Hi everyone; I am looking for some advice on a pick up truck, I have looked at a Chevy 2500, dodge big horn 2500 and a ford f250 all in regular gas and diesel. I haul a 30ft camper and a boat and will be going to the west yearly elk hunting. I am looking for information on gas mileage basically on the diesels. Any recommendation would greatly appreciated.
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- Thread starter vman1959
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Muleyfanatic
Active member
I have a 2012 F250 with 6.7 diesel in it extended cab 4x4 6.5' bed and am averaging 18 mpg around town and as high as around 20 highway. Towing a 22' camper I average around 14-15 mpg running 70-75mph. I love the truck and has tons of power the only down falls I see is a fuel tank that is only 25 gallons and my F150 extended cab had more room in the back than the F250.
I got 2 duramaxes, 2006 extended cab 4x4 with 254,000+ on it and a 2011 crew cab 4x4 with 90,000 or so. Tons of power, pull my 31' bumper pull travel trailer or 25' goose neck as fast as you want. Will actually pick up speed going uphill if you want it to with either load. Mileage isn't as good around 10 or so with load, but that might have more to do with speed than weight.
The '06 did require new glow plugs about 15,000 miles ago, the other major problem was left front wheel bearing (whole hub) has had to be replaced twice, otherwise no major issues. The '11 was the first year with the DEF and I have had to replace to sensors for it, otherwise no problems. Very happy with both.
The '06 did require new glow plugs about 15,000 miles ago, the other major problem was left front wheel bearing (whole hub) has had to be replaced twice, otherwise no major issues. The '11 was the first year with the DEF and I have had to replace to sensors for it, otherwise no problems. Very happy with both.
dan.kirkpatrick
Well-known member
the only choice for a real truck would be the dodge 2500 ,with the cummins and dodge is the only available that still has a stick shift trans available as a new truck model.id be scared of the ford diesels even though they redesigned them since the 6.0 powerjoke moter,let alone the 5.4 triton gassers that have major sparkplug issues too,,,fords are scary for breakdowns.
KRasmussen
New member
I have an '04 Silverado crew cab with the 6.0L gas motor. It does well pulling the 31' travel trailer on flat ground, dont ask it to go up hill. It will get you there but slowly and both engine and trans will get warm. It has been serviced on a regular basis and has always run warm. I am getting 15-17 on the fwy, not towing and about 10 in town. When hauling about 8-10mpg on the fwy. I would look more towards the Duramax opposed to the gas.
npaden
Well-known member
Being an accountant, I tend to look at things very objectively and analytically.
To really make the decision you need to try to figure out how many miles you will be putting on the truck towing vs. how many miles you will be putting on your truck not towing.
Then decide if you could live with driving 65-70 on the highway instead of 75-80 when you are towing.
We put about 30,000 miles on our truck a year, but only about 3,000 of that is towing with about 2,500 miles of that in one trip each year. Doing the math I couldn't justify a diesel and I can live with driving 65-70 so I actually have a 1/2 ton Chevy. We had a 2005, and towed to Wyoming and back with it for 3 years but just upgraded to a 2012. The new 6 speed transmissions really make a difference towing and the ride when not towing is WAY smoother than the 3/4 tons. I haven't done it yet, but I plan on adding air bags to beef up the suspension when towing on my new truck that we bought this winter before heading to Wyoming pulling out 29' trailer.
Just another thought.
To really make the decision you need to try to figure out how many miles you will be putting on the truck towing vs. how many miles you will be putting on your truck not towing.
Then decide if you could live with driving 65-70 on the highway instead of 75-80 when you are towing.
We put about 30,000 miles on our truck a year, but only about 3,000 of that is towing with about 2,500 miles of that in one trip each year. Doing the math I couldn't justify a diesel and I can live with driving 65-70 so I actually have a 1/2 ton Chevy. We had a 2005, and towed to Wyoming and back with it for 3 years but just upgraded to a 2012. The new 6 speed transmissions really make a difference towing and the ride when not towing is WAY smoother than the 3/4 tons. I haven't done it yet, but I plan on adding air bags to beef up the suspension when towing on my new truck that we bought this winter before heading to Wyoming pulling out 29' trailer.
Just another thought.
I would look at the 2014 silverado if you are looking at new trucks. You can now get a 1/2 t with a 6.2l paired with 6spd in a crew cab truck....WITH A FULL SIZE BOX! I have a 2007 1/2t vortec Max 6.0 with a bully dog tuner that pulled my 27ft camper just fine. I just dont like that it has the short box so I have to take the tailgate off to haul the wheeler. The new model will fix that problem. Also... make sure you get the max trailering package if you go this route...
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I had the same issues as npaden. It is hard for me to justify all the additional costs of a diesel all year long for the benefits of the couple times a year that i am really loaded down.
All the new trucks can hold their own... just depends what is important to you.
All the new trucks can hold their own... just depends what is important to you.
dan.kirkpatrick
Well-known member
as a truck mechanic for the last 20 years id go dodge diesel stick shift if you tow alot,,,chevy duramax/allison isnt too bad either,,,chevys 6 lire gasser is a fair option especially for a smooth ride,,whatever you do ditch the fords,,,unless you like to spend alot of $ with your mechanic.each rig has its better qualitys,depending on what your truely looking for.
M
MN Public Hunter
Guest
I'm curious....Why no Toyota on the list?
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
He wanted a 3/4 ton
thomas.orsack
Member
My fords have all crapped out on me at around 150,000 miles. I now have a Chevy 2500HD 4x4 and like it waaaay more than any of my previous trucks. The only problem that I have is that my wife keeps telling me to wash it (it's white). I just tell her what's the point of washing it if I'm just gonna get it dirty again by going off road....
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
I am going to go ahead and disagree with you on this Dan. As a fellow equipment mechanic I have had quite the opposite experience. I have owned an 01 f350 diesel for 4 years and 100k only replaced a crank po sensor and an alternator. A 04 f350 6.0 diesel for 4 years and 125k and both were great trucks with very minimal breakage. I choose to put head studs in the 6.0 and had many mods on the motor with no problems other than a ficm that may or may not have been my fault. I have a dyno sheet that shows that it was making 337hp and 745tq at the tires (thats about 400hp and 850tq at the flywheel) with no issues for two years before I sold it.
During that time I had two Chevy 3500 service trucks the 01 had a 6.0 gasser with minimal problems (fuel pressure regulator, o2 sensors, rebuilt the entire front end at 100k until it chewed up the nv4500 trans at about 160k. The 08 dmax had problems from the start. injection harness,trans cooler lines,the anti theft stopped recognizing the keys and it had to be towed to the dealer, 6 speed Allison would go into limp mode when you forced a down shift out of OD on a hill,it would overheat, all before 100k and it only got 8 mpg on a good day. The rest of the light duty trucks at work were Chevy gassers and the only problems we had with them were that the front end would need totally gone through at 100k to the tune of just under $1000 but they were good trucks.
In that same time period I have had numerous friends and family with Cummings trucks and some have been disasters including an 06 that only made it to 32k before dodge bought it back. The reason you recommend a stick is because dodge trucks are notorious for going through auto transmissions and whats with not putting grease Zerk's on the ball joints? They call it death wobble for a reason. "I call it the I should have bought somthing else shake". Ever seen a truck come from the factory with a loose pitman arm and have it fall off on the highway? I have it rolled 2 times and almost killed a good friend of mine. It was a Dodge.
Toyota had to replace a few hundred thousand cams in the 5.7 tundras.
My point is that if you make hundreds of thousands of trucks a few will have major problems and all will have some kind of problem.
A diesel truck is costly to repair If it breaks, if you don't need one don't get one. I currently own a f150 and am happy with my 5.4 I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Chevy Nissa or Toyota gasser if the right deal presented its self tho.
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
M
MN Public Hunter
Guest
The payload of a Tundra 4x4 is a little over 1500...that makes it a 3/4 ton in my book. Guess he just wants the ones he looked at....just thought he might want to broaden the search.
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
The payload of the 2013 f250 goes from #4140 to 3440...apples to apples, it keeps going up.
http://www.ford.com/trucks/superduty/specifications/payload/
http://www.ford.com/trucks/superduty/specifications/payload/
dustinf
Active member
I own a Tundra currently, but have owned multiple 3/4 ton Fords and Chevys.
Love my Tundra, but it's not a 3/4 ton.
EODRay
Active member
I would second this comment. I currently have a 2011 GMC 2500 Denali Gasser. I love the truck, have 40,000 miles and no issues. I pull a 35' 10,000lb bumper pull trailer. It will get the hills done (mountain passes here in Colorado), but not with authority.
The 2014 Silverado or GMC 1500's will tow 10,000lbs with the 5.3 liter engine while getting 16-23mpg. That is crazy. The 1500's with the new variable timing and auto piston shut-off will tow 12,500lbs. The MPG has not come out yet but it should still be best in class.
When I test drove GM, Ram and Ford 2500's, the GM trucks were hands down the best ride quality and the new interior is unbelievably well thought out and plush. I would say to first decide what class of truck your want/need and then go drive them all. That's what I did and it was an easy choice for me at that point.
I was home on R&R when I test drove each of the trucks. I was hopeing that I preferred the Ram or Ford model so that I could take advantage of their deployed Soldier's buying program where you factory order a truck exactly how you want it at a discounted rate. Six months later (when you get back) they deliver it to your door. After driving all three, there was no doubt that I had to have the Denali. It was the right choice for me but you will have to decide what the right choice for you will be.
Ray
dan.kirkpatrick
Well-known member
i work on a mainly ford diesel fleet of f-550 s and have seen way too many issues to ever own 1,,,for some reason our fleet of dodges do have a few troubles but nothing like the fords,,,our chevy gassers in our fleet also dont have all that many problems,,,,fords keep me employed though.there is not a perfect vehicle out there,,,just my opinion from my expierience.from a fleet of over 500 plus trucks.
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
A valid opinion no doubt. I cannot help but wondering if you work on more ford diesels because the fleet has more of them? They really are a PITA to work on when they break. I am sure that has something to do with you disliking them.
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