gas or diesel for hybrid towing?

[watson5]

we just bought a 2006 Fleetwood Pegasus 260 xp. We tow with a 99 Ford Expedition 5.4L. We are considering buying a F-250/350 PSD for towing this thing across country next year. Are we worying to much? the Expedition has 126k miles on it but runs awesome. But everyone swears that diesel's are the way to go. any feedback? :usflag:

[chasd60]

I towed my hybrid with my Dodge and got 16mpg at 60mph staying on the highway. Much better than my gas truck did. The newer the diesel, the lower the economy. They are having too much of a horsepower/torque war and the economy is suffering.
My truck is mainly used for towing, it is parked during the winter and not used. There might be an occasional trip to Home Depot or something but not an every day driver.
 
You might be just fine with the truck you have.

[wavery]

we just bought a 2006 Fleetwood Pegasus 260 xp. We tow with a 99 Ford Expedition 5.4L. We are considering buying a F-250/350 PSD for towing this thing across country next year. Are we worying to much? the Expedition has 126k miles on it but runs awesome. But everyone swears that diesel's are the way to go. any feedback? :usflag:

If it were me, I would not buy a new vehicle merely for one trip. It would be far cheaper to rent a vehicle for that trip. However, it does seem like you may be on the verge of replacing a high mileage vehicle anyway.

In reality, you are talking about a vehicle that has 126K miles on it and when you return, it will have 130K on it. That's not a big difference. However, the heat generated by towing that trailer for those miles is your obvious concern (and a valid one). Just because a vehicle runs perfect today has little to do with how it will run tomorrow under new and different stresses.

You know your vehicle better than anyone. It would be prudent to at least have it checked out really well. If it were me, I would replace all belts & hoses and flush the cooling system, at the very least. If the water pump has never been changed, it may be a good time to consider that. I'd keep my old parts for spares. Also, you may want to consider having the brakes checked and transmission serviced. You could probably accomplish this for little more than the cost of renting a vehicle.

The biggest danger of failure on a high mileage vehicle is that the cooling system could fail under stress. It's not likely that the engine would have a catastrophic failure unless it was extremely over-heated. That usually happens because of a hose and/or belt or w/pump failure.

The diesel question is just a matter of choice. The fact is, you will pay a lot more for a diesel engine over a gas engine. If the torque is a quantitative value to you, go for it. Personally, I don't like them. IMHO, the noise, smell and added cost just isn't worth it. When they first came out with the diesel option on cars and light trucks, diesel fuel prices were half (or less) of gas prices. Today that's not the case and option makes little sense to me, on a value basis. The "Macho" thing is a whole different issue :p .

[CAPEd CODger]

A more important question for me is, what is the weight of your trailer, and the capacity of your tow vehicle.

If you are under the max ratings for your Expy, then unless you're in the market for a new vehicle anyway, then I'd say "why bother?"

If you are at the limits of your T/V, then I'd say make your upgrade. As far as the gas vs diesel question, as for myself, I'd buy a diesel. But not the 6.0L that Ford has out right now. Too many problems with that engine from what I've read and heard.

Don't know much about the Duramax/Alison from GM, and the Dodge has an excellent engine in the Cummins, but Mopar Trannies have had their share of troubles over the years.

Better do your homework before shelling out your $$$$.

Good Luck and Happy Camping!

Bob

[brainpause]

High mileage vehicle for long trip.  :yikes: But that doesn't mean nothing will happen.

Simple question: Can you afford a diesel? If you can, GET IT!

Larry, who is saving up for a diesel, wanting to pay cash for it (and doing a darn good job of saving)

[jawilson]

If you can afford a diesel then I would also say get it. 126K miles on your Expedition means it's starting to get up there, and even if you did maintain it properly there's still the possibility that some mechanical item that's close to giving out will do so because of the extra strain that towing imparts.

I would have to disagree about the new diesels getting lower mileage then the older ones do. In fact, the exact opposite is true. And the new ones are quieter, blow much less smoke and are coupled to far better transmissions (especially the Allison tranny in the GM trucks). Ford has had some problems with there new 6.0 diesel, so be mindful of that as well.

[Gone-Camping]

I have to agree with the above posts...if you can afford the diesel then get it... There is nothing better to tow a trailer with than a diesel. Especially once you try and cross the Rockies, those are some high mountain ranges and having the power of a PSD will be worth it's weight in gold (or fuel as the case may be). The likelyhood is that towing with the diesel you're likely to forget the trailer is back there.

Now, if you do buy one, take my advice and steer clear of Ford's 6.0L diesel... I'm not going to go into details here as I want nothing coming back about it...but I work for a Ford Heavy Truck dealer and the best piece of advice I can give you is anything but the 6.0L PSD....trust me on this one!

[afp]

This one topic that will produce more debate regarding engine choice.

If you decide to keep the Expedition another upgrade to keep in mind is a new transmission pan with a deeper sump and fins to help with heat disapation.

For those with #2 running in your veins there's a monthly magazine called "Diesel Power" that's been out for about 18 months. Check out //www.dieselpowermag.com

Back to the engine debate. If you want horsepower and torque to go, then diesel is no doubt the choice. Is it worth the $5,000 option when buying the truck new? That's your choice. I've noticed on the used truck market the diesel is holding it's value quite well with an estimate of $3500 (my opinion) over gas powered pickups. I keep debating wheter to upgrade to a gas (V-10) or diesel powered F-250 in the next couple of years. My choice would be a crewcab with 2wd and automatic. I'm thinking the gas (V-10) might be the better choice for my needs. Some thoughts are:

- My camping trips tend to be short distance, but a longer trip could take place. I'm thinking a single 1,000 - 1,500 every couple of years. Most trips are less than 200 miles round trip.

- The truck will not be a daily driver. My current truck, a 1998 F-150 is only driven about 2,500 miles a year and spends more time sitting in the garage. My daily run around vehicle is a 1995 Saturn SL2.

- My travel trailer has a dry weight around 5,000 lbs and can max out at 7,000 lbs. Both engines with a 3.73 rear end can tow this fine. I believe at least 10,000 lbs. Of course this depends on model year and axle ratio.

- I've decided to change my car buying thought. For my personal use I've decided to allocate around $20,000 for my vehicle purchases. This amount is broken down to $15,000 for a truck and $5,000 if the Saturn dies. My wife will drive more current and reliable vehicle ('05 Honda Odyssey).

- I've done alot of searching on autotrader.com and have found numerous 2000-2001 F-250's with the V-10 in the $13,500 - $15,000 with 65,000-100,000 miles on them. F-250's with the 7.3 TD can be found at this price, but you're looking at 175,000 miles on the odometer. if you want a diesel that's under 100,000 miles and within the 2000-2001 model years expect $17,000-$20,000 price tag.

- If you take a 3,000 mile trip let's make a couple of calculations:

Gas (V-10): 3,000 miles @ 11 mpg = 273 gals @ $3.00 per gal equals $819.00

Diesel: 3,000 miles @ 16 mpg = 188 gals @ 3.00 per gal = $564

Difference - $255.00  Note: My values are just estimates.

Good luck with your decision.

[chasd60]

I would have to disagree about the new diesels getting lower mileage then the older ones do. In fact, the exact opposite is true.

Not sure where you are getting your in "fact" from but I would suggest you visit a few of the diesel forums and hear from diesel owners about the real facts and the decrease in fuel economy.
   
   http://www.dieseltruckresource.com
   http://www.turbodieselregister.com
 
  The initial purchase of a diesel is more but the resale is higher as well.
 I bought my 2001 2WD Quad Cab Longbed with 122,000 miles for $9700 over a year ago.

[watson5]

the main reason i like the fords is because the have a great interior (my opinion). I drive 3/4-1 ton vehicles every day at work, the dodge is totaly out of the question for me, a family of 5 is just to cramped for the smaller cab, Chevy is ok but they seem just a little over priced for me, ford seems to be the winner in my book. Wish I could have a truck that had a ford chassis, a dodge engine with a chevy trans. Wouldnt that be awesome?
thanks for your help guys!

[jawilson]

Not sure where you are getting your in "fact" from but I would suggest you visit a few of the diesel forums and hear from diesel owners about the real facts and the decrease in fuel economy.

I base my facts on the 4 truck magazines I've been subscribing to for about 6 or 7 years now. There's been an awful lot about this topic written during that time. I suspect it's pretty accurate too.

[watson5]

We made up our minds and got a F350 Diesel. Cant even tell its back there!!!