Pickup Truck Thoughts

PilotRPI

PilotRPI

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PilotRPI
Looking to replace my pickup and was wondering if people have brands they like. Looking for to replace my 2011 Silverado 1500 5.3V8. Use it for towing a horse trailer or dump trailer occasionally (5k pounds) short distances. Happy with it mechanically, but structurally it sucks. Lots of rust on it, and I know another guy with similar vintage that replaced all his cross members under his bed, I'm probably approaching that. My buddy has a similar vintage Ford that is corroding and has holes in his bed even though its aluminum. My mechanic says he sees engine issues on brand new Chevys and Dodges. Turbos worry me especially with stop/start features. So you get the turbo hot, some to a stop, then deprive it of oil flow/cooling? Seems like a great way to kill them.Anyone have a positive opinion on a new truck of theirs?
 
Turbo or no turbo, any mechanic will tell you that the worst thing you can do to your engine is start it. 90% of wear occurs on startup. Granted, hot starts are better than cold starts, but once moving parts stop, the bearing oil film collapses and it's back to metal to metal contact.
 
Personally, I think Ford's Powerboost is the coolest truck on the market but, practically, I'm not a big fan of any of the trucks on the market right now.

GM engines are still having issues with active fuel management.

Ford's Ecoboost motors have the carbon build up/clean out maintenance cycle that comes with all direct injection + turbo applications.

Ram Trucks are still being built with the level of quality that Chrysler lost its reputation on.

Nissan Titans have built a reputation for trying to eat their catalytic converters.

Toyotas Tundras seem to be the most reliable, but (last I checked, granted I have not been paying much attention in the last year with this insane market) they are priced significantly higher than the competitors and seem to get poor fuel economy even for what they are.

That just leaves the GM 4 cylinder (which is unproven, and GM's history of under building transmissions on low end trucks makes me nervous) and Ford's 5.0 V8 (if you can find one). And neither of those trucks are worth the year of average median earnings that they are asking for them.

If I were in your shoes, I would at least get quotes to fix the rust. You have one of the more reliable drivetrains that GM built, and I am pretty sure you can fix your truck for about the downpayment of a new one, and it will last just as long. I believe in 20 years we will look back on this era of trucks an view them just like the 80s American cars that were still trying to reliably figure out smog controls.
 
It might not have the power you need for towing, but my 2015 GMC Canyon has been in Florida it's whole life and drives on the beach at least a dozen times a year. I occasionally take it through a drive-through car wash that has an under carriage cleaner, but not religiously. It still looks like new. My main reason for having a pickup is that I haul truckloads (2 yards) of mulch quite regularly, and occasionally about half ton of gravel (which only fills the bed less than half). And I take it on occasional road trips with my wife when not flying and it is very comfortable and gets 23 mpg on the highway. And it fits in my garage with a lot more room that a standard sized pickup.

But it is still a GMC. After only 7 years, my AC and my seat heaters both quit working (different seasons of course). Although to be honest, I have no idea if the seat heaters EVER worked. It has never gotten cold enough to need them till this Christmas.
 
I have been driving an EcoBoost - the original 3.5 V6 version - in a super crew 4WD F150 since 2011. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another EcoBoost powered truck. In fact, if I replace this one it would likely be with a 2.7 EB. Nothing new, mind you -- I'm done buying new vehicles, but a 2-3 year old one would be fine.

My 2011 3.5L F150 has been essentially maintenance free. I put new plugs in it a couple years ago, which it did need -- the old ones had some pretty impressive gaps. Aside from regular oil changes it's needed nothing else in around 85K miles or so. Note that this is NOT a start-stop equipped engine. We've not had any trouble with the start-stop vehicles we own. Most are turbocharged but none of them are/were old or high mileage. I generally keep it disabled in the Bimmer; I just can't see how it's a good idea. I also haven't had any rust issues with the F150, but I've seen a few with the rear bottom corners of the cab rusted out. Everything in the truck still works, except the rear window defrost -- I need to figure that one out and fix it.
 
JOhnH said:
Although to be honest, I have no idea if the seat heaters EVER worked. It has never gotten cold enough to need them till this Christmas.
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That is like me when I bought a truck in Alaska with A/C.

Worth every penny for the 3 days a year I needed A/C... :lol:

Lately I have had folks asking me if my 2005 GMC Duramax is for sale.
 
Out of the options that exist today, I think the Ford Ecoboost is the best one. 2.7 or 3.5, I think either are fine. The direct injection issue was solved by adding port injection as well, which adds complexity but removes that failure point. Everyone I know with an Ecoboost has been happy with it, and I can't say anyone has expressed problems with the things. They're workhorses, and Ford really seems to have gotten that whole Ecoboost family right. Yes the turbos add stress to the engine, but it's designed for it and appears to be designed for it well.

Auto start/stop is essentially ubiquitous on all vehicles these days. However, so is the ability to turn it off. The exact way of doing so varies from car to car, but most of them have an easily accessible button. Yes you have to hit it each key start cycle, so that part is annoying. We just implement that as part of the procedure on the Alfa. But my recommendation to people who are concerned with the longevity impacts over the benefits it produces is to turn it off. It does negatively impact engine longevity overall. One of my friends has a Mini with the turbo 3 cylinder. They used the start stop and then it started having a slight oil seep from the timing cover. But then they noticed that after a long trip (10,000 miles) with all highway driving that there was no observable seep anymore. I suggested that they manually turn off the start/stop and see if it impacted things. Sure enough, that solved the issue and it hasn't come back since.

Anyway, if I were looking at a 1/2-ton pickup right now, it would be hard for me to recommend anything over the F-150 Ecoboost. But if you want a V8 sound, the Coyote is a good engine as well. It's not really that much simpler - you're saving turbos but you've still got a variable valve timing DOHC engine with all the other various complex systems. The Hemis are good engines, but Chrysler has added a lot of complexity to them (so has GM to their LS V8s) and I don't think all the kinks are fully worked out.
 
Buy a cab&chassis through fleet sales and put an aluminum flatbed on it. Inside it's still a truck with a metal key and rubber footmats, not a 'SUV with a bed'. Get the NA V8. Your trailers don't seem to be terribly heavy and long term it's just less stuff that can break.
Most of the fleet users seem to buy Ford. You'll see some Dodge in the public sector where buyers may be bound to buying the lowest bid.
 
I have a Ford F-150 Crewcab, but I went with the 5.0L V8. I didn't want to get involved with the Ecoboost, turbos, et al. No complaints so far. I also purchased and installed the Auto-Stop Eliminator. This Auto Stop/Start nonsense is ridiculous and should be banned.
 
I’ve never been impressed with anything Nissan makes, especially their trucks. They handle poorly, ride badly and they really don’t outperform at anything. I’m also not completely sold on their 5.6L V8 either and have questions about its longevity when matched to the 9-speed transmission they have.

That said if I were buying a new truck, I’d undoubtedly go with the 3.5L Ford EcoBoost. My work truck is a new F150 XLT with that engine and it’s a very nice and capable truck. Of course if we’re talking a used pickup, it’s almost impossible to beat the older Tacoma’s in terms of reliability, as those trucks arguably have the most reliable and longest lasting engine-transmission combination ever.
 
Chevy Silverado LT Trailboss with the updated 3.0l baby duramax. If someone could just give me $65k so I could buy it that’d be great, thanks.
 
I bought a Silverado 2500 this summer. I was pleased with how much of a "real truck" it still is. 6.6L naturally aspirated v8, no start-stop, was able to get it with everything I wanted and nothing I didn't. I don't have any reason to believe it will hold up against rust better than my '97, so I kept the 97 running to drive in the winter salt. I know your "mission" doesn't require a 3/4 ton, and they ride like crap and are excessively tall and the gas mileage sucks, but it is the last bastion of an actual "truck" as the 1/2 tons are becoming more and more akin to luxury cars with each generation.
 
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I know @RyanB secretly admires my Sentra.

Personally I'd get a Tacoma.* Pickup trucks have grown in size over the last two decades, and the Taco is basically what a full sized pickup was ten years ago.

*oh right, have one.
 
My daily driver is ‘17 F150 Super Crew King Ranch 4X4, 5.0. No auto start/stop, no turbos. Six speed auto transmission, so long as I keep hitch weight below 900lbs, it’ll tow anything up to 11.5klbs.

We occasionally drag a 7500lb 28ft RV 200mi to the beach without a problem, but crosswinds can make it a little sporty. If we took that thing many other places I’d upsize to a 3/4 ton gasser real quick though.

Been very happy with it in the 3yrs I’ve owned it.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I know @RyanB secretly admires my Sentra.

Personally I'd get a Tacoma.* Pickup trucks have grown in size over the last two decades, and the Taco is basically what a full sized pickup was ten years ago.

*oh right, have one.
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I drive a 2002 GMC 2500 and the other day a new ranger parked next to me. Other than being about 4 inches shorter (height not length), it was almost the same size as my truck.

Just make sure to check the towing capacity, if I recall correctly, some trims of the Tacos only have 3500lbs towing capacity.
 
My truck only has 112k miles. I don't mind putting some money in to keep it going, cheaper than a $60k truck. Mechanical stuff can be fixed, but structural rust scares me a bit.
 
PilotRPI said:
Looking to replace my pickup and was wondering if people have brands they like. Looking for to replace my 2011 Silverado 1500 5.3V8. Use it for towing a horse trailer or dump trailer occasionally (5k pounds) short distances. Happy with it mechanically, but structurally it sucks. Lots of rust on it, and I know another guy with similar vintage that replaced all his cross members under his bed, I'm probably approaching that. My buddy has a similar vintage Ford that is corroding and has holes in his bed even though its aluminum. My mechanic says he sees engine issues on brand new Chevys and Dodges. Turbos worry me especially with stop/start features. So you get the turbo hot, some to a stop, then deprive it of oil flow/cooling? Seems like a great way to kill them.Anyone have a positive opinion on a new truck of theirs?
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Unlimited car wash membership. You're in MA, they use salt on the roads in the winter don't they? I'm in a few times a month to get that washed off the bottom side of my truck. Have a 2020 Sierra Elevation. No complaints other than a weird intermittent muting on the sound system every few startups.
 
You'd have to pick it up used at this point, but I have a 2019 Colorado Diesel that I've been very happy with. It isn't fast, but that is the trade off for good mileage for a truck (28+ highway, and 15+ towing). If you don't need a full size truck, it is great (I have a long bed version). 2022 was the last year for the diesel option.
 
PilotRPI said:
My truck only has 112k miles. I don't mind putting some money in to keep it going, cheaper than a $60k truck. Mechanical stuff can be fixed, but structural rust scares me a bit.
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If you need to swap the whole frame, you could be looking at a big chunk of change, but if you just have a few bad areas, a good welder may be able to patch it up.

If your only issue is the crossmember under the bed that GMs have a reputation going bad (and likely the one that your friend had to replace), then you may be surprised how cheap it is to fix compared to the payments on a truck at current interest rates.
 
I don't know any 90s era Ford or GM trucks on the road personally.. they all became financially impractical somewhere in the 80K to 100K mile range. Toyota on the other hand.. not as cheap as you would think! but damn are they reliable. They just go and go and go. Several friends of mine have late 90s or early 2000s Tacomas that are around 300K miles and soldier on. One of these probably hasn't seen an oil change since 2010. I take care of mine (oil changes, brakes, drive it gentle, wash / wax) but outside of an alternator that went around 80K miles I've had absolutely no issues with it. Even the suspension still feels "new" - and it gets plenty of proper off road use as well

Toyota doesn't evoke any real emotion.. granted. But for real dependability I think it's the only option. Ford and GM seem to build purely consumer grade parts with a "TONKA BIG BOY TRUCK" appeal that are designed to last just long enough until the next model year comes out. Didn't Ford's crown jewel Bronco recently have issues with valve failure?

PilotRPI said:
My truck only has 112k
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a 2011 truck designed to work shouldn't be failing you after only around 100K miles or relatively light use.. the Toyota won't be exciting but neither will it fail you. We grew up in a Chevy household so I've historically been partial to GM but the domestic auto market just doesn't bring the quality.
 
We'll be buying a used Ford Powerboost in a couple of years. Great towing capability and mileage. The fact that it can run our travel trailer is a HUGE plus for us. For whatever reason, both my wife and I agree that the Ford drives "easier" than the comparable GM or Ram products.
 
I can concur, the Fords do drive the best, the most refined I'd say of the trucks. Even the Raptor is surprisingly well mannered
 
My weekend driver is a Ford F-150 Crew Cab 4wd with the 2.7 ecoboost. I tow a little but rarely over 5K pounds and you really don’t know it’s there. Gets 22-23 on the Highway unburdened and with a slightly lower rear end is scary quick to 60mph…faster than the 3.5. If something happened to it I would replace it with the same setup.
 
Tantalum said:
I don't know any 90s era Ford or GM trucks on the road personally.. they all became financially impractical somewhere in the 80K to 100K mile range.
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I don’t know where you’re looking, but here in Kansas I see them every day.
 
Ted said:
I don’t know where you’re looking, but here in Kansas I see them every day.
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Well, @Tantalum 's display name is San_Diego_Pilot. I never really thought of Southern California as being big old truck country. I think when they come off lease after a year or two, they send them out to Kansas or Georgia.
 
Tantalum said:
I don't know any 90s era Ford or GM trucks on the road personally.. they all became financially impractical somewhere in the 80K to 100K mile range.
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:confused2:
I'm sitting about 10' from one right now. It has 173K on the clock. I could show you two more that I know of within 10 miles that are over 250K and daily drivers. I can think of another half dozen low mile (under 200K) examples in that same radius, and that's just the Chevys. The GMT 400 was one of the best built pickups of all time, but rust is their Achille's Heel.

I won't disagree about taco's being great if they fit the mission. I used to work for a guy that had a 2000-something. I found the seating position uncomfortable, but he regularly MASSIVELY overloaded that truck and got away with it every time.
 
I’ve got basically the same situation as you as far as needs. My commute is short, but for the farm, I need to be able to pull a horse/stock trailer.

I opted for the 5.0L V8 F150.

Pros:
• Pulls anything I’ve thrown at it with no problem. Tow/haul mode decreases engine stress by having a higher RPM before switching gears.
• 2WD is good for pulling
• 8’ bed is great for hauling lumber and other oversized items

Cons
• 2WD doesn’t help on any surface except for pavement. Wet grass? Forget it.
• Mileage is average (~17 MPG)
• My model doesn’t have cruise control. Big Con!
 
Tantalum said:
I don't know any 90s era Ford or GM trucks on the road personally.. they all became financially impractical somewhere in the 80K to 100K mile range. Toyota on the other hand.. not as cheap as you would think! but damn are they reliable. They just go and go and go. Several friends of mine have late 90s or early 2000s Tacomas that are around 300K miles and soldier on. One of these probably hasn't seen an oil change since 2010. I take care of mine (oil changes, brakes, drive it gentle, wash / wax) but outside of an alternator that went around 80K miles I've had absolutely no issues with it. Even the suspension still feels "new" - and it gets plenty of proper off road use as well

Toyota doesn't evoke any real emotion.. granted. But for real dependability I think it's the only option. Ford and GM seem to build purely consumer grade parts with a "TONKA BIG BOY TRUCK" appeal that are designed to last just long enough until the next model year comes out. Didn't Ford's crown jewel Bronco recently have issues with valve failure?


a 2011 truck designed to work shouldn't be failing you after only around 100K miles or relatively light use.. the Toyota won't be exciting but neither will it fail you. We grew up in a Chevy household so I've historically been partial to GM but the domestic auto market just doesn't bring the quality.
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There are tons in 90s Ford and GM trucks on the road around here. Granted, many are in a 2nd or 3rd transmission, but the Ford 302/351w and the GM 350 are pretty reliable long term. There are still a number of the layers 90s early 00 models as well, with the Ford Triton v8 (pre-cam phaser) and the GM LS 5.3L (pre AFM).

No one will discount a Taco, but the Tundras aren't exactly plentiful, and the Tundras that remain generally weren't used as "trucks" much of their life.
 
Honestly the Big 3 are about the same. For new trucks, I'd give Ford the edge in powertrain/handling, Dodge maybe on the interior quality, GM-well they don't excel at much of anything, but aren't terrible in any category other than appearance, lol.

Ford and GM use the same 10-speed transmission in their full size trucks, so that's a wash. The Coyote 5.0L is a solid option from Ford, but the 3.5L EB v6 is a monster as well, and it has been well-vetted by this point.

Dodge seems to have traded in the poor suspension and transmission issues for glitchy electronics.

Nissan Titan is an afterthought and always has been. Not a "bad" truck, just forgettable. The 5.6L v8 is stout and is well sorted as it has been largely unchanged since it's debut back in the mid-00s. It powers every Arnada and Infiniti QX80 with authority, although it gets pitiful fuel mileage.

I'd probably buy the F-150 if it were me, with the Dodge being 2nd. The only decent looking GM is the GMC Denali, which is darn near a $100K truck.
 
Tantalum said:
I don't know any 90s era Ford or GM trucks on the road personally.. they all became financially impractical somewhere in the 80K to 100K mile range. Toyota on the other hand.. not as cheap as you would think! but damn are they reliable. They just go and go and go. Several friends of mine have late 90s or early 2000s Tacomas that are around 300K miles and soldier on. One of these probably hasn't seen an oil change since 2010. I take care of mine (oil changes, brakes, drive it gentle, wash / wax) but outside of an alternator that went around 80K miles I've had absolutely no issues with it. Even the suspension still feels "new" - and it gets plenty of proper off road use as well

Toyota doesn't evoke any real emotion.. granted. But for real dependability I think it's the only option. Ford and GM seem to build purely consumer grade parts with a "TONKA BIG BOY TRUCK" appeal that are designed to last just long enough until the next model year comes out. Didn't Ford's crown jewel Bronco recently have issues with valve failure?


a 2011 truck designed to work shouldn't be failing you after only around 100K miles or relatively light use.. the Toyota won't be exciting but neither will it fail you. We grew up in a Chevy household so I've historically been partial to GM but the domestic auto market just doesn't bring the quality.
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We have a 99 Sierra that's still going strong and other than rust, nothing wrong with it.
 
My 94 Silverado has 250k miles. Still going strong, with factory CCC. (cab corner cancer)

Trying to decide whether to fix/paint it, or get something else. Either option is over priced for the result.
 
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SoonerAviator said:
Honestly the Big 3 are about the same. For new trucks, I'd give Ford the edge in powertrain/handling, Dodge maybe on the interior quality, GM-well they don't excel at much of anything, but aren't terrible in any category other than appearance, lol..

Dodge seems to have traded in the poor suspension and transmission issues for glitchy electronics.

I'd probably buy the F-150 if it were me, with the Dodge being 2nd. The only decent looking GM is the GMC Denali, which is darn near a $100K truck.
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Used to be a die hard Dodge fan with three trucks since 1998 but they have progressively gotten crappier and cheaper build quality over the years. Earlier Dodges were solid and the bar to meet, later trucks are crap with rear end and transmissions failing left and right. Last truck was a Silverado 2500 and ran that thing into the ground. Now in a Silverado 1500 Traill Boss and love that thing as the interior is super nice and drives like a sports car but if I needed a true work truck with solid tow capabilities I would likely be in a Ford even though I have never driven one that was comfortable interior wise to me.

I bought an aftermarket hack that disables that stupid auto stop feature that you can't disengage full time otherwise.

Toyotas are solid daily driver/weekend warrior trucks but not a true towing work truck if you need that power IMO
 
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Shawn said:
Toyotas are solid daily driver/weekend warrior trucks but not a true towing work truck if you need that power IMO
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How so? They’re rated to tow more than most trucks in their class, as far as the Tundra is concerned.
 
RyanB said:
How so? They’re rated to tow more than most trucks in their class, as far as the Tundra is concerned.
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Tow ratings and ability/durability to utilize that maximum tow rating on a daily basis are two different things.

For example I have a Chevy Express 3500 cargo van that has a 10,000lb tow rating but after a few months of pulling a loaded car trailer under that rating we dang near blew up that van and had to get a real tow vehicle. A Toyota is perfectly fine for the OPs case of occasional dump or horse trailer but I have also have quiet a few buddies have they Toyotas blow up after a few hard seasons of towing their wakeboard boats. Right tool for the right job is my point.
 
Most non-commercial trucks I’ve seen seem to get replaced due to rust before engine or drivetrain issues.

Anyway here’s my 2012 f-150 with the 5.0. It tows a horse trailer regularly and occasionally other heavier things. The power is more than enough to pull anything that should be reasonably put behind a half ton and adequate for a few things that really should be towed by a 3/4 or 1-ton.

I’m personally not a fan of gas turbos for a towing vehicle. I’m sure they can do it but that little engine will be working a LOT harder to pull that load than a larger displacement equivalent. It may be the case that current generation material/design is up to that strain but for frequent towing I’d rather have the 5.0 over an ecoboost.

D863F0C5-385E-46DB-B5E1-4F0A00A687BD.jpeg
 
My dad's got a 2019 F150 3.5L Ecoboost. It's the first Ford he's ever had after being GM/Chevy. He only got it because Ford were the only ones that offered the 150/1500 extended cab long bed. . With 60k miles on it the thing sounds like an old Cummins on start up. Helluva rattle. Lately it's developed a knock when it idles. Towing an enclosed trailer with a UTV from Northern Illinois to New Mexico, we get a whopping 6.7mpg round trip, and with a 23 gallon tank you need to stop every 2 hours to fill up. Tows great, but there's no replacement for displacement. Personally, I think Ford's sync is hot garbage. It acts up in his truck and in my 2017 F550.

The only problem I've had with my 2012 GMC Sierra 1500 was I shelled the rear end gear a couple years ago. That one was self inflicted and I'd rather not talk about it.
 
Tantalum said:
I don't know any 90s era Ford or GM trucks on the road personally.. they all became financially impractical somewhere in the 80K to 100K mile range. Toyota on the other hand.. not as cheap as you would think! but damn are they reliable. They just go and go and go. Several friends of mine have late 90s or early 2000s Tacomas that are around 300K miles and soldier on. One of these probably hasn't seen an oil change since 2010. I take care of mine (oil changes, brakes, drive it gentle, wash / wax) but outside of an alternator that went around 80K miles I've had absolutely no issues with it. Even the suspension still feels "new" - and it gets plenty of proper off road use as well

Toyota doesn't evoke any real emotion.. granted. But for real dependability I think it's the only option. Ford and GM seem to build purely consumer grade parts with a "TONKA BIG BOY TRUCK" appeal that are designed to last just long enough until the next model year comes out. Didn't Ford's crown jewel Bronco recently have issues with valve failure?


a 2011 truck designed to work shouldn't be failing you after only around 100K miles or relatively light use.. the Toyota won't be exciting but neither will it fail you. We grew up in a Chevy household so I've historically been partial to GM but the domestic auto market just doesn't bring the quality.
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While judging reliability based on what is on the road is reasonable on the surface, keep in mind that vehicles go to the scrapyard when repairs tend to exceed value. So a truck with lots of small problems will last much longer than a truck that is perfectly reliable until one day the transmission dies and the transmission cost more than the truck is worth. I point this out because a large percentage of Subarus that were built in the early 2000s are still on the road in spite of many of them being on the second or third set of head gaskets. They are not reliable, but replacing the head gasket is so cheap it never totals the car.

The other thing to keep in mind when using this metric is the Cash for Clunkers program. So many trucks were destroyed in that program because the EPA fuel economy was low, and they were worth less than $5000. (I am not commenting on the correctness of the program, just pointing out that there is a major event that skews data). Toyota Tacomas didn't qualify, so they were more likely to survive this period.
 
Do those of you that like your diesels take fuel price into consideration. Sure, 30 mpg is good, but if diesel costs twice as much as gasoline you are looking at 15 mpg equivalent.

But then again, that is nothing compared to Avgas!
 
Up north no truck is going to last for ever due to corrosion so personally I would buy what ever was cheapest that could still get the job done. I haven't seen a new Tundra much less drove one but in general I just hate driving anything Toyota. They just feel chintzy and budget minded but at a premium price. I think the GM AFM is old news at this point and seems to be sorted by now. If I were in the market and could only choose between the 1500 trucks I would probably get the Silverado with the 6.2. The ecoboost will tow the best due to the turbo's but for what ever reason I just don't like the way Ford products look or drive. The Ram seems good on paper but I'm still on the fence about their reliability/build quality. I wouldn't touch a modern diesel with a frozen 20 ft pole unless I absolutely had to have the power.

In reality I would skip all the half ton trucks and get a 2500. The new ones ride pretty good, you can get big displacement gas engines that aren't hampered by the fuel economy doodads. It's easier to find a standard or long bed instead of the useless short bed on the half ton trucks. The 7.3 gas Ford sounds like a beast of a truck and I've heard GM has a bigger gas engine on the way to supplement the 6.6 gas.
 
JOhnH said:
Do those of you that like your diesels take fuel price into consideration. Sure, 30 mpg is good, but if diesel costs twice as much as gasoline you are looking at 15 mpg equivalent.
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Until recently, diesel here has been variable, on average it has been cheaper running diesel than gas, but not in the last 6 months. I mostly got the diesel because 1) I drive with a heavy load of gear and people in the mountains rather often and sometimes with a trailer and 2) because of the environmental benefits of being able to use renewable diesel almost exclusively (all the time except when out of state) 3) the vehicle range I get with diesel (500 miles easily on the highway, 300+ towing).
 
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