Diesel back to gas?

[fcr]

Put about 65000 on a 21 Cummins and it’s been very good. first diesel, love the power don’t tow heavy enough to actually need it just always wanted one and finally had the means to get it. Love ripping over the mountains of CO at 75 mph with snowmobiles in tow or wheeler/hunting gear (enclosed cargo trailer)
mileage has been a pretty steady 17-18 not towing and 11-12 towing. One tank at 55mph in the flats of the Midwest got 23… again perfect conditions driving SLOW on the highway.

Got the service def message 2x and a 4wd unavailable 1x.
In all cases shutting down the vehicle and restarting has cleared them
Other than that I froze the air box up driving through a wicked storm up near Canada. Replaced air filter, chipped out some ice, all good.

I am considering cashing in on what this truck is still worth and going back to a 2500 gasser, a 2024 or 2025…. Mileage will suck I’m sure in the Rockies and I suppose the towing will be weak too. But I’ll have a new truck, Wondering who has done it, if you have any huge regrets, or what opinions are out there. Thanks!

 

[mtofell]

A lot depends on the weight you're pulling and how often - does the truck get used a lot not towing? Or, is it just a constant workhorse?. Cargo trailer with a couple snowmobiles and not all the time? Newer gassers with 8+ speed trannies are a dream compared to older ones. The added money for a diesel only pencils out if you're hauling heavy all the time. Anything under 10K# not regularly towing and a gasser wins the money game in a landslide.

 

[fcr]

Absolutely do not tow heavy often. Daily driver 50 miles and 3000 feet down then 50 miles and 3000 feet back up. Trailer on the weekends and trips. I know a gasser can handle what I do. But that exhaust brake even with a 3-5000 pound trailer is money in the mtns…losing that as well as the mileage hit have me wondering if I should keep what I have and chance the likely def issues in the future or suck up the 11-12mpg a 6.4 will probably get before I hook up the trailer.

Figure someone on here may have been down this road or have some insight.

 

[GTyankee]

Unless you sell it to a private party that just has to have it

I don't think a dealership will give you a good trade in

 

[mtofell]

But that exhaust brake even with a 3-5000 pound trailer is money in the mtns

I went from a Duramax diesel into my current gasser Ram and, of course, grade braking with the diesel is superior but the Hemi is pretty damn good.... even with an 11K 5th wheel behind me. 3-5K trailer? Wouldn't enter my mind as a deciding factor. I get loving a diesel. In many ways I wish I'd never had made the swap but for a load that small it's a luxury not a need. By all means keep the luxury if you like it.

 

[mtnrider]

I went from a diesel to gas (was living in CO at the time). I lasted about 11 months and was back in a diesel.....

Got tired of stopping at every gas station and the degraded performance of a natural asperated engine at altitude. I made a huge mistake trading and it cost me to go back the other way again.

Based on my experience in your exact situation and location I would keep your diesel. But this is gas heavy forum so most people are going to lean that way. I'd also go ask the same question on the diesel forums so you get both sides
.

 

[joesstripclub]

Gas definitely runs out of steam at altitude. I towed a SxS in a cargo trailer all over CO for a couple years while I was out there with my 1500. Not great gas mileage on the highway, but it got me everywhere I needed to go. The one trip I made in CO with our toy hauler was up cottonwood pass to taylor park. Truck was definitely gasping for power at the top of the pass but it made it fine. High plains 70 mph was about all it had in it.

For 5k lb and under towing, I would go gas. Anything heavier like a camper and I would definitely stick with diesel. I would have bought diesel but my dad wanted to sell his power wagon and it saved me $20k over a new truck with diesel last year.

 

[06 Dodge]

Absolutely do not tow heavy often. Daily driver 50 miles and 3000 feet down then 50 miles and 3000 feet back up. Trailer on the weekends and trips. I know a gasser can handle what I do. But that exhaust brake even with a 3-5000 pound trailer is money in the mtns…losing that as well as the mileage hit have me wondering if I should keep what I have and chance the likely def issues in the future or suck up the 11-12mpg a 6.4 will probably get before I hook up the trailer.

Figure someone on here may have been down this road or have some insight.

I don't tow heavy and I am now doing more town then hwy driving, yet I am not willing aka refuse to get rid of my diesel for a Hemi, I have no desire to listen to an a gas engine scream at me running 4000+ rpms when I do tow or the need to worry of the cam & lifters will crap out on me, JMHO

 

[ramffml]

If you're a very optimistic guy, you can try the hurricane in the 2025 1500s. That will give you your diesel performance at altitude with hopefully none of the downsides of owning a modern diesel. To be honest I'd be hard pressed to say what is more reliable, an unknown turbo gasser or a diesel with all the probable emissions and injector issues.

The ecoboost is doing quite well, other than a jerky 10 speed and 91k engines getting replaced in 2021 to 2022 models. They are munching lifters (catastrophically) and of course that won't do when it comes to safety if the truck just up and dies on the road.

I won't touch none of them, my hemi just keeps on tickin (heh).

 

[mtofell]

I'd be hard pressed to say what is more reliable, an unknown turbo gasser or a diesel with all the probable emissions and injector issues.

Aside from reliability, turbos can have some other things that are a PITA. I bought a Hyundai Tucson for a company delivery vehicle once and should have done more research. Oil changes were expensive and at tight intervals compared to a similar non-turbo. Then I noticed I was supposed to change the plugs every 30K. They were some crazy type and it was going to be $500+. Drove by Carmax and they offered me a nice price and I unloaded the thing.

 

[fcr]

-Thanks for all the opinions and advice.

My vehicle value appears to be worth 42k for trade and up to 52k for sale. Those numbers aren’t quite as good as I thought.
Leaning towards keeping it more and more.
I love the low rpm’s and power and mpgs…exhaust brake… don’t mind doing oil and fuel filters in my garage.

-Yet, If I get stranded by some DEF BS as some others have this thing will be a distant memory pretty fast

FYI.. I had a couple 1500’s and towed with them and a 3/4 ton gasser with a manual transmission before those in the mountains… sticking with 3/4 tons from here on out.

 

[Donald Parker]

I do not tow much, but absolutely love driving my BEAST and drove it cross country and all over the mountains in Colorado with ease. I just upgraded the fuel system to an Airdog and got another 1.5 mpg and feel confident the fuel is cleaner with no air, so the DEF/DPF issues/risks should also be reduced or eliminated.

 

[nlambert182]

-Thanks for all the opinions and advice.

My vehicle value appears to be worth 42k for trade and up to 52k for sale. Those numbers aren’t quite as good as I thought.
Leaning towards keeping it more and more.
I love the low rpm’s and power and mpgs…exhaust brake… don’t mind doing oil and fuel filters in my garage.

-Yet, If I get stranded by some DEF BS as some others have this thing will be a distant memory pretty fast

FYI.. I had a couple 1500’s and towed with them and a 3/4 ton gasser with a manual transmission before those in the Y

Don't let emissions issues panic you to the point that you won't use these trucks while towing on trips. I've towed all over the southeast with mine and have routinely made it to about 120k miles before having failures. But I do a lot of empty driving. Many have gone much further than that.

Depending on where you live, there's always the option for that stuff to fall off. If you are having failures, or are that concerned with it this would be my suggestion to truly bulletproof it.

I hit a bump and mine fell off a few weeks ago and I towed my trailer last week from my home at the Tennessee line down into Florida and back.

Flawless performance, and averaged ~11.5 mpg at 65mph on the interstate while towing a 9,800 lb travel trailer, bed loaded down with our camping accessories, and my wife and son in the cab.

 

[Gr8bawana]

We tow our 14k lb 5th wheel several time a year with our Cummins and our 25' TT a couple of times a year.
The difference between the Cummins and the 5.9 gasser which I still have is like day and night.
I'll never go back to gas even if we didn't have the trailers anymore.

 

[ppine]

Cummins is great in the mountains, great for towing and great all the time.

 

[diymirage]

My superdookie was a diesel, i traded it in for a 2500 5.7

I will say the 5.7 is not a truck engine, it simply doesnt have the power needed to move that truck

The 6.4 might be good though

 

[Fuel35 67]

For those that live in high altitudes, a super charger/blower or turbo will make the 5.7/6.4 come alive.

 

[nlambert182]

Right before the rods make themselves visible to the world.

There's no way I'd boost a gas engine that wasn't designed/built for it and then tow with it consistently.

 

[Happy_Camper]

I had a 2018 diesel 2500, which was my second diesel 2500. I live in the CO mountains, and I tow a horse trailer, hay trailer, and I have a slide in Lance camper. It was not my primary vehicle and I only had about 50K miles on it before it sprung an oil leak, which went from minor to major very quickly. From probably July or August until mid October, it was in the dealership weekly for repairs and then repairs of the repairs. Admittedly it was probably a combination of issues with the truck and issues with the mechanics working on it.

The dealer bought me out in October, and offered me a huge deal on a 24 2500 gasser, and swapped out a bunch of my installed equipment and tires. I've only had it for about 6 weeks, and I haven't really put it through the paces yet, but I'll just give you some observations.

Here in the Steamboat area, diesel fuel is more expensive than regular, and our regular prices are some of the highest in the state. I thought I'd be saving some $$ on fuel, but honestly the gas has much lower mpg than my diesel and I'm filling it up often. I think the fuel costs are probably similar at the end of the day. That said, I'm really happy about the reduced cost of oil changes.

The payload is higher, and my 2000lb camper rides well in the back. It doesn't have the same torquey feel starting out, but it definitely feels capable. I haven't gotten it higher than maybe 9500 ft yet, so I can't say whether I notice a power loss at higher altitudes. But around here (6500-8500ft) it's ok so far.

I'm sure I'll have more feedback once I use it more.