Which Heavy Duty Truck?

[Luke]

I see there are other misc truck threads running, so hopefully this isn't too repetitive.

I have always owned a Toyota truck or SUV so I have no allegiance to any of the major truck brands. I am looking for the best diesel truck for general use (driving to work, range, etc.) AND for hauling a 25-30ft camper trailer around the state and region. 4 door and front and rear bench seats are a must. It will be a squeeze but there will be times I need seats for 6. If and when I purchase it will be used. The major points I am looking for is reliability, price, and fuel economy. I have pulled a multitude of fully loaded work trailers with gas and diesel trucks and I have no interest in going with a gas truck. Especially in the mountains of Colorado I don't want to be struggling with a gas engine pulling a loaded camper over Vail Pass or wherever. I know certain generations of trucks have pros and cons, and brands as well, so if you have any words of wisdom please educate me! I would prefer a relatively new model with <50k miles.

 

[sleeplz]

Tesla truck is what you want.

 

[Guns&WhiteWater]

I see there are other misc truck threads running, so hopefully this isn't too repetitive.

I have always owned a Toyota truck or SUV so I have no allegiance to any of the major truck brands. I am looking for the best diesel truck for general use (driving to work, range, etc.) AND for hauling a 25-30ft camper trailer around the state and region. 4 door and front and rear bench seats are a must. It will be a squeeze but there will be times I need seats for 6. If and when I purchase it will be used. The major points I am looking for is reliability, price, and fuel economy. I have pulled a multitude of fully loaded work trailers with gas and diesel trucks and I have no interest in going with a gas truck. Especially in the mountains of Colorado I don't want to be struggling with a gas engine pulling a loaded camper over Vail Pass or wherever. I know certain generations of trucks have pros and cons, and brands as well, so if you have any words of wisdom please educate me! I would prefer a relatively new model with <50k miles.

I have no gripes about my 2004 Chevy 2500HD LT. I would buy another. 350k and running strong. Averaging 19 miles per gallon.

Edit: forgot you said front bench seat, not sure about that one.

 

[Sniperwannabee]

cummins hands down

 

[Luke]

cummins hands down

What makes a Cummins better?

 

[Waorani]

I'm recently back to Ford F350. Got rid of a 2015 RAM 3500 a few months ago after minor problems/multiple recalls just became too annoying. Really liked the Cummins though. Only a few hundred miles on 350 and even less towing but so far I like it. Rides a lot better than last 2011 F350.

 

[Tater Salad]

I see there are other misc truck threads running, so hopefully this isn't too repetitive.

I have always owned a Toyota truck or SUV so I have no allegiance to any of the major truck brands. I am looking for the best diesel truck for general use (driving to work, range, etc.) AND for hauling a 25-30ft camper trailer around the state and region. 4 door and front and rear bench seats are a must. It will be a squeeze but there will be times I need seats for 6. If and when I purchase it will be used. The major points I am looking for is reliability, price, and fuel economy. I have pulled a multitude of fully loaded work trailers with gas and diesel trucks and I have no interest in going with a gas truck. Especially in the mountains of Colorado I don't want to be struggling with a gas engine pulling a loaded camper over Vail Pass or wherever. I know certain generations of trucks have pros and cons, and brands as well, so if you have any words of wisdom please educate me! I would prefer a relatively new model with <50k miles.

Ford has the best diesel motor, hands down! If you want a fast truck get a ram, a grandma grocery getter buy a GM product.

 

[Barryd]

F250 Superduty here. Tows my 34' camper with ease.

 

[Sniperwannabee]

cummins hands down

ever see semi's running powerstrokes or duramaxs? no cummins just build diesesl for commercial use. thats all they do. plus parts and service are everywhere due to the cummins service centers serving all the truckers transporting goods all over the country. Very conforting when traveling cross country. Thats why a MAJORITY of hotshoters use the ram HD trucks.

 

[Sniperwannabee]

Ford has the best diesel motor, hands down!

hahahah which one?the 7.3 ,6.0,6.4, or 6.7 they keep changing because they are terrible hahah

 

[BigTex]

I have been driving GM Duramax pickups for the last decade or so. Current is a 2015 Chevrolet High Country with some missing parts. 605hp/1054tq @ wheels. I have enjoyed the Duramax trucks and they pull 40ft stock trailers loaded with beef, 5th wheel campers, tractors, and whatever else I need to pull with ease. Avg 18mpg unloaded. The Allison transmission is pretty spectacular. It is yet to be seen what the new 10 speed is all about.

My dad and several buddies Drive the 6.7 Fords and they seen to be pretty good. It was a struggle to get there from the old 7.3 though. The 6.0 and 6.4 trucks that we had were turds. I have an uncle that drives older (01 and 06) Dodge/Cummins trucks and has good luck. My FIL has a 2012 Dodge and it has been a POS from day 1.

 

[SD Carpenter]

Get a ram Cummins

 

[Stevo86]

What makes a Cummins better?

Nothing anymore. We ran the older dodges 98-06 and had good luck. The ones after that weren’t very good. 6.7 ruined them. We switched to the 6.7 powerstrokes and have had excellent luck. We still have 4-5 dodge Cummins. But I truly think the Ford is a better vehicle. Can’t say anything about gmc or Chevy as I’ve never owned them.

 

[101stinfantry]

Here is my take fwiw. We have/had 3 Dodge trucks a 2000, 2011, 2016, motors are fucking great, everything else? Not so much, the '13 &16 have had multiple recalls, and other minor problems, won't buy any more of them. Also, have a Chevy 2500 duramax, great truck, and motor, no problems. Don't own any Fords. Now those are all work trucks, personal vehicle is a Tacoma.

 

[acudaowner]

can haul everything and gives more room in the back enough to sleep even and its a diesel

 

[wade2big]

Anybody telling you they get anywhere near 20mpg with a diesel truck is full of shit. With the DEF fluid trucks you might hit 16mpg average. With the older particulate filter trucks maybe 15mpg. I have had diesel trucks for many years. The avg mpg will be somewhere near 15mpg. My 2003 ram 14mpg. Chevrolet 2010 13.5mpg. The fords around that time are just as bad Tow something heavy and you are looking at about 6mpg.

fuel economy or power. Pick one.

 

[CypressJeff]

Ram had a lot of changes for 2019 which made me hesitant as I don't want to deal with any issues. Ford Superduty for 2019 is Tried and true with a lot of changes in 2020. If you have not yet, take a look at the HPFS (high pressure fuel system) failures on Ram, Ford and GMC.

 

[SD Carpenter]

The 2020 ecodiesel pulls 31mpg, and the new Chevy Diesel's pull 33.... Where have you been hiding?

 

[wade2big]

The 2020 ecodiesel pulls 31mpg, and the new Chevy Diesel's pull 33.... Where have you been hiding?

We are talking real trucks. ?

 

[BigTex]

Anybody telling you they get anywhere near 20mpg with a diesel truck is full of shit. With the DEF fluid trucks you might hit 16mpg average. With the older particulate filter trucks maybe 15mpg. I have had diesel trucks for many years. The avg mpg will be somewhere near 15mpg. My 2003 ram 14mpg. Chevrolet 2010 13.5mpg. The fords around that time are just as bad Tow something heavy and you are looking at about 6mpg.

fuel economy or power. Pick one.

Get rid of all that shit underneath and they will do a lot better. Mine does ~18mpg unloaded. Now loaded heavy, yeah 6-8mpg. They are tuned to be inefficient dogs from the factory to keep emissions down.

 

[Tater Salad]

hahahah which one?the 7.3 ,6.0,6.4, or 6.7 they keep changing because they are terrible hahah

All the diesel motors will continue to change as emissions standards continue to evolve. If you’re under the impression that a 7.3l ford built in 2003 is anything close to a 6.7l built in 2019 you’re mistaken. Same goes for Cummings and Duramax.

 

[wade2big]

Get rid of all that shit underneath and they will do a lot better. Mine does ~18mpg unloaded. Now loaded heavy, yeah 6-8mpg. They are tuned to be inefficient dogs from the factory to keep emissions down.

I have heard that they do better with all the emmisions crap gone but of course the trucks that come before the emissions were worse yet on fuel economy. I am talking about 2500 and 3500 4x4 trucks. A two wheel drive truck is a car in drag.

i am also talking avg which is a good mix of city and highway. Real driving. Not the theoretical full tank of gas down the interstate at 65mph.

 

[Healy]

16 f550 was getting around 8 before it was deleted then it went to 13. I’m in the middle of deciding on a new truck and leaning towards another 6.7. They aren’t perfect but between the 5 out on the equipment line about the only thing they’ve needed is regular maintenance. These trucks regularly pull up to 40,000 pounds of seed, cows, nitrogen, feed, and hold up pretty well

 

[BigTex]

I have heard that they do better with all the emmisions crap gone but of course the trucks that come before the emissions were worse yet on fuel economy. I am talking about 2500 and 3500 4x4 trucks. A two wheel drive truck is a car in drag.

i am also talking avg which is a good mix of city and highway. Real driving. Not the theoretical full tank of gas down the interstate at 65mph.

Not a car in drag. Lol

 

[wade2big]

Not a car in drag. Lol

View attachment 7262756

The attachment isn’t working but I will take your word for it. ?

 

[Caveman0101]

Ford or Chevy either will do the job. Fuck Dodge, yes the Cummins is a beast but the rest of the truck is shit. Nissan actually offers a Cummins also, as they own them now, but I'm not sure their towing capacity. Chevy will ride and drive the best, Ford's interior parts will last the longest.

 

[phlegethon]

Unimog.

 

[wade2big]

Ford or Chevy either will do the job. Fuck Dodge, yes the Cummins is a beast but the rest of the truck is shit. Nissan actually offers a Cummins also, as they own them now, but I'm not sure their towing capacity. Chevy will ride and drive the best, Ford's interior parts will last the longest.

I would agree with the Ram being a piece of shit if it were older than a 2010. Thats when the truck surrounding the motor was enhanced finally. Dodge never crossed my mind until 2010.

We had (4) Ford diesels for work trucks in 2008. Bought new. We never had all four at the same time. One was always in the shop and not the same one. They liked to rotate out. Pieces of shit. Ford had some bad bad times with their diesels recently. Real bad. They still can’t get their emission systems right. Maybe the newest Fords are better. I don't know.

 

[rjacobs]

I dont think you can go wrong with any of them really. BUT going to be harder to find a bench front seat truck that is actually nice inside. I think as soon as you go past like the 2nd trim level, its buckets in front and bench in the rear = 5 seats.

My old man had an 07 pre emissions Dodge 5.9... beast of a motor. Trans was shit. Truck overall was shit. The new ones, the trans is still junk, even if you option in the 6 speed thats a knock off of the Allison in the GM's. My old man is looking for a 3500 single wheel... you cant get the big screen in the dodge 3500, only 1500 and 2500... what a bunch of shit.

I had an 18 GMC Denali Duramax. That L5P motor is probably the best motor out right now IMO. Watch the 45 minute video Gale Banks put out with the tear down of the motor. It sold me on that motor. The truck was crazy nice too. I didnt care for the wax coated frame, but rust isnt a huge concern here in Texas. The Rancho shocks they put on are absolute GARBAGE... I swapped to Bilsteins and felt an IMMEDIATE improvement. My old man is looking to pickup one of the new 2020's to tow a 5th wheel, at least I believe thats what he has deccided on.

I would also probably be happy with one of the newer Ford's also. Ive driven a few and had no complaints really. My only gripe is the price. To get into something optioned like a Denali you are talking 10k more dollars(platinum at least, if not a limited) and Ford is real proud of their trucks and it was much harder to find a decent deal, 5-6k off an 80k sticker was about the best I could find back in 18, but to be fair I think the 18's were a "full" redesign. I feel like the Ford frame is superior to the GM, but maybe that has changed for the 2020 GM's with their complete re-design.

 

[Winningdog]

Anybody telling you they get anywhere near 20mpg with a diesel truck is full of shit. With the DEF fluid trucks you might hit 16mpg average. With the older particulate filter trucks maybe 15mpg. I have had diesel trucks for many years. The avg mpg will be somewhere near 15mpg. My 2003 ram 14mpg. Chevrolet 2010 13.5mpg. The fords around that time are just as bad Tow something heavy and you are looking at about 6mpg.

fuel economy or power. Pick one.

I have 04 Dodge one ton dually, it gets 20 mpg on the highway all day long. If I drive 70 mph. Have a 07 Dodge one ton with a delete kit, it gets 18 to 20 on the highway all day long, if I drive 75 mph. I use both to pull boat, haul hay, pipe or horse trailer. Of course mileage isn't as good when hauling 18,000 pounds of hay. I don't work for Dodge and have no reason to lie about the mileage. Bought both trucks new and have had little trouble from either.

 

[Mooseknuckles]

I would agree with the Ram being a piece of shit if it were older than a 2010. Thats when the truck surrounding the motor was enhanced finally. Dodge never crossed my mind until 2010.

We had (4) Ford diesels for work trucks in 2008. Bought new. We never had all four at the same time. One was always in the shop and not the same one. They liked to rotate out. Pieces of shit. Ford had some bad bad times with their diesels recently. Real bad. They still can’t get their emission systems right. Maybe the newest Fords are better. I don't know.

Nope they are not any better, turbo failures, egr coolers plugging, fuel pump failing (that will cost ya 12-14k to fix), def pump failing, radiators leaking, oil coolers leaking. I’ve seen it all. Transmission is decent though.

 

[rjacobs]

Anybody telling you they get anywhere near 20mpg with a diesel truck is full of shit. With the DEF fluid trucks you might hit 16mpg average.

The 18 Denali Duramax I had would average 18.5. And thats driving 75+ on the highway here in Dallas. I think I squeeked 21 out of it once driving from Dallas to Houston all highway. Only other long trips I took in it I was towing.

 

[wade2big]

I have 04 Dodge one ton dually, it gets 20 mpg on the highway all day long. If I drive 70 mph. Have a 07 Dodge one ton with a delete kit, it gets 18 to 20 on the highway all day long, if I drive 75 mph. I use both to pull boat, haul hay, pipe or horse trailer. Of course mileage isn't as good when hauling 18,000 pounds of hay. I don't work for Dodge and have no reason to lie about the mileage. Bought both trucks new and have had little trouble from either.

I have had the same trucks you are speaking of.
2003 ram 3500 dually 4x4. 14mpg
2004 ram 35000 dually 4x4 14mpg

This is real world driving not the if I drive this speed on the freeway with a tail wind down hill. They wouldn’t see 20mpg empty on the freeway either. I have driven factory built diesel trucks for the last 18 years and never see the mileage guys claim to get.

i don’t care about highway miles. I want real numbers with real driving. I won’t budge on this one. To many people inflate fuel mileage. I don’t care about someones best tank of fuel.

 

[jhunter]

I just went with a 2020 Chevrolet 6.6l gas burner. I’m getting 8mpg when toeing 15k. And around 12 mpg without. My 2016 Duramax ate the injection pump. After the $12k repair I finally got my calculator out and started comparing gas vs diesel. Im on flat ground and not on the interstate. Gas comes out to be cheaper to operate for me and I don’t worry about crazy repair cost. I had an 05 dodge 2wd that did get better than 20mpg on the interstate and had a 6.4l Ford with program issues. I swore never to go back with Ford but I did consider a Cummins before my most recent purchase.

 

[Winningdog]

I have had the same trucks you are speaking of.
2003 ram 3500 dually 4x4. 14mpg
2004 ram 35000 dually 4x4 14mpg

This is real world driving not the if I drive this speed on the freeway with a tail wind down hill. They wouldn’t see 20mpg empty on the freeway either. I have driven factory built diesel trucks for the last 18 years and never see the mileage guys claim to get.

i don’t care about highway miles. I want real numbers with real driving. I won’t budge on this one. To many people inflate fuel mileage. I don’t care about someones best tank of fuel.

I'm not talking about one good day at the range, with one .25 group out of 5 groups. The mileage I stated is what the trucks get. If yours didn't get the mileage you wanted, perhaps there was something else going on. My trucks are used for work. I think that is real world driving, but perhaps not.

 

[Scrubsr1]

Perfect time to purchase a leftover '19 Ram 3500 with the Aisin transmission. Just get the basic Tradesman package with bench seats...still very well equipped. More truck for the money when compared to either Ford or GM imo. It should go without saying to grab the wife and test drive them all!

 

[TxWelder35]

I'm not talking about one good day at the range, with one .25 group out of 5 groups. The mileage I stated is what the trucks get. If yours didn't get the mileage you wanted, perhaps there was something else going on. My trucks are used for work. I think that is real world driving, but perhaps not.

He’s right.
I currently have 2 ram 3500s. A 16 and an 18 both stock.
My 2016 3500 SRW best tank of fuel was Dallas to Galveston and back. 21mpg

Every day driving is 16 if I’m nice to the truck and 14 mpg if I drive with my typical heavy foot.

imo currently ram trucks are the way to go, but ONLY if you get the AISIN transmission. The 68fre is a pile of shit. A 16-18 ram truck is exactly what you are looking for. Comes with a bench seat in the nice Laramie trim. 900lb/ft of torque and will pull anything you hook behind it.

I have yet to see a single ford diesel motor that wasn’t a 7.3 make it past 150k without some type of major repair. Ford make a great 100k mike truck, after that good luck. Plus you have to pull the entire cab to do any work on them.

GM is the only heavy duty truck with Independent front suspension which is not know to hold up well. They are the least powerful stock Motors with the lowest tow rating (prior to the new 2020s) personally know a guy that blew the motor apart in his either 2016 or 2017

 

[captainmorgan460]

Waiting for Toyota to make the Tundra with a diesel. I'm all in then.

Couple close friends and family members have put on many hard miles with the newer 6.7's drama free. I think all the big 3 went through some growing pains moving into the diesels with emmissions/def. I would avoid those years for the most part. My favorites always went <2003 is the powerstroke. 2003 to 2006 Duramax. Then I start again being a fan of the 2011 ford 6.7's.

I think use and keeping up with maintenance is bigger deal these days than the the brand. Pick what features you're a fan of and local service center with a good reputation.

 

[Stevo86]

average fuel mileage on the fords and dodges we have are 16mpg. These r mostly 250/2500 with a few 350/3500 2 wheel drive trucks with service bodies. 07-09 dodges were a disaster, tons of emissions issues and turbo failures constantly in the shop. 11-15 f250s had exhaust temp sensor failures that would leave U stranded, radiator leakages and turbo hose connectors would blow. Once those were corrected, very solid trucks. 17-19 f250s, front end death wobble on the 4x4s. No issues on the 2 wheel drive trucks. 14-16 dodges have had issues with the def systems and water pump failures. And they sound like a your riding in a tin can going down the road. We do have a 3500 that’s been giving a lot of front end issues. We just got a 2020 f350 with the 10 speed and so far it’s pretty bad ass. All our trucks get regular maintenance, oil, fuel filters air filters etc. top miles on a truck was an 02 dodge diesel 6 spd that had 400k on it. I had just changed the original clutch at 375,000. That was a damn good truck.

 

[TxWelder35]

Waiting for Toyota to make the Tundra with a diesel. I'm all in then.

Couple close friends and family members have put on many hard miles with the newer 6.7's drama free. I think all the big 3 went through some growing pains moving into the diesels with emmissions/def. I would avoid those years for the most part. My favorites always went <2003 is the powerstroke. 2003 to 2006 Duramax. Then I start again being a fan of the 2011 ford 6.7's.

I think use and keeping up with maintenance is bigger deal these days than the the brand. Pick what features you're a fan of and local service center with a good reputation.

toyota has just about dropped all plans for a diesel tundra after watching the flop Nissan had with the 5.0 Cummins Titan

 

[wh20crazy]

I ended up with the '05 GMC 2500hd that my dad bought new. I put a mild (90hp) efi live tune on it. At or below 60mph, it'll get 23mpg on the hot tune. It drops to 19 to 20 at 75mph. 0 to 60 is 5.7 seconds.

The '06 to '07 classic with the lbz engine is a little stronger due to better heads and pistons than my lly. They also added 6th gear in '06, so highway mileage should be better.

 

[Sgt47]

I've been mostly happy with my 2014 F350. I use it almost exclusively for towing in the mountains. The only repair has been a def heater but I have low miles. I talked to the service manger at the dealer and he said most of the repairs he sees are DEF related. A delete may be in my future.

 

[chevy_man]

You'll never find one with front and rear bench seats.
Strongly consider a long box if you're towing a 5th/gooseneck setup as my buddy found out sliding hitches are a pain in the ass. Long boxes generally get you a larger fuel tank also. 35+ gallons is a lot nicer than 25-28 when you're getting 10mpg or less (and yes, we have diesels at work that regularly get 6-8mpg towing 10-12k lbs). Parking lots can suck, I just park in the boonies and walk. My fat ass needs it anyways.

I've been looking for a basic interior crew cab long box 3500. Can't find a single one that doesn't have a console and uppity trim level.


I've been searching high and low and also can't find one that makes sense to buy used. I can buy a brand new gasser for $40-45k. Used under 50k miles is $35k+. Stupid thing is a used diesel that was $50k is still $40k. It's insane how expensive the newer ones are which is propping up the used market.
I've even gone back to 10+ years old. Guys are still apparently getting $20-25k out of 06/07 duramax trucks, and you don't want a Ford that old (we have several 6.4 powerstrokes at work. Garbage trucks that are always broken and get shit mileage. The gas 5.4 Fords are also always broken. Interiors are generally ok, but radios are all broken by 150k.)


My current truck is a 00 3500 chevy crew cab long box with a lowly 350. It's pulled 10k lbs for 12 hours straight and has 250k on the stock drivetrain. Just kept up on the maintenance. Nothing in it is ever broken (well, the ash-tray fell apart because it had a few lbs of quarters bouncing around) because it has vinyl floors, floor shifted t-case, crank windows, split bench seats. Only factory options were 4wd, a/c, cruise, and tilt wheel. A truck built to be used as a truck. I just want one that's 15 years and 150k miles newer.

 

[Geno C.]

My ‘13 F350 drw with the 6.7 has been great. Only real repair was one injector needed replaced. I deleted it at 55k. It tows the vast majority of the miles and I have 130k on it now. Overall average of hand calculated, not the inflated computer mileage, is 13.1mpg. The interior is the most comfortable I’ve found, and they have the most leg room. That was back in 16 when I bought it and I think that’s still true.

As for getting a crew cab with a bench in the front, you end up with close to the base model on most trucks to get that when looking at used stuff. Not sure how nice of an interior package you can order new with a bench.

I believe the upped the capacity for ‘15 and up but this is about the max legal limit for the rating an f350 diesel crew cab is given

 

[Spdy]

You can get a GM crew cab with a front seat that has 2 buckets and a console that converts to a third front seat. Console seat is Ok for light use. I chose the 6.0 gasser over Duramax. The extra cost for the diesel engine and maintenance, 20% higher fuel cost and cost of diesel repairs if something goes bad And the fact that I don’t tow everyday led me to that decision. I get 15 mpg ave and 17 mpg best. Towing is 8-11 depending on trailer and route. I towed a 14k load (max for my 3500 SRW) and the engine definitely works pulling a hill. This is east coast so our hills aren’t like crossing the Rockies. The IFS gives a pretty nice ride for a full size truck. I have a B&W gooseneck hitch in the std (6 1/2 foot) bed and haven’t had any problem either the trailers I’ve used. You can also get the 35 gal tank with the std bed.

 

[wade2big]

2018 Ram 2500 crew cab 4x4
Base trim but does have a small touch screen, blue tooth, and back up camera.
Vinyl flooring and seats like all trucks should be if they are working trucks.

Took a photo of the front console folded down and opened up for a center passenger. Not much room to put your feet in the center but for a small person its workable.

 

[MotorOilMcCall]

+1 for Ram. 2013 Power Wagon (gasser) here w/ 100K miles. No issues beyond a front axle U-Joint go bad (it's a northern truck, so salt kills these parts on everything that has them). Recalls? Yeah, there's been a few, but nothing major. It's a daily driver, plow truck, and recovery vehicle to me. I put in XRF balljoints when I did the front U-joint (replace them together, once one goes, the other is probably close too), and I doubt I'll ever have to do ball-joints again.

I've had 4 Cummins trucks myself (3x 12V's, and x 24V). Our farm has had more than I can count (Cummins, GM's, and Ford's).

We only have 2 old Farm trucks now (everything else is new, with a warranty, and gets sold right before that expires otherwise it'l be a money pit... all of the emissions stuff has killed any value to diesel engines unless you can delete it, which in NY can't be done without risking major fines which isn't a good idea with a business vehicle). We've kept a 98 Ram 3500 12V, stick shift, over 600K miles and no real issues, though the T-case was rebuilt around 400K miles); and an 01 F-250 auto, which has about 500K miles, and has needed a trans rebuild twice (expected), and the T-case once. Both have needed front end parts, u-joints, brakes, etc., but you expect that on anything.

If Colorado doesn't do inspections (visual and computer), delete everything you can on that new diesel once the warranty expires... otherwise, sell it before the warranty expires. As noted above, the HPFS in these are time bombs, and when they go, they can cost >$10K to repair if you don't have a warranty. Just had a friend that got water in his tank (bad fuel), wiped out his CP4, and all of his injectors in his 2018 F250... it's still going through insurance claim, either on his own, or suing the fuel station. At least with a gas truck, parts are more common, and a lot cheaper.

 

[Luke]

Thanks for all the opinions! The folding console/bench seat is no problem - one of my kids would be sitting there, and only occasionally.

My Sequoia gets about 14-16mpg mixed use, so as long as I could get about the same or a little better to offset the extra cost of diesel I'd be happy.

 

[rjacobs]

extra cost of diesel.

While I dont have a diesel truck anymore, I still have a diesel car(2018 Chevy Cruze).

Gasbuddy app is your friend when shopping diesel. I have seen 30c+ per gallon price difference on a 5 mile radius search. Unleaded might be a 2-3c difference in that same search.

I fuelled yesterday at Walmart/Murphy for $2.22... We went about 3 miles up the road and saw diesel was $2.49-$2.55 at a few stations. On my car when I put 10gal in and get 43mpg, not a big deal at ~$3 extra per tank, but on a 36 gallon tank getting 15mpg, that $10 difference per tank adds up fast. The savings can be even greater if you run an aux tank and are fuelling 75 gallons of diesel at a time.

 

[KYAggie]

For the record, I own a 2017 Tundra and although I’ve owned diesel cars and still have a 2006 Jetta TDI, I’ve not personally owned a diesel truck.

That said, my brother-n-law owns a residential paving business in Nashville and he had Dodge diesel trucks until about 2010 time frame. He loved the Cummins but said the big problem with them was they had a “Dodge wrapped around them and other than the motor, they were complete junk that would not hold up”. He switched his entire fleet to the 6.7 Ford diesel and he loves them.

In 2017, I was looking for a used diesel truck and I found this place:

Used Vehicle Dealership Mansfield TX | North Texas Truck Stop

North Texas Truck Stop is a pre-owned vehicle dealership located near Mansfield TX. We're here to help with any automotive needs you may have.

www.northtexastruckstop.com

They specialize in every brand of used diesel truck. I actually spent a whole afternoon there and they let me drive what ever I wanted. I drove them all Dodge, Ford, & GM. They were great guys, very honest about the positives and negatives about each model, and actually talked me out of buying a diesel for my application. It was a good education for me and I’ve been very happy with my Tundra. If you can get down to the Dallas, TX area, I would recommend stopping by their lot.