Why owning a diesel is awesome!?!?!??!? What's your story?

5stljayhawks

Rock Chawk Jayhawk
Joined
Apr 27, 2008
Sure it was just a dream some 30 years ago, then this led to a little FIL(father in law) jealousy. At least he would let me drive his F350 when I was in town. Then that SOB let me pull my camper with it.... For the love of HP, torque & powerstokes... But its not really about manufacture as it is the tool for the job.

Its awesome cause?????(fill the blank)
there's a 5 mile incline, just came a through single lane construction zone and I am waiting for the fast cars to pass, out of courtesy. 1-2 mile in when the Nissan 4 banger is not passing and there is 15-20 cars stacked up, I just lay the peddle to the floor, open the lane and everybody changes lane, then follows me and the 35ft camper in tow.

Or I cut a Christmas tree a little to large (thought it was 15', when it was 20') and the 3 other guys(teenagers) who help me lug into the back said you have a nice truck..... I said, nope not mine it's the wife's.... they didn' t know what to say..

Or when your wife comes out of work and goes to her truck and the guys in the parking lot are like what the #&@@... she driving that !!!

Yep its a chick truck, but works like a dudes truck!
 
It's awesome cause? We can go over Monteagle with ease. Or any other mountain/hill.
 
I'd love to have a Diesel version of my Truck... but the extra ~$8-$10 K buys a LOT of gas (even at the inflated prices now). The justification is just not enough (yet) for me.

Would I love to have one? Sure. Just not quite in the budget YET! :D
 


Totally awesome! Our F350 towing our 31' TT purrs over the Sierras and Rockies without breaking a sweat. No more pedal to the medal going 30 mph chugging up those hills!

Better mileage (towing and non-towing) and the fact that diesel is 'generally' cheaper than regular (I know it 'flip flops' at times) is just the icing on the cake. The only downside is that it can be harder to find diesel when you're not in more populated areas.

I pooh-poohed DH when he insisted on diesel for our new truck because of the cost. A perfect example of 'penny wise and pound foolish' on my part!
 
Growing up on the farm we used different trucks to haul things like trailer loads of round bales of hay, tractors, dozers, etc. Little winding roads where you just couldn't get much speed before you hit the sudden hill would kill you when climbing them using a gas pusher. We bought our first Diesel which was a Dodge 2500 and it was amazing the difference in power.

One thing I do like also is the weight and size. This I use when my wife and kids are going on a trip like to Birmingham or Jackson. I send them in the truck. My thoughts on this is that if they are involved in an accident they are more protected than they would be in the 4-runner.
 
It's probably awesome because there's more possibilities of filling up in a clear pull-thru situation when towing a TT or in the case of a MH, a toad. Won't get stuck facing a building with cars parked in front and you can't back your rig up or miss those gas pumps. (Just my opinion as we dream about it in our 34 1/2 ' Class A gasser towing an Equinox.)
 


Hubby has diesel 3500 dulley truck. Pulls anything, runs forever, and pretty much anything short of a bus or semi will bounce of that thing if we were ever in an accident. He is pushing close to 200,000 in it right now and the gas mileage keeps keeping better and better.
 
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1-1/2 ton monster here, F450, platinum, jake brake, 440 HP, 925lb of torque, the wife doesn't put her foot through the floor boards going down steep grades out to Glacier anymore.
 
It's probably awesome because there's more possibilities of filling up in a clear pull-thru situation when towing a TT or in the case of a MH, a toad. Won't get stuck facing a building with cars parked in front and you can't back your rig up or miss those gas pumps. (Just my opinion as we dream about it in our 34 1/2 ' Class A gasser towing an Equinox.)

Well..., yes, and no. My experience is when you're pulling a 35 foot trailer those "out front" pumps can be really hard to get into and out of regardless. We use truck stops, which means the same lanes and the semis. Now this is cool, only those pumps use the "high output" nozzles which make for a heck of a mess and DO NOT fit in the nozzle on my reserve tank.

Thankfully, some of them have RV pumps but sadly, not enough of them.

But the extra power...
 
One thing I do like also is the weight and size. This I use when my wife and kids are going on a trip like to Birmingham or Jackson. I send them in the truck. My thoughts on this is that if they are involved in an accident they are more protected than they would be in the 4-runner.
I have to agree with this even though mine is Gas. We got rear-ended in our Truck while stopped at a stop light. She had to be going no less than 35 MPH at impact. (NO Skid/brake marks at all). Her car was totaled, my truck needed a new hitch, some cosmetic stuff and a couple of new back-up sensors. While we did get some injuries (mostly like Whiplash and that sort), we were not badly injured. My wife has frequently made comments about if we were in another car what might have happened to us.
 
Just as an example, my truck is an 05 with 147,000 miles on it. In well above average condition since I have either stored it or been in Florida during the winter at least half of the years I have had it.
That truck with a gas engine is worth about $8-10k less than what mine is valued at (our son sells cars at the local Chevy dealer)
Figuring it that way I will get all my money back plus some for the diesel option. The only downside is that I have sank almost $6000 into the engine to repair poorly designed/badly sourced items on the engine (head gaskets and 2 water pumps)
Oil changes aren't a big thing since I do my own and stockpile oil during rebates/sales. my last oil change was at around 12,000 miles and the analysis said it could have gone even longer.
Like so many things in todays world its a crap shoot on purchasing a new one, so many things can go wrong.
 
Some people tried to talk me into buying a gas truck, but I got the diesel in my 2015 Ram 2500 mega cab. I just love it. I set the cruise at 70 pulling a 38ft fifth wheel, and it just goes. Not many downshifts even when going through Chattanooga. We have a Pilot/Flying J RV card that turns on the pumps at the truck lanes, no need to go inside unless you want to after you fill up and pull forward. Straight through lanes, no problem. I don't know how I would get in and out trying to get gas from the front side of a station.
 
Some people tried to talk me into buying a gas truck, but I got the diesel in my 2015 Ram 2500 mega cab. I just love it. I set the cruise at 70 pulling a 38ft fifth wheel, and it just goes. Not many downshifts even when going through Chattanooga. We have a Pilot/Flying J RV card that turns on the pumps at the truck lanes, no need to go inside unless you want to after you fill up and pull forward. Straight through lanes, no problem. I don't know how I would get in and out trying to get gas from the front side of a station.


That P/FJ card has been invaluable! A few cents off/gallon adds up when you're on a cross-country trip. That and not having to try and negotiate the 'car lanes' to fill up. What a nightmare! We have noticed that FJ has more RV only lanes installed than P has. I sure wish more gas stations/truck stops would install 'RV only' lanes.

BTW, have you gotten any stink eye from truckers when using the truck lanes? We always try to be as quick in and out as possible and by and large there hasn't been a problem, but we've noticed it a couple of times.
 
My husband just bought a GMC Sierra Denali truck that's pretty turned up. We live in Louisville Kentucky and just toord our 2017 30 foot coachman Catalina to Gatlinburg and he said the you didn't even know the camper was on the tuck! We used to tow with a 2016 Nissan NV which is a gas motor. It did ok but you could definitely feel the struggle.
 
I like when I have to pass and I push the pedal down, the turbo spools up and starts to whistle a little more, and I get the cocked head look from the dog like "whats that sound?"
 
Last trip down in March I noticed a big difference in price between the Flying J/Pilot and some other retailers. I stopped in mid Ohio and got fuel at a Kroger for .25 cents per gallon cheaper than the J down the street. I have a 52 gallon tank and bought about 42 gallons so the savings added up quick. I have pulled this 36 ft trailer quite a few miles so I am not quite as intimidated maneuvering it as I once was. I love the J but since the bankruptcy their prices aren't very competitive.
 
We had an '08 F350 until 2 years ago. We loved Old Weezie! She could pull anything & carry whatever we needed her to. Eventually, the plan was to get a 5th wheel but that wasn't meant to be. When pulling my dad's pontoon, to our beach rental, the dreaded wrench light came on. She lost all power and wouldn't go more than about 30 mph.

We ended up having to have her towed to the closest Ford dealer (40? miles away in Panama City). Turns out, the high pressure fuel pump (or something along those lines) went kaput. Metal shavings were all throughout the engine and in the oil. To fix, it was going to be around $8,000 and we ended up selling her back to the dealer. Apparently it's a common issue, but not common enough for Ford to do a recall on.

So, the 5th wheel dream is on hold for now. We use my Dad's Class C and are thankful for that. Next diesel will be a Dodge.
 
Stormy CA - As a few others have mention the truck pumps are high flow. Filling 40 gallons takes about 2 minutes. Really. the first time I filled up I thought something was broken with the pump... For the stink eye.. never have seen it, cause I am not there long enough. Although I have noticed a few of them eyeing my fine DW!!!!!
 
I drive a 2016 Chevy 3500 diesel dually everyday. When we pull the 44' Toy Hauler, don't even realize it is back there.I do get odd looks, I am not very tall & hear comment thought a child was driving. I love my diesel truck!!
DH drives an electric Volt Chevrolet.
 

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