Doing my part for the economy ...

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Soon (September) to be in my possession. Very Happy

Ford F-250 CrewCab 4x4 6.4L Diesel.

Dimitri

chambered221

I’d prefer it to be a Chevy/GMC Duramax !!! Very Happy

So what do you have planned for it other than the grocery getter their best suited for !!! Poke

Dawgdad

+1 on the duramax Diesel. I love mine!

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Any tips on maintaining a diesel over and above what the company says to do? Confused

Dimitri

SwampFox

D,
My Yukon XL Denali is coming off lease in October so have been looking at heavy duty vehicles myself. I have a 20 ft trailer to haul my 45hp 4x4 Kubota tractor with water filled tires, front end loader and backhoe on. It is a heavy rig for a tow trailer setup.

A friend has a Ford like the one in your picture. I have ridden in it a few times riding around on his several thousand acres of timber land over in Mississippi. It ain't a soft riding vehicle and the turn radius is like trying to turn a big boat. Perhaps a football field will get you a full circle. has a very large oil capacity so an oil change is a pretty expensive. But all else is good. He uses his 4x4 Diesel to tow a Cat Dozer on a big heavy duty goose neck trailer, without a problem.

A garage might be a problem for you though, that Ford is real long.
Best,
Ed

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

I've driven in pick ups as long before it was not too bad. Especially considering 80% of my driving experience was in my dads Expedition and various pick up trucks so I am not going to be going from a small car to a big thing with a large transition. Smile

Yah, 15 Quarts of Oil in the engine. Shocked

I really don't need a F-250 Diesel a F-150 probably would have done for 95% of everything I needed it to do, but I'm getting the XL package (bare) with the additional options for performance/use that I wanted. Cause I really didn't see the need for leather seats or some such. Because of this I'm getting a stronger truck for a price less then the average F-150 you'd see on the road. Smile

Dimitri

Dawgdad

Dimitri wrote:

Any tips on maintaining a diesel over and above what the company says to do? Confused

Dimitri

In the cold northern climes... make sure you have an anti gel agent when the air temp is below 20F and plug in the engine block heater when it get to 10F or less. I am not sure the Power Choke , I mean power stroke Very Happy

has this problem so much but one flaw with the Duramax is the fuel filter. It is so fine (like 0.45 micron or something ridiculous like that) so it will restrict flow if you get any water in the fuel and it gels up. It gets to the point where it will only idle to about 2000 rpms. The computer senses low fuel pressure and governs it down to crawl home speed. Change the filter and you are back on the road but the Iso Heet keeps it dried out and flowing. You learn that lesson once in the first blizzard of the year and you keep a six pack of Heet in the cab!

My Duramax will get 20-24 MPG when I get her rolling on the highway empty. Mix in city driving and it averages around 19MPG. When I hook up my trailer with three horses I will drop down to 12-13 MPG range. I was running fully loaded at 75 mph with the AC on max and still was getting 11 mpg! I do not think I ever got single digits for fuel mileage like I got from my 454 gas truck. The best part is when I pull the horses, and I need to accelerate on the highway, it is like I have nothing back there. I am up to highway speed very quickly. Diesel power is pretty cool.

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Thanks for the tip on the Anti-Gel. Didn't know about that because we didn't seem to use it on the pick up trucks at work. Smile

Dimitri

gelandangan

Get a good mattress for it Very Happy

chambered221

If you really don’t need the 250 let alone the diesel......................you should seriously reconsider what your doing !!!

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Too late Chambered? Its ordered and a done deal. Smile

The gas mileage doesn't seem that much worse then the F-150's, price is about the same, and I've got the ability to load up drive up to Northern Ontario with a trailer/camper attached, drop a moose in the back and come back without the engine being over worked.

Dimitri

chambered221

Hope it works out for you !!! I know a lot of guys who thought they needed them and found out otherwise.

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

You think so Chambered? Confused

Dimitri

chambered221

You don’t need a diesel to pull a pair of ATV’s, or lawn equipment!!!
I have 3 friends that got the Duramax just because they wanted them.
Another that got a Power Stroke for a 24ft travel trailer.
I know of others that did similar things and bought more than they needed.
All of them were back to gas within 2 years.
I should mention that I do know others that needed them and are completely happy and still have them.

chambered221

Gas mileage with diesels is a funny thing!!!
One guy says he can’t do any better than 10-12mpg and the next guy with the same set-up swears he’s getting 30!!!
Diesels are very susceptible to the way they are driven but I still can’t get someone to prove their getting 30mpg!!!