Unclebuck257
Platinum Member
For the past year it's really eaten at me that diesel fuel was running about 15-25 cents per gallon higher, most of the time, than gasoline. It costs less to make than gasoline and there was just no legitimate reason for it. I got into diesel F-250's years ago and one of the reasons was the cheaper diesel fuel. The power was nice, but my towing and hauling has dropped off quite a bit now, so most of the time I was riding empty and not pulling anything. Add to that those $80.00 oil changes, air filter costs, and general higher costs, and I could no longer justify to myself the overall extra cost for a diesel pickup.
Add to that the fact that diesel will get even higher, and a greater spread in price ( higher price) than gasoline due to new lower sulfer requirements by the EPA that go into affect in 06 & 07, and I just figured it was time to make the move back to gas.
The day before yesterday, I traded my 03 F-250, Lariat, 4X4, CC in on an 05 F-150, 4X4, CC, KR, with the 5.4 engine. The fuel mileage will be about the same, 15-16 mpg city, ( no idea on the highway mileage yet) but the general maintainance will be cheaper and the fuel will be cheaper too.
I guess I just had enough and could no longer justify the additional diesel costs to myself. I normally only keep a truck for 2 years before trading anyway, but I was surprised to learn that a diesel is affected by the same "over 50,000 mile" price drop that a gasoline engine is too.
This F-150 CC, 4X4, KR, is only one inch narrower on the inside, so I really don't notice that at all with the bucket seats, but the short 5 1/2 ft bed was something that concerned me. The F-150 bed itself is only 9 tenths of an inch narrower than my F-250 SB was, so that's no problem. I believe I've got that bed length thing figured out too, so I figure it'll be just fine. We'll see, but at least those higher than gas diesel prices won't get me po'd every trip to the pumps now.
Add to that the fact that diesel will get even higher, and a greater spread in price ( higher price) than gasoline due to new lower sulfer requirements by the EPA that go into affect in 06 & 07, and I just figured it was time to make the move back to gas.
The day before yesterday, I traded my 03 F-250, Lariat, 4X4, CC in on an 05 F-150, 4X4, CC, KR, with the 5.4 engine. The fuel mileage will be about the same, 15-16 mpg city, ( no idea on the highway mileage yet) but the general maintainance will be cheaper and the fuel will be cheaper too.
I guess I just had enough and could no longer justify the additional diesel costs to myself. I normally only keep a truck for 2 years before trading anyway, but I was surprised to learn that a diesel is affected by the same "over 50,000 mile" price drop that a gasoline engine is too.
This F-150 CC, 4X4, KR, is only one inch narrower on the inside, so I really don't notice that at all with the bucket seats, but the short 5 1/2 ft bed was something that concerned me. The F-150 bed itself is only 9 tenths of an inch narrower than my F-250 SB was, so that's no problem. I believe I've got that bed length thing figured out too, so I figure it'll be just fine. We'll see, but at least those higher than gas diesel prices won't get me po'd every trip to the pumps now.