I pay 5.50 for the oil filter and 9.50 for the fuel filter at peterbuilt. ballwin filters

 

Zap, trust me the dealer didn't sit there for 10minutes to get the tank full. the only way to check mileage is to fill the tank til you can see it in the spout....harder this time of year with the frothy winter fuel. Your can easily get 4 or 5 gallons more in the tank from when the filler clicks off. Reset the overhead milage. Reset the trip odometer and drive it till you want to fill it up again. Fill it again to the top of the spout and divide the gallons into the miles on the trip od. Check with the overhead. Repeat. If you do this the overhead is very close to calculated unless you have a fueling box. ks

 

Same here, 655 miles when tank is on E. DTE reads 35-45 miles. Diesel went up in my area 10c overnight (Fri/Sat) to $2.89. It's getting tuff to swallow. I've already cut back on my weekend trips, pulling the 5er less often and doing less joy riding. Mostly to and from work with a stop here and there for stuff we need.

 

Yep--this will be my last oil burner. Gas trucks getting better and with fuel going nuts and despite what some well meaning people think it will never come back down like it used to be! Hell you even get a tax break on a oil burner and with more cars buring oil this just puts more pressure on the price of fuel. In 5 years you will see the big three selling a lot less big oil burners like what is rolling around now. I can scrape by with a .5 ton and would go get one now except the value of our trucks is in the crapper.

 

The only reason I drive a diesel is because I tow about 70k. per year,so I have no choice.With diesel high like it is now and the cost of maintentance,plus cost of the diesel option - the cost of ownership is way to high ,plus i personally don't like a diesel and would never drive one full time for anything other than work.but lots of people enjoy driving them for fun and thats very expensive.I'd rather spend my 38k for a new 300-hemi or a new challenger -hemi,for a personal ride.

 

Me and wife commute 110 mile round trip mon thru fri in her toyota truck. I drive mine some,06 2500 4x4 ctd 6spd.I got rid of a 2000 chevy 3500 srw auto 5.7 4x4, best I got out of it was 12mpg. My new dodge is a reg cab and I wanted to get something to pull when I need it, mostly firewood and lumber.I work with some guys with diesels also and we talk about fuel prices like everyone else.I don't know what I'll do if diesel goes beyond $3.00 a gal.I know I'm not paying $100.00 to fill my truck if it comes to that, I'll just take an *** whipping when I trade it in.I had an 83 nissan maxima with a inline 6cyl diesel that got 43mpg,this was the same motor they put in thier 1ton and 2 ton trucks.I know the auto makers can and will make a diesel that performs and gets good mpg's but I guess they will wait for diesel to hit $5.00 a gallon before they produce them.I have already put dynatrac hubs on my truck and looking to put 35's on it to bring the rpms down a bit with the g56,get better mpgs,that means a lift also, oops.....

 

I don't blame everyone for complaining. I had a 2004 1500 Quad cab Hemi. The dang thing only got 15 MPG. I got into Horses so I stepped up to a 3500 Quad cab 2x4 with the CTD. I am getting 16 MPG with the same driving habits. If I watch it I can get 18 to 19 MPG. The Hemi couldn't pull crap. I have no issues with the CTD at all. Diesel prices suck. I used to put middle grade in my Hemi. Really see no difference. I didn't put anything custom on my 1500. Can't say that for the CTD.

 

it was a nicer world when i bought my truck,,yeah, i remember diesel was cheaper than gas (2004) one of the reasons why i bought a diesel. i do tow a trailer about 3 times a year on vacation, the other reason why i bought a diesel,,i got 6mpg towing with the gasser, get 13.5 towing with the diesel,,if i had a 36 ft trailer i would feel better about the whole thing,,you know,,something you can"t pull with a gasser! I have to admit,,it"s a dam nice truck and a sheer joy to drive that"s why i intend to keep it

 

I love the average 17.6mpg I get in my 3/4TON 4x4 TRUCK! Your expectations seem to need a little adjustment.

 

You really have not got enough miles on your truck to even be talking about mileage yet. That engine is so tight it wants to break a motor mount every time you shut it down.

If your overhead computer has a function that shows you the mileage your getting as you drive, second to second, use it to find you best mileage at a given speed.

My ole nut cracker at 155k gets 19-20 up and down the road under 50 mph. Above 50 to 65 on the hwy its about the same non stop running. 68mph is my best mileage for the hwy above 65. 70 or higher is drops off 17 and lower.

I use an excel spread sheet to keep track of mileage and maintenance. I noticed over the years as the price of fuel goes up, my mileage has gone up as well.

Dave

 

My 92 ctd is the first work truck I have been able to keep for 10 yrs. It has been so unbeleivably reliable compared to all the other gassers I have had, I bought another 02 ctd with 29k miles.

My 92 with over 300,000 miles has saved me from having to buy 3 trucks now. Unless you like something new every few years, or you dn't maintain it, there's no reason your new ctd won't end up a money saver in the long haul.

I have had my old 92 everywhere. It's been with me so long it's like family. I could not trade it in, it's so good. I used it in my contracting biz full time and have done jobs alot of long distances. Give it a chance, get a fuel pressure guage installed, it's paramount. It will prove itself in time.


BTW, I origonally paid $13,800 for the 92 and now I believe it is still worth around 6-7 thousand. A gasser, would be worth about a fourth that if any.

 

I agree with you on this,it is the only true way to get correct fuel mileage readings.coobie

 

If you're having second thoughts, and say you only bought the diesel for "Looks", maybe diesels aren't for you.

Another point to remember......




The driver of this rig hit a Big Truck head on and is still with us.
Do you think he would have survived in a Honda?

I'll take my 7,000 pound Diesel Dually @ 20 MPG hwy, 16 city.
"I'd Rather Be A Hammer Than A Nail"

 

Ditto, Ditto, and Ditto on the milage. Realistically, I get between 18 and 21-depending on my commute to work, which is mostly highway, and some city. I putt around at 60 to 65mph.

Where I save my costs is, as said before- longgevity of the truck, 150k-200k miles no questions. More likely between 300 and 450k with good maitainence. The resale 3-5k more than a gasser, and since I changed to synthetic motor oil, I change it out at 15k miles. It costs me about 25 buck to do it myself, including filter, but In a gasser, I would be changing it about 3x as often, for about 20 bucks.

Yeah, diesel fuel is higher than even premium, but honestly, when you compare trucks to trucks, diesel is the clear choice. (And when the gas and oil run out or get to expensive, you can run her on McDonald's used fry oil, you know Mickey-D's will NEVER go out of business!!) Finally, if all of that is not enough, which is where I was at with my wife; wait until you need to tow your inlaw's crap around, or haul a bunch of rock or lumber or whatever to the house for her 'new' project. She'll see your truck in a whole new light! Try hauling 14k with an Acura or Geo !!

One more thing. I used to drive a Subaru WRX. After many near-misses, and one collision due to other drivers not seeing my small car, I got my truck. I know now that if I get hit, I am way safer in that than a puny car. I also have a commanding view of the road. Try that on her. Tell her you bought it for her safety .

 

As far as surviving the crash issue...some of the small cars have some amazing crash structures that greatly aid the chances of survival, I've seen some crash data on the new Honda civic right from Honda (I am a tech with Honda) and it is extremely impressive how well it holds up to front impacts...another good example is the smart car, which you can also buy in diesel!

Amazing Smart car crash test!