HottRoddER
05-22-2008, 01:49 PM
I've been a memeber for a little while but don't post much. insert: I sse it says 0 posts. that's not technically true. I had posted a couple of times before the boards went down last year: insert. Just a lot of good info gathering. Thanks for that! I have a question though that is difficult to search and I'd like your expert opinion on.
I've come to the conclusion that it's time to move on from our 140K mile '99 7.4 gas 4x4 sub. It's costing to much to keep her running these days on top of the fuel cost/mpg issue. Last month it was a transfer case. The month before was front end work including trailing and pitman arms. My question is what to replace it with? By that I mean diesel or gas? A couple of years ago I'd have said diesel hands down. But today I'm not so sure.
Let me tell you how we use the current truck. It's primary used to get the two kids around during the week but we also have a boat and toyhauler for weekend activities. Both are relatively small at 21' and 24' respectively. But hopefully that will change in coming years to something just a bit bigger. Ideally 24' and 26'. Much bigger and it's too much work (towing, cleaning, maintaining) in my opinion. We were thinking of replacing the sub with a truck for towing only and get Mom a Pilot or Hybrid Highlander for getting the kids around. But then I was out of work for 7 months so everything was shelved while we 'survived'. Now that we're both employed and things have stabilized we're blowing the dust off the plans and re-evaluating them based on current conditions. We both still like the idea of seperate towing and everyday vehicles. It doesn't make the sense that it seemed to 9 years ago to have 1 vehicle do both jobs.
The present gasser struggles when the hauler is fully loaded so I was obviously thinking diesel. In fact I had all but settled on a used '06 Sierra with the LBZ. But with diesel being as much or more than gas now. I started thinking more about another gas motor. They make better torque these days... So, what do you think? Gas or diesel for a relatively light load, tow vehicle.
If you need more details or have questions of me to make an educated guess please ask and Thanks for your help.
I've come to the conclusion that it's time to move on from our 140K mile '99 7.4 gas 4x4 sub. It's costing to much to keep her running these days on top of the fuel cost/mpg issue. Last month it was a transfer case. The month before was front end work including trailing and pitman arms. My question is what to replace it with? By that I mean diesel or gas? A couple of years ago I'd have said diesel hands down. But today I'm not so sure.
Let me tell you how we use the current truck. It's primary used to get the two kids around during the week but we also have a boat and toyhauler for weekend activities. Both are relatively small at 21' and 24' respectively. But hopefully that will change in coming years to something just a bit bigger. Ideally 24' and 26'. Much bigger and it's too much work (towing, cleaning, maintaining) in my opinion. We were thinking of replacing the sub with a truck for towing only and get Mom a Pilot or Hybrid Highlander for getting the kids around. But then I was out of work for 7 months so everything was shelved while we 'survived'. Now that we're both employed and things have stabilized we're blowing the dust off the plans and re-evaluating them based on current conditions. We both still like the idea of seperate towing and everyday vehicles. It doesn't make the sense that it seemed to 9 years ago to have 1 vehicle do both jobs.
The present gasser struggles when the hauler is fully loaded so I was obviously thinking diesel. In fact I had all but settled on a used '06 Sierra with the LBZ. But with diesel being as much or more than gas now. I started thinking more about another gas motor. They make better torque these days... So, what do you think? Gas or diesel for a relatively light load, tow vehicle.
If you need more details or have questions of me to make an educated guess please ask and Thanks for your help.