Was driving to get some lunch about an hour ago, and looked at the sign at a BP station out here by where I work. And, it finnaly happened......

Diesel broke $4.00 + a gallon!!!!!!!

I used to think I was fine about a year and a half ago when it was about 50 cents cheaper per gallon then gasoline, figured that it would always be cheaper then gas, then they started this low sulphur thing, and are putting more and more additaves into it driving the price of the least refined fuel, ( correct me if I am wrong), to about 80 cents to a dollar over gasoline.

Just filled up yesterday @ 3.89 per gallon down in Annapolis, who knows what I will pay when I fill up again in two weeks!

Decided to start doing some more research on WVO systems. Anybody have any good links or experiences?

 

Yeah, when I bought my gasser I really wanted a diesel truck again, but couldn't afford 'em comfortably enough. Now it looks like not such a bad decision. Unfortunately, america doesn't have the facilities set up to manufacture as much diesel as other countries while demand for that and things close to it like home heating oil have been rising. The low sulfur and additives ARE driving up the prices, but they aren't the only factors. I miss my old 7.3L Ford and the cheaper fuel + 18-20mpg she got.

 

Out here it's been a while since diesel and gas have flirted with each other price-wise. Diesel has been been more expensive. This weekend I noticed it passing the mythical $4/gallon mark at 4.159. Then next day another station was 4.199. Both Chevrons and the most expensive places in town. Local ARCO (part of BP) was about 3.90 or so.

I'd still take a diesel over a gasser. F-550 (6.0 PSD) at work gets 14 empty, and just shy of 10 at about 25,000 pounds with a trailer keeping to about 62MPH. The F-450 with the old loved-by-OPEC 460 might manage 8-10 with a light foot. I never tracked my mileage loaded, but tales of 4-5MPG are not unbelievable.

From old calcs I did comparing gas to diesel, diesel needs to run about $1/gallon more than gas to even out. Though, that doesn't account for higher initial purchase price or higher oil change costs. Though many of the new diesels ('08 and newer) aren't getting the mileage they were. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

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I've run the numbers on mine - compared to my old gasser (same type truck with an 8.1L gas engine) - the diesel runs cheaper until the difference in price is 90 cents a gallon. Right now around here it's about 60 cents more. I'm hoping after winter is gone and fuel oil demands go down that diesel wil drop too.

Jaybee

 

it'll be $4.50 a gal at least by summer

 

I did the math looking at kbb, and you pretty much get all of the price of the Cummins engine option back when it comes time to sell a 5 year old truck.

These $100 plus fill-ups are hard to take, though.

Also the 07 and up trucks don't seem to get as high MPG with all the emission gunk on them.

 

The part that really wears on me with those $100+ fill-ups is the fact that I only paid $75 for my very first car!

I'm not jumping to the conclusion that the '07 and '08 trucks don't get as good of milage. There are lots of threads on this over at dieselplace.com and the milage is all over the map. There are reports of low, medium and high milage for stock trucks but the same reports are there for the guys who have done lots of mods. I think it's a combination of driving style and maybe a little luck but the milage for diesel trucks seems to vary a lot - this is true of both the new and older models. I think I've read every fuel milage thread over there and there is no difference from the older trucks to the new. I know that my stock truck gets the same milage as those that have improved their milage by adding mods.

It still costs out the butt to fill-up, no matter what you do. Oh for those glory days of 30 cent a gallon diesel.

Jaybee

 

Yeah, I've noted a wide spread on DTR, too. Some folks claming 19+ and others 15 on the highway with similar trucks.

None seem to be claiming 21 or better with the new motor, which my 03 3500 SRW 4x4 would do. A buddy with an old 12 valve would do even better when his camper wasn't on. Every time there's an engine change, it seems to be lower emissions, more HP and Torque, and a drop in MPG.

Anyway, with my luck I'd get one of the 15 mpg trucks, which is about what my last gasoline truck got on the highway, only now gas is like 40-50 cents higher than diesel...

When I needed a dually, I found a used 06 5.9 laramie stick/jake, and it seems to get 19+ on the highway, which I can live with...

Anyhow, if something doesn't give, I'm thinking we are going to need to regulate fuel prices the way utility prices are regulated.

Like utilities, there's just no competition, and the oil companies have learned that sales don't drop much when prices hit $4 a gallon, profits just go up and people have to cut back on food, retirement savings or other expenses to be able to get to work...

 

I don't know what the downsides are (maybe someone can comment), but a propane conversion seems like it is making alot of sense. Were at $4 here and propane is $2.99 at the hadgi-mart.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: JeffinTD

Yeah, I've noted a wide spread on DTR, too. Some folks claming 19+ and others 15 on the highway with similar trucks.



None seem to be claiming 21 or better with the new motor, which my 03 3500 SRW 4x4 would do. A buddy with an old 12 valve would do even better when his camper wasn't on. Every time there's an engine change, it seems to be lower emissions, more HP and Torque, and a drop in MPG.



Anyway, with my luck I'd get one of the 15 mpg trucks, which is about what my last gasoline truck got on the highway, only now gas is like 40-50 cents higher than diesel...



When I needed a dually, I found a used 06 5.9 laramie stick/jake, and it seems to get 19+ on the highway, which I can live with...



Anyhow, if something doesn't give, I'm thinking we are going to need to regulate fuel prices the way utility prices are regulated.



Like utilities, there's just no competition, and the oil companies have learned that sales don't drop much when prices hit $4 a gallon, profits just go up and people have to cut back on food, retirement savings or other expenses to be able to get to work...</end quote></div>

I can get 18-20 in my F150 5.4L on the highway..... but that is at about 60MPH.....

The more the speed creeps up the faster it drops... I hit 70MPH and I'm probably down to about 14-15MPG ...... the increase in RPMs is slight but the wind drag really climbs on a truck when you get past 65....