not counting repairs the mileage differential will likely mean diesel pays for itself if you keep it more than 100K miles. Less than that and the diesel wont cover the additional cost. If you are only heavy hauling a couple of times a year you might be better off with the Hemi, but you will likely feel it those times you do haul heavy. But if you keep trucks for a long time the diesel option should pay for itself with the increased gas mileage. Just my $0.02.
Only if the diesel doesn't explode into a million little pieces.
Or you take it in for some silly little issue, and a single drop of water in your pump just cost you your warranty.
AND, if your truck is used every weekday and you can't work without it, the downtime hurts. Hurts bad. I have to work out of a POS Chevy Express van if my truck needs a week at the dealer.
Fleets are running from the diesels for a reason. Big trucks are the only ones getting diesels now. Dually f350, f450, f550 etc etc etc. No SRW diesels anymore. SRW trucks still get good enough mileage to not make the diesel risks and extra costs worthwhile. While a F550 with 4.88 gears is going to drink gasoline far too quickly, you have no choice but to go diesel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for the snapped frame pic, even if that is a Mexican truck with Mexican steel, it should have failed on one side, not snapped at both sides cleanly like that. It's highly unlikely that two giant spans of frame have the same failure, in exactly the same spot. They've been driving that track outside of it's designed limits for a while I'll bet. Google Raptor threads if you want to see more idiocy about bent frames on abused, even crashed, trucks. If you think you can bring your brand new truck back to the dealer with rocks in the tires, covered in mud, dinged up skid plates, etc. etc. etc. and still have a warranty? Yeah, good luck with that.
Also, the closer you get to the max rating of a truck, the less wheelin' and stupid stuff you can do. Flying down a rough pipeline access road loaded, is seriously bad mojo. I do it every week.
