I am cosidering making the switch fom gasser to diesel in the future.My wife and I would like to move up to a 5er in our retirement. Having never had a diesel before, I have a mountain of questions. MPG, maintenance, towing ability, and differences from gassers, biggest thing you had to get used to, just to name a couple.

My question is this. If you had a friend that was thinking of making the switch to diesel, and asked for your advice, what would you tell him. I am admttedly very under educated in the world of the diesel environment .

Thanks fo the help. I figured the best place to start was with the experts.

 

I also am new at this. Have had the truck for a couple of years, but have not towed much.
What size and weight 5er are you looking at? Then find what you will need to tow the 5er. Lot of different opinions on what is "best." Read the RV magazine, look at back issues. There are towing guides on line.
The 3500 dually is more stable when towing, in my opinion, but have not towed that much.
There are people on here that have a lot of experience, get their opinions, go out and look at the trucks that are available.
Have fun doing it.
Keep us posted on what your looking at.

 

I would advise getting a Dodge. If you plan on traveling a lot, get a dually. I like the auto trannie. The trannie can be improved a lot by mods ( about $4000) but not a necessity, it should last a long time and comes with an exhaust brake. The other thing I would do is get gauges - EGT,fuel pressure, boost, so you can monitor performance and note any changes.

 

im going to use the typical people that i see on the freeway ALOT with a gas truck and camper, mid 50's couple with a 2001+ chevy HD with a 6.0 gas motor. gets about 9 mpg towing if your lucky, 3 or 4 mpg in the mountains, dosent have the get up and go power of a diesel and dosent pull the best in the mountains, not the best tranny, struggles ALOT, about all diesels newer than 2003 offers easily over 300 horsepower and 500 ft-lbs of torque, and can do that towing almost anything at 14 mpg, your looking at 17 usually when unloaded. a diesel will walk all over a gasser in the mountains and out on the flat. performance modifications also gain you alot more power per dollar than with the gas motors, you can never open the motor up and make almost 500 horsepower at the wheel with just bolt ons, you can do that with a gas motor but that is a $$4,000 supercharger and your mileage still suffers, with a diesel you can shut the electronics down and run stock, air filter/70 horse power box/gauges and you will have a decent truck to pull with. got to get EGT and trans temp gauges atleast, dont want to melt anything down in the mountains, no matter what anyone tells you, diesels are the NEW musclecars. diesel is cheaper at most stations too.

maintenance is good oil/grease/fluid in everything from the rearend to the tranny and to the motor, 15-40 Rotella or Delo, alot of guys run AmSoil or RedLine oil, they are all good in my eyes. probably wouldnt hurt to get you a Mag-Hytec or PML rearend cover and a deeper tranny pan to hold extra fluid. no matter what diesel you pick Cummins/Duramax/Powerstroke, there is enough guys out there on the net to help you with your decision, here it is more biased toward dodge/cummins. did that help any?????

 

I would recommend the diesel. I prefer cummins, but would consider the duramax. Both offer good 6 speed auto trans. Ford has had some problems with their new engines. MPG's vary. Dodge & chevy also happen to get the best, Upper teens to low 20's (after break in). Maintenance wise change your fuel filter every 10,000 & oil & filter every 5,000. These are generally considered fairly standard intervals. Thats really the only difference from a gasser. For daily drivers or towing I would recommend diesels. Towing a lot, then a dually would be ok, other wise 2 extra tires & slight decrease in mpg. Gauges for towing also a good idea. Diesels are longer lasting, better performance, better mpg...ect. You will pay more for them but you will get that back when you sell it or replace it after 500,000 miles. Not to mention the fuel savings. If you plan to tow or put a lot of miles on a truck, than a diesel is the way to go hands down!

 

Those are some great answers. It's a whole different world on the diesel side. You wonder if diesel is the right way to go for your situation. My current TV is an 03 Suburban K1500 with 5.3L V8. We will need something more substantial for the planned 5er. I'm leaning toward the 2500 with the 5.9L. I think it will more than handle my needs. The weight of the planned 5er is about about 11K

But there are nagging questions. I don't want something that is going to be maintenance intensive. I understand normal maintenance must be done as with any engine, diesel or gas.

What was the biggest thing you had to get used to?
What was something you missed about your old gasser?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

Once you get used to starting and driving a diesel, you wonder what took you so long to switch.
I know I did.
Personally, the Biggest thing I had to get used to was all the torque that was at my command and there is nothing I miss about owning a diesel.

As for your nagging questions, thats what we re all about is helping each other out when questions do arise.

 

The things I miss about my gas trucks nothen really.
Diesel needs to be warmed up a little bit more in the winter months, gas not really needs to be.
Diesel have a bit more maintenance over gas, fuel filter needs to changed more often over gas, diesels take more oil when changing over gas, diesels have more expensive maintenance priods over gas.
diesel have less stops at the fuel stations then gas.
diesel tow way better then gas, on all road types, hills for one, diesel dont slow down to every little head wind that comes up while towing.
The things a noticed that when looking for parts or for power upgardes for diesel they are more expensive over there gas couterpart items. But I have learned from this site on how you can get things cheeper and how to built some of your own parts, like air intake system, fuel delivery systems, and where to get better parts cheeper.
So would I go back to gas NEVER, love my diesel powered trucks.

03 Qcab Sbox full gauges

 

i own two diesels. i will never go back to a gas engine again.

only thing you really have to get used to is starting and warm up. and finding a diesel gas station.

maitnence wise on a diesel is soo much easier. only thing you really have to worry about is oil/filter changes and your water seperator.

no spark plugs, no wires, no rotor, no dist cap.

 

Remember they are not putting the 5.9 in dodges anymore. There are some new ones out there but they are getting scarce. The only difference between a 3500 & a 2500 are overload springs so a 2500 will probably suit you fine, you can always add air bags. An auto is also a good choice if you ever want the old lady to drive (just dont let her put "gas" in it). Diesels are not really maintenence intensive. The only thing to get used to are changing the fuel filter on a more regular basis & changing 2x as much oil. The fuel quality & keeping the injectors clean are more important than a gasser, that means an additive should be used on a regular basis(& of course a clean fuel filter). Thats about it, really. I dont miss my gasser. Dont let the diesel scare you. Once you switch you'll wonder why you waited so long.

 

Not that I would EVER switch back to a gasser, by choice anyway, but you have to be honest here. The cost of maintaining an EGR/emissions equipped diesel has gone up drastically over the older non-emissions diesels.
For an EGR or emissions equipped Diesel:
1. Diesel fuel MUST be ULSD which is normally more expensive than hi-test gasoline.
2. Emissions equipped Diesels require CJ4 (low ash) oil which is more expensive.
3. New exhaust/DPF's which require maintenance AND changing your driving habits which may even include extra driving to maintain DPF - more fuel burned.
4. Start up and shut down require more time and fuel burned.
5. Filters - air/fuel/oil are more expensive to replace.
6. The initial cost of the diesel engine. Repairs seem to be more expensive.
These are just a few of the "possible" disadvantages which you can just get used to and it will become part of your new sparkplug free routine. AND having said all that, I still would not willingly change back to the gasser world as the "advantages" of owning/using a diesel far outweigh any of the disadvantages.

 

To add to what everyone else is saying, the advantage of a gas engine over a diesel is initially cheaper to buy, cheaper maintenance, and around twice as much rpm to play with.
You will probably be shocked when you have a look at the tachometer and see that it red lines around 3,000 rpm, where as a gasser will red somewhere between 5,500 and 9,000 depending on the engine. Because of this a gasser has a wider range of speed per gear, but it needs that wider range because all of the power for towing is going to be after 3,000.
It is rare for a gasser to pull a trailer in O/D on any sort of incline, if the truck was geared for best mileage empty. Most Cummins Diesels if kept around 2,000 rpm can stay in O/D towing up most good inclines. I have run up a 6% (isn't that what Ranger Hill is?) incline that goes for about a mile and a half and lost only 5 MPH with my 6spd pulling a living quarters trailer that sticks up higher than most horse trailers, with 2 horses loaded. But that is also a manual that is running 100 added horse power to the wheels.
The worst mileage I have recorded towing was 7.9 mpg but that was also with a major head wind and it was so cold I didn't top off the tank so I was probably short a few gallons. The best with my trailer has been around 12mpg without a tail wind (had 15.6 one time with a wind).
Empty I have made 21mpg, usually on hwy 18, running back and forth to town 15.5-16.5. This is with a lot of armor on the truck (flat bed and bumper/grille guard) that is less aerodynamically efficient than the stock bed and bumper. Try doing any of that with a gasser. But all of this is while running 70mph, I know people who run 80+ with Cummins and Powerstrokes with even bigger trailers than me and they get 6mpg.
The bigger gas engines that will pull a 5vr without having to run 5,000 rpms all the time will never get you the mileage of a diesel. I'm with everyone else, I'm not going back to a gasser without there being a major reason why.

 

Run a good synthetic oil and change it less often. Get the oil analyzed every 5000 and only change it when you actually need to. Guys with amsoil are changing every 25000 or more. If you factor that in how can anyone say that maintenance cost are really any higher? I wouldn't buy a brand new truck with a DPF if my life depended on it. Just get a late model truck before the switch (if you can find one), used if you have too. If you do get a DPF truck, though, they don't require any special driving habits, the ECM takes care of scheduling the regeneration cycles. For racking up alot of miles, the gm's ride the best hands down but who can argue with the cummins. Just don't buy a powerjoke or you'll regret it.

 

I currently own both a gas and diesel pickup, both Dodge 3/4 tons. My gas truck gets about 13 mpg mix, the diesel about 17 mpg mix. The diesel is an extended cab long bed, where as my gasser is a regular cab. I like both of them, the diesel more so due to the power and fact it's a manual. On the minor hills around my hometown, the gasser will usually downshift quickly, whereas the diesel never seems to lug down, I've never seen it smoke while keeping it in overdrive. Obviously, comparing a manual to an auto is unfair, but the diesel is above the gasser in all areas.

Cost of maintnance is higher with the diesel. Oil change for gas is $15(5 qts and filter), $32 for diesel(10 qts and filter). Replacement parts are more expensive for the diesel, but generally last longer. The diesels, by weight and power, are going to be harder on the front end as well as the drive train. Autos will have problems with modded trucks, and frequent, heavy towing will stress them also. In the long, the diesel wins out in my book.

 

For towing, u can't beat a good diesel. Especially comparing it to ur suburban u'll really enjoy the switch. I came from a Chevy 5.7 V8 before, and the difference was huge for power, it's a different kind of power, lots of torque.

I'd own a diesel truck for a daily driver even if I didn't have to have the ability to tow. Sounds like ur gonna be getting a 3rd gen, so that will be a very nice truck. If I could have a choice of trucks, I'd take a 3rd gen 5.9l as my daily driver, and a 12v with a built auto, with about 550hp as my fun truck....