So if anyone has been following my post about the side rails on an F250 being too high for my gooseneck, I’ve come to the realization that I just may not be able to afford a diesel truck to replace my current diesel. By opening my horizons to looking at gas trucks also I stand a better chance of getting what I’m looking for to tow my trailer. So my question is, I have a 2 + 1 Adam gooseneck trailer with a dressing room. It weighs 5000 pounds. I usually haul just one horse but want the option to take two and probably would never haul 3. Most of my driving is local. I could never see myself going to Florida with my horses or any huge distance like that. Who here has a gas truck and are you happy with the power. Any trailer people please weigh in. I need to do something soon as my truck will continue to lose value the older it gets. Currently driving an F250 diesel, 2006 supercab. I’d like to have an F250 crew cab short bed so this is what I’m searching for. Anybody out there tow a big trailer with this truck in a gas engine and are you happy?
I should add that I am looking for a used truck and can not afford a new one.
If you’re used to a diesel, going back to a gas will most likely be a letdown for you. New gas engines have come a long way, but they’re still not a diesel. That said, the new gas engines will absolutely be able to haul your trailer, and they are cheaper for sure.
I had a 4h Featherlite GN that I originally hauled with a F350 King Ranch with the V10. It did fine, and I was totally happy with it - until one day I hauled with my husband’s diesel. No comparison.
Cummins diesel motors are GREAT to buy used, in a Dodge truck. I would not go back to gas. Used cab and chassis with no deck on it, short deck, something that has had a cargo box on it, and traded in. Put your own flat deck on it to suit your trailer. Don’t be concerned with the mileage on it if it passes inspection by a good mechanic. A cummins diesel will go a million miles. Especially the older ones are great, better than the new ones. They are not “fast”, but they are reliable, and cheap to run.
I should add that I mostly haul 15 to 20 miles and not daily. My horses are home and I only trailer out to clinics, local shows, and a local indoor arena in bad weather. Also use the truck to pick up straw.
We pulled a larger trailer with gas one ton for several years. The biggest thing is the combination never met a gas station it didn’t like. On the highway we got 7 mpg on flat ground with no wind. Anything changed and the number dropped.
Stopping every two hours for gas was not fun. We fixed that, in part, by adding an auxiliary tank from Transfer Flow that was certified for gasoline. It was a 50 gal. tank and that meant we had a 5-6 hour range between gas stops. Had some eye popping credit card charges, too!!!
This does not necessarily mean that diesel is cheaper (in fact it likely isn’t). But the cost differential is in other things than fuel.
Operationally the diesel has some advantages in things like low end torque.
There’s really no “school” answer to this as it all depends on your use. For what you describe a gasser might do just fine. If you take a trip, however, you’ll pretty quickly learn about gas prices!!! 
There are quite a few threads on gas vs. diesel in the archives. Review of few to get more viewpoints.
G.
Well I’m dreamed of a diesel, but have always had gas. Yes, fuel economy is bad, particularly when pulling, but I also don’t go very far with it and do not have to drive it everyday.
It is a trade off, and yes you will probably miss your diesel, but the lower purchase price more than offsets the increased fuel costs for the distances you are driving.
op is is only going a few miles… gas will be fine or ever better than a diesel… much cheaper intro pricing, oil changes will be about 1/3rd the cost for gas vs diesel.
just did a quick search of CarMax who will ship to a local CarMax , F250 King Ranch Crew Cab gas Towing Capacity: 16300 lbs, 59K miles … $24,599
http://www.iseecars.com/vin-1FT7W2A65DEA85048-c4187
Ram’s Ecodiesel is a good option- I got 30mpg without hauling so it was good enough to be a daily driver, and got 17-19 mpg while hauling a 2H+tack depending on how loaded down it was. It’s not the Cummins engine, it’s a newer design but ran like a dream and now there should be used ones on the market.
Clanter, link was to a different truck. Can you re link it? Thanks!
[QUOTE=Shenandoah;9007108]
Clanter, link was to a different truck. Can you re link it? Thanks![/QUOTE]
sent you a pm with the link and link to the specific CarMax site’s F250 inventory, says they have 25
My trailer weighs 5000lbs. I often haul 2, one of which is mine who is smaller WB, and the other horse anything from pony to size lge WB. My 2009 Silverado 2500 gasser has no problems. I would have loved a diesel, but it just wasn’t in the budget.
The worst thing about the set up is hauling empty. The previous owners of the trailer changed out the axles for 5200lbers to accommodate their truck’s high bed rails so it hauls a LOT nicer loaded. Unloaded it’s like hauling on Michigan roads. Unloaded AND on actual Michigan roads? Well, let’s say y’all wanna have your sports bra on. That sentence does not necessarily apply only to women. lol
Horses love it though. To a one, they’ve ridden like perfect princesses, even the inexperienced and jackassish.
Anyway, the truck is absolutely fine and I do not feel like I’m lacking power with a similar load to what you haul.
I have a 2012 F250 gas truck. Sure, I would love diesel… but there was zero chance I would ever offset the extra cost of the diesel engine through improved mileage with the amount of driving I do on this vehicle (hint - still hasn’t hit 50K miles), so it just didn’t make sense to spend another 8k on it. Now if I was hauling all the time that calculation wouldn’t make sense, but for my world, makes perfect sense.
As said before diesel engines are the choice for high miles, high altitudes (Turbo only) and for unlimited depth of purse.
For short trips, limited use and shallow purse a gasoline engine will get you and the horse to your destination. Easier to start in the Winter too.
I speak from experience… a 2001 8.1 liter gasoline engine one ton dually, less than 55 k miles on the clock since new. Will pull the hills with the diesels but needs lots of stops for gasoline.
My diesel gets crap mileage. So you all are saying that I will get better mileage with a diesel then a gas engine? I’m lucky if I get 12 miles to the gallon around town with my 2006 F250 Diesel
Found a used 2015 F250 crew cab 4x4 at a local dealer with 17 K miles. XLT basically the same truck that I have but nine years newer. Gas engine with 373 rear. Going to drive it this morning and think it is just within our budget. Thinking I need to be realistic in that I am not going to find a diesel that I can afford that is new enough, clean enough with decent mileage on it. Why oh why did I ever take that King Ranch for a test drive…
When a bought a new truck a few years ago, I looked at the diesels. The towing capacity is enough to a pull a house off its foundation but how many people really need that.
The economics didn’t work. The diesel added 7000 to the cost of the truck. The cost of diesel fuel was higher than gas and with enough differential to offset the better gas mileage. The maintenance costs of the diesel are higher.
So there was no financial payback to be had. The Ford F250 has a 14,400 towing capacity and I’m only pulling a two horse bumper pull. So I am not even close to the towing capacity.
Although you have more low-end torque with a diesel, you’re not going to do burnouts towing a horse trailer. A diesel engine is an expensive option when initially buying a truck, fuel and maintenance are more expensive, and oil changes are 3x those for gas. Besides, diesel engines like to warm up and run, and run, and run…eg., better for hours of long distance hauling.
Yes, the gas engine has less torque, but for local runs, it is perfectly capable of towing a 3 horse. You might find the truck’s top-end speed when you’re towing a full trailer uphill…other than that, you should be ok.
I’ve found the more important thing is the truck set-up with trailering options (transmission cooler, larger radiator, rear-end ratio) capability and MOST IMPORTANTLY, breaking capability. F-250/350 will be fine for your needs.
Trucks that are factory built with “tow package” trailering options also have larger capacity break rotors. You should also look at the rear-end ratio…eg., 3.73 or 4.10. The 4.10 will give you more low-end pick-up but will max out top speed sooner and guzzle more gas.
[QUOTE=Shenandoah;9008046]
My diesel gets crap mileage. So you all are saying that I will get better mileage with a diesel then a gas engine? I’m lucky if I get 12 miles to the gallon around town with my 2006 F250 Diesel[/QUOTE]
That is about what I get with a K3500 crew cab dually. Big trucks weigh a lot. If you don’t believe me take it to a CAT scale at a truck stop and get it weighed. That means they take a lot of energy to move. That energy comes from diesel fuel. QED.
You have a 6.0L engine, yes? That engine is notorious for problems. It might be worth while researching and seeing if poor fuel economy is par for the course on that engine or if you might have some issue.
Good luck as you go forward.
G.
Guilherme, I have heard that too about 6.0 diesels and I have never had a lick of trouble. I bought the truck brand new. Maybe some of them were bad but not mine. I looked at the gas engine 250 today and the salesman were drooling over my truck practically rubbing your hands together. I decided not to pursue it as it was a bare-bones model and not as nice as the one I’m driving. I think what I will do is borrow a friend’s F250 hook it up to my trailer through my horse on it and drive around and see if I can deal with it. I could have possibly dealt with the gas engine if the truck hadn’t been so no frills. My truck is an XLT but it has enough options and two tone paint to be really nice.
