Diesel for overlanding- are you happy with the choice?

Adventurous

Explorer
Man, you guys must go camping in some cold ass weather. Coldest I've ever experienced in my years living in New England and Colorado was -20*F below. Fuel has never gelled on me, but then again it wouldn't be as big of a deal as I'm sitting in front of a toasty fire and not out in life threatening conditions.
 

Explorerinil

Observer
Man, you guys must go camping in some cold ass weather. Coldest I've ever experienced in my years living in New England and Colorado was -20*F below. Fuel has never gelled on me, but then again it wouldn't be as big of a deal as I'm sitting in front of a toasty fire and not out in life threatening conditions.
I don’t camp in any negative weather. It was around negative 20 here for a couple days last winter, I had no gelling issues running B20 with some opti lube winter blend. I gelled up once around 10 years ago running standadyne anti gell.
 

Dalko43

Explorer
Beat me to it. Lots of diesels used in the oil patch up here. They are just left running in the cold. When buying a used diesel up here, you almost have to pay more attention to the hour meter that the odometer...


That has not been my experience. I find gas motors start up much better in cold climates.

My counterpoint to that is that the gasoline engines are left running up there as well. The gasoline fuel may not gel up the same way that diesel does, but it does in fact get more difficult to start up gasoline-fed engines the colder it gets. I've done more than a few cold starts (no heater cord plugged in) on gasoline engines in -30F mornings; trust me when I say the gasoline engine didn't enjoy that start up anymore than did the diesel.

With the advent of modern heating systems for the diesel, there is less of a discrepancy nowadays between it and gasoline in terms of cold starts....almost to the point of being an non-issue.



It’s a fact gasoline engines are better in cold weather ..

Only marginally so...that so-called "advantage" is overplayed and often brought up by people had bad experiences with older engines. FYI the 7.3l Powerstroke was notorious for having a finicky cold-start, even in mild temperatures....bad design on Ford's part.

and these days gas engines, naturally aspirated or air injected (turbo or supercharged) with modern transmissions effectively produce as much useful power or more as the 7.3/5.9 Legendary engines , but if you need diesel because of loads, then you need it, if you just prefer diesels because you want to, then you will live with the limitations and costs and benefits and manage... there is also no doubt a diesel will cost you more in purchase, maintenance and on the scale... in overlanding, weight is a real and present enemy

The newer gasoline engines are more powerful, but then again so are the newer diesel engines...so I don't see what your point is there.

Diesel does cost more to fuel, maintain and buy...but they also retain greater values on the used market, last longer (on average), and get better mpg's. I think you'd be hard pressed to say that you would actually be saving substantial amounts of money by going with a gasoline 3/4 ton versus a diesel one, or vice versa. Bigger, more powerful trucks cost more to maintain and operate than do smaller trucks, which cost more than sedans. If you're truly concerned about cutting costs, get the smallest, most efficient midsized pickup you can find or, better yet, get a CUV or sedan.

Weight is a big deal...but I've yet to find an area where a 3/4 ton gasoline truck can make it through but a 3/4 ton diesel can't because of its added weight. Most overlanding in North America takes place on active or historical logging roads. Nor do I think you can categorically say that the heavier weight of diesels in general inhibits their offroad capabilities...it's all relative. The 2.8l duramax Colorado and 3.0l diesel F-150 should have no problems going the same places that all other midsized and 1/2 ton trucks can go.


Bottom line is that there is no right or wrong answer. There are some considerations for owning a diesel, but people tend to overexaggerate and embellish the "hardships" of diesel ownership, especially so on this forum. The OP, or any potential buyer, should approach any vehicle purchase with both eyes open, but there certainly isn't anything that should deter him/her from buying a diesel.
 

marshal

Burrito Enthusiast
At the current rate of initial purchase, maintenance, and fueling, assuming linear fuel averages for use and no towing - the the break even point for a diesel engine is around 275,000 miles. obviously that margin narrows once heavy loads are placed on the gas engines and economy suffers due to the difference in thermal efficiency and energy content of fuels.
 

Dalko43

Explorer
At the current rate of initial purchase, maintenance, and fueling, assuming linear fuel averages for use and no towing - the the break even point for a diesel engine is around 275,000 miles. obviously that margin narrows once heavy loads are placed on the gas engines and economy suffers due to the difference in thermal efficiency and energy content of fuels.

That's an overly broad statement with no supporting evidence...but if that's what you want to tell yourself in order to confirm your purchasing decisions, well then go ahead.
 

Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
My counterpoint to that is that the gasoline engines are left running up there as well. The gasoline fuel may not gel up the same way that diesel does, but it does in fact get more difficult to start up gasoline-fed engines the colder it gets. I've done more than a few cold starts (no heater cord plugged in) on gasoline engines in -30F mornings; trust me when I say the gasoline engine didn't enjoy that start up anymore than did the diesel.

With the advent of modern heating systems for the diesel, there is less of a discrepancy nowadays between it and gasoline in terms of cold starts....almost to the point of being an non-issue.
Still have to disagree on this one. After spending 10 years and therefor 10 winters working at car dealerships, I know which ones gave us grief come winter start ups whenever we had to move an entire lot to clear snow... Most gas engines would fire up with a booster pack. A lot of diesels (regardless of make) require a trip to the shop.

Again, this is just based on my own experience in the wintry city of Edmonton, AB....
 

F350joe

Well-known member
At the current rate of initial purchase, maintenance, and fueling, assuming linear fuel averages for use and no towing - the the break even point for a diesel engine is around 275,000 miles. obviously that margin narrows once heavy loads are placed on the gas engines and economy suffers due to the difference in thermal efficiency and energy content of fuels.

Not if you factor in the higher resale. What you spend on it - what you sell it for. You will get a whole lot more money out a diesel with 100k on it compared to a gasser.
 

tacollie

Glamper
Not if you factor in the higher resale. What you spend on it - what you sell it for. You will get a whole lot more money out a diesel with 100k on it compared to a gasser.
This is true. It is crazy how much gas trucks depreciate. When we bought the Tundra we also looked at F250s. 6.2 gas was half the cost of 6.7 in our area with comparable trim and milage. Literally $14k vs $28k for trucks around the 100k mile range. I'm cheap and don't pull heavy loads so I wrote diesel off.
 

Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
I'll take the depreciation hit, rather than possibly get stuck with someones problem child.

Hopefully I'll get to keep my truck until it's worthless. So resale worth, isn't an issue with me.
 

tacollie

Glamper
As for the money The diesel engine is a $9120 option...,so take that into math of it all....

The diesel puts all sorts of weight over the front tires... and if you are going to Mexico or points south... you are SOL..... no def anywhere to be found... and no ULSD .... of course cold weather stuff already discussed..... smart choice to blow it off.. unless you NEED it, or always wanted that Tonka toy and it fulfills a childlike fantasy... if you ever really need more power, you can lower the gear ratio or get a bolt on supercharger....
Agreed. I'm happy with gas motors and have no desire for diesel. Another factor depending on where you live is emissions. No emissions testing on gas motors where I live but diesels over 5 years require it. It's not a huge deal but it's one more thing.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
Here its just an opacity test for diesels, you can be tuned with check engine lights on and half your emissions crap deleted and still pass as long as your not rolling coal on the dyno..

A gasser has to pass readiness and will fail inspection w/a CEL, even if it has absolutely nothing to do w/emissions.. any tunes that wont pass readyness wont pass emissions..

so yeah, here its easier to keep an old diesel on the road than an old gasser..
 

GreggNY

Well-known member
OP checking in...

This thread has gone a bunch of different directions lol. Anyway, I've driven three Ram 2500 trucks all with the cummins/3.42, an f250 powerstroke/3.55, and a Ram 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi/3.73 gears. The cummins was A BLAST to drive. I had to keep backing off the gas more than getting on it to prevent from flying in that thing. I know it has less power than the Ford 6.7, but the cummins definitely felt like it accelerated much easier. The interior of the 2500/cummins was a Laramie trim with the bench seat. That interior is damn nice and the seats felt much better to me that the ford- a little wider and a little less firm. The f250 was a lariat and no complaints there either. Quieter than the cummins to me as far as engine noise from inside the cab. A little more bounce in the suspension of the F250, probably from the rear leafs. The Hemi 2500 felt like a complete dog after driving the cummins. Nice truck, but no comparison as far as performance.

As far as MPGs- I did a big loop in one of the 2500s and F250 diesels from the same dealer so identical routes and tried to keep the speeds the same. I reset the trip meter on both trucks at the lot for the local roads and then reset as soon as getting on the highway. The 2500 was running 15ish on local roads and a pretty consistent 21-22 on the highway. Pretty damn impressive. The F250 was in the 14s local and 18-19 highway. All going by the lie-o-meter dash so take that for whatever its worth. I drove the Hemi ram at a different place and it was in around 11-13 mpg on all local country roads- 40-45ish mph.

All these trucks were 2017-2018 with under 20k miles on them. More money than I was looking to spend, and I'm not needing top of the line trim levels but shopping for Memorial Day deals. Still driving more and looking around...
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,532
Messages
2,875,593
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top