First diesel truck

[shane2219]

Buying my first diesel truck, what are the main things I need to know that are different from gas vehicles, such as maintenance, etc?

 

[06 Dodge]

Buying my first diesel truck, what are the main things I need to know that are different from gas vehicles, such as maintenance, etc?

You mean other than just reading the owners manual? For starters how about more info on what year of truck, 2500, 3500, 4500 or 5500 model along with SO or HO engine....

 

[shane2219]

2026 Ram Limited 2500 6.7 I6

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

First, it runs on diesel fuel, not gasoline. Second you will need DEF.
For maintenance just follow the owner’s manual.
Don’t buy one for a grocery getter. You will regret it. They don’t like short trips.
Diesels need to be worked hauling heavy loads or driven long distances at moderate to highway speeds.

 

[Rebel4Mo]

"Don’t buy one for a grocery getter. You will regret it. They don’t like short trips.
Diesels need to be worked hauling heavy loads or driven long distances at moderate to highway speeds."

With an 8 mile RT to work this why I bought a truck with a gas engine.

 

[JayLeonard]

First, it runs on diesel fuel, not gasoline. Second you will need DEF.
For maintenance just follow the owner’s manual.
Don’t buy one for a grocery getter. You will regret it. They don’t like short trips.
Diesels need to be worked hauling heavy loads or driven long distances at moderate to highway speeds.

I have a 21 2500 diesel. I do a lot of very short trips. Never had a problem yet at 50 + k miles. I do haul a travel trailer around during the summer.

 

[Dean2]

I have a 21 2500 diesel. I do a lot of very short trips. Never had a problem yet at 50 + k miles. I do haul a travel trailer around during the summer.

Then you are by far the exception and I hope your luck continues. That is NOT the common experience using diesels that run DEF, for short haul daily drivers without a load.

If you haven't researched diesels and the large differences with gas, why would you be buying one. As a brand new member, why would you not have gone through the hundreds, maybe even thousands, of threads on here that talk about this in great detail.

Once you have done the research, if you then have specific questions, we would be happy to help, but you need to do your own initial work.

 

[DaveInHSV]

Be sure to do your maintenance at regular intervals, religiously. 3000 to 8000 miles max. Diesel engines run much higher compression, and your oil will become contaminated.
Also change both fuel filters at least every 24000 miles.

 

[CumminsRocks]

You mean other than just reading the owners manual? For starters how about more info on what year of truck, 2500, 3500, 4500 or 5500 model along with SO or HO engine....

Congrats! My 2007 3500 Dually 5.9L Cummins is still a monster. Almost 300K and NO Def fluid required. Enjoy!

 

[TimboRam77]

Congratulations on your new diesel truck. I miss my totaled 2005 5.9 Laramie badly. It was wonderful. I now drive gas because the epa has ax murdered diesel. The main issues with diesels of yore were 99% bad fuel. That is still critical and my new diesel tractor with no epa (def-death) juice recently suffered from fuel issues. It's recommended by the masses to only buy top tier diesel from truck stops or from a extremely reliable source. Big deal. It got so bad where I'm at that I started fueling to a separate tank and siphoned after settling into the main tank. With 20 years of reading forums and listening to mechanics discuss diesels the 80% problem today with diesels are emissions. I want a diesel badly but for what I use my truck for it would be a disaster. That's unless you fully deleted but then no warranty and harsh penalties if caught. If you walk into a railroad yard you'll see Ford diesels that have no emissions from the factory and its listed on the window sticker. Government use only because they know these systems are designed to kill diesel. These systems are reported to not be on military vehicles because you need to win wars. PD diesel power YouTube guy had 6 of 8 3500's blowup before 100k and he ran them hard and long as suggested. My 5.7 limited gas warms up quick and rides great but 6 adults and I'm overweight. Lol...
I'll end by saying imo however I've busted it trying to justify a diesel and I see zero advantage. If you have to tow then you're stuck however many are going gas in HD. Less headache, cheaper cleaner fuel and higher load capacity. I hope this all changes because we all pay higher for food and everything in our homes because it got there by DIESEL. Now that emissions crap is on farm equipment.
We need more carbon for we are carbon based units. Zero carbon means zero humans. Ok I'm gonna have a cup of coffee and calm down. Sorry suffering from diesel envy.
Merry Christmas

 

[Cloud9]

Congrats on your diesel. Take good care of it and you can get 500K+ miles out of it. It's also a simpler more reliable engine than any gas engine. So far, my 2010 RAM 2500 has never failed to start on me, except when one of the batteries was dead. It's 15+ years old, and I would not hesitate to take it on a cross country road trip ... no worries cuz it's a diesel, and Cummins is the best in class as far as diesels go.

 

[1911LVR]

Use a decent diesel fuel additive every fill up. The EPA stripped most of the sulfur from the diesel for 'environmental reasons', but that also removed the lubricity. The pump and injectors will thank you.

 

[Dusty]

Based on what others tell me who own them, routine maintenance is far more important and far more expensive than a gasser.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 142696 miles.

 

[murderman]

As others have mentioned, diesels like to be brought up to temperature and run under load; lightly loaded and/or short trips are not the best uses.

Also, if i've been pulling a load on the highway for hours, which is the majority of my use, I don't just shut the engine off immediately when I reach my destination; I let the engine idle for 5 minutes or so to cool down the turbo. Same with mid-trip fuel stops, I leave the engine running. Some might consider this behavior as overkill, but it's how I choose to roll.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

Based on what others tell me who own them, routine maintenance is far more important and far more expensive than a gasser.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 142696 miles.

Wrong.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

Be sure to do your maintenance at regular intervals, religiously. 3000 to 8000 miles max. Diesel engines run much higher compression, and your oil will become contaminated.
Also change both fuel filters at least every 24000 miles.

Diesels can actually go longer between oil changes than a gasser.
My manual says every 10000mi.
I changed mine every 7500-8000mi, same as my gas vehicles.
After retiring, all my vehicles get oil changed every year.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

As others have mentioned, diesels like to be brought up to temperature and run under load; lightly loaded and/or short trips are not the best uses.

Also, if i've been pulling a load on the highway for hours, which is the majority of my use, I don't just shut the engine off immediately when I reach my destination; I let the engine idle for 5 minutes or so to cool down the turbo. Same with mid-trip fuel stops, I leave the engine running. Some might consider this behavior as overkill, but it's how I choose to roll.

True. My manual says to let the truck idle for a few minutes after heavy towing and/or prolonged highway use.