^^I know some people who just got a new F250 gas. It's got NO options. They use it for maintence stuff and have it loaded down with mulch, rock, etc all the time. They are not very happy with it. Plus, they are getting somewhere around 9 mpg empty!

 

i hate diesel, smells and loud.
but everyone towing runs diesels. so i went and got a GMC diesel 2009.
the new diesels are not loud, and have a very sweet smell to the exhaust. once you have diesel truck, you will NEVER buy gas truck ever again. they are that good.

my is loaded and i love it, more so than my pepper GTS or my BMW's. it has now become my DD, 9 months 21000 miles.

 

06 Chevy Duramax, no pre-heaters, never the slightest problem and she is left outside 100% of the time here in CT...

 

Diesels are awesome - you get to go to the "cool kids" gas pumps.

 

Benn running diesels for over a decade, both Chevy's and Fords.

They will start in cold weather as has been said above but will clatter quite a bit. When the temps dip below 20 I plug mine in on a timer to come on a couple of hours before I need it. They will draw between 1000 and 1500 watts.

The newer ones are very quiet. They will also respond much better in the winter if you run 5W-40 synthetic in them. They'll turn over easier and you'll actually improve your mileage by 1 to 1.5 MPG's. Yes, it costs more but I look at it as an investment as these trucks are not cheap and I usually run mine well over 100K...

 

Well they didn't get the Good Gas Mileage Option then!

 

I get 17-20 MT and 11-13 towing at 80MPH

 

Don't know if this is still an issue but back when I had a house up in Stowe, Vt. the diesels would all start ok and idle down out of the hills, but then not be able to go anywhere at highway speeds because the fuel was so thick it couldn't be pumped in enough volume to run on the roads

 

Must have been a while ago Bill, they are no problem now down below Zero F... at least my Chevy isn't.

 

The F-250 has a horizontal fuel conditioning module which pre-filters and heats the diesel before it even reaches the engine.

 

And normally stations will switch to winter (blended) diesel when it starts to get cold...
ULSD and low cetane ratings are the major concerns with diesels these days.

 

I think you first need to consider how much weight you are going to be towing. I was towing a 24 foot steel trailer-loaded it must have been close to 9k lbs. Towed it with an '08 Tahoe, got 3mpg and thought the truck was going to die at any moment. Now I pull the same weight with an F350, can't even tell I'm pulling a trailer and I get about 14mpg.

 

The only problem I have run into is the pumps freezing at the gas stations. It didn't happen this year but I was unable to fill twice last winter when it reached -40C for a few days. No problem starting the vehicle though after sitting outside the office all day. No problems at the pumps at anything warmer than -30ish.

 

For those looking for an outdoor timer (with temperature sensor as well) to control the engine heater, I have 2 of these and have been very happy with them

http://www.amazon.com/Aube-Honeywell.../dp/B001QFZ3Z0

 

I have a 99 Dodge 2500 2wd gasser. It use the 8.0L V10. Nice motor. I tow my 24 ft trailer (7k in trailer and probably 1k in bed) with no issues. I can tow a 1500 rpm in over drive at 65 mph on level ground. The truck barely breaks sweat. Being gas motor is quiet and very smooth. Plus gas stations are everywhere, which is good thing because the gas mileage is pretty poor. I get 8-9 towing and 12-13 empty. It in fact is the only drawback with the truck.

Interestingly the gasser have greater payload then the diesels. It the reason is that even giant 8.0L motor is much lighter than a diesel so you have more room to the gross vehicle weight limit in a gasser.

So for every day use the gasser is really better. For towing big loads to the limit of the truck diesels are better. For modertae loads most gassers work well. Howver the Ford 5.4 is weak. Get the 6.8 V10 in Ford if you go gas.

Sure the mileage sucks, but remember that diesels are 7k to 8k options. That buys ALOT of fuel. My 99 dodge is limited use and has only 65k on it. I got it in 2002 with 40k on it and have put only 25k on over the years. Even used I still would not have come close to paying off the diesel premium. Of those 25k miles I would guess 20-22k have been towing.