Reminder - Cost of Ownership of Gas vs Diesel

Fordman1981 · Dec 16, 2014

bdog said:
I own two 2015 4x4 crew cab F-250's. One has a 6.2 gas and the other has the 6.7 power stroke. Both have within 3000 miles of each other.

Empty the mpg is about the same on the two trucks. In this scenario the gas truck is cheaper because gas is $1 less a gallon.

We just got back from a trip across three states where both trucks were traveling together. Same roads, same MPH, following each other. They both had trailers. The diesel had a trailer that weighs about 7k but has a lot of wind drag. The gas had a 10k trailer with a lot less wind drag. The gas truck would have to stop because it was showing less than 50 miles to empty and I still had over half a tank in the diesel. We filled both trucks to the top at every fuel stop. At our last fuel stop the diesel took 16 gallons to fill it up and the gas took 31 gallons. Nearly twice as much fuel. It was similar numbers at every fuel stop. The gas truck was calling in we need fuel and the diesel still had half a tank. Gas ain't half the price of diesel. If you tow a lot the diesel can make financial sense. I know they cost 10k more to buy than the gas as I just bought two of them but you recoup the bulk of that when you sell them.

Similar results here as well. I have a 2010 F 450 4x4 V10 with a 12' box. Empty it has returned an average of 7.7 MPG. Loaded it has returned an average of 6.9 MPG. While on the interstate on a long enough climb it will shift down and loose so much speed the cruise control will kick off. This year I bought a 2015 Ram 5500 4x4 with the 6.7 cummins and a 16' box. Empty the Ram has returned an average of 12.8 MPG and fully loaded which is typically 2,000 lbs or better than the F 450 the Ram still has returned an average of 11.1 MPG. The 6.7 seems to never run out of steam it has pulled any grade thrown at it and doesn't seem to mind. Next year I plan to track the numbers in more detail taking into account the oil changes and other maintenance.