What will happen sooner... a Ford Gas vs Diesel dilema

ScottPC

Active member
I'm debating between the Ford 7.3 Godzilla gas and 6.7 diesel engines for an F350 Tremor (only in a super crew, short bed) to be built out with a flatbed popup camper. Eventually I want to take it internationally, but I know the ULSD becomes an issue with the 6.7. The 7.3 requires only 87 octane, making it pretty easy. Ford's 6.7 diesel has much more torque than what's needed in my case with minimal if any towing. The 7.3 Gas would be more than capable. My biggest issue with the 7.3 platform, due to its poor MPG (i.e. ~10mpg), is it's range. It comes with a 35 gallon tank, providing 350 miles of range on a really good day, so I've read. If I could find a way to get close to 600 miles of range, the 7.3 would be the way to go. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a replacement or auxiliary tank for the gas platform. In my research I ran across a petition among Ford owners asking Transfer Flow to develop a high capacity replacement gasoline tank for the F250 / F350 short bed trucks, like the Ford Tremor:

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/transfer-flow

Edit: You can go to Transfer Flow's site and suggest a product as well: https://www.transferflow.com/suggestions

My question for the group is, what is more likely to happen, (a) Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD) will be adopted worldwide OR (b) a larger gasoline replacement tank will be made available for the F250 / F350 6.7 bed market ?
 
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cobro92

Active member
I think the problem with a replacement/aftermarket large gasoline tank is going to be government regulation. As far as I know, there’s some law somewhere that says that while you can develop and sell diesel tanks to your hearts content, gasoline tanks are a no-go (maybe for some safety reasons?).

For that reason, I wouldn’t expect anyone to develop a larger aftermarket gasoline tank anytime soon.

If you truly need to be able to go anywhere with the diesel, you’re going to have to buy an older diesel, I think. You’ll pay a lot but if it’s a must have, then there aren’t really any other options.

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FordGuy1

Adventurer
I would 100% go with the 7.3l. The complexity of the new Diesel's are too problematic. When you figure in all maintenance costs, repair costs, Def, etc. It's not cost-effective. If you have a failure, even a small one, it's a **********. And if you are not near a dealer, you may be screwed. The new 7.3 is very easy to work on, many items could be repaired on the trail if needed, the 6.7l, we pull the cab to do a valve cover gasket. I love and own a diesel, but running 7 service and parts departments, I would not go back to a diesel unless I was pulling a lot of weight.
 

cobro92

Active member
I would 100% go with the 7.3l. The complexity of the new Diesel's are too problematic. When you figure in all maintenance costs, repair costs, Def, etc. It's not cost-effective. If you have a failure, even a small one, it's a **********. And if you are not near a dealer, you may be screwed. The new 7.3 is very easy to work on, many items could be repaired on the trail if needed, the 6.7l, we pull the cab to do a valve cover gasket. I love and own a diesel, but running 7 service and parts departments, I would not go back to a diesel unless I was pulling a lot of weight.

What about for a 3k pound camper? Or is it really only for towing?


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tacollie

Glamper
Plenty of people doing big trips in gas vehicles with 300 mile range. 34 gallons is a lot more than every Toyota and Jeep which have a sub 300 mile range. After 22 years in Toyotas I feel like 34 gallons can take me anywhere. It takes a little more planning but at least you can plan for it. You can't plan for the bad diesel. There are options for gas truck but they aren't cheap.

These guys added a 21 gallon aux tank to a F250. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...-on-37s-expedition-truck-camper-build.216282/
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
My question for the group is, what is more likely to happen, (a) Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD) will be adopted worldwide OR (b) a larger gasoline replacement tank will be made available for the F250 / F350 6.7 bed market ?

"Worldwide" as in "everywhere in the world?" I'd say the chance of that happening is somewhere between Zero and None. There are plenty of 3rd world countries where the infrastructure to make ULSD just doesn't exist and the cost to import it makes it unfeasible and since the vast majority of diesel engines in those countries don't require ULSD there's no reason to import it.

Now, if you can narrow your set of countries down to those that you are most likely to travel through, that might be a different analysis.

Having said that, gasoline is available almost everywhere.
 

FordGuy1

Adventurer
What about for a 3k pound camper? Or is it really only for towing?


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The gas 7.3 has more than enough power for a 3k camper. The 7.3 was designed to be a replacement for the V-10 in Med duty trucks. Its also the replacement for the motorhome chassis, so durability was the number one design concern.
 

Halligan

Adventurer
The limited fuel capacity isn't that big of a deal vs. the ass aches a 6.7 diesel can bring to the table if it decides not to play nice. As stated, look into mounting some NATO fuel cans on the flat bed or a swing out bumper arrangement. Some pop up campers even offer a Rotopax option to be mounted right to the side of the camper.
 

ScottPC

Active member
I think the problem with a replacement/aftermarket large gasoline tank is going to be government regulation. As far as I know, there’s some law somewhere that says that while you can develop and sell diesel tanks to your hearts content, gasoline tanks are a no-go (maybe for some safety reasons?).

For that reason, I wouldn’t expect anyone to develop a larger aftermarket gasoline tank anytime soon.

If you truly need to be able to go anywhere with the diesel, you’re going to have to buy an older diesel, I think. You’ll pay a lot but if it’s a must have, then there aren’t really any other options.

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I agree to an extent as I understand there is some sort of EPA certification required for gas tanks and not diesel with it's higher flash and autoignition points (safer). However, Ford does offer a larger tank 48 gallon on the long bed super crews, so the size of the tank doesn't appear to be the primary issue. I certainly get there a many tradeoffs and prioritization that's needed as I could go with the even larger truck for that 48 gallon tank, but I'm already considering going larger than I'd like for the Tremor package. The after market crowd has larger diesel tanks in the truck configuration I'm looking at so I don't think it's a fitment issue either. I suspect it's a matter of determining whether there is enough demand for one of the larger tanks to warrant the EPA certification process. My reservation with a pre emissions vehicle is I like a lot of the newer safety and performance features and would like a cleaner way to travel, if possible. That's not ot say if I found a well maintained pre emissions diesel, I would give it serious consideration.
 

ScottPC

Active member
What about for a 3k pound camper? Or is it really only for towing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The 7.3 platforms have higher payload capability than the 6.7L as it's a lighter engine. The 7.3 has plenty of HP and Torque for a camper and recreational towing. The torque curve is pretty flat as over 400 lbs-ft is delivered at 1500 rpms and peaking at 475 lbs-ft around 4000 rpms or so. However, for lots of heavy towing the 6.7 is just going to do it so much easier with over 1050 lbs-ft or torque--massive. For offroad use, I would like to keep the whole set up on the lighter side where it makes sense.
 
D

Deleted member 9101

Guest
I'd go with the 7.3. Even if the 7.3 gets 1/2 of the mpg as the 6.7 the initial cost of the 6.7 and the obnoxious oil change cost make the 7.3 cheaper per mile to operate. Add in one out of warrenty repair on the 6.7 and the 7.3 is looks even better.

Also...the 6.7 isn't all that fuel efficient. 1050 ftlbs of tq requires lots of fuel.
 

ScottPC

Active member
"Worldwide" as in "everywhere in the world?" I'd say the chance of that happening is somewhere between Zero and None. There are plenty of 3rd world countries where the infrastructure to make ULSD just doesn't exist and the cost to import it makes it unfeasible and since the vast majority of diesel engines in those countries don't require ULSD there's no reason to import it.

Now, if you can narrow your set of countries down to those that you are most likely to travel through, that might be a different analysis.

Having said that, gasoline is available almost everywhere.

Agreed...just thinking that if it got to where so much ULSD was being produced / distributed it might reach a critical mass where it would make sense to deal with the higher sulphur fuels any more...most likely a naive way to think about it...One of the reasons I started looking a the Ford 7.3 is that it runs off of 87 octane, just like my jeep which would be pretty easy to manage.
 

Porkchopexpress

Well-known member
I ordered an F350 with the 7.3 to haul a truck camper because of all the reasons above plus the cold weather advantages of gasoline. From my understanding, another reason 3rd world countries will never adopt ultra low sulfur diesel is that it's worse for the engines and some engines not designed for it will have problems running it. That's why the Mazda 6 diesel that was planned for the US about 10 years ago never made it into dealerships.
 

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