Ask 100 V-10 owners and 100 diesel owners If they have ever been left stranded because of the motor under the hood, and I can guarantee you the diesel will have the very higher percentage of "yes it has"!

Now we all know the diesel guys will say "but it tows so much better" maybe, but we are talking about towing something, not being towed!!!

 

I'm gonna give a blasphemous opinion. If you just need a large truck type vehicle as a daily driver, get a Suburban or Suburban 2500, they are better as a daily driver. However if you "want" an Excursion for whatever reason or feeling, the V10 Excursion Is just fine. You will get good service from that engine and the truck will serve you well.

 

Having never owned one, that is exactly the stereotype I have of a 7.3. (or a 6.0 or a 5.9 for that matter)

Sounds like the OP should get an oil burner, probably won't be happy with anything else. I've seen that story play out around here several times.

 

 

 

 

 

As no one seems to mention it, you can get a LOT of fuel for the difference in what a gas Ex costs vs what a diesel Ex costs. How much extra fuel can you buy with a difference of say $5000 or even $10000?

I own a 2005 gas EX. with 120k miles of which I put the last 25k going back and forth from Texas to Colorado over the past two years

Regardless of which one you purchase, unless already performed, you will want to replace the springs and shocks.

 

I have been saying this for many years: Buy the diesel because that's what ya prefer, or buy the V10 because that's what you want.

No justifying because of maintenance, fuel cost over the life of ownership, what tows better, etc. You buy the PSD because you like/want/prefer the PSD. You buy the gasser because that's what ya like/want/prefer. Drive them both (V10 with 3.73's and a V10 with 4.30's if you can) and a PSD (stock and tuned) if you can, it'll help you decide.

Stewart

 

 

Dynamat it. Done.

 

NOT THE COSTS OF MAINTENANCE.

I'm talking about the original cost these days of a USED EXCURSION. Diesel Ex's run more, sometimes WAY more.

Not saying they are or are not worth the money.

I AM SAYING THAT WITH THE DIFFERENCE YOU SAVE WITH THE INITIAL PURCHASE PRICE ($5000 - $10000) can be put towards gasoline purchases

THAT IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

I paid $15k (shipped to me in W Texas) for our 2005 Limited V10 4x4 with 92k miles one it. The diesel 2005 Limited 4x4's that had well over 120k miles ALL sold for right around $20k sales price (add $1k for delivery).

That $5000 difference will mean we can pretty much fuel this truck on the money we saved. Of course, I went overboard doing preventive maintenance on mine, because the guy who owned it died, so no ieda of it's condition.

But I would have done that with any Ex I purchased almost two years ago,

Love this truck. Great road warrior and no we don't tow. That is not why we bought it. But it goes and goes. We got into a blinding blizzard back in Dec 2017 and we just rolled right on down the road (carefully) and got to our destination unscathed.

That's is why we bought the Ex in the first place. And my DIESEL TRUCK is my 1970 KAISER JEEP deuce and a half. Holds way more than the EX ever could. Still gets about 10 mpg. Won't roll past 65mph even with it's new super singled shoes.

 

Range

I recently went to NC to retrieve my Aunt from the oncoming wrath of Hurricane Florence. I filled up in Augusta, GA and with a 625-700 mile range on a full tank of diesel I could make it to her house and all the way back home.

Even better, when I got to Holden Beach, NC every fuel station was out of gas but diesel was available.

Say what you want about maintenance, initial investment, MPG, torque, towing, noise, reliability, cost of fuel and every other aspect of ownership. We have a bias toward what we have purchased and we are going to defend that bias with every possible rationale we can conjure up.

 

Good point about the range. I loved that about my diesel suburban. I could get 600 miles. My gas excursion can push 500 on a good day on the road trip but that would be the top end. 400+ is more realistic.

I purchased a v10 but am bias towards diesels. I wanted a diesel but the math told me otherwise. Only thing I really needed was a 4x4. I got a v10 for $2800. There were a couple 7.3 4x4s under 10k but had 340k and 380k on them with marginal records. Cheapest 6.0 I found was about 11k. So at $7-9000 higher price tag I figured I couldn't really go wrong with the v10 at $2800 and lots of recent maintenance. So far I've been happy. I do still check ads occasionally for diesel excursions though as it is in my blood 😁

So I'd say set a budget and find the best Ex you can find for that price.

 

Went through the same decision process when I started looking. I've been a diesel guy, towed with them for the last 10 years, with a Cummins and a Duramax.
. Here's the thing, I never had to work on them except upgrades that I wanted to perform. They were very reliable. But here is where it gets interesting. I went with a v10 excursion because I don't want to work on diesels. When they go bad it's really bad and really expensive. The newest excursion is 14 years old and people still want ridiculous money for diesels with a quarter million miles. I don't see it. They're reliable until something breaks and they are so old now that breakage is imminent. I don't want to deal with it. I just want my tow rig to run. The v10 is dead reliable and easy to work on if anything happens. They suck down gas but you can plan on that. You can't plan on a $1500 repair on a diesel in the middle of Kansas. The v10 sure doesn't pull like a diesel but I installed axle gears and that made a huge difference. I can maintain speed up hills with the trailer now. Diesels are fun and great to tow with, but old diesels just don't make sense to me for my needs.