Diesel Pickups gain in popularity

[model70hunter]

My 2000 7.3 F-250 diesel has over 250,000 on it. I'm about 250,000 from trade in.

And further more, Tornado's are low octane powered gas turbines. Any one who lives where tornado's originate need to keep them at home. They leave black particles where you home used to be. Tornado's however are usually low mileage units.

 

[EugeneNine]

If it has clutches...most likely it's a limited slip...once they wear out..only one tire will spin.

The only way to engage a locker is (depending on company)
Flip a switch....Eaton E(electronic) locker, or ARB(air...do you need an air compressor)
Gas peddle...Detroit locker, it only engages when you are pressing the gas peddle, once you let off, it unlocks.

And when I say "flip a switch", I don't mean the cute little switch or dial on your dash board that says "4 high, 4 low, etc"...

...then there is "Welded"...which means someone physically welded the carrier.

The G80 is a locker, there is no slip when its engaged, it doesn't have clutches.

 

[EugeneNine]

Toyota is supposed to be putting a Cummins in the Tundra starting 2016. If sales are decent they may start their own Diesel engine project.

Are they making an aluminum Cummins or is Toyota replacing their truck shaped car with a real truck.

I got my camper cheap because the previous owner tried to carry it on a Tundra and it was dragging bumper. It just levels out my 1/2 ton Chevy.

 

[Sven]

Oh, and the RVer's. Forgot about them. You know the guy with the 30' diesel motor home or the guy with the F -350 towing a 30' fiver. Yep, I suspect they got scammed too. Just not enough to keep them from buying all those diesel powered rigs in retirement.

Well, all I can say is my 24' Winnebago View with a 5 cyl Mercedes diesel get 19.5 mpg. Pulling my Wrangler on a tow bar drops it to 14.5, but it still has plenty of power. That's a far cry from my old 24' Champion MH with a 440 Dodge that got 7.5 mpg!

BTW, my Wrangler has Truetrac gear driven limited slip diffs front and rear that work great. My wife's Jeep Commander has the lockers.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Can't understand why Toyota doesn't come out with a small turbo diesel engine in their Tacoma. Something that gets 50 mpg in a small truck would sell really good imho.

Interesting idea.

Toyota has invested a ton of money into Hybrid. Since the midsize truck market is relatively small compared to full size, I'd guess that Toyota would go with what they already have, Hybrid, before investing in diesel for the Tacoma. I read somewhere about a turbo version of the Tacoma. In any event, I would consider getting a Tacoma if it got significantly better MPG than my Tundra. But when it's only a few MPG different might as well get the bigger truck for my general use (not a work truck).

 

[4006990]

Get all the facts(Economics. Energy. Environment. Transportation)on diesel power for your state:
http://www.dieselforum.org/statefacts

 

[BaaBaa]

Diesel here all the way. Hate gasoline engines with a passion. Now in an ideal world I'd have a big heavy duty hybrid diesel/electric truck FWIW We expect that the big Dodge diesel 2500 we bought new 10 years ago will last at least a million miles w/o any major work. In a pinch we can run biodiesel or even plain vegetable oil in it with minor modifications. We do haul lots of stuff and need the 4-WD to get into our driveway in winter.

 

[John R]

Toyota is supposed to be putting a Cummins in the Tundra starting 2016. If sales are decent they may start their own Diesel engine project.

That should be an even bigger joke that their gas pick-ups.

 

[dcxplant]

It's not that diesels are getting more popular per se, Rollin' Coal is!! What a crazy phenomenon.

 

[BobC357]

Why are diesel truck oil changes soooo expensive?
oil change, filter, tire rotation and fluids topped off
Car: $19.99
Truck: $129.99
Sure the truck uses more oil but not $100 worth!

 

[THE PILGRIM]

One time I an old school Toyota Landcruiser. I was buying oil by the case and changing it myself.
I couldn't get three changes from the 24 quarts. I think it took 9 quarts with filter change.
That was a gas engine with a big oil pan.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

One significant factor for diesel costing more is the fuel tax is higher. If .gov was earnest about wanting people to drive more efficient vehicles, they would lower the diesel tax. In Europe, diesel is less expensive than gasoline.

Efficiency aside, I still prefer my vehicle to be gasoline.

You need to be using that red diesel

 

[ridewv]

Can't understand why Toyota doesn't come out with a small turbo diesel engine in their Tacoma. Something that gets 50 mpg in a small truck would sell really good imho.

IMO it's because they can't. VW is the leader in small diesel development and VW's diesel cars almost always achieve better mpg than any other diesel they compare to. Their tiny 4 cyl, 2-door Golf TDI can get 50 mpg. I know this because my good friend has one and is obsessed with hyper-miling it.
A weight comparison to a 4wd Tacoma sized pick-up might be a Sprinter van and the Sprinter gets maybe 20 mpg, little if any better mpg than a Tacoma.

 

[Sven]

As I stated before, my Sprinter Class C motorhome will get 19.5 mpg -- that's at 10,000 GVW with the 2.7L 5 cyl. A smaller Sprinter 3/4 ton will get 24 mpg.

Remember back in the 80's we had a few diesel mini pickups. Toyota, Isuzu, Ford Ranger, Chevy Luv, maybe Datsun. I think they got fuel mileage in the upper 20's. I'd love to see what they could do with a newer computer controlled diesel now, say in something the size of a Chevy Colorado.

In the 60's, you could order a Jeep CJ with a 4 cyl Perkin's diesel. I believe they got around 24 mpg.

 

[ridewv]

As I stated before, my Sprinter Class C motorhome will get 19.5 mpg -- that's at 10,000 GVW with the 2.7L 5 cyl. A smaller Sprinter 3/4 ton will get 24 mpg.

Remember back in the 80's we had a few diesel mini pickups. Toyota, Isuzu, Ford Ranger, Chevy Luv, maybe Datsun. I think they got fuel mileage in the upper 20's. I'd love to see what they could do with a newer computer controlled diesel now, say in something the size of a Chevy Colorado.
.

My comparison to 2wd diesel Sprinter vans getting the same mpg as a 4wd Toyota Tacoma V6 gasoline comes from friends which have them and drive on the same roads around here. The Tacoma gets 16-17 around town and 19 on the highway, his brother's Sprinter does 16 in town and 19-20 on the highway. The other brother has a small Winnebago camper made on a Sprinter chassis and on their trip across country to the west coast and back averaged 14mpg which he was pleased with. He said their high tank was 19 which was mostly on Hwy 1 where they were going 40-50 mph. So I guess his will get 19 mpg.

The thing you have to remember about small diesel trucks from 35 years ago is how small they were and under powered they were compared to say a current Nissan Frontier with a 4.0 gas engine. Plus they didn't have all the emission stuff choking them down.

 

[LostintheOzone]

Good or bad the market will always determine if a product is profitable for a manufacturer to build. Diesel pickups cost more than gas versions and they may be more expensive to maintain but that has not been my experience. As more units are produced the prices will drop.

Diesel is less expensive to refine than gas and delivers more energy per gallon. When you consider the amount of ethanol in most of the gas we use it makes diesel look like some kind of super fuel. Diesel costs more than gas because it is taxed at a higher rate than gas. If it were taxed the same as gas it would be less expensive. So the gov't has created a situation where a better fuel (diesel) is penalized with higher taxes and a less than adequate fuel (ethanol) is subsidized.

People are beginning to understand this and demanding the fed get a real domestic energy policy instead of the disaster that they now have with ethanol. Most people don't realize that gas with ethanol is just as expensive as diesel when you consider the energy produced per gallon. If you don't believe me take a look at this.

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/fuel_comparison_chart.pdf

Diesel vehicles will become more popular in spite of the fed and their less than stellar energy policy. I have a diesel pickup because I saw this ethanol debacle coming. If I'm going to pay that much for fuel at least I'm going to have a vehicle that can do some work.

 

[Ranger514]

I live in a part of the world with winter driving conditions, and have a need to haul heavy trailers at times. In my experience, diesel power is far superior for dealing with that combination.

 

[EugeneNine]

My comparison to 2wd diesel Sprinter vans getting the same mpg as a 4wd Toyota Tacoma V6 gasoline comes from friends which have them and drive on the same roads around here. The Tacoma gets 16-17 around town and 19 on the highway.

And this is why Toyota can't make a small diesel, they can't even make a small gas (truck) engine right. When full size v8's get better gas mileage than mid sized v6's there is something wrong with that v6.

 

[ridewv]

And this is why Toyota can't make a small diesel, they can't even make a small gas (truck) engine right. When full size v8's get better gas mileage than mid sized v6's there is something wrong with that v6.

It's not Toyota, rather if and how Toyota chooses to conform to the ridiculous USA-EPA ever changing regulations.

How CAFE Killed Compact Trucks And Station Wagons - The Truth About Cars

 

[dimedog]

Had a mid to late 90's Dodge, can't remember exactly what year, with the 12 valve Cummins. That truck I sold when it had 286k miles and besides two new batteries and tires it only needed a seven dollar injector pump bolt thingy that kept the fuel primed in the pump. I now have a 07.5 GMC Duramax 4x4 crew cab that gets about 22mpg highway. Also had a VW TDI which I purchased new and it got about 50mpg highway, until my daughter crashed it. The only vehicle that stunk was the Dodge, it was a first generation diesel with no electronics, no emissions. I really liked that truck, it was like a tank.

I had a 1995 Ram 2500 with the old 12 valve also.
Best truck I ever had. Sold it with 263K on it and it still ran strong. No major repairs ever. Leaked every fluid from the rest of the truck; except engine oil.
Have a 2007 now with 205K on it.
'95 was more reliable. '07 is good now that all the emission junk has been deleted.