gas or diesel

[clem]

:?: What are the pros and cons of gas and diesel when looking for a tractor or truck? And what else should be taken into consideration? I used to think the price of fuel was the reason people chose diesel, but now diesel is higher than gas around here. Clem

 

[BlackBaldyMan]

Diesel is more efficient when pulling a load as with a pickup and a load of cattle or camper or something.

 

[animalhouse143]

If you want a real truck get a Diesel!

 

[Bullbuyer]

Depends on what you're doing with the truck. Towing - I'd go diesel, also lower maintenance (no plugs, wires, etc.) Everyday driving - gas (lower initial costs, lower fuel cost.)
Biggest mistake that everyone makes - gear ratio !! Make sure that gear ratio is appropriate to what you are doing with the vehicle.

 

[TheBullLady]

Very true bullbuyer.. most people don't know you can buy them with different ratios. Makes a big difference if you're pulling a trailer, as opposed to running 90 down the road.

I like the diesel best for pulling a trailer, but for running up and down the road, with the price of fuel, I traded one of the diesels in for a gas. LOVE it.

 

[Rancher6]

I personally prefer a gas engine. I just bought a 1991 2 ton kodiak for $4,000 to pull my big goosenecks. It is gas and get 8 MPG. My thinking is that if a diesel engine even hiccups and gets sent to the shop it is going to cost me at least $1,000. Heck for $2,000 I can put a new engine in this truck. Besides, I don't have a $40,000 truck depreciating every day and It cost me $153 per year for liablilty insurance and I don't have a $600 per month truck payment. This makes the gas cheaper for me.

 

[Chuck21387]

Very true, i like the way you think Rancher6, i used to run chevy gas motors, but when i was only getting 13mpg, whether i was towing or not, i decided it was time for a diesel, with a few mods (high flow exhaust and chip) i'm getting 18 mpg towing and in the city. I love the sound and torque of the diesel engine, and recommend it highly...but like Rancher6 said, if you can get a deal like he did, maybe that's the way to go and have a tow rig only, use something else for driving around town.

 

[dj]

I personally prefer a gas engine. I just bought a 1991 2 ton kodiak for $4,000 to pull my big goosenecks. It is gas and get 8 MPG. My thinking is that if a diesel engine even hiccups and gets sent to the shop it is going to cost me at least $1,000. Heck for $2,000 I can put a new engine in this truck. Besides, I don't have a $40,000 truck depreciating every day and It cost me $153 per year for liablilty insurance and I don't have a $600 per month truck payment. This makes the gas cheaper for me.

For this same truck with a diesel motor. What would the fuel mileage be? It wouldn't be as good as the pick-ups would it?

 

[BlackBaldyMan]

I personally prefer a gas engine. I just bought a 1991 2 ton kodiak for $4,000 to pull my big goosenecks. It is gas and get 8 MPG. My thinking is that if a diesel engine even hiccups and gets sent to the shop it is going to cost me at least $1,000. Heck for $2,000 I can put a new engine in this truck. Besides, I don't have a $40,000 truck depreciating every day and It cost me $153 per year for liablilty insurance and I don't have a $600 per month truck payment. This makes the gas cheaper for me.

I agree with you but I have a 94 powerstroke and there has been no problems that the average joe cant handle so far. Only big problem was the clutch, which I did myself, but just regular maintenance can be done, may seem harder then it looks I think, forums are a great help!

 

[norriscathy]

I just visited with a timber man and we were driving the same make and model truck; '05 Ford F250 "heavies". His was diesel and mine the V-10 gas. He gets 16 mph around town empty while I get 15. Not much difference for the cost of diesel and the cost of the engine. My V-10 drops to 10 mph when pulling a 9,000# load and all the way down to 7 mph when I hooked her up to 20,000#. Don't know what the diesels will do under similiar loads.

Norris

 

[Rancher6]

I had a V-10 dually once. It got 8-10MPG with a load on it and around 13 empty. I wish I had it back . When I get my truck all finished and get my trailer I will post pics. I ordered a new S&H trailer. Dad is an S&H dealer and I could not find a cheap and good enough used trailer. Of the ones I looked - Cheap means no good and Good means no cheap- :lol:

 

[EIEIO]

When I bought my 01' Chevy HD with a 8.1 litre gas engine I had considered diesel but folks I talked with asked how many miles I'd be driving it in a year. Answer was less than 10K and everyone said I'd be nuts spending the extra on the diesel. My truck now only has just over 40K miles on it and I've been pretty happy. Pulls anything I need it to pull.

I also agree on the axle ratio, mine is either a 4:10 or 4:11.

I've honestly never even checked it's mileage but I do know it sucks but I knew it would when I bought it. Was told by a dealer once the 8.1 litre engines were getting no worse mileage though than the smaller V-8 gas engines. I also know Chevy claims the 8.1 litre (496) gets better mileage than the 454 they replaced it with.

J

 

[curtis]

I run a 1997 Ford 250 powerstroke diesel, tows the 20 ft neckover with no problems. 130,000 an going strong.

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Clem, as others have mentioned, if you're towing alot, no gas engine will keep pace with a diesel while still maintaining good fuel economy and low maintenance.

As for me, I'll never drive another gas engine truck again. Up here, the diesel engine costs another $5500, however after 2 years, the diesel truck is worth more than the original $5500 difference when trading in. After 5 years, the gap has spread to $10,000 - $12,000 difference between the two. After 10 years, the gas engine truck is worth nothing (3 or 4 grand), while the diesel engined truck will still fetch $20K.

Check with Kelly Blue Books and see what the spread is in your area. I think you'll find very similar spreads, so unless you absolutely for sure will drive the truck until it drops over, the diesel will pay for itself, and then some.

Rod

 

[dj]

I haven't seen that big a spread.
Here are two I've looked at recently
'97 F-350 4x4 132,000 S/C SRW diesel $12,500
'96 F-250 4x4 110,000 S/C SRW gas $10,200
Both of these were what I consider to be town trucks.
Clean, no dents, with maintenance records.
Both used by snowbirds.
But like dun says.
location, location, location.

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

But like dun says.
location, location, location.

Yeah, our diesel truck prices are stupid in my neck of the woods, especially on Cummins power. When I traded my 2001 cab and chassis, I received $1000 less than I had paid for it 2 years earlier. The guy that bought it paid $1500 more for it than I had paid when it was new (the new body styles had come out, and brought up used prices since they were higher priced units and I'd gotten a good deal). Dad traded in his 89 Dodge 2500 for a 95. He'd paid $15K for it 6 years earlier and got $13,500 trade in for it. The waiting list at the local Dodge place for used Cummins power is 4 months long at any given moment.

Rod

 

[Campground Cattle]

But like dun says.
location, location, location.

Yeah, our diesel truck prices are stupid in my neck of the woods, especially on Cummins power. When I traded my 2001 cab and chassis, I received $1000 less than I had paid for it 2 years earlier. The guy that bought it paid $1500 more for it than I had paid when it was new (the new body styles had come out, and brought up used prices since they were higher priced units and I'd gotten a good deal). Dad traded in his 89 Dodge 2500 for a 95. He'd paid $15K for it 6 years earlier and got $13,500 trade in for it. The waiting list at the local Dodge place for used Cummins power is 4 months long at any given moment.

Rod

There is no way a gas truck can get the mileage a diesel can equiped the same it's physically impossible.
Diesel weighs 7.5 pounds to the gallon while gasoline 6 pounds.
Its still about btu's converted to energy to move X pounds down the road, A gallon of gasoline is producing 120,000 btus versus diesel producing 150,000 btu's on a gallon of fuel.
So for every 4 gallons on diesel you would buy you would have to buy 5 gallons of gasoline to produce the same energy to push the truck.
4 gallons of diesel at 2.75= 11.00 dollars 5 gallons of gas at 2.75= 13.75 to get the same pounds of fuel in your tank.
Everything runs on pounds per hour of fuel consumption, military, commericial airlines etc.
Thats why diesel is converted to gasoline as it is more profitable and it is not a by product either as it was converted to avaition gasoline in WW2. We have have the capability of converting diesel to propane/butane/ gasoline for over 60 years.
This is a very simplified version of the way Fluid Catalytic Cracking units work charging gas oil and diesel's to produce lighter componets and increasing volume. Yes more gasoline barrels come out of the unit than diesel barrels charge known as volume expansion or in refining as fluffing the barrel the same number of pounds in feed and product is equal leaving the unit but the volumne is greater leaving.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm



That is why gasoline is sold by the gallon.

 

[dj]

Hey Camp,
All that pretty much hurt my brain :dunce:
But I think I understood about fluffing the volume.
Like sticking the tank level. Tag the bottom lightly on the bottom and hard on the top measure and you can gain 1/4 inch ;-)

 

[Campground Cattle]

You are converting hydrocarbon molecules parifins that look like spaghetti to Aromatics,Isomers, and napthenes which look more like little balls and have a higher octane by rearrangeing the molecules.


Example if you put a pound of spaghetti in a bucket and a pound of little balls in a bucket, they both weigh a pound but the little balls are greater in volume.
There are several catalytic reactions under pressures to 3800 psi to convert everything from resid a tar like substance to gasoline. With technology we can convert 90% of the barrel to transportation fuel.
This is still not enough to keep up with demand. The USA would have to build a 250,000 barrel a day refinery a year to keep up with growth projected for the next five years. We have not built a new refinery in this country since the mid seventies.
Americans use on average of 5 times as much fuel per person as European countries.
Example the big yellow school bus that comes by your house that your tax dollars are buying fuel for that is empty and every kid is driving to school.
In my lifetime the average American household has went from one vehicle to three with four wheelers, boats, and all kinds of other toys.
We are spoiled and it has caught up with us, cheap energy days are over with the growth of China and India and other third world countries. Clinton destroyed the American Oil Industry, American refineries don't just make gasoline for America it goes to who is willing to pay.
Most of our refineries are forgien owned now. ARCO(bp)Amoco(bp) Shell (dutch) Fina(French) Texaco(Saudis) Castrol(bp)
Citgo(Venzulians).

Our hope is coal as we have most of the known world reserves,along with nuclear and hydro electicity .

Sorry for the long post I haven't made a post about production in a long time as most Americans don't want to believe we are going to have to change as the days of cheap energy are gone the rest of the world has caught up and is growing and is thristy.

Back to work got to make some more gasoline.

 

[skyeagle]

Do you know want the calculation is for diesel to get
horse power per pound. I know gas is .42