Diesel or Hemi ?

[Bas]

Not used to driving / dealing with a Diesel so I hope to get some info from the forums. I am in Colorado where 91 octane is premium and currently Diesel is 65 cents / gallon cheaper than that. I am looking at a Limited, hopefully get a light trailer (600 tongue) in the future. We have a beach house in Texas (1200 miles one way drive) that we visit at least twice a year, my wife plans to got there a few times more often. I drive relatively short distances (15 miles one way to work, although currently still mainly working from home) where as my wife would drive 35 miles one way to take one of the kids to school. I am guessing we'll put roughly 15K - 20K yearly miles on the truck.
Generally I keep my cars for 10 years or more.

Does it make sense both economically and from a reliability point of view to go with Diesel or is it a wash/doesn't really matter. I believe Diesels are more expensive to work on nowadays and even oil changes are expensive; I always thought they were more reliable that might have changed since I drove one back in the early 90's.

Any advice/info is much appreciated.

 

[Fatherof3]

Diesels are great if you do a lot of highway driving but if you do a lot of city driving you’re better off with a gas engine .

 

[Rollint]

Diesels are great if you do a lot of highway driving but if you do a lot of city driving you’re better off with a gas engine .

That just isn't true. I'm not sure where that myth came from. You'll get better mpg with diesel whether your on hwy or city. The only thing thats kind of a pain is if you do a lot of short drives, you'll want to run the engine for a minute or two so your turbo can cool. If diesel didn't make sense in city then why would school busses, ambulances, tons of cars across Europe, all be diesel?

 

[Rollint]

Not used to driving / dealing with a Diesel so I hope to get some info from the forums. I am in Colorado where 91 octane is premium and currently Diesel is 65 cents / gallon cheaper than that. I am looking at a Limited, hopefully get a light trailer (600 tongue) in the future. We have a beach house in Texas (1200 miles one way drive) that we visit at least twice a year, my wife plans to got there a few times more often. I drive relatively short distances (15 miles one way to work, although currently still mainly working from home) where as my wife would drive 35 miles one way to take one of the kids to school. I am guessing we'll put roughly 15K - 20K yearly miles on the truck.
Generally I keep my cars for 10 years or more.

Does it make sense both economically and from a reliability point of view to go with Diesel or is it a wash/doesn't really matter. I believe Diesels are more expensive to work on nowadays and even oil changes are expensive; I always thought they were more reliable that might have changed since I drove one back in the early 90's.

Any advice/info is much appreciated.

Depends on how much you're driving but I have a 2020 with a hemi and my brother has 2020 with ecodiesel and I wish I would have gone the Diesel route as well. When we go camping and he averages 33mpg and I average 16, I kick myself lol

 

[Bas]

If I drive 20K / year with the current price difference (Diesel here right now is 65c / gallon cheaper than premium) it would save a bit over 1500 / year in gas money if I take the EPA rating.
Not sure what the oil change difference is between the diesel and hemi ( $200 versus 120 ?) and if one needs it more often than the other.
I would guess that difference on my 1200 mostly highway trip from CO to TX the diesel would do a lot better than the Hemi.

 

[Fatherof3]

That just isn't true. I'm not sure where that myth came from. You'll get better mpg with diesel whether your on hwy or city. The only thing thats kind of a pain is if you do a lot of short drives, you'll want to run the engine for a minute or two so your turbo can cool. If diesel didn't make sense in city then why would school busses, ambulances, tons of cars across Europe, all be diesel?

I’ll take your word for it as I’ve never had a diesel

 

[Nomad]

This is my second diesel. Had a 2014 Big Horn and lived in the city with a 5 mile commute. I also did a lot of driving back and form from the east coast, never regretted having the diesel and love my new one. I don't have a commute anymore since I am working from home but do make trips that are a 3 hours or more quite frequently. Never had any issues due to the short commutes.

 

[Goatmann]

Not used to driving / dealing with a Diesel so I hope to get some info from the forums.

lI drive relatively short distances (15 miles one way to work, although currently still mainly working from home) where as my wife would drive 35 miles one way to take one of the kids to school.

Does it make sense both economically and from a reliability point of view to go with Diesel or is it a wash/doesn't really matter. I believe Diesels are more expensive to work on nowadays and even oil changes are expensive; I always thought they were more reliable that might have changed since I drove one back in the early 90's.

Any advice/info is much appreciated.

yes, diesel oil changes are a tad more expensive, oh well. You will also be adding DEF every 9000 - 10000 miles. Diesel prices will vary on your trips, it’s 2.39/gal here. Your commute will be in the lower goldilocks range, your wife’s commute would be perfect.

my prior RAM was a ‘15 Ecodiesel. After all of the negative news, and the “fix” FCA introduced, made me gun shy so I traded for my ‘19 Hemi. I do not trust the new and improved version, yet.

I really did like the diesel, of course I reall like the hemi I currently own too. I averaged 24.6 MPG with the diesel, hemi is hitting 17.4 MPG.

Good luck with your decision, either platform is a great choice.

 

[SpeedyV]

If I drive 20K / year with the current price difference (Diesel here right now is 65c / gallon cheaper than premium) it would save a bit over 1500 / year in gas money if I take the EPA rating.
Not sure what the oil change difference is between the diesel and hemi ( $200 versus 120 ?) and if one needs it more often than the other.
I would guess that difference on my 1200 mostly highway trip from CO to TX the diesel would do a lot better than the Hemi.

If you’re towing those distances a few times per year, and you keep the truck long enough, a diesel sounds like an easy choice.

It costs me around $40 to change my own oil with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum. There’s no question you’ll spend a good bit more on maintenance with the diesel, but I think you’ll get your ROI on those long trips.

Are you thinking of letting your wife drive the truck when commuting? If so, that favors the diesel. Your commute is short enough that it really favors gas (but won’t hurt you either way).

I only put 7K miles per year on my truck, a lot of that in the city, so an eTorque-equipped HEMI made sense for me.

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[vegaskeith]

If this helps, I just towed a 6,000 load from Las Vegas to Orange County, got 22.8 MPG. Return trip was unloaded at 70-75 MPH, got 30.5 MPG, DIESEL! I have 2WD and 3.21 rear. Towed exceptional.

 

[Bas]

Really appreciated the feedback, in the end it might be decided on what discount I can get. I do think the extra initial and maintenance cost will be offset over the lifetime of the truck but in the end probably a wash between the two. Hemi has been around forever so reliable and we don't really know that yet for the diesel although I haven't heard any horror stories about that either.

 

[dpdsurf]

I wanted the diesel and thought it drove nice. Then a test drove the 5.7 and liked it a little more. So I did the ROI on the diesel which is a 5k add, over 6500 after adding tax & license. Based on driving 15k miles per year it would have taken me 5-1/2 years to start realizing the fuel savings. I don't plan on having it this long (business vehicle) so it did not make sense for me. But if this were a personal vehicle I typically keep them 10 years so I would have gone for the diesel in this case.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Jono127]

One other thing to keep in mind as well is when you buy Diesel, your resale/trade in value doesn’t drop as bad as a gas truck. I just upgraded from a Silverado 1500 to my 2500 Laramie with the Cummins. You pay more up front, but the Diesel will outlast any gas truck out there while maintaining a better value. Just look online and you’ll see there are 2014 Ram Diesel trucks still selling for 45k +. Just food for thought, and I love my new Laramie by the way. It’s a smooth operating beast.

 

[SpeedyV]

One other thing to keep in mind as well is when you buy Diesel, your resale/trade in value doesn’t drop as bad as a gas truck. I just upgraded from a Silverado 1500 to my 2500 Laramie with the Cummins. You pay more up front, but the Diesel will outlast any gas truck out there while maintaining a better value. Just look online and you’ll see there are 2014 Ram Diesel trucks still selling for 45k +. Just food for thought, and I love my new Laramie by the way. It’s a smooth operating beast.

I agree for a 3/4-ton or larger, but I wouldn’t pay more for a used 1/2-ton diesel. That’s mainly because the little diesels don’t have the track record of their heavier counterparts, and they might be more likely to have been pushed to their limits.

 

[Mtsabo]

Engines might last longer but everything else wears out just the same

 

[rlc2020]

Just by doing the math it would take 5-6 years at 15k a year just to break even on the diesel. Not to mention the extra hassle with finding a station with diesel and that someone isn't blocking the 1 pump every time. Also, the ecodiesel is not the most reliable engine, especially when compared to the hemi. I'm a huge diesel guy and I passed on an ED for my Hemi truck because i didn't trust it and especially didn't like the acceleration. Unless you have easy access to diesel or drive enough miles yearly that it really matters, I would take the Hemi.

 

[Rossum]

Does it make sense both economically and from a reliability point of view to go with Diesel or is it a wash/doesn't really matter.

It probably doesn't make economic sense, and I certainly wouldn't buy one for commuting. But for 1200 mile highway trips: There's a lot of peace of mind knowing you have 700 or more miles worth of fuel in the tank, especially when there's a hurricane bearing down on your beach house in TX and all the filling stations are out of gas for the first few hundred miles. BTDT -- I'm in PA and have a beach house in FL.

There's also a lot to be said for an engine that can actually pull in top gear instead of downshifting on every grade longer/steeper than an overpass. Having driven another brand's 3.0L turbo diesel SUVs for the past 11 years or so, needless to say, I ordered my RAM with the EcoDiesel and a 33 gallon tank.

 

[RamGuy32]

One other thing to keep in mind as well is when you buy Diesel, your resale/trade in value doesn’t drop as bad as a gas truck. I just upgraded from a Silverado 1500 to my 2500 Laramie with the Cummins. You pay more up front, but the Diesel will outlast any gas truck out there while maintaining a better value. Just look online and you’ll see there are 2014 Ram Diesel trucks still selling for 45k +. Just food for thought, and I love my new Laramie by the way. It’s a smooth operating beast.

One other thing to remember, when I had my 2005 Dodge 2500 Cummins I was at a mechanic getting a regular service and he asked me why I bought the diesel. I said, "cuz they last forever!" Without missing a beat, the seasoned old mechanic said, "Don't mistake longevity for reliability!" At that very moment with a 5 year old diesel, I looked at it in a whole new way, saw the potential expenses on the horizon, and decided to divest myself of things like injector pump failures!

 

[Bas]

Yeah that Laura hurricane was aiming right at the beach house and veered off just in time, actually made me think I should maybe get that new ford with the onboard generator. Then again that won't me do any good if that car is washed away. Anyhow diesel here is 65 c/ gallon *cheaper* than premium so my break even point is reached in 2 or 3 years.

 

[Gman]

That just isn't true. I'm not sure where that myth came from. You'll get better mpg with diesel whether your on hwy or city. The only thing thats kind of a pain is if you do a lot of short drives, you'll want to run the engine for a minute or two so your turbo can cool. If diesel didn't make sense in city then why would school busses, ambulances, tons of cars across Europe, all be diesel?

Those vehicles run all day, every day. Not a quick trip to/from the city twice a day. Diesel emissions requirements are also different in Europe.

No need to run premium gas here in CO.

Most modern diesel dependability has been adversely impacted by our emissions requirements.

IMO, either go big with a Cummins if you tow all the time, or expect less MPG when towing with gas. Just remember to go big on the fuel capacity.