Towing With A Gas VS Diesel - 5 Comparisons Between Towing Our Camper With A Gas VS Diesel Truck 

Thank you very much for the kind words and binge-watching Bill! I try to keep it family friendly around here while producing some valuable content. I'm thankful that you found me as well! Thanks again for the comment and watching!

You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful.

You're welcome! That makes total sense. Rabbit Ears is no joke! Thanks for watching Gary

I saw your truck in your last video! That thing is sweet! I bet it tows your trailer no problem. Yeah, your trailer is probably a little big for a 1/2ton, maybe not because of weight so much as to a combo of weight/length. Towing with a 3/4 is so much better and then a diesel on top of it, that's just icing on the cake! Looking forward to the video!

I have a 2500 HD gasser. Really thinking hard about my next truck as a diesel. I get 9 mpg pulling a 8000 lb fifth wheel and probably another 1000 fully loaded. I get stressed out easy trying to weave around cars getting gas at the service station. I have watched the diesel trucks pull in with the big trucks with ease. On a 30 gallon tank I get about 227 miles on a tank of gas. My gasser pulls easy. Thanks for the video.

@@robjohnson4433 I’ve only had gas trucks my whole life and love them, but since I’ve upgraded to my diesel, all stress is gone. Not just pulling but going down steep hills. The exhaust break almost stops the truck by itself.

Thanks Richard! I agree with you 100%. We just got back from a long trip where we went over multiple passes over 11,000ft. Our truck did really good, but a diesel would have been amazing for that trip! I still averaged about 9MPG on the trip even with all the uphill (normal is around 12.5-13.5mpg without towing).

That's great you've had good luck with multiple diesels! I had several issues with my 5.9, but the primary issue I had was bad mechanics. So that old Dodge constantly broke down on me. It towed great, but it was extremely unreliable - like I said, mostly due to the poor mechanics I went to. Hopefully the Chevy will treat me well and last a long time! I'm able to work on the Chevy myself a lot easier. Like you said there's good and bad in all brands. Thanks for watching and commenting Bill!

@@ColoradoCamperman I picked up an older common rail dodge a year ago. It was supposed to be my "cheap" work truck. Well, after finding out it needed new injectors, injector tubes, upgraded fuel filtration system and a small piece of wiring harness, it stopped being cheap. One of the annoyances is that the parts sellers know you will pay big money even for basic parts on a diesel so they rake you over the coals. Just the injector tubes were like $40/each assuming you went name brand. Injector lines...just from the rail to the tubes was like another $30/each if you needed them. It's just annoying.

@@Ka_Gg I agree 100%. When I put a re-manufactured engine in our old diesel, just the price of the injectors was $3,000. And these were remanufactured! Plus I got charged core fees of like $1,800 until they received the old injectors. Crazy stuff!

I know! That dude was definitely overloaded. That was just the start of I-70 in the mountains, if he was going further, he was in for a long trip! Thanks for watching!

It was an Ford Expedition

I definitely agree with you! Thanks for watching!

When did to be the opposite gas engines have way more power diesels just have torque at low speeds

Some gas engines have turbos also.

​@@adamshaw8214 but even gasser turbos are more reliable than diesels and cheaper since gas engines don't put the turbo under nearly as much stress as a diesel motor.

I didn't mention that because my 05' didn't have an exhaust brake. That would have been nice! My new gaser will recognize when you are going downhill and turns on a grade braking system in the transmission that down shifts. It does a really good job and I don't brake nearly as much as I did with my old truck. Thanks for watching.

Lol, thanks for watching!

Lol, thanks for the comment and watching!

Great question Jeff! When our camper is fully loaded and the ATV is in the back of the truck with the generator, gas, extra water, gear, and 3 passengers I'm guessing we're towing about 8,500-9,000lbs. This last weekend we camped and didn't bring the ATV, extra gas, & gear. So we were probably towing about 1,000lbs less. I honestly don't notice a huge difference towing between the different trips. I say this because I'm guessing if I bumped up to around 10,000lbs, I still probably wouldn't notice a difference and our truck would definitely be capable of towing that. I think you would be just fine with a 10,000lb trailer if you got the 7.3L gas engine. I have heard great things about that engine! The 7.3L gas has about 10% more HP and almost 20% more torque then my truck does. So, if my truck could pull a 10,000lb trailer, I think the 7.3L gas engine easily could. I would also definitely recommend going with a F250 or even a F350. While a F150 might be able to pull a 10,000lb trailer, your ride will be more stable and safer in a F250 or F350. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!

Gas is fine get a Chevy 2500 older one I towed a dump trailer in virginia mountain 65 70 and ingot 434k miles I was at sleet 6k lbs

Hold up. Is your trailer actually 8000lbs or is rated for 8000lbs? Are we talking simple flat bed like a 16 or 18ft? If it's just a simple bumper hook up with 2 axles (5 lug wheels), It probably ways closer 2000lbs. I always hear of people talk about how much their trailer is rated for as if that is the weight of the trailer. Also, if the trailer is that heavy duty, I'd look at a different trailer. I haul cars with a 16 ft trailer that is rated for 7000lbs, but the trailer itself weighs around 1500lbs. I've used an older chevy 1500 for years towing that.

Good point, thanks for sharing and watching!

its not like you can take your diesel pickup into most truck stop fuel islands with the semis though, semis use bigger nozzles for faster fueling.

@@patriot-1996 I’ll remember that the next time I fill the rig in the semi lane. Thanks

Thank you! I agree with you 100%! Thank you for watching!

Thank you! I wish I had the two trucks side by side and could compare them in real time!

I kinda feel like I don’t have the 410 gears in my 2500ls 6.0 l it sucks on take off I’m pulling 3klb trailer and 8klb skidsteer it’s great on the hwy once u get rolling it’s taking off for me that kills me but great overall truck I pull gooseneck

Thanks for watching.

I've heard nothing but good things about the 7.3 Godzilla. Thanks for the comment and watching.

Sort of, the 15 year old diesel still has about 1.6 times the amount of torque of the gas. The trucks have similar amount of HP. Still a good comparison and a video that multiple people have asked me to make. Thanks for watching

@Andrew Sully I looked at it, but chose to go with Chevy because I had good luck with my old Silverado. My buddy also has the same truck and has had great luck with it.

Yeah, I tend to agree with you. For our 7,000-lb trailer fully loaded, a diesel really is not necessary. Thanks for watching!

For sure, yeah, I pretty much just go 70. When I'm going faster than that, my MPG is just awful! Thanks for watching!

Yep, thanks for watching

Agreed, thanks for watching!

In the first 30 seconds of the video I explain that this is my perspective between the two vehicles we owned. If you want a comparison between a 2019 gas and a 2019 diesel, click on another video. Or, go out and get me a 2019 diesel truck to compare.

Thanks for watching.

You must have missed the part at :16 when I said "I wanted to give you my perspective towing our travel with our diesel vs gas". If I had a new diesel and new gas truck to compare, I would have. This isn't TFL where I get to compare any vehicle that I want. I'm just a normal dude sharing my experience with the vehicles I've actually owned. Thanks for watching.

Those are only interstate speeds and we rarely drive on the interstate to go camping. If we do, I will usually go 70MPH, 5MPH slower then the speed limit. My MPG is much better at 70MPH then 75-80MPH. As for safety, our truck out weighs our travel trailer even when loaded up. If we were driving with a light duty truck or if our trailer weighed more then our camper, I probably wouldn't drive as fast. We also use stabilizer bars from the truck hitch to the camper, that makes a huge difference when towing at those speeds. Thanks for watching Ben!

Colorado Camperman thank you so much for your reply and sharing all info. One additional question that will help us in making our decisions, we are looking at at travel trailer with a loaded weight of max 7,300 lbs. I am doing as much home work as I can before deciding on a truck. What are your thought on a Ford F-150 xl or xlt VS a Ram 1500 5.7 hemi? Or perhaps you have some Chevy feedback. Thanks in advance for your reply and help. So glad you tube is out there and folks like you are sharing their expertise and hobbies. ( I am also a guitar nut so you tube is devouring my hours 😬) thx Ben

@@benclaase8181 You're welcome Ben! I can only speak from my experience and not so much about research on those trucks. Right now I have a buddy who has a 2015 or 2016 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 hemi. He loves it! Prior to that he had a 2000ish F-150. He says the Ram is much more powerful then the Ford was (however it is 15 or 16 years newer with less miles, so that plays a bid roll). That is my only experience with those two brands, lol. However, I know a lot of people who have Chevy trucks. Too many stories to tell but they are pretty much all positive. My Father In Law has an 02 Chevy Silverado he bought new, it has around 185k miles and he hasn't had any major problems. I think the biggest thing he's had to do was change a water pump. All 3 of the major brands will have their problems and all 3 will have their own positives. I decided to go with Chevy because personally I have seen how long they last (my old 1995 Chevy has over 210k miles on it and it still ran like a champ when I got rid of it) and I know several people that have had similar experiences. Personally, if I were in the market for a half ton, I would honestly go with a Toyota Tundra. I know I'm probably confusing you more, lol! But, I had a 4Runner and that was easily the best vehicle I've ever owned. It was extremely reliable and never broke down. The only reason I went with my Chevy over the Tundra was because I needed a 3/4 ton truck. If Toyota made a 3/4 ton, long bed Tundra, I probably would have bought that.

Colorado Camperman thank you for your reply. Ok will now look at and consider Chevy as well as Toyota. I did not know that the Tundra could handle the tow. We had a Sequoia before so we are familiar with their trucks. Thanks again and happy travels. Ben

@@benclaase8181 Check the specs on the Tundra, but I think they're pretty comparable to a 1/2 ton Ford/Chevy/Ram.

Thanks for watching.