Need help Comparing TV's for gas mileage

[Larry Mac01]

In every case , I would get a crew cab with standard box.
Maximum trailer would be 12-13K lbs.
But as I would probably only tow 10% of the time and a daily driver 90% of the time, I'm not sure I can justify ( or afford) the extra $9-10 k of a diesel.

So what would give you the best gas mileage of a Ford F-350 SRW with the 6.2 v8 and a 4.30 or a Sierra 3500 SRW with a 6.0 and a 4.10 rear axle . They are both within 500# on towing a fifth wheel in the 14.5-15k range.
But what would be the most affordable driving the other 90% of the time day to day driving?

[MtnTrek]

Guess we can well understand that 10/90 justification. I believe both are very capable vehicles. Get the one you prefer spending time in and around. I'd doubt there is a substantial difference in their fuel mileage towing or not.

Be well.

[Super Thirty]

Originally Posted by MtnTrek

Guess we can well understand that 10/90 justification. I believe both are very capable vehicles. Get the one you prefer spending time in and around. I'd doubt there is a substantial difference in their fuel mileage towing or not.

Be well.

You are correct about the fuel economy. There won't be a lot of difference if any. We have use Ram, Ford and GM trucks in our work. There is no brand loyalty, we buy the cheapest truck configured to our needs. All our units are 4x4. We don't have any of the new Ram 6.2l but several of the 5.7's in both 2500 and 3500 series. My experience with the gassers is they get from 14-19 mpg (imp) and when towing 8-11 mpg dependent on road and weather conditions. I used to be a GM fan but I now own a Ram and I wouldn't be scared to purchase a Ford if it had what I wanted and I liked driving it.

[09 harley]

The new Super Duty is clearly superior to any other brand right now. The other makes will catch up but by then Ford will leapfrog ahead again. You know which truck I bought and it surpassed my high expectations.
Since I pull a trailer I know that won't be good for mileage so I really don't care what it is.
I also ordered the 4:30 axle and it performs great. I never go over 3500 rpm while holding 55-60 up the Rockies.

[ricndot]

either of your examples will be very similar in mpg's as a daily driver (they will suck, literally). go shopping, test drive, bargain and purchase the one YOU like best. beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
hd gas powered trucks and fuel efficiency are mutually exclusive.

[rampowerwago]

To answer 1/2 of your question; I had a 2500 2wd Chevey with 4.10s and a 6 liter. It got 13 mpg day in and day out. Maybe 14.5 all on the highway. It got 8.5 towing an 11000# 5th wheel.

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by rampowerwago

To answer 1/2 of your question; I had a 2500 2wd Chevey with 4.10s and a 6 liter. It got 13 mpg day in and day out. Maybe 14.5 all on the highway. It got 8.5 towing an 11000# 5th wheel.

I like honest posts and yours is short accurate and no bull. Thank you.

[Twilightzone]

>" tow 10% of the time and a daily driver 90% of the time, I'm not sure I can justify ( or afford) the extra $9-10 k of a diesel."

Modern diesel engine breaking >>> worth every penny. I mean it !

IMHO: If you're going to buy a truck... buy it for the worst er... 'stuff' you will encounter. At that moment... it will PAY for itself. My truck is used the same as yours, 90% empty 10% loaded. IMHO: Absolutely worth it when loaded.

You will make up the extra expense of the diesel when selling it.

My RAM used to get good mileage...(22/18/13) till they took it in for an 'emissions' recall. That recall took away about 2mpg. (20/16/11) (freeway/round town/towing).

The govt is trading Carbon emissions (up) vs Nitrous emissions (down).
Likely not a good thing.

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by Twilightzone

>" tow 10% of the time and a daily driver 90% of the time, I'm not sure I can justify ( or afford) the extra $9-10 k of a diesel."

Modern diesel engine breaking >>> worth every penny. I mean it !

IMHO: If you're going to buy a truck... buy it for the worst er... 'stuff' you will encounter. At that moment... it will PAY for itself. My truck is used the same as yours, 90% empty 10% loaded. IMHO: Absolutely worth it when loaded.

You will make up the extra expense of the diesel when selling it.

My RAM used to get good mileage...(22/18/13) till they took it in for an 'emissions' recall. That recall took away about 2mpg. (20/16/11) (freeway/round town/towing).

The govt is trading Carbon emissions (up) vs Nitrous emissions (down).
Likely not a good thing.

I'd say you're still doing pretty well. My 2016 Chevy D/A 2500 4x4 gets about 16.5 on the road and roughly 11.5 to 12 around town. I have a motorhome so do not tow other than around town for work. I pull about a 14k g/n with my backhoe on it or a 14k g/n dump trailer. I really like the truck but hate the mileage. I've drove Ram trucks for years and they just do better on fuel mileage.

I'd still have a ram if the local dodge dealership wasn't sold to a bunch of thieves. Chevy dealership in town are great folks.

Chad

[jimcumminsw]

In my humble opinion buy the diesel truck. I have towed both with a gas truck and a diesel pickup truck and there is no comparison when you need to tow the trailer.

Remember you are moving a 6,000 to 7,000 LB vehicle with the frontal area of a house not a sports car. The fuel mileage will not be great with any gas truck capable of towing a 5ER. The Diesel engine truck will give you good fuel mileage and you will never loose the investment of the Diesel engine.

The diesel truck will last a life time if you are willing to keep it that long and the fuel mileage will be better than a gas truck in the long run. I still have my truck which is 10 years old now and it still tows my 5ER day in day out.

[mtofell]

For your usage it's a tough call. The gasser will be maxed out but will, of course, get your there safely. I'm in a Ram 6.4 Hemi with 3.73 gears towing 11,000# 5th wheel out west with lots of hills. It gets it done but the Ram tranny paired with the Hemi sucks big time. The gear ratios are borrowed from the tranny paired with the Cummins and don't belong in a gas truck.

That Ford 6.2 with the 4.30 and presumably a tranny to match sounds like a pretty nice setup. If you're really only towing 10% of the time I'd say that is your truck. But keep in mind you'll be somewhat near the upper limits of what it can tow. Of course, a diesel is the best tool for the job but you'll never get the fuel mileage/cost thing to pencil out unless you drive it for A LOT of miles to get the money back.

One thing to keep in mind while calculating is folks often use the MSRP diesel cost and you should use the actual cost which is closer to 80% of MSRP... Assuming you negotiate a good deal.

[09 harley]

Good fuel mileage is a relative term. My brother gets 9-10 with his dually towing a large 5th wheel. Is that the he good mileage you are talking about? If you tow over 10k then you need a diesel. All the posts about mileage really get old quick. This is a pastime that uses massive amounts of diesel or gasoline. If you need a diesel and tow heavy your mileage will suffer. If you have a gas rig and tow heavy your mileage will suffer. Buy the rig to tow the load and forget your mileage.

[idnative1948]

Our current rig is a GM 6.0/4.10s. If this is going to be a daily driver also, your in town mileage may be a concern. Generally 12-13 mpg city and freeway if you can hold around 2500rpm. Towing even with tow-haul and hitting 3000rpm gives us about 9-10 mpg, flat ground no hills perhaps 10+ a tad.

[Btipton]

We get around 11-12 towing our 15k fiver with our diesel. Have seen as high as 19.5 when not towing (full disclosure - all the emissions crap mysteriously fell off). This is with the truck in my signature.