diesel truck vs gas truck


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v greene

New Member
Hi there
I am pretty green with this whole rv thing. I really like it alot and plan on doing alot of travelling with it. However I have one big problem, I need some advice. I have a 87' 3/4 ton Chevy pick up with a 350 motor in it. I used it to pull a 2000 light wight mallard that weighed 4300lbs and had no real problem pulling it,only when i went up to 100 mile house one summer it was a little sluggish. I was only able to do about 50 km going up the hillS. When i was finally fed up with holding up traffic, I tried to go a little faster and i started to over heat. After that trip i started to really think about getting a diesel truck because all I hear from people is, that's the way to go for pulling. Now this year i have traded in my mallard cause of space issues and I now own a 2004 trailblazer komfort that weights 6373lbs. It is now a whole new ball game trying to pull it with my truck. It pulls it ok but not good enough and I don't think I'll be heading up any hills anytime soon. So now I plan on getting a diesel but still not too sure. Can someone give me some advise if I'm better off getting a diesel truck vs a gas truck. I'll really appreciate it . Thanks... :laugh: Von :question:
 
Kirk

Kirk

Senior Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

It really isn't quite as simple as you seem to be making this. You need to match the truck to the load and that is done by checking to see what the GVWR, or gross vehicle weight rating, is and what the GCWR or gross combined weight rating is. Then you compare that to what the weight of the trailer is. The truck must have a load capacity that will carry the pin weight added to that of the truck when loaded for travel, as well as staying under the GCWR when you combine the total weights of the trailer and the truck when ready for travel. These are things that are needed for safety and for the survival of the truck over the long term.

Your truck with a 350 engine was not one of the larger trucks on the road and so it isn't all that surprising that it didn't deal well with long grades when towing. All three of the major tow truck builders make a much larger engine today in either gas or diesel that will do far better than your old one. A diesel will have more torque for climbing, but no truck will climb the long steep stretches with the cars on the road. At this point it is a question of performance aginst the budget. You need to take the weight of the trailer into consideration as you choose your new truck. If the trailer is a bumper pull, travel trailer then it won't put more than about 20% of the weight on the truck, so you should be fine on the GVWR. But you still need to keep GCWR in the mix as you choose. It will cost about $4000 more for the diesel and it will have only about 500 - 700# more towing capacity. But the diesel will out climb the gas engine, in most cases.
 
V

v greene

New Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

thanks kirk for the advise. i just came back from the chev dealership and test drove a 2005 1 ton duramax diesel and i was really happy with all the specs of the truck. so now i am aiming towards getting one.
 
P

Poppa

Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

be sure to check on the rear axle ratio when purchasing any vehicle for towing.

With the duramax you can change the chip or install one of the variable units so you can have it scaled back when not pulling a load and crank it up when towing.
 
V

v greene

New Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

Hey poppa what do you mean exactly by variable units so you can have it "scaled back when not pulling a load and crank it up when towing" :question: .
 
H

hertig

Senior Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

Shavon, in the old days, engines were controled by vaccuum and mechanical digusses, and were pretty much most efficient for only one purpose. Nowadays, most of the engine's performance is controlled by a computer. Each vehicle comes with a memory chip from the factory loaded with a 'stock' profile, which is adequate for most usual purposes. However, if you want the truck to have optimal performance for one particular usage, you would need to replace that chip with one appropriately programmed. The down side is the truck will not work even as well as stock for any other purpose.

From Poppa's comment it sounds like they now have a replacement for the chip which provides 'several' different profiles, so you can select the appropriate profile for optimal performance at any task you ask of the truck. I don't know if this is a 'super' chip which contains several profiles and code which allows the computer to use the one you select, or an external device which programs or even emulates the chip with the profile you select.
 
Grandview Trailer Sa

Grandview Trailer Sa

Senior Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

You are correct that computers control vehicles today, but you do NOT replace the chip. What every one is doing is REPROGRAMMIMG the stock computer. We sell Hypertech products that give the Duramax 3 different power settings. 50, 70 and 90 additional horsepower. Can't remember torque, but the 90 setting gives the duramax about 160 extra pounds of torque. 50 and 70 does not effect mpg much but 90 does. I have my trucks set at 70.

There are some makers of programmers that you can change the power settings while driving, but I don't know much about them.
 
G

greeneyes

New Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

I own a 7800lb 5th wheel that I pull with my 2000 dodge ram 2500
Diesel. I had a 350 ford dually that had a 460 GAS HOG engine 7MPG
when not towing!! The Dodge diesel gets 20MPG not Towing and 9-14 MPG
towing. So I vote for the diesel! Also recomend 6 speed manual tranny.
have a 5 speed manual in mine.

Bob <palm bay Fl>
 
V

v greene

New Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

Wow! Bob thats quite the diffrence.Yeah i really thing i will be going with the diesel after all. I like the new duramax 3, i'll have to go with the Auto since it produces more torque than the manual.But like Grandview Trailer Sales said that can all be change with reprogramming the stock computer.
 
D

duramax

New Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

well shavon, i went and bought a 2005 duramax 3/4 ton myself and i used to have a 2002 chevy 1500 with the 5.3 and it wasnt really enough to pull with my 25' fifth wheel that weigh's 6,550 pounds but now with the duramax pulling my fifth wheel it feels like your pulling jet skies. So i think your making a good decision.


What ever you do get it with the allison transmission


happy camping!

duramax :)
 
DL Rupper

DL Rupper

Senior Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

Hey duramax, Glad you're happy with your new DURAMAX. I love the smell of diesel :clown: so I guess you know where my vote goes. You didn't mention whether or not you have the ALLISON transmission. I do concur with greeneyes43 in that the Dodge diesel coupled with the 6spd manuel makes a really good tow machine :laugh: . I get 21.mpg empty at 70mph, 18/19 around town, and 11/12 towing a 12000lb 5ver. The best part is it tops a 6% grade in 5th gear at 70mph at 3/4 throttle :bleh: . Without reprogamming. Stock Cummins diesel with exception of BANKS exhust brake and performance air filter. Bottom line it doesn't matter much which diesel you have (FORD,CHEV,DODGE) it will tow better/easier than a gas engine and get better milage doing it :) :laugh: :cool: . Have fun towing :clown: .
 
W

we-wants-it

New Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

Hi Shavon, I see that you've bought your new truck. It should do you a very good job. We had a '99 Ford F150 5.4L 2 wheel drive pickup that performed very well pulling my 4800lb. 5'ver. We wanted a larger 5'ver so a more powerful, more GVWR, pickup was needed. We bought an '04 Dodge Cummins with the automatic transmission. We hitched up to a 29' 9500lb 5'ver. The Dodge pulls the bigger trailer easier and more economically than the Ford pulled the smaller trailer. We also installed an aftermarket chip that gives more horse, more torque, and a definite, measureable increase in fuel mileage. The chip will pay for itself in 15,000 miles of use. If you want to know more about the chip - email me at alanthomas@sawtoothlbr.com Good luck, Terry & Becky
 
D

duramax

New Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

yes dl rubber of course i bought it with the allison


05 gmc 2500hd duramax/allison
04 keystone cougar 25'
 
DL Rupper

DL Rupper

Senior Member
diesel truck vs gas truck

Hey duramaxy, just asking. After all there are 21 pages, yes 21 pages of allison transmission postings. :clown:
 
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