3/4 Ton trucks (gas or diesel) what to look for?

Good morning Monkey's!
Last year the wife and I bought a travel trailer (RV, Camper, whatever you want to call it). We had to go with a "second" choice as the one my wife fell in love with would not be compatible with the tow vehicle, a 2013 Toyota Tundra. I knew going into this we'd have to watch the weight of the rig, tongue weight and cargo in the truck. Yes we are right at the payload limit of the truck and I can tell that we are pulling and at times the truck struggles, long up hills especially.
So I have been looking at going to a 3/4 ton vs a 1/2 ton, the reason being my wife is already talking about upgrading the TT in a year or 2 to a slightly bigger one. With 2 teenager kids and 2 60+ lbs labs in our current TT it gets a bit tight.
First off, the only diesel I have ever owned is my Kubota BX, which I love and I use off road fuel in it.
I know that diesel vs gas it debatable for several reasons, the reason I am looking at diesel at this point is that we are planning on some extended trips next year across the country and I feel that if we hit any mountain areas the diesel will out perform the gas. Additionally I've read for many people pulling a TT the diesel MPG may not change much (don't know the truth to this??).
What I am seeing locally is that the diesel trucks in my price range are right around 200k miles, I can't tell if this is necessarily bad or if we need to bump our price and get a newer model with fewer miles.
My main questions for the monkey are:
1) pros/cons of diesel vs gas
2) maintenance on diesel - is it really a nightmare? I do most of my own maintenance and I'm pretty handy with a wrench.
3) I have no preference on the big 3 manufacturers (ford/chevy/gmc), I've owned many different brands over the years they all have shortcomings, but any model years, or engine setups to avoid?

With my Tundra I've always hated the MPG it got, other than that it has been a great truck. The only other "complaint" is changing the oil is a pain due to having to remove the skid plate.
This would be my primary vehicle, but I work from home so I really don't drive that much any more. Primarily this truck would be for hauling the TT, my son's scout troop trailer, and general driving.

TIA for any tips and advice when looking for a 3/4 ton truck

 

If possible,, I would go with diesel,, mpg's stay about the same loaded or not , 200,000 isn't to bad on some models ,, Dodge Rams have a pretty good reputation with their Cummins motors ,, Fords have a few issues with the 6.0 powerstrokes ,, I'm dealing with a few problems with mine , and I'm just over 200k on it.
But I'm sure a few other folks can give ya better info than I can ,, but if you're gonna upgrade the camper later ,, go ahead and get the diesel ,, you'll be glad you did not long after you start dragging that weight around .

 

6.0 is what I have but those models are now of an age I won't trust another one, been thinking about picking up a 2015/16 as a failsafe for when this one expires some day. I will never have another Ram.
Routine maint is more expensive but easy enough. The 6.0 drama was not typical of all diesels, Ford shot themselves in the foot there. I love it and would miss a diesel but if I didn't have any work to put it to, it would be a waste just for a daily driver. So, I would have to think up a job for it, because towing with gas is not something I will ever choose.

 

I think I would do the math on the price difference between models
Gas vs Diesel.
I've seen that diesel models command a price premium.
Then divide the premium by the miles per gallon difference.
So 5000 dollars premium price to buy the diesel vehicle.
16 for diesel vs 12 for gas mpg
let's say you drive 8k a year.
diesel is going to be 500 gallons
gas is going to be 667 gallons
and lets say diesel is 4.59 and gas is 3.79
Gas is going to cost 2528 per year
Diesel is going to cost 2295 per year
or a savings of 233 dollars per year running diesel vs gas.
or over 22 years to justify the price premium for the diesel.

In my book, you'd have to drive a crap ton more miles per year to make it justifiable.

Also, this doesn't include the maintenance cost but i do know when a diesel breaks .. boy howdy they are expensive.

Just my two cents.

 

I have ran both gas and diesel rigs, and put tons of hard miles on them all. For diesel, Dodge is really the ONLY choice nowadays, Ford had a good truck when they had the 7.3 TDI, but decided to change it up and ruined it. And GM has never really done a diesel the right way, and they are stupid expensive.

I would absolutely run at least a 3/4 ton or even One Ton, but not for the reasons others have pointed out, it's because they have much bigger and more powerful Brakes, and at the end of that day, you gotta have plenty of Whoa to go with your Go, especially pulling a trailer!

Now comes the truth, diesel will always cost you more to own and operate, so don't buy into the lies that they get better fuel mileage and are cheaper, they most certainly are not, from the initial cost of purchase, to the stupid high fuel price premium OVER what gas costs, you never come out ahead unless you use that diesel rig every day for what it was intended for. Gas rigs these days are actually pretty damn fuel efficient, again, Dodge has all the marbles here, with Chebby a close second ( but your paying more for the Chebby) and it's only when your towing that you feel it at the pumps, otherwise the gas rigs are pretty damn good, plus, they are lighter and cheaper to buy and run, so your coming out ahead in the grand scheme of things!

If you just have to pull the mountains like a race car driver, then get the Diesel, otherwise, gas is the better choice over all, and forget the whole "diesels last forever" rubbish, it doesn't matter, if the truck has so many mines in it that it's worn and uncomfortable to drive, it ain't worth it!

If I was spending your money, I would buy the Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 quad cab short bed, get it with the 6.4 Hemi and be happy, that's about as good as it gets and will serve you long I to the future and have a decent resale when the time comes. Avoid Ford at all costs unless your dead set to get one, and then only look at the 98 and newer F-250's with the Power Stroke 7.3 Turbo, and nothing less! If you just have to have a Generous Motors, just make sure it's got at least the 5.7L gas, or even the rare big blocks and you should be fine, just expect to pay more, and have more ongoing maintenance needs/higher costs!

GM ride the nicest, but boy are they expensive as hell around here, and not very reliable compared to the others!

 

VT, noticed going thru Flint that the difference was less than 10 cents between gas and diesel! Made me think a bunch during a long drive about this subject. In my opinion, we are going to have some government intervention in the next few years in energy markets, and it will be due to the slow adoption of Battery-Powered vehicles. To make this transition happen faster, I believe we will see a higher gasoline tax, but NOT a higher diesel tax. Diesel powers this country in terms of transportation costs, so I believe its tax rate will remain the same. It's almost impossible to find a NEW diesel-powered vehicle (strange, isn't it?). Only options are 3/4 ton trucks from the Big 3, or Chevy/GMC half ton trucks with a 3.0l diesel, or Chevy/GMC Tahoe. Within a couple years, I'd guess that these will be harder and harder to find.

 

I wouldn't buy a diesel simply because I live in AK - too cold!

 

Quick and Dirty,
This bad boy is a 2016 and has 41000 miles on it, its LOADED with all the goodies and must haves, and is a pretty good deal @ $30,000!

The Comparable Chebby is a $5500 premium OVER the Dodge, has higher millage and smaller engine, and isn't as loaded!

For the Dodge, its almost a $8500 Upcharge for a Diesel, for the GM, it's almost 13K!!!!!
And just so were comparing apples to apples here, the last of the good Ford F-250's a 2005 Super Cab Diesel with the amazing 7.3 TDI used with 165K on the clock, $19K

 

Don't get a Ford 6.0L diesel. They all need at least head studs, oil cooler, egr delete, and reprogrammed to delete the low Nox emissions and quiet injection timing BS.
The 6.4 is a throw away engine.
The 6.7 seems good and there's always the 7.3l powerstroke, but they're all 20+years old now.

 

What ever one you wind up buying. If you are going to tow or haul, I'd make sure that there is an old school solid axle with leaf springs out back.

I really don't think those independent coil spring axles are up to the task of heavy loading.

 

If you want a car with big tires, get a GM. if you want a work truck, get a Ford. If you don't care, get a Dodge.
A friend of mine bought a new Dodge (Ram) diesel truck last year. Yeah, it rides good, gets 22 mpg on the highway, but the love affair stops there. Gotta buy DEF, 21 quarts of oil per change, and pay 75 cents more per gallon in these parts for the fuel. My E-350 van with a V10 (cost me $1500) gets 11 mpg, tows 19,000 pounds, takes 6 quarts of oil, and 75 cents per gallon cheaper fuel. When you factor in all of the operating costs, it's a wash. When it comes time for repairs, I win by a factor of 4. There really isn't a reason someone using a vehicle for non commercial uses needs a diesel. It was a fad that started with the VW Rabbit diesel when diesel was way cheaper than gasoline. Somehow people have convinced themselves that diesel is better and will last longer. Bull. I had a 1989 Super Duty wrecker with the 6.0, and basically bought it twice over it's lifetime. I had an '03 F-350 that was a lot better, until the 150k mile mark when it started deciding that I needed less disposable income. Almost everything on that truck was more expensive to replace than the gas version except the windshield wipers. Both were pretty much used up at 250k miles. I drove a '99 F-150 with the 5.4L Gas engine for 436k miles, put on 2 alternators, 1 fuel pump. a radiator and a thermostat. Total repair cost was less than the glow plug controller on the '89 wrecker. I will never buy anything diesel again unless it says "Freightliner", or "Peterbuilt" or "Kenworth" on it, and makes me stupid money to pay for stupid expensive repairs.

 

My 91 dodge diesel got 24mpg, loaded, pulling a small loaded trailer at 65 mph with the ac on. When I finally sold it 20 years later it had half a million miles on it, and the engine was still going strong. My brother's 95 has over 600,000 Miles on it, and doesn't use any oil between changes. I did the math, and it took 100,000 Miles for the extra expense of the diesel to pay off. If you are going to keep it for a long time, then diesel makes sense.

 

Still trying to figure out why a 7.3 was swapped out for a 6.0

 

Thanks for the insights so far.
I don't care what brand I end up with, I've had bad vehicles from most of the majors so I understand that there are good and bad from everywhere. I'm also not interested in doing a bunch of aftermarket mods (leveling/raising etc.)
Right now with my Tundra I get about 12-14MPG normally, when towing/hauling everyday stuff it drops and on my last trip with the TT I was avg 8.1mpg. With a 24 gallon tank that really limits drive time and distance.
I've had my Tundra for about 8 years now, whatever I upgrade to will be kept just as long, if not longer.
My wife is already talking about a bigger camper, possibly a 5th wheel, so I am leaning towards diesel. Our summer plans so far are that we are taking the camper out 2 times a month and we are planning once a month to every other month during the winter months (our moderate winters allow year round easy camping). I would like to take the camper to East TN and I know my Tundra would probably die getting to the Knoxville area from West TN, and I would have to stop every hour and a half to gas up.

Keep the good info coming.

 

Had a 97 Ford F-250 diesel, 2 Wheel drive
Thing would get stuck in wet grass.

 

89 had the 6.9. 03 had the 7.3. Damn 0 is too close to the 9....

 

I have had two 92 Dodge Diesels, and also two 98 Ford Super duty diesels, ALL were awesome trucks and super reliable, considering the use/abuse I put them through, the Dodge did better overall, the Fords were quicker and would grunt good and hard, but the Dodge got better millage and could lug down and still out pull the Fords. The Dodges got around 19 MPG while the Fords got 14 to 16 MPG! I had a 93 Dodge with the 24 valve head swap, 4X4 and 5 speed, lifted and runnin Mud tires, and with the 3.93 gears, I could get 22 MPG out of that truck! These days, I run a Sprinter 3500 duely and just did a engine swap, the old 3.0L finally gave up the ghost in a YUGE cloud of white smoke, so I swapped to the OM-606 Turbo Diesel and G.M 4L-80E trans, and not only do I have WAY more power, but get even better millage then ever, she now makes 360 HP, and gets nearly 29 MPG if I keep my foot out of it, but hell, that's half the fun, so I feed her the onions and let her rip! While this rig will never match the Cummins, I don't need it to, I have other rigs that can, and do, so there's that!
Another option I have ran before, but didn't mention because it's Not a "Pickup" but you can find a Freightliner FL-50 to 80, and have your choice of engines, from the Cummins 5.9L to the Cat 3126 7.2L and you would have the perfect rig for towing a big travel trailer or fifth wheel, you get all the advantages here as well, bigger brakes then any pickup, and the right setup will flat out out pull and out run any of the pickups out there!
I had a 2000 FL-80 with the big cat, AWD 3 screw and 8 speed manual, it was set up to tow a fifth wheel, so I had the exhaust brake and all the goodies, and that rig got 16 MPG towing, and could get nearly 19 empty, and could pull all the mountain pass's with ease at the posted speed!
Just for shits and giggles, here is an awesome rig, WAY bigger engine then you would need, BUT, she would still turn in close to 16 MPG if you drive her nice, has a Cummins C-8.3L in her and 8 speed Eaton, and AWD!

Tires around here cost around $360 each for NEW, and you could run caps to drop about a hundred off the price if you wanted!
There are Extra Cab and 4 door versions of these, and ALL would make for a steller tow rig!
Another really awesome option is the International 4900 series with the legendary DT-466 turbo diesel, I find them better riding then the freight shakers, but a little heavier and a little more spendy to purchase, but SUPER reliable and very powerful and close to the same fuel millage as the 7.2 Cat!

 

If your buying new, get the ford 7.3 gasser

 

This is a timely thread! I will be in the market for a new truck for a tow rig and I was considering the Dodge with the Cummings engine. However that Freightliner is looking pretty good. Put a flat bed on it with some lifting system for the bikes and a four door back seats, that would do for the long runs.

Now, to sell the wife on it.

Edit to add: Air seats! Would have to have air seats!