Since I cant get a straight answer from anyone else, I figured I would ask the pros of snowest. Have two grums running around now (5 yr old and 8 mo old) and the ol supercab with 4 doors isnt cutting it and its time to move up to a crew cab with 4 full doors. Starting looking at used F-150s but with all the incentives and rebates on new trucks I think im gonna go that way. Seeing diesel prices are going down but so are gas I’m wondering if I should go with a 150 gas that will get prob 17mpg avg or spend the little extra coin and get a 250 diesel, get an intake, exhaust and chip and get the "claimed" 20mpg +. Right now the 250s qualify for 0% interest through ford where the 150s don’t. After doing some math I think you get more of a truck going with the 250. If I can get even 4 mpg more the cost difference of gas and diesel pretty much equal out in the end. I know the upkeep on a 250 is gonna be more (oil changes, tires, ect) but do you think its worth it? What have you guys seen for best case mileage on the 250 diesels that have some extra goodies on them? Thanks
F-150 or F-250?
- Thread starter zach477
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Claimed 20 mpg......
CLAIMED!!
I haven't seen one yet that gets that. It's a crap shoot. Maybe you will find one that does what it says, but what if you don't.....
You have to decide if it's worth it to you.. kinda hard for others to tell you if it's worth it to you. See if you need the 250... if not, why buy it.
Do you want to pull a trailer?
Fifth wheel?
Sled deck?
Do you use it for city use?
Who drives it?
I've run 3/4 to 1 tons for a lot of years..... Mainly because of work, but also because of pulling fifth wheels and trailers and my sled deck. The price of fuel combined with the extra 10,000 for the diesel option really doesn't turn me on. So, I will buy out the lease on my current 08 duramax, park it and buy a little f-150 to use for work. I will use the dury for pulling trailers and sled deck, etc...
I think you should do a search on both the 5.4 and the 6.4 engines. Those mileage numbers look really high to me. Good luck.
i have a couple of buddies , one has the f-250 harley diesel , chipped , crew cap short box ,, the other guy has the mega cap short box diesel , the dodge goes twice as far as the ford on a tank of fuel . seeing as i've just got a super duty 250 gas , i jump in the mega cab when we go sledd'n
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I've got an 05 f-150 supercrew and love it EXCEPT I can't effectively pull a large enclosed trailer. It's a great truck and with my edge programmer, and exhaust if I drive at 60 MPH on the flatland 19MPG is the average. At freeway speed or in hills, ect. I get about 17 and in town about 15. The programmer and exhaust made a big difference in town. Now put a trailer of any size behind it and that MPG number drops to about 6 or 8. I went with the 150 because it would do everything I needed at the time including pulling our 24 ft enclosed trailer, keep in mind this was in MN so no Mtn passes. On the flat it handled our trailer well with the out board rear shocks and 9000lb towing capacity, and it has plenty of power for it but I thik you'd torch the tranny quickly if you tried it in the mountains.
If I was going to buy right now I'd buy the 250 deisel. Don't even consider the V10, My buddy has one (2006 F350 Crew V10) and yes it pulls like a mother for a gasser but put the trailer behind it and your at that 6-8 MPG number again and when not loaded 12 is about as good as it gets.
If I was going to buy right now I'd buy the 250 deisel. Don't even consider the V10, My buddy has one (2006 F350 Crew V10) and yes it pulls like a mother for a gasser but put the trailer behind it and your at that 6-8 MPG number again and when not loaded 12 is about as good as it gets.
So instead of paying the extra $1/gallon for fuel for your Duramax, you're going to buy an entirely new truck (and insure it) to save on fuel costs?
LOL
If anyone buys a diesel and tries to figure out if they are gonna save money, especially on fuel,,, has never owned a diesel... and shouldn't.
If you tow, a LOT, and drive 20,000 miles a year, yes a diesel will benifit.
I read somewhere, that from a new truck (and this was a few years back) you have to drive a diesel 180,000 miles to make it pay off. The maintenance, over all cost of the motor, etc, is huge.
If you lease, and/or do not own a truck for more than a few years,,, go with a gasser.
I would say 50% of the pickup owners that own a diesel, have it for the 'attention factor' and do not use it for it's purpose..... kinda like having a dually with a canopy... LOL
If you tow, a LOT, and drive 20,000 miles a year, yes a diesel will benifit.
I read somewhere, that from a new truck (and this was a few years back) you have to drive a diesel 180,000 miles to make it pay off. The maintenance, over all cost of the motor, etc, is huge.
If you lease, and/or do not own a truck for more than a few years,,, go with a gasser.
I would say 50% of the pickup owners that own a diesel, have it for the 'attention factor' and do not use it for it's purpose..... kinda like having a dually with a canopy... LOL
if you don't need or can't afford a diesel, get the f150 supercrew with the 6.5' box... the tow rating and etc isn't appreciably different on the 250 and the 150 is going to be a more comfy truck to drive for the 95% of the time you're now towing... no brainer to me if you don't NEED a diesel, and if you can wait another year there's gonna be a f150 diesel anyway
If anyone buys a diesel and tries to figure out if they are gonna save money, especially on fuel,,, has never owned a diesel... and shouldn't.
If you tow, a LOT, and drive 20,000 miles a year, yes a diesel will benifit.
I read somewhere, that from a new truck (and this was a few years back) you have to drive a diesel 180,000 miles to make it pay off. The maintenance, over all cost of the motor, etc, is huge.
If you lease, and/or do not own a truck for more than a few years,,, go with a gasser.
I would say 50% of the pickup owners that own a diesel, have it for the 'attention factor' and do not use it for it's purpose..... kinda like having a dually with a canopy... LOL
Based on todays price where I live for gas and diesel. On a 1000 mile trip pulling roughly 6000 lbs. If you gave a gas motor the very generous mpg of 8, it would cost you $448.75. Gas is 3.59 here. On a 1000 mile trip pulling the same amount and figuring a very conservative 10 mpg for a diesel, it would cost you $399.00. Diesel here is 3.99. Diesel pickup costs around 6000 more than gas to purchase new. Diesel saves you approx. $50 every 1000 mi. over gas. By my calculations you would need to drive the diesel 120,000 to break even.
The estimates I'm using come from my experience. I had an 05 Hemi now I have an 08 Cummins.
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I have had both. An 03 diesel and currently have an 07 f150. Both crew cab 6.5 box. I pull four place enclosed trailers all the time, at least once a week and have them loaded. The diesel pulled faster and got a little better mileage. If I had to do it again, I would buy the f150 again. I pull my trailers 75 mph just fine. They slow down on the hill a little, but I usually pull in right behind my diesel buddies at the end of the day. The maintenance cost are lower and they are cheaper to insure and my garage does not stink any more.
Diesel will get more pricey, with time, the refining costs are also soaring, plus popularity, and with the emission laws... One must not forget the maintenance costs on a diesel, My 7.3 takes 14 litres of oil, and is roughly triple the cost for an oil change. Fuel filters should be replaced every 18,000 miles.. those are spendy also.
150 with 4 doors and a 6.5' box is the way to go. Diesels are dead when it comes to mileage these days. Not saying the 150 is better, it's just the new diesels will dissapoint you in the MPG area more then anything you can imagine. I can't be for certain but most diesels from 2007 on up are in the low, low teens. Not to good when you think it should be going the other way.
If you want a diesel, it would be best to find one pre-2007 epa stuff. If you don't want that, then the best choice in the original post is to go with the 150. Way more comfortable, quieter, cheaper to operate, maintain, fill, and it does an ok job with acceptable mileage. mid teens unloaded, low double digits loaded. You can get that 150 with a 35.7 gallon tank as well which makes fuel stops over 500 miles away unloaded.
If you want a diesel, it would be best to find one pre-2007 epa stuff. If you don't want that, then the best choice in the original post is to go with the 150. Way more comfortable, quieter, cheaper to operate, maintain, fill, and it does an ok job with acceptable mileage. mid teens unloaded, low double digits loaded. You can get that 150 with a 35.7 gallon tank as well which makes fuel stops over 500 miles away unloaded.
Where to begin? 1) If you can for certain predict that diesel "will get more pricey" you should get into commodities trading. You'll make a killing! 2) If refining costs are soaring for diesel, it will also be soaring for gas. 3)Are gas cars emissions exempt? 4) I seriously suck at metric conversions but does your gas vehicle not use oil? (how much is 14 litres?) 5) My diesel holds 3 gallons (no idea how many litres that is) my gasser held 1.5 gallons. The cost to actually change the oil is the same and I seriously doubt they socked you that much extra for 1.5 gallons of oil. 6) I change fuel filters at 15k and while $15 to $20 is a bit "spendy" I'm willing to pay it for a minimum savings of $50 per 1k miles.
Lots of input on the subject! I don’t think I would use the diesel to its full potential but usually once or twice a yr I have to borrow my parents 250 to do a job my 1500 can’t do. I also can think of some instances where a diesel would be better than gas. For example taking the sleds out west I can use a sled deck and ditch the trailer plus if I get tired along the way I can pull into a truck stop, keep the truck running and have plenty of room to recline and take a nap without having to get a motel room. A 150 would be a little too small and u would be idling a gas all night. However I commute 110 miles a day so I drive the car to work every day and the lady drives the truck to work. She works at the hospital so she has a hard enough time finding a spot to fit the 1500 in so a 250 would be a huge pain. I have heard from a few people they are avg 19-20 mpg with intake, exhaust and chip on a 6.0 and I guess I was wondering if there was much truth to this. Im not trying to save money on fuel but I don’t want to stick another $2k of my budget into fuel every year. I know the 150 will get about 17 avg, my chevy avgs that and my brothers 07 150 avg about the same. If I can get 19mpg avg with a diesel and using the current prices I would pay about $300 more a yr in fuel basing that of 30K miles. What made me really look at the bigger diesels is I can pick up an 06 250 lariat 4 door with 40K miles for $22K and the same in a 150 is about $500 less. Figured I would capitalize on the piss poor resale of diesels right now and get a lot more truck for the same amount of money.
Well to begin, diesel WILL get more costly, for a few reasons.. supply and demand, there are way more vehicles that use diesel, than say,,, 5 years ago, and the newer diesels do not get the mileage they used to.
To get the same horsepower and torque with the newer emissions, every manufacturer had to go with a larger displacement.. the exhaust emissions choke the motors.
You own a newer cummins which I believe sucks considerably more fuel than the 5.9 and this is a ford thread, which is besides the point.
The newer refining procedures to meet current standards on Diesel will be also make it more costly. Some of today's diesel engines burn cleaner than the gassers.
In some countries overseas, the use of diesel powered vehicles is over 50%
It will only be a matter of time when it hits the western world.
As for oil changes, it is triple over in Canadia. Fuel filters cost for my truck at a dealer, about 75 bucks.that is an extreme price, but the consumers buy it..
As for fuel comparisons from gallons to system international.
1 gallon to 3.8 litres. 1 mile to 1.6 KM
For other costs, ever get an injector replaced for a diesel?? how about a valve cover gasket? or batteries, front end parts on all the extra weight? Brakes, etc... If you own a diesel long enough to make it worth while, you obviously know of the service, repair costs. it starts to cost when the little things go south, let alone the big things.
Don't get me wrong, I love my diesel, I am super confident to drive my pickup wherever and not have to worry about the motor caving.... but it still is pricey to keep up on the maintenance.
Well when you drive one at work everyday and fuel it up everyday you get accustom to how far it can go, oh how much fuel and we do this simply calculation that tells us it ranges from 11 city, to 13 at the most we have ever witnessed on the highway. We don't pull that much so I can't say for sure but with mileage like that on the highway empty it's pretty sad. 07 and newer diesels are choked from the EPA and the fuel numbers all show it. Most diesel guys would give up their current 2007 and newer diesels for the pre EPA stuff.
