I am looking at purchasing either a new F 250 6.2 gasser or F 350 6.7. Thing is that I am not going to tow anything, maybe carry a bike in the bed here and there, maybe do some light trails with it. I just like big rigs with lots of torque. I am not looking to save any money between gas and diesel fuels. The truck will be mostly used for daily commute of about 20-30 miles round trip for work, trips to the beach and maybe some weekend trips here and there. Is buying a diesel a correct option in this case? In other words, even though I prefer a diesel for the torque just for the heck of it, I do not want to be creating a headache by possibly misusing intended purpose of the diesel engine by not running it for hundreds of miles on the highway each day and ending up having to take it for service for ejr or clogged injectors or whatever else diesels are known for every other week or even once a month. I know gas doesn't really care whether its a short trip or not. Thanks!

 

If you have to buy diesel, do to need or want, sounds fine and go for it. I didn't tow anything with mine and love it. Mine is 100% a want only.

If you can live with gas, consider a Ram in your decision making process. Ram owners really seem to love their 5.7L and 6.4L gas engine more than the Ford 6.2L owners love their trucks.

Bruce

 

There are lots of people out there driving diesels who don't tow anything. If you can afford it and you want one, I say go for it. You won't be disappointed. However, you will have to occasionally find something heavy to tow just so you appreciate what kind of beast is under the hood.

 

I don't think Ram has their transmissions in order till you get up to the Aisin which isn't available in a gas version.

 

My Ram transmission holds up just fine and I beat the crap out of my truck. 20 miles (you commute) is just enough to get it warmed up, but you will have regens closer together which might be a minor annoyance, but I don't think it will be too bad. Drive a gasser, diesel, Ram, Ford, get what you want.

 

I am a big fan of the diesels. The new diesels have particulate traps in them that catch all the soot in the exhaust. When the filter gets full a cleaning cycle is started by the computer.
The cleaning cycle needs a fully warmed engine and up to 40 minutes at highway speeds.
It sounds like you drive cycles might not allow this to happen. This might cause you a problem
Please get what you want, it's your money, but really a gas rig might be better. You might also look at the eco boost 150s, good mpg with surprising power.

 

He's not towing anything though.

 

Just do us all a favor and don't complain to ford about the harsh ride. Some of us need these trucks to do work with.

 

I was in the same situation a while back, I was looking at upgrading to a SD but wasn't sure about gas or diesel. My decision came when the dealer needed clear the inventory and dropped the price significantly. Enough to where it was right at 50K for an F250 lariat crew cab 4x4 diesel. Then plus my trade of my F150 I was in a diesel for right at 40K, said and done, i'll drive a diesel lol.

I drive 5 miles one way to work when I drive it, start it up as I pour my coffee in the thermos and head to work. I do get regens more often, usually about every 300-350 miles. There are a couple other guys at work with the same year, and get regens at about every 450-500 or so miles, no biggie.

Took it in for it's first oil change at right around the 7500 mile mark, fuel was clean, no issues at all, put another 5gal of DEF in at 8K. I fill up at Walmart every week with one of their gift cards to save the 3 cents, put 2-4oz of diesel kleen in and keep on truckin!

 

The 6.7D is a fun truck indeed, and ownership has been great. But you will hear a lot of people say that is does need to move some distance on occasions. I rarely drive mine less than 15 miles in a sitting, but that does mean it rests in the garage for 7+ days. Sitting around too much can be an issue too, for any vehicle.

I wouldn't tell you not to get one if you really wanted one. Are you going to pay more for the initial cost; sure but you already know that. Just keep in mind if you are driving 5 days in a row at only 3 to 5 miles per trip, plan on taking it a 20+ mile journey at least once a week. That said I have never had a hard time finding an excuse just to take the truck for a drive.

 

Thanks guys. I have not owned a diesel before. I have no problems running it for a few hundred miles over the weekend to get the juices running. I did own a sierra 3500 dually 8.1 liter gasser with allison 1000 and it pulled hard, empty ofcourse. I drove it in tow haul mode all the time to the office and back home it made a difference in pull. I had a blast with it. Just love the big rigs and room. Gotta have lots of room. Car designers today seems to be under a magic spell of creating smaller this, smaller that and presenting it in a way that appeals to the masses that buy them stoopid things. Something about ford F-250/350/450 series trucks, love the look. I found quite a few 16 leftovers. I test rode a 16 6.2 liter rocky ridge 250 and a 17 350 6.7 diesel few days ago. Frankly I was expecting more pull from 400+ torque, but I realize it's a heavy truck so the lift on RR compensated for the lack of pull. 17 diesel was very impressive, the difference was obvious right away. Not to mention the sound of the diesel rattle. I just wanted to make sure that short trips would not harm diesel engine and I wouldn't be setting myself up for something that would not necessarily occur with gas engine, if you will.

 

If it's not about price or fuel economy, get what you want. If you get the diesel, you can get the free forscan scanner and enable the DPF % screen. Every once in a while when it goes into regen go ahead and take a detour and run it down to 20% as always taking short trips can hurt the dpf. It only takes 20 miles or so to get it down that far, the trick is getting the regen to start when you want it to instead of when you almost get to where you're going.

 

Since this is more of a want than a need, get one without the snow plow prep package. It will ride much better.

 

I think this is the best option. I've a friend who has is on his 4th Ecoboost and he says the Generation 2 Ecoboost for 2017 is amazing with another 50 ft/lbs of torque. I had a 2011 and used to love passing SD diesel rigs up mountains while towing my 10K fifth wheel. I have the F350 Powerstroke now, but would have no problem returning to the Ecoboost if I knew my towing would be under 11K. And if not towing, it is a no brainer.

 

The new ecoboost is a good option as well. That was my first choice when i was looking at trading, but the dealers were wanting just about as much in trade difference from an F150 just going up one year as this dealer was wanting for an F250. I went with the F250.

The only thing I can say in comparison is towing my 26ft enclosed trailer with the F150 compared to the F250 is night and day! the F150 with ecoboost (15 model, 4x4, cc, 3.55 gears) towed it great, plenty of power, the F250 with the 6.7 didn't even grunt, and i noticed less sway, it seems easier to handle than the F150.

Both trucks were and are great options to look at.