else trying this?

Enjoy your truck Rocky!
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Old 10-19-2013, 10:45 AM   #26
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JRTJH

I fully understand your reasoning and you put it very well. I too am approaching time where a lot of "other" things have to be considered as room to wiggle out of a bad decision is growing smaller.
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Old 10-20-2013, 04:55 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleJoe View Post
JRTJH

I fully understand your reasoning and you put it very well. I too am approaching time where a lot of "other" things have to be considered as room to wiggle out of a bad decision is growing smaller.
At what age does this approaching time begin? I am serious with this question. I work in healthcare and we are seeing the hits big time this quarter. 2014 is gonna be fun!😱
But I want, but don't need a new truck. So this is on my mind.
Thanks
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Old 10-20-2013, 05:45 PM   #28
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New Duramax

I have a 2008 2500 HD Duramax with the Allison transmission and I have no problem at all pulling my 2014 Fuzion 300 at around 10,000 pounds loaded. My miles per gallon are a little bit harder to calculate since I lifted the truck and also changed to a bigger tires. But it is around 12-10 miles per gallon pulling and 15-16 when not.
LOVE the 665 lb-ft!


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Old 10-20-2013, 05:47 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by byrdr1 View Post
At what age does this approaching time begin? I am serious with this question. I work in healthcare and we are seeing the hits big time this quarter. 2014 is gonna be fun!��
But I want, but don't need a new truck. So this is on my mind.
Thanks
Randy
Randy Sent this!!
5 years before we planned to retire we started living on what we anticipated would be our retirement income. The remaining income we put into investments. We learned to live "frugally" but still had enough to do what we truly wanted. Once we retired, we found that the expenses associated with employment were no longer there and we actually had more money than we expected to have.

To answer your question about "when that age creeps up" for us, it was about age 50. We realized our debt load, calculated how long it would take to have a zero debt balance and started looking for ways to get OUT of debt. You can't (at least we couldn't) take on a 50K debt for a new truck and "somehow" manage not to have to pay for it.... So, we started thinking along the lines of being "reasonable" rather than getting "anything we wanted" and so far, we've found that it seems to work LOL

That's why I'm driving a gas F250 rather than a diesel. If I got what I wanted, it would have been a diesel, but rather I got what I needed..... If we'd have bought a larger fifth wheel..... then it would have been diesel, not because we wanted it, but because we'd have needed it....

Others may have different views, but this is what has worked for us.

Oh, and I was (am) in health care also.
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Old 10-21-2013, 08:11 AM   #30
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AND THAT IS WHY I HOPE NOTHING BAD HAPPENS TO MY DIESEL. I HAVE REACHED THE BREAK EVEN POINT IF I HAD TO DO IT AGAIN I WOULD BE DEAD BY THEN. GREAT POST JOHN!!
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Old 10-21-2013, 09:52 AM   #31
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Barney,

It seems I find myself asking the question, "Will I be able to use this enough (before I die) to justify the expense?" and "Will I be able to pay for this before I kick the bucket?" more and more lately.

It seems "foreign" to me to think along the lines of, "I'll be 86 when this is paid for"

What ever happened to the days of cars being financed for 36 months and most consumer loans being 24 months? Nowdays, I've started seeing car financing for 84 months. That's 7 years.... Just one day less than an "EON"

You see more and more "news reports" of people that are nearing "retirement age" who suddenly realize that they don't have enough money to retire and they "reluctantly report the sad news" that they can't retire when they expected to because they don't have enough money saved. It's unfortunate they are in that situation, but realistically, "devil may care" enjoyment of life (buying expensive things they really don't need) is a big contributing factor in causing that situation for many people. Sure there are those who can afford it and unfortunately, there are probably many more who "try to afford it" and wind up working until they're 70 or older before they get out of debt and can afford to retire.

I'm just relating that sometimes, for many "middle income" people, buying the "biggest and baddest" may not play into the game plan as well as staying realistic. Sort of like: Who needs a dually F350 diesel to tow a pop-up camper? Sure, it'd be "nice" but "necessary"???? Saving the $30K by getting an F150 rather than that F350 could make a difference. That money may come in really handy when you're 65 and trying to figure out how to retire.
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Old 10-23-2013, 04:18 AM   #32
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When I bought my truck diesel was cheaper than gasoline....:-(


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Old 10-23-2013, 05:18 AM   #33
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Yes, me too, 2014Fuzion300. When I bought my first diesel, gas was 39 cents a gallon and diesel was 24. Two months later, gas was 39 cents a gallon and diesel was 44. Just my "luck" and it's never stopped going in the wrong direction

I well remember the days when Conoco Conotane was 19 cents a gallon and diesel was 11 cents. Of course back then, hamburger was 3 pounds for a dollar and bread was 29 cents a loaf too.....

We bought a new Chevy Vega GT in 1972 for $1800, and our 72 Dodge D200 was $3600. Our 26' Airstream (a new 68 model "leftover" cost $6200 in 1970) and our 20' Jayco Jayraven listed for $2800 and we paid $1900 "out the door"

Those were the days, but I'm afraid they're gone forever
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Old 10-23-2013, 10:52 PM   #34
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Yes, me too, 2014Fuzion300. When I bought my first diesel, gas was 39 cents a gallon and diesel was 24. Two months later, gas was 39 cents a gallon and diesel was 44. Just my "luck" and it's never stopped going in the wrong direction

I well remember the days when Conoco Conotane was 19 cents a gallon and diesel was 11 cents. Of course back then, hamburger was 3 pounds for a dollar and bread was 29 cents a loaf too.....

We bought a new Chevy Vega GT in 1972 for $1800, and our 72 Dodge D200 was $3600. Our 26' Airstream (a new 68 model "leftover" cost $6200 in 1970) and our 20' Jayco Jayraven listed for $2800 and we paid $1900 "out the door"

Those were the days, but I'm afraid they're gone forever
By those figures, everything can be multiplied by right at ten.


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Old 11-08-2013, 08:27 PM   #35
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I have a 2011 F-250 6.7 diesel pulling a Cougar 327RES. I haven't ran across scales to determine the loaded weight, but the unloaded spec is 10,160 lbs. Just returned from a trip to the coast. Mileage was 11.6 mpg according to the on-board computer. Typically I get 19.1 without pulling the 5'er.

I definitely agree with an earlier posting that an advantage of diesel, is that you typically have more room to maneuver at diesel fuel tanks. I previously had a gas motorhome and I found myself in some rather tight gas fill stations.
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Old 11-09-2013, 06:22 AM   #36
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I had never owned a diesel until a year and a half ago. Always told myself they weren't worth the extra money. Then we had a big drought and I had to cut the cow herd back quite a bit. My old 3/4 ton, gas 5.9, 2001 Dodge had 265,000 on it and I knew that sooner or later it would need to be replaced so now was a good time. The government would grab a good share of the cow money if I didn't reinvest it in the farm so I started watching craigslist. I found a 2005 Dodge 3/4 5.9 diesel, equipt just like I wanted with 47,000 miles( guy had kept it in a shed and rarely used it) The greatest investment I ever made in a truck. It gets 22 mpg empty and my old gas never got better than 13-14 mpg! It has so much more pulling power it is shocking. Drags my Outback or a full stock trailer like there is nothing back there. I wouldn't go back to gas to pull with or for a daily driver.
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Old 11-16-2013, 08:05 PM   #37
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Well guys all this talk about new trucks. Yep got me one and it was her idea. 2014 GMC Sierra 3500HD DRW, 6.6TD, Metalic Moca color, Tan interior and all the bell and whisles. I have added AMP Research electric retracting steps and their bed step (cause I'm short), color matched linex bed liner, Pullrite ISR Series Super 5th - 16K and a Back Flip bed cover that folds back when I'm towing. I've only towed locally just to get the feel of the Monty and check the level when towing. I love it and can't wait till our first trip at Thanksgiving.

Now I do have a question. I went to check tire pressure on the rear duallys, what an adventure. Does anyone with a dually have the valve stem extenters installed?
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Old 11-19-2013, 08:05 PM   #38
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I use them. Got them at Genosgarage.com Good quality and price. It is a Dodge only webstore but they might sell some to ya
Make sure you have steel valve stems though. Much easier to air up or down for requirements
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