Let's say I am looking at used F250s and the price difference between a 2011 6.2 and a 2010 6.8 is 5000$

Should I factor in the price of gas too? I will be driving approximately 20k per year half empty and half with a travel trailer of 5th wheel.

MPG numbers are very fuzzy for the F250 but it seems like I can expect real world 12MPG for the 6.2 and 11MPG for the 6.8 in my scenario. So really not a big enough difference to factor in when choosing which to buy. Am I right? Am I wrong?

Also seems like there are no other big changes other than cosmetic between 2010 and 2011. Transmission sure but that factors into the engine MPG.. both can tow what I need easily. Anything I am missing there?

 

It will depend more on how much the trailer weighs. The 6.8 will tow a heavier trailer better, and at a lower average RPM. The 6.2 should get better MPG when not towing than the 6.8 will.

I towed my trailer (6,500 lbs, 32 ft. bumper-pull) with both pickups, and liked the 6.8 better on the same hills, including a couple of 6 & 7% grades, about two miles long.

NOTE: Several posts on the 6.2 forum noted that the engine really "woke up" after 1,000 miles or so. I was driving a brand new unit, so my experience may have been a bit skewed!

I get 13.5-15.5 MPG on the highway, empty, with my '01 6.8. Most of my driving is done over 4,000 feet of elevation. I don't know of any real-world MPGs for a 6.2 around here, driven the same way. A friend who runs about 11,000 lbs all the time moved from a 6.8 to a 6.2 and is getting essentially the same mileage as he did with the 6.8, both about 11 MPG. That is the same as he got with a 5.4 and a 6.0 Chevy, too. He tends to run about 10 over the speed limit, I don't.

 

I have a spreadsheet you can use to calculate the difference. send me an email asking for the MPG calculation via pm with your personal email.