I just sold my 99 stroker and need to find a replacement. I put on about 40,000 miles a year, with a real trailer behind the truck about half the time. I know my needs as far as truck, but I am un-decided as to the engine. I love my stroker, but having to pay a premium for the engine and then pay a premium for the fuel is a downside.
I do mostly short runs, from 1 or 2 miles to 40 or 50 at a time. Ocassionaly I will travel out of state. I thought about a v10, but I hear that short runs are just a killer on gas. I also have a budget to work with and will not pay any more than I have to for a truck. This is a work tool for me, not a play toy. I will not buy a new truck, at $600 or $700 a month, It would be hard to put any money in the bank. I am also fairly certain that a 5.4 will not have the power that I need when I pull a loaded 28' trailer. I could be wrong.

Also, a bad habit of mine, I like to trade in every 2 years or so. Maybe the next truck I will keep, but my habit for many years was every 2.....

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Your going to get so many biased opinions on this topic like always choose the one thats best fit for your needs and suits you

 

I think no matter what you do, a PSD will get better fuel mileage, especially pulling, than the V10 will. I think it will just be a personal choice for you, either engine would do just fine for you. With the lower cost of a V10 compared to a PSD, as well as the lower fuel cost, the V10 might be a better option.

 

New, diesels cost about 6k more than the gassers. Used, they will probably cost near that much more too.
At 12mpg, my 6.0 costs 27 cents per mile to drive(diesel $3.25 gallon).
At 10mpg(thats what my brother in law gets), a V10 costs 30 cents per mile to drive(gas $3.00 gallon).

To drive the 6.0 80k miles will cost you $21,600 in fuel.
To drive the V10 80k miles will cost you $24,000 in fuel.

So if you drive it 80k miles in only two years, you might save $2,400 in fuel, but you will spend more on the engine and on maintenance.

I don't think it is worth it if you are only planning on keeping it a couple of years.

 

i like what everyone else said. my dad had a 03 V10 with 4.30 gears and got 12.5 mpg. and that when it had 85K miles

so if you do get a V10 try and get a 05+ 3v motor that has like 60 more hp

 

You've got that backwards. Short runs kill Diesels. Short trips aint good for any engine...moreso diesels though.

 

since you trade up every two years.......the V10 will be the most economical choice probably. But another thing that nobody here has mentioned is a Diesel will have a great re-sale price also. Gas prices might be affecting this a bit lately....but overall, I would say the powerstroke will keep its value better over time.

 

The V10 is a fantastic engine, and has completely killed any desire I had for a Ford diesel.

 

Please explain...

 

I pull a loaded 28 foot trailer with a 5.4L. While I do great with it, if I had to pull the trailer all of the time I would probably want a V-10 or a PSD.

As for which, it's a personal preference. There are arguments each way as to which is better for towing. While 87 octane is cheaper right now, who knows where that will be in 2 years.

 

This is why I think you should buy a V 10 gasser.
Joe

 

It is a premium right now as far as gas goes, that fluctuates too much to really say what it's going to be in a few months from now or even a few years.


That's going to be a killer on any vehicle, however, I have noticed that I have actually lost less with the 4.30 gears on my diesel when doing in town driving then I have when I was driving one with 4.10, seems a little odd to me, but that's what I have noticed from hand calculations. To top it off, I'm even running a tuner on the one with 4.30 gears. Go figure.


That is the irony here, these trucks were designed for work, but far more people buy them because they want them. It disturbs me a little about that considering like you, I use my truck for work, but nothing we can do about it.

In your case, if you must get the 5.4, make sure it has the alteast 4.10 gearing in it(I can predict what the 5.4 owners are going to say now).


Get a diesel, you'll have roughly 80k on the clock and you'll get more back for the diesel then you will for the gasser. You'll never be able to get what you put into these things back, but atleast with a diesel the hit is less then with the v-10. The only downsde is that the diesel engine is still a new one, however, everything else that you have said, leads me to diesel(although I'm sure you can tell I'm biased), but it's really going to come down to what you want and what you feel comfortably spending.

 

I think a lot of people missed the bit about NOT buying new. He won't be getting a new 6.4 if he goes diesel, so arguments about an unproven engine are out the window. There won't be a 6k difference in purchase price.

If you're buying it to sell, get the diesel. I say this for one simple reason. High milage diesels are easier to sell. The perception of a lot of "the masses" is still that a gas engine is worn out at 100k and a diesel is barely broken in at the same milage. Put some similar trucks on your Ebay watch list so you can see what they sell for and see the difference between two trucks were the only difference is diesel v gas.

If you can sell your own truck quickly and reliably when you jump again in 2 years you don't have to take the pittance the dealer will give you in trade in. That alone increases the actual resale value.

If you're buying it to use with no eye for resale, get whatever floats your boat and pay the piper at the end. There really isn't a wrong answer, here. I bought my diesel for versatility (ability to adapt to WVO/bio, something a gas engine simply can't do) but a V-10 has obviously been the answer for many and no one seems to feel that either engine is a poor choice.

 

Your right, I thought I had read it in there, but then I couldn't find it a second time when I was writing the response(ironically, it was a part that I had quoted but I was focused on the work v. toy part of it).

 

With the difference in price on gas verses diesel, and the difference in price of the trucks. I would go with the v-10 instead of the PSD if I had to do it all over again. Don't get me wrong, I love my truck and the PSD, but ever since the day I bought my first diesel (the one in my sig) diesel has been higher than gas 3.5 years now. Add that to the cost of maintance and your talking alot extra for the PSD. When the v-10 will do the same thing. Just my $.02 though. With that said I still wouldn't get rid of my PSD. " I love my TRUCK!"