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Diesel or gas truck?

17K views 67 replies 20 participants last post by  Grass Bass 
#1 ·
I am looking to buy a used mowing truck. My last two were Chevrolet 3500 dually gas . I am considering trying a diesel. I don't know that much about them other than what I've seen while shopping online. I know they have more torque, last longer (supposedly). What are the advantages of having diesel? Disadvantages? Tell me why I should go diesel, or NOT. Thanks for input.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I own 3 diesel duallys a 98 GMC 3500HD 6.5 Diesel, an 03 Duramax and a 06 Duramax. Around town driving the duramax trucks get at best 13MPG and usually 11-12MPG with 3.73 gears. The 98 6.5 has 4.56 gears and consistently gets around 14. Maintenance is considerably more expensive on the diesels and you will never make up in fuel costs for it.

Keep in mind all of the big 3 diesels can have head gasket issues, especially when bought used, most used diesels have had a programer or tune in a past life and you will likely be buying someone else's problems. HG job is 5K plus at a shop and about 1,500.00 and 35-40HRS worth of time on a Ford or GM if you decide to do the job yourself.

If you only tow mowers and leaves around get a half ton 2wd with a V6. Purchase price is usually less than 2/3 of a diesel, maintenance is cheep and you should be able to get decent fuel economy.
 
#10 ·
I own 3 diesel duallys a 98 GMC 3500HD 6.5 Diesel, an 03 Duramax and a 06 Duramax. Around town driving the duramax trucks get at best 13MPG and usually 11-12MPG with 3.73 gears. The 98 6.5 has 4.56 gears and consistently gets around 14. Maintenance is considerably more expensive on the diesels and you will never make up in fuel costs for it.

If you only tow mowers and leaves around get a half ton 2wd with a V6. Purchase price is usually less than 2/3 of a diesel, maintenance is cheep and you should be able to get decent fuel economy.
If he's pulling a trailer all the time he needs a 3\4 ton.....1\2 ton trucks are not designed for towing full time.... Transmission, brakes, suspension is all much lighter duty.
The difference between a 1\2 ton and 3\4 ton truck is a lot more than 1\4 ton.
 
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#11 ·
I towed over 60K miles a 16ft trailer with 2 60" mowers on it with a 91 Chevy ECSB 2wd 4.3 V6. It did great and averaged 14MPG mixed HWY and City. It had almost 170K on it when I started and 235K when I retired it. During that time it was always hooked to the trailer except when stored during winter.

I replaced a water pump and upper radiator hose, a clutch (that was junk from the start) and front brakes. I literally had more issues out of the trailer than the truck. You do not need a 3/4 ton truck to pull 5000 pounds.
 
#17 ·
I towed over 60K miles a 16ft trailer with 2 60" mowers on it with a 91 Chevy ECSB 2wd 4.3 V6. It did great and averaged 14MPG mixed HWY and City. It had almost 170K on it when I started and 235K when I retired it. During that time it was always hooked to the trailer except when stored during winter.

I replaced a water pump and upper radiator hose, a clutch (that was junk from the start) and front brakes. I literally had more issues out of the trailer than the truck. You do not need a 3/4 ton truck to pull 5000 pounds.
That 91 v6 is an entirely differently animal then the new all aluminum and plastic turbo princess v6s
 
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#25 ·
I have had gassers for 33 years . Ford , Chevy , Dodge , and toyota . Big blocks , and small blocks . V6 to V10 , 1/4 ton , 1/2 ton , 3/4 ton and 1 ton ,they all pulled my trailers fine around town . The transmission in my 1/2 ton chevy was the same as my 3/4 ton chevy , a 700r4 . In all those years of towing and plowing I havent felt the need for a diesel . I dont track gas mileage ,I really dont care , it is what it is . I am not running the highway 8 hours a day pulling 12,000 lbs . A gas truck will get the job done
 
#29 ·
I got my 08 f350 dually with about 50,000 miles for $13,500 in 2011. Had to replace a flywheel (bummer) and a starter.

Got the 06 Dodge 3500 dually with 199k miles on it for $10k. The grid heater went out and had to put a block heater on it for cold weather starts which we don't get too many. But thats been about it. Its got about 245k miles on it now. Bought it in mid 2014 I think.

Other than tires being replaced they have both been great work trucks and i i didnt have to spend $50k on either of them. Whole point of that story is shop around, buy a good used one if you can find it. Both of the trucks look good on the outside, a little work wear on the inside and that's fine. Both trucks when I got them have no control on where the heat and air comes out it just has the main dash vents. But that's fine. I may replace the door control one day, just not paying $1500 to have someone take out the dash to replace a $30 part. I'll do that myself .
 
#30 ·
Very true, but I'd be more interested in the truck that you don't have to rebuild the trans in not to mention go through the stranded/down time of having it done. Also true on that thirsty 6.0. I had an 01 3/4 4x4 with some mud terrains. 10mpg; highway, town, heavy foot, light foot, bare foot, 20ft trailer, rolling down a hill; 10mpg. Only time it got better was when it was parked in the garage. Haha.
I picked up a 2000 silverado 2500 with the 6.0 vortec last fall with 340k miles. It is getting 12.5-13 with no trailer mixed driving.
 
#31 ·
You're not going to get the realized value from a diesel in a mow truck

Higher cost of ownership alround without the payoff of lots and lots of miles out on in a short period of time

There is no payoff to diesel in a mow rig
We got a diesel two years ago and it is the best truck we've ever owned, our accountant puts our savings at 5-10 thousand annually for a way better driving truck with far less down time. Granted, we put 50-60k on our trucks every summer.
 
#33 ·
I liked my diesel too.
its awesome to plow with compared to gas trucks.

Long trips, hauling and high miles annually tend to make diesel break even.
But pick ups with diesels dont save/net much money a year, not in landscaping.
It used to be good, back before diesel fuel tax went through the roof and emissions standards put a choke hold on diesels.

But now the fuel is nearly the same cost, and the fuel mileage is negligibly better, add in higher cost of ownership/maintenance and its a dead wash.

There must be at least a dozen threads on here of the examples of peoples math/statistics.
 
#32 ·
We love our 2012 F350 6.7 turbo diesel. It saves us 5-10k a year in fuel and repairs according to our accountant. It pulls super well, we can take heavy equipment if we need to and we have very very little down time compared to the half dozen other trucks we've run in the last five years. Granted, we put 50-60k on our trucks every summer, so we benefit from a diesel more than most. But whatever you get, dear god, do NOT get a half ton, 3/4 and up only. You will regret a half ton if your regularly pulling anything heavier than a craftsman ride-on.
 
#42 ·
To me diesel only makes sense if you are regularly hauling loads that exceed what a gas truck can comfortably handle or maybe if your putting 20,000 plus miles on it every year you might start coming even with a gas truck due to lower fuel cost. Otherwise they become a money pit. Even a simple oil change is expensive for a diesel. 3 gallons of quality oil ain't cheap.
 
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#44 ·
I used to do 45-50 plus every year
It broke even compared to had I owned a gas pick up and a commuter car and drove either as needed depending on situation.

You need to be doing 75-100k a year (iirc) to see substantial savings in a diesel pick up.

Now if you do nothing but haul (and I don't mean mowers) there's a big difference that can occur pretty quickly

Some guys have a heavy body or constantly hitched to a big trailer or snow plowing and carrying a sander
Then the diesel makes sense
But I've also experienced it being better to move to a medium duty truck, by the time you're doing all that, too.

I think the myth of the diesel was a real thing in the previous millennium
But things have just changed so much since then
 
#48 ·
I have a 5500 Dodge diesel with a dump box and for pulling heavy trailer. Works great except for when we do a lot of around town work. Stupid filter plugs up. For everything else including pulling trailer up to the maximum allowed weight we use gas powered 2500 series trucks. I personally wouldn't run gas power in a 1 ton or larger or a diesel in a 3/4 ton.
 
#49 ·
I made the switch to gas work trucks (chevy 6.0s) from diesels to save on the repair and maintenance cost. Saved 7k last year. They pull 7-9k pound enclosed mowing trailers around and have vboxes and plows through the winter. Consistently getting 10-12mpg in them loaded. Far easier to work on and most of the repairs we can do in house. If my Dmax which is a personal truck needs anything besides wear and tear items it has to go to a diesel shop which is never cheap. I’d stick with 3/4 ton gas trucks.
 
#54 ·
Drove big rigs for years, all diesel of course. Just about everyone in the oil patch back then (35 yrs. ago) drove diesel pickups. Fuel was cheap, easy to obtain in the work camps cause of the big tanks for fueling equipment and you only needed to carry one fuel card or key for the diesel pumps at the bulk station. Even if the trucks cost more up front to buy or to repair cost was recouped by burning cheap diesel. Not like that now.
 
#55 ·
I really want a Diesel but the new ones for the mowing business as far as the city driving and lots of stops and starts are from what I read what causes a lot of issues in the new diesels due to the new emission add ons. I live in an emissions county so I cannot delete at this time.

Im still trying to decide between new or used trucks. The used market is stupid expensive so I kind of think new may be worth it for the warranty, piece of mind and tax benefits. I'm leaning towards a Ram 2500 with the 6.4L Gasser. Test drove it for a day and a half and liked it a lot. Im not brand loyal so I am obviously also considering Ford and chevy.
 
#57 ·
I really want a Diesel but the new ones for the mowing business as far as the city driving and lots of stops and starts are from what I read what causes a lot of issues in the new diesels due to the new emission add ons. I live in an emissions county so I cannot delete at this time.

Im still trying to decide between new or used trucks. The used market is stupid expensive so I kind of think new may be worth it for the warranty, piece of mind and tax benefits. I'm leaning towards a Ram 2500 with the 6.4L Gasser. Test drove it for a day and a half and liked it a lot. Im not brand loyal so I am obviously also considering Ford and chevy.
IMO...if you are not towing heavy and you do a lot of stop and go city driving by a gas or buy a diesel new if you can't delete emissions. I was able to get about 90k miles doing about half of that city stop and go driving before errors flew regarding the DPF and sensors plus regens. Luckily I was able to delete in my area.
 
#56 ·
Things to consider if buying new. Price as always but more important get something you can use now and later down the road so to speak. Maybe you are not going to be pulling heavy trailers right now but buy a unit capable of doing so. Make sure the rear end ratio is low enough and that you can haul or pull heavy loads without bagging your truck. Fuel economy might suffer a little but is usually worth it. Research all makes before committing yourself. I run Ram and Chev and find them both satisfactory. Ford works quite well just that I was not brought up Ford by my dad although he did have a Mercury car. Write out a list of things you require in a new truck and then compare the specs. and let the best truck win.
 
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