Gas versus Diesel - Maintenance.

[RV2600RB]

"Most mechanics want nothing to do with a diesel that is why the diesel mechanics charge more." Go into a rural area and you will find far more diesel pickups than gassers.

I agree^^^^
Rich

 

[Steven@147]

Here in Texas you will find a lot of diesels towing heavy rolled hay wagons and cattle trailers. Since there are a lot of diesels running around Texas you will probably find a lot of repair facilities, even in small towns and cities willing to work on diesels.
I think it comes down to getting the right tool for the job. Gas and diesel both have their maintenance items to be done and some you may have to watch out for more than others. (snapped off spark plugs) Some replacement parts maybe a little more expensive than the other. Both type of engines these days have very complicated designs what with emission standards, fuel consumption and such. Right now it seems gas fuel prices are much lower in some parts of the country than diesel. It's the refining process to remove the Sulphur and other stuff from the diesel fuel. It isn't your grandfather's diesel fuel any more.

It's just the nature of the individual beast, gas / diesel engines.
And I would add diesels do not like short trips. They like to run up to temp and run for a long time. DEF, well ours uses very little in summer not towing. Now in winter or colder temps it can use a lot of DEF.
Our diesel is just shy of 100K miles. I've done all the maintenance myself including the CCV replacement and yes it's on it's second set of batteries. Towing our 16.8 Solitude the diesel has done an outstanding job. About 9 mpg towing or 19-20 mpg not towing, running far less than 2000 rpms in 6th gear. But if I had a much smaller RV or job to be done a gasser would be just as good.

 

[Oldcow]

My 23 450 is my first diesel. I tow a 397. I absolutely love it and think it will be worth the additional maintenance. Would I own one if i had a smaller RV, probably not but I also would not own a 9,000 lb dually. Like others have said, for me it's the right tool for the job.

Oldcow

 

[txloser]

I’ve had both like many. I guess gas costs less to maintain. Maybe. I seem to get an oil change twice year on average at $115(6-8k miles) for each one. Just use a quick lube type place. I change the fuel filter every other oil change. That’s $35-40 each time. So, once a year. Takes me about 20 minutes max. My DEF tank on my new truck is still 1/2 full at almost 3000 miles.

If someone came to me and they were buying a new truck. I would tell them not to worry about the maintenance cost over a gasser. If buying a used 120k miles truck I may steer them a different way.

 

[lineman1234]

Just yesterday, i was on the ram/cummins forum i still chat in, but stay off topic, because i have a chevy gasser now.

A nice fellow in RI, was saying he needed a def pump on his 2015 or 16. Dealer couldnt get one for over a week. $1,500 out of pocket for him, he, installing it at home.

It is not a mater of if, but when, an emissions part will go out out of warranty.

 

[goducks14]

If I were looking to buy a 3/4 to 1 ton truck today and was towing under 12,000 lbs I'd go Ford 7.3 gas or even the new Ford 6.8 gas if I were in the 10,000 lb and under range.
But that's just me, I'm retired and only use my truck for occasional trips around town when not towing. If someone's not towing all that much and DD with a job that's not long distance, gas is the way to go.

 

[SGT ROC]

I live in a very rural area, very small town, in North Central PA. Our largest industry is Timber/Loging. Therefore we have a lot of log trucks (Diesel) in the area, and most, but not all of the loggers have diesel pickups. Having said that - if your not working in that industry, or pulling very heavy RV's - people have gassers. Diesel fuel in our area can be $1.00 per gallon or more than gas. We do have a dedicated Diesel repair man/facility in town, and he does go out to do repairs on the road. I do repairs myself on my gas vehicles because I always have - it's the way I was brought up. Any issues I have I talk to my brother who has been a mechanic/auto body repairman for over 55 years (Diesel, not so much but he can and does work on them). Since our community is shrinking, there are fewer and fewer places to do the work. Once the local diesel guy retires - in the next couple of years - there is no one to replace him (that I know of). After that it's 20 miles to a dealership, and 50 miles to any town of any substance.

 

[SGT ROC]

If I were looking to buy a 3/4 to 1 ton truck today and was towing under 12,000 lbs I'd go Ford 7.3 gas or even the new Ford 6.8 gas if I were in the 10,000 lb and under range.
But that's just me, I'm retired and only use my truck for occasional trips around town when not towing. If someone's not towing all that much and DD with a job that's not long distance, gas is the way to go.

My buddy just bought a new Ford gasser 7.3 after having a 2019 ford Diesel.

 

[lineman1234]

Maintenance. A helpful reminder.

Myself, being a backyard mechanic, i often times am successful, but also mess thing up. I am not a bring it to a dealer person unless its under warranty.

Coolant change is part of maintenance. Its not the olden days, of grab and dump. There is OAT and HOAT and maybe others. NEVER shall they meet/mix. It will gel. There is also another type i see on a farm i help with harvest that can work with both.

Check what you have if doing yourself, and if bringing it somewhere, maybe get the right stuff and bring it with for them to use. Of Couse the dealer should know what to use.

 

[jleonard]

Could you elaborate why you feel the diesel is more expensive? Maintenance-wise? Or are you just speaking of oil changes, and fuel filters?

Mainly oil and filters. 2x the oil both to purchase and the disposal fees, oil filters are more expensive, fuel filters are more expensive (x2),2 batteries ( although my old 91 had only 1).
By the way my truck is my daily driver. Long trips or very short trips i use my truck. When I’m done camping ( this year might be my last) I’ll definitely go back to a gas 1500 2 wd.

 

[ajg617]

Most of my diesels were of an early vintage with a lot less complicated emissions components. But I've always been a diesel fan going back to the 1970s when I worked as a mechanic at a marina and serviced our Volvo-Penta and Perkins diesels. Simple and straight forward maintenance. Liked them so much that my first two commuting cars were diesels. Found out very quickly that the simplicity and costs didn't translate to diesel autos vice gas as easily - mostly due to design and implementation of fitting a diesel into a car designed for a lighter gas engine.

My first diesel truck was an 01 Dodge Cummins which was solid except I found parts prices for wear items such as brake pads/rotors/suspension and filters a bit higher than the gas equivalent on our GM 2500 series. The outliers were our 05 and 06 Ford 6.0Ls for which I would say the maintenance costs were much higher than any gas equivalent - more frequent oil changes due to oil dilution and mandatory 60K coolant flush and those were design issues IMHO. If you didn't perform those maintenance items (and unfortunately for many even if you did), you were pretty much guaranteed to have an EGR/Oil cooler and/or HPOP/injector/head bolts (oh where to stop on these) failures.

But I would suggest that when I towed with a gas truck as I did in the 1990s and early 2000s, I'd be hard pressed to differentiate a premature repair due to pulling a trailer from a maintenance cost which is why I shifted to diesel. Gas trucks back then just weren't meant for that kind of use - different story today maybe especially looking at some of the payloads folks are posting. I needed a Suburban to pull with family. After ruining two gas versions of them, stunned when I started looking at the capabilities of a diesel vs. gas Suburban - less towing capacity on the diesel. As some of the kids got older, what a joy pulling through hills with the Cummins vs. the Suburban. Today with just the two of us it was an easy decision. Be interesting to see how the gassers hold up at the 100K+ mark compared to their diesel brethren.

 

[Spartacus]

I don't see that it's that much more expensive, I have one fuel filter, one oil filter and those I get off of Amazon, the DEF that I put in you can buy for about $20 or so dollars, unless you get it at the pump at the truck stop. The fuel filter cost on Amazon about $30 dollars I don't go to the stealership it's doubt there, I do my oil and fuel filter changes, so I don't understand what they are talking about.

Now we live in the PNW, I had a gas engine truck I like towing my 15K 5th wheel over the mountains the hills and cross country and not to say that a gas engine can do it but with the diesel engine it's a lot better, but it's a preference and I choice to go diesel. For me spending a few more dollars to tow my heavy 5th wheel out weight having a gas engine do it, I love the tq from the diesel. It's what a person want in the end, what one don't want or need another want it and for me this is what I want, you only live once in life.

 

[txloser]

I don't see that it's that much more expensive, I have one fuel filter, one oil filter and those I get off of Amazon, the DEF that I put in you can buy for about $20 or so dollars, unless you get it at the pump at the truck stop. The fuel filter cost on Amazon about $30 dollars I don't go to the stealership it's doubt there, I do my oil and fuel filter changes, so I don't understand what they are talking about.

Now we live in the PNW, I had a gas engine truck I like towing my 15K 5th wheel over the mountains the hills and cross country and not to say that a gas engine can do it but with the diesel engine it's a lot better, but it's a preference and I choice to go diesel. For me spending a few more dollars to tow my heavy 5th wheel out weight having a gas engine do it, I love the tq from the diesel. It's what a person want in the end, what one don't want or need another want it and for me this is what I want, you only live once in life.

I agree. Bottom line it’ll cost more to buy and a hair more to maintain. Which maintaining is what we’re dealing with here. May be worth it to one guy and not to another. No right or wrong. If we took this in the direction of a Gas motorhome vs diesel motorhome. Now you’ve got an argument for diesel being more costly to maintain. But in modern trucks it’s negligible.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Diesels may be a tiny bit more to maintain as far as oil changes.....but that's it. What else is there? Owned diesels since 2004 and don't notice an increase in maintenance costs over gassers.
However...I've never had to rebuild one...I hears there's a pretty big difference there.

 

[ajg617]

But in modern trucks it’s negligible.

Unless you keep it for a couple hundred thousand miles. I don't know if a gasser would last that long and might have to factor in the cost of a new truck as 'maintenance'. I don't know about others, but I keep my vehicles as long as they run and don't rust through. Even with all the issues on our 05 F-350 6.0L, my daughter still pulled her live in horse trailer between Vermont and North Carolina a couple times a year and over 200K on the clock. It's still alive and kicking at 250K but I let my SIL fix it now

 

[lineman1234]

Diesels may be a tiny bit more to maintain as far as oil changes.....but that's it. What else is there? Owned diesels since 2004 and don't notice an increase in maintenance costs over gassers.
However...I've never had to rebuild one...I hears there's a pretty big difference there.

Your 2018 isnt that different than my 2015. There is a difference and more cost than a gas. Your diesel has 2 fuel filter each oil change, gas non to be changed, no ccv filter to be changed on a gas motor, diesel yes, filter $100, labor about an hour. Some dealers recommend egr cleaning as maintenance, it is actually a good idea, the inside gets ugly. Valves/lifters are solid, so need adjusting and quite the job, gas no. Its all in the manual on when to do each thing.

I had my 2015 for 8 years, so i know a bit about the ram cummins.

 

[Gronk1]

Depends on what one deems maintenance or repair. With some exceptions, most folks seem to keep their trucks 2-5 years. If it's diesel- oil changes, fuel filters that's it. Then its off to buy the next shinny, more HP, tighter turning radius more camera truck.
Have a friend that he buys a new truck when he has to buy a second set of tires on his current one. He seems to never have problems with his vehicles.

I keep mine till the wheels fall off...or a recurring problem that could leave me stranded.

 

[Spartacus]

Your 2018 isnt that different than my 2015. There is a difference and more cost than a gas. Your diesel has 2 fuel filter each oil change, gas non to be changed, no ccv filter to be changed on a gas motor, diesel yes, filter $100, labor about an hour. Some dealers recommend egr cleaning as maintenance, it is actually a good idea, the inside gets ugly. Valves/lifters are solid, so need adjusting and quite the job, gas no. Its all in the manual on when to do each thing.

I had my 2015 for 8 years, so i know a bit about the ram cummins.

One fuel filter and they are $30 dollars for my gmc.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

One fuel filter and they are $30 dollars for my gmc.

My Ram only has one as well, but I think lineman is referring to the water separator as another fuel filter.

 

[ajg617]

My Ram only has one as well, but I think lineman is referring to the water separator as another fuel filter.

Mine has two - the rear one near the tank is a filter but also acts as a water separator.