What's the big deal with a diesel?

[B and C]

I think it boils down to the bigger the load, the bigger the difference in fuel costs. A smaller displacement diesel will pull more weight than a comparable gasoline engine. Put another way, two engines of equal displacement, the diesel will do more work.

Everyone seems to be caught up in double the MPG. Move 15,000 pounds down the road, which do you want? Move a 1,000 pounds down the road? Now throw a mountain grade in there. Tiny cars have tiny engines and big trucks have diesel. If gasoline was efficient at pulling loads, the truck companies would be all over them.

 

[ZoNiE]

Gasoline is a solvent.
Diesel is a lubricant.
Think about that.

 

[ckelly78z]

I currently have a 2004 6.0L diesel Excursion that hauls 8 peopel with luggage, or my 32' RV camper with ease. It gets far better mileage doing these tasks than the other engine option available for that year, and has more power. It does cost about 4.50 a gallon more for diesel, and it is not always available to fill up (especially in desolate areas). It costs about twice as much to fix anything that goes wrong, and uses much heavier duty components because of its weight/power (mine weighs 8200#).

My tow rig before the Excursion was a 1999 F250 with the powerstroke 7.3, and also got good mileage, but cost alot to keep it going down the road.

I would stay away from a Sprinter when the Ford Ecoboost is available.

 

[sushidog]

I chose a gas motorhome because of the problems and expense of owning a diesel. I originally bought a 6.4l ford diesel pick-up to tow a trailer for full-timing after I retired. It didn't make it that long. The engine died at less than 150k miles (even though it was maintained by the book) and the shops wanted over $15k to put another rebuilt one in it. In contrast I can have another gas engine put in my MH for around $4k. Heck it would cost about the same just to replace the dual turbocharger assy in my 6.4l diesel as the entire V-10 engine on my motorhome. I hear the 6.7l fords (and the old 7.3) are more reliable than either the 6.0 (which do better after the $10k-$13k head gasket/stud bulletproof repair) or the 6.4 though.

Yes diesels get better fuel mileage (though in most of the country diesel costs more than regular gas - in Louisiana, where I used to live, costs more than premium) but the maintenance costs are much higher than gas engines too. Modern diesels take DEF, adding another expense.

I think the reason for going to a diesel is for the additional power they make, not overall economy, which can prove to be more than operating a gas engine when the added cost of fuel, maintenance and repairs are taken into consideration.

Chip

 

[Pleasant Travels]

this sold me off sprinters:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fatal-flaw-mercedes-benz-sprinters-tom-robertson

Yes,...but the 5-cyl Sprinters (before the models with V6s this guy is rightly trashing) were and still are awesome.

 

[Pleasant Travels]

For comparison - I currently have a 2006 Chevy Express 2500 with the 6.6 Duramax diesel motor. I bought it as a former locksmithing vehicle with 214,000+ miles on it. I was willing to do that only because (all things being equal, with exact same use and maintenance) diesel motors will last twice as long or longer than gas motors. It is not uncommon for the Cummins, Powerstrokes or Duramaxes to go well past 400,000 miles if taken care of. I've seen more than a few with over 500,000 and even 600,000! My mechanic checked my van out before I bought it and we expect it to go at least another 200,000.

Previously, I drove a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan with the efficient 3.3 liter V6,...exactly half the displacement of my Duramax van. If I didn't let my foot get heavy, I could eek out about 20mpg on the highway when empty. But if I hooked up my hot dog cart to the hitch and threw about 400 lbs of coolers filled with ice and sodas in the back, mpg dropped to 15, and in town to about 13mpg. By contrast, my Duramax van gets about 17 or 18 highway empty, but when I have my 24ft cargo trailer connected, I still get about 14mpg. The same model year of van but with the gasoline 6.0 vortec gets about 14mpg empty. With my huge trailer? Try 9mpg!!

 

[tripper]

Diesels just cruise up steep grades nicely, not having to rev the engine up super high. They get great MPG. The drawbacks are the good ones; about 2006 and older (7.3 engines only for Fords); are getting older now and do still have the usual wear and tear items going out. I have a 93 Cummins Dodge 4x4 truck with large all terrain tires that gets 20 mpg, it has been having a few breakdowns due to its age, I would call it more of a tinkerers vehicle. I have a 2003 Duramax Chevy 4x4, it also gets 20mpg (15mpg towing my small 5th wheel), it has only needed a water pump in 10 years of driving it. The problem with diesel American trucks is the good ones are all hitting 2 decades old now. Being really familiar with all three big truck makers, as far as ease of working on and/or least expensive mechanical repairs the Cummins trucks are by far the easiest to work on.

For vans, the Mercedes diesels are nice but extremely expensive to work on. I had a really nice Toyota High Ace diesel van in Japan for 6 years that got great mileage and never broke; they do not sell them in USA.

 

[ckelly78z]

about 2006 and older (7.3 engines only for Fords); are getting older now and do still have the usual wear and tear items going out. 

Ford stopped making the 7.3 PS in 2003, so half of the diesel pickup trucks that year had 7.3s, and the other half had the 6.0L.

 

[wagoneer]

I still regret selling my Duromax. But the 3/4 ton 1995 Cummins was a great investment for me the inline 6 is a robust motor gas or diesel. 28 Gallon tank I look for a gas station about 450 to 500 miles.

 

[jillybean]

[quote='Thanks Speedhighway46! Thats the way Im heading,  Now to choose a dodge or chevy or ford......! Any "]
 

And one last thing . . . don’t buy any van or truck that is made by Mercedes: mechanically complicated and shop rates for repair at dealers are through the roof.

Just my opinion . . .
[/quote]

 

[highdesertranger]

"Now to choose a dodge or chevy or ford"

stay away of Front wheel drive. throw away vehicles IMO.

highdesertranger

 

[jillybean]

Jillybean the regular maintenance (oil changes, filters and ect.) on a vehicle is something every vehicle owner should be knowledgeable enough to do or at least make sure it is done properly and on time.  If you find a good mechanic and if like most nomads you follow the weather it should be fairly easy to visit your mechanic at least once a year and probably twice a year coming and going.  

 
Oh, I understand! I will look into that for sure! That makes me feel better already. Thanks again Bullfrog.

 

[jillybean]

Brian, You love your Roadtrek?? That is on my list to check out, that and the Pleasure Way. LOVE LOVE THEM!! Altho' I havent looked at a class C yet and they arent that much bigger....... I got rid of all of brians text, hope you can see this Brian. LOL

 

[jillybean]

"Now to choose a dodge or chevy or ford"

stay away of Front wheel drive.  throw away vehicles IMO.

highdesertranger

 Will do highdesertranger!

 

[ZoNiE]

The 6.0 and 6.4 Fords were over stressed and broke a lot. The emissions controls were new and troublesome, like gassers in the 70's. The 6.7 is good. The GM Duramax and Allison are hard to beat in a pickup. The Cummins are good, but the rest of the Ram Trucks have too many little problems.
I have a caterpillar. 1996, no emissions, passes emissions tests, runs great, climbs hills and I get about 10MPG. For a 9 ton flat front RV, that's not bad.

 

[jillybean]

Hi ZoNie,    I will be buying an RV, not a pickup. I am talking about a Roadtrek or something like it and see they have different engines (as far as I can tell I dont pay that much attention but notice some have the dodge or ford or whatever symbol on the front). So does this info still apply toward an engine that is in something else besides a pickup? I love pickups but dont really want to pull a trailer if I dont have to.

 

[wagoneer]

"Now to choose a dodge or chevy or ford"

stay away of Front wheel drive.  throw away vehicles IMO.

highdesertranger

How can a vehicle that large be pulled by one front tire effectively. Perhaps in the city?

 

[B and C]

Roadtreks are generally chevy, dodge or mercedes powered. Pleasure way is powered by ford (don't know if they have another drivetrain). I haven't kept up with the newer stuff as I can't afford it and really don't want them. I have what fits me well and will spend more than its' book value to keep it running. Mine is a chevy.

 

[jillybean]

i wont be getting a new one either for sure, have a certain budget im trying to keep under and they are all older ones like early to mid 2000's. Thanks Brian!

 

[Pleasant Travels]

If getting a class C or other van-based diesel, be aware that those motors are specifically tuned differently than the trucks.

For instance, my 2006 Express with the 6.6 Duramax is rated at 250 horsepower and 460 foot pounds of torque, while the same motor in the Silverado in the same year was rated at 360 horsepower and 650 foot pounds of torque. Why? Because the engine bays in the vans (both Chevy and Ford) are more cramped and do not allow the same amount of airflow as in the pickups. And since heat is the killer of diesels, without good enough airflow to carry that heat away, the engineers de-tuned the van diesels to make them slightly more tame and to not generate as much heat. That also means they perform at a little lesse level than the trucks.

That is not necessarily a bad thing. As I say, I am quite happy with my van and it does enough to satify my needs. But because of this de-tuning, the vans sometimes last better than the trucks do with some of the notorious Ford failures. The 6.0 liter Powerstroke, specifically. Although the problems and failures of the 6.0 PS in the 2003-2005 models is of legendary status,...those issues were finally determined to have stemmed from not only poorly-designed emmissions controls, but excess heat generated by these powerful motors exacerbated the poor emmissions designs. But Ford vans with 6.0 Powerstrokes have had a MUCH lower occurrance of the issues experienced in the truck model engines. And with Ford having rectified most of those issues for the 2006-2010 engines, the vans of those later years were even less adversely affected.

All this is to say that while there are people who will tell you to avoid the Ford 6.0 Powerstroke vehicles like the plague, that really only applies to the trucks. I was set on getting a Ford E350 with a 6.0 myself when I was van shopping. I just happened to find a Chevy Express with a Duramax at a screaming good price, so I went that route.

The earlier 7.3 Powerstroke Ford vans (1995-2003) are also similarly detuned, but slightly less capable, with only 215 horses and 425 torque. But the motor is legendarily reliable and has an excellent reputation. It was the last of the V8 diesels that can safely be run on biodiesel fuel with a ratio higher than 20% veggie oil,...if that's important to you.