Running into a barracade @ 50 mph is one thing.
Hitting an oncomming vehicle that outweighs you by several thousand pounds and traveling at speed is quite another.

Just comparing apples to apples.

 

Did anyone suggest that? If so, I must have missed it.

That's precisely what I meant by "horses for courses". I commute in an Acura. I tow a heavy 5th wheel with the Ram 3500. Towing the 5th wheel with the Acura makes as much sense to me as commuting in the dually. The only difference is that I will do the latter if I absolutely must. YMMV.

Rusty

 

Agreed about the apples to apples or apples to oranges comparison...how would a CTD do slamming into a strong enough barricade at 50mph? Maybe as well. Just trying to show that just because a car is small doesn't mean it can't be safe. The SMART car has been rated as one of the safest cars ever made...smallest also. Like I said new Civics have very impressive crash data as well, Hard to say for sure how they would stand up against a semi though . The real issue here though is that either way a 7500lb truck shouldn't be expected to get 40+mpg. The mileage most are getting is respectable and usually better than a gasser, the extra $6k will be re-imbursed on resale and some places diesel is still reasonable...relatively. Where I live diesel has again come back down to be about the same as regular gas and sometimes even a penny or two a liter cheaper.

 

I filled up last night. I had 541.3 miles on the trip meter. I put 31.2 gallons in the tank (up the neck just like I always do). Most of the 541.3 miles was at 75 to 80 mph highway with a 750 Brut Force Kawaski ATV (close to 800 lbs) in the bed of the truck. So now lets do the math 541.3 / 31.2 = 17.35 which I NEVER GOT IN MY GASSER - loaded or unloaded (Chevy 454). I run 265/70/17 tires with a 3.73 rearend. Most times I stop for fuel when the trip meter is around 598 miles at which time it usually takes about 30 gallons. Again doing the math = 19.93 mpg (half and half between highway and around town driving). The overhead has always been within 2 or 3 gallons of the hand calc. I now have 31K miles on the truck.

 

My last tank was 535.3 miles on 32.92 gallons, works our to 16.34mpg...80%+ city driving. That is also on winter grade diesel. Like you said about the 454...mine was propane powered and I was lucky to see 6-8mpg unloaded, it was roughly 3-4mpg loaded on the highway!! I would use roughly 250liters (66gallons) of propane to go approx 600km(403miles) in the city unloaded. I really do love the diesel thing and for me there's no lookin back but again if you don't have huge need for a truck, don't buy one thinking you'll get great economy.

 

True...true....I already was rear-ended on the Miata by a big (lifted) truck that swears never saw me.....he was behind me in a red light and when the light changed to green, he just nail it and ripped-off all my rear trunk....!!!!! the speed was maybe 5MPH do not want to imagine if the hit was at 55MPH...!!!

Wife agrees on the safety side...she never feels confortable in the Miata.....she feels like she's in a Go-Kart.......and she's right.

 

My last two tanks were 732.8 and 747.1 miles. Both fillups were right around 33 gallons. I try and put in about 2 gallons past the first "click" (~31 gallons the last two times).

 

I know, you would never haul 14k with a comuter car, I was only trying to give some ammo so that if yer stuck with only being able to afford 1 vehicle, make it a good one -CTD!!

I do totally agree with you on getting a commuter car to save $$. A VW Jetta TDi or a Prius, or one of the many great commuter car out there is a great choice to save gas.

Oh, yeah I forgot to mention that I LOVE the interior room my truck has. I am a big guy-6'4" 250lbs. I really like the way I can stretch out in my truck, adjust the seat perfectly, and cruise. It makes the commute much more enjoyable than being cramped into a smaller car.

 

wow!!! I've never got more than about 520 with 33-34 gallons.

Diesel prices here in the Pacific NW just jumped .30 a gallon last night. 2.99 a gallon now.
I still wont give up my diesel for anything else....

 

700+ miles? wow thats great. I wish I could figure how to get 23-24 mpg. out of mine.

 

Guys, Check out gasbuddy.com....they have diesel searches on the left side once you pick your state. Diesel mileage varies somewhat by brand of fuel I find. I use Standyne performance and I get about .6 to 1 mpg more. ks

 

Diesel just hit $3.00 at the Texaco near me. Does'nt surprise me because they are always 10-15 cents higher than everyone else in the county. I can imagine what it'll cost by the time summer gets here.

 

I don't know where you buy your diesel but it definitely pays to go to a truck stop. The local Speedway station is selling diesel for $2.68 and four miles away the Pilot and Flying J are $2.39. That is almost $10.00 less for a fill-up.
Fuel is usually fresher too because the truck stops obviously sell more of it.