Yeah, diesel maint is more expensive, but the intervals are longer, are they not? Plus the Cummins is known for going what, 300k miles before an overhaul is required? Try that with any gas engine on the market.

 

I wasn't questioning a diesel's longevity, just stating that this fellow might not need a diesel for the minor towing he described. Also, I know all kinds of folks who have easily gotten 200-250K on well maintained gas engines. This includes all Toyota's and the blue oval and bowtie boys occasionally hit that milestone too. If anyone wants a diesel to pull 5000-6000lbs... they should buy it. They can rattle, smoke and choke all they want too but I've been there already and out grew that desire, high cost of maintenance and even higher repair costs. With each repair I saw all my fuel savings go bye bye.

 

what milage estimate is horatio10 getting 10 MPG for the HEMI from? I have a HEMI and I get 14 in town and 19 on the freeway? Problem with a diesel is trying to find gas stations that have it, and these days around here(DFW) it costs more for the diesel than regular gas anyway. I have towed all kinds of stuff and yeh, the mileage goes down to 11-12 with something really heavy behind me, but there isnt a gas station across this country that I cant fill up at!!!

 

This is really a stupid argument. There is no comparison between diesel and gas when it comes to towing and gas mileage. The Cummins motors are built with the intent to haul heavy loads...period. They reach their peak torque numbers at ridiculously low RPMs and as you would expect the gas mileage is about 50% better.

If your Hemi is struggling under heavy loads it might be worth the investment to buy a diesel. I cant stress enough how much better it is to "overbuild" your tow rig. Every time I hear someone say "my trailer is 9500 lbs and my truck is only rated at 8100, but I think it is okay"...I have to chuckle because I used to say that.

Another thing you guys forgot to mention (or at least I didnt read) is the fact that diesels have much better resale value. Anyway, I would highly recommend going with the diesel. You really have to be pulling a load to appreciate the difference.

 

I disagree the resale value is only better if you sell to someone who wants a diesel...probably 1 in a 100

 

I also disagree, the only reason a diesel has a higher resale value is BECAUSE IT COSTS MORE TO BEGIN WITH! Duh, real hard one to figure out there. I would sure hope that if a consumer was to purchase a diesel at lets say $35,000 for essential the same model truck as my HEMI single cab that I got for basically $25,000, but with a long bed of course, that when he goes to get rid of it in a couple years that he should get upwards of 5 - 8 grand more than mine, UNLESS it has like 200,000 miles on it, and mine has say 80,000 then he wont get anything more. Its all relative you know. You buy a diesel because your going to use it to get your moneys worth. If your just buying one to have one over a gas engine equiped truck to say you have one, then your just wasting good hard-earned money.

I have yanked cars/trucks with my HEMI using an all steel Texas Roll-back trailer weighing about 1500 lbs and have had no issues with power and pulling capacity, only thing bad was the gas mileage. Set it on cruise and away it went, use the tow/haul button and it didnt even hardly shift gears going up and down hills. Granted the diesel has like 600 ft. lbs of torque VS. my 375, so I am sure the diesel may not shift gears at all, but if I towed something everyday then I would have seen the need for it, but I tow something besides my jetski about once a month on average so why in the world would I need to waste another $6 - $10 G's on a diesel. I would rather buy another motorcycle, boat or jetski.

 

And you're WAY off on that. Diesels are hard to find and they're much more expensive. Please take a look at my post where I pulled numbers off of KBB.com for similarly equipped vehicles, one diesel and one gas. The diesel is $5000 MORE than the gas.


First gen Cummins STILL go for over $10k for trucks in decent shape, and those are over 12 years old, versus 3-4k for a nice condition gasser.

 

diesels are a dime a dozen here in Texas, but so are pick-ups in general...

But echoing exactly what I said, diesels cost more to begin with so of course they have a higher reslae value.

 

Yes, that is a fact, but you're missing the picture. Options depreciate inline with the vehicle. If you opted for the $500 cd changer when it was new you don't get to add $500 to the book value three or five years down the road when you sell it. But the diesels cost about $5000 more, and still five or ten years later they're $5000 or more over the cost of gassers.

 

Our dually has bout 350,000 with the stock cylinder head gaskets (that just now started leaking), intake, I believe even the carburetor is stock (minus the 5 rebuild kits it's been serviced with). Not bad for a truck that was built in 1977 and pulled 8000 pound race trailers all of it's life.