[pitzer25]

So i have never owned a diesel before but i am very interested in getting into a diesel truck. i dont tow extremely heavy but i tow often enough that i feel a diesel engine will be a better choice for fuel mileage. My question is how are diesel engines for a daily driver? For the most part my trips during the week are under 20 miles one way. I wasnt sure how diesels do on short trips. any information will be greatly appreciated.

 

[AZPRO4X]

You'd be better off with a gasser, especially if you are only doing short trips. Diesels were great up until 2007, that's when the EPA basically killed the benefits of owning a Diesel..

 

[6Scorpian7]

Yep, what AZ said. You need to always get the temps up to full operating temperature. Depending on outside ambient temperature, it could take 15 miles or more of interstate speed driving to get there. If not, this will cause all kinds of issues down the road. On top of that, stop and go, and quick trips a to b will put more wear on the dpf, sensors, etc

 

[pitzer25]

That's kinda what I was worried about. When I tow my trailers they are longer trips. But my daily drive to work and the rest of my normal driving is mostly short trips. That kinda sucks as I was looking forward to owning a diesel.

 

[6Scorpian7]

That's kinda what I was worried about. When I tow my trailers they are longer trips. But my daily drive to work and the rest of my normal driving is mostly short trips. That kinda sucks as I was looking forward to owning a diesel.

It's definitely a big step. Not including the issues that will come up with emissions junk, there's tons of other stuff to get used to. Changing multiple fuel filters every 15,000 miles, remembering to drain the water separator, making sure to get diesel from places that are known to sell a lot, finding diesel, in rural areas, etc. 15 quart oil changes are a PITA, and with the dpf installed, some have to be changed every 4,000 miles. And like others will point out, they need to be worked. That doesn't just mean rawhiding it. It needs to pull and haul things.

 

[TurboDiesel]

It's definitely a big step. Not including the issues that will come up with emissions junk, there's tons of other stuff to get used to. Changing multiple fuel filters every 15,000 miles, remembering to drain the water separator, making sure to get diesel from places that are known to sell a lot, finding diesel, in rural areas, etc. 15 quart oil changes are a PITA, and with the dpf installed, some have to be changed every 4,000 miles. And like others will point out, they need to be worked. That doesn't just mean rawhiding it. It needs to pull and haul things.

Great points to have brought up since a lot of people think owning a diesel isn't much different. Usually once they find out about these things they have already made the purchase or a small amount get out right before they would have bought in... seen that with some people i know. Helps for them that gas prices went down.

 

[dragon4x4]

Well my opinion is if your wanting a diesel go buy one, don't let some guys on a forum try to talk you out of it. I've owned 4 diesel and currently own a Titan xd and a ram 5500. My Titan is just my bomb around truck daily driver. I've owned it since Jan 10 and only have 1100K...
These new diesels are not exactly what they used to be, back in 07 they were junk and had tons of issues due to idling and DPF issues. Back then they just started to figure out the injection cycles of multi shot injection, they ran really dirty and just plugged the DPF and EGRS constantly.

Fast forward to 2016 a lot has happened since 07, new Very high pressure injections, 4-8 injections per injection cycle. These engines are clean compared to say a 08 6.4L ford.

Don't be scared on buying a Diesel, the fuel is sold all over the place, draining your fuel bowl is not a big ordeal what so ever, it's done at every service. Getting a truck to operating temp is not hard to do with these new engines as the egr and turbos work together to optimism the engine warm up. They are a better truck than people will give them credit. Also I change my oil in both of my trucks every 10,000 KM so not a big deal.

 

[6Scorpian7]

No one's trying to talk the OP out of a precious XD. Just trying to help make an educated decision. What the **** is wrong with that?

 

[davidster2002]

Scorpian you have a terrible negative attitude. Where did your comment come from? You are full of hostility. I sure hope the moderator boots you. They've already had to end a thread because of you. Chill out already!

 

[MoparProud]

Get the diesel. They are perfectly fine at the daily grind. With the emissions, just make sure you make an extended run every week or two to make sure it regenerates (burns the particulates trapped in the DPF so it shouldn't get plugged).

Daily grind, short trips, long trips, , idling, the diesel doesn't care.

 

[Bornon]

They idle just fine, but modern emissions leads to more def time with idling is all.
I'm actually quite pleased with the warm up time on the 5.0, used to be I was where I was going by the time my ford diesels got warm.
The XD is only slightly slower than my gas rigs on warmup.
But honestly scorpion actually had valid points this time lol.
Diesels are not for everybody. But I think you'd probably still enjoy it more than the competitors trucks anyway. Really liking my XD.

 

[pitzer25]

Thank you everyone for your input. I appreciate it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do I guess I will start with a test drive.

 

[digitalbliss]

Thank you everyone for your input. I appreciate it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do I guess I will start with a test drive.

Maybe consider waiting until the gas version of the XD comes out. It'll be more peppy, lighter, and an engine with maintenance more like what you are used to.

 

[AZPRO4X]

The major 3 have been and continue to deal with emissions equipment problems since 07 so I'm not sure why everyone seems to think Nissan is going to be any different, especially on a 1st run model & Dealer networks that have never had to deal with Diesels. At this point unless you need the capacities of a 1 ton there is no reason to go to a Diesel.

 

[Newell33]

Diesel

I daily drove a 2007.5 Chevy with a Duramax for 3 years. At the time I was towing a 28 foot enclosed race car trailer once or twice a week. The rest of the time I was driving about 1 1/2 miles to and from work, and then the typical pleasure trips. I had the truck in my unheated Iowa garage over the winter, and never needed to plug it in. The truck was fine as a daily driver, but I did run into situations where I'd need to take it out on the highway for 15 or 20 minutes if it was stuck in a regen cycle. It never failed that it would start a cycle as I was pulling into my driveway from a trip out of town. Then it would be in the regen cycle until I drove it at higher speeds for a period of time. My short commute to work never fulfilled the cycle.

Other than the regen issue, the truck performed flawlessly, and I loved it. Oil changes were a bit more expensive, but I always changed it myself. The mileage was considerably better than the 6.0 gassers of the day, especially when towing.

As others may have mentioned, the XD doesn't really have a mileage advantage when compared to today's gas engines. I had a 2014 Silverado with the 5.3 that I just recently traded (good riddance). It got 20-21mpg highway with winter blend fuel, and up to 23mpg on summer blend fuel (assuming no headwind). The mileage reports for the XD are a bit disappointing for me, and I'd almost consider it a disadvantage when comparing to other 1/2 ton trucks.

The bottom line is that I wouldn't shy away from a diesel as a daily driver if that's what you really want. Just expect slightly higher maintenance costs, and a few inconveniences during regeneration cycles.

 

[MoparProud]

At this point unless you need the capacities of a 1 ton there is no reason to go to a Diesel.

I would STRONGLY disagree with that.

There are benefits to each, and significant downsides to each (gas vs diesel). It all boils down to what a person wants and uses the truck for.

I mean, show me a gas 1/2 ton anywhere close to the EcoDiesel mileage. There's one advantage right there.

 

[Bornon]

For me towing ANYTHING is better with a diesel. Actually I'd say the XD is 'close' in mpg kinda? Ram likes to brag 29mpg. From what I'm reading that's its peak, the average is closer to 23? Vrs 20-21 on XD.
At this point I'd buy it to tow a 10' dingy, I'm enjoying it's drivability that much.

 

[digitalbliss]

For me towing ANYTHING is better with a diesel. Actually I'd say the XD is 'close' in mpg kinda? Ram likes to brag 29mpg. From what I'm reading that's its peak, the average is closer to 23? Vrs 20-21 on XD.
At this point I'd buy it to tow a 10' dingy, I'm enjoying it's drivability that much.

Im not sure it's quite apples to apples yet because not enough XD's have been tracked... but on the Fuelly app/website the ecodiesel is getting 23.4 MPG average for the 2015 models with 42 vehicles reporting 465 fill ups at 215,302 miles. The XD is getting 15.7 MPG but only 1 vehicle reporting 27 full ups at 8,010 miles.

 

[MoparProud]

No way the XD will come close to the EcoDiesel mileage, in my opinion. The XD weighs over half a ton more, feeds two more cylinders, has "more power", sits higher, and isn't particularly aimed to get max mileage. The EcoD's main focal point is mileage, I mean when's the last time you saw a diesel rated to tow LESS than a gasser? Ram 1500, by 2k lbs roughly, is just that truck. The EcoD just isn't meant to be a work truck and tow, the XD is.

Many EcoD owners report north of 27 on a pretty consistent basis; max I've seen are in the 31mpg range on singular trips (don't seem to be consistent). That'll be a solid 10mpg over the XD and most other pickups.

Of course, here I get 11.5 max so the EcoD seems like a great option to me! But I'm keeping my eyes on the GM Canyon/Colorado and also looking to Nissan with a Cummins 4 cylinder Frontier....

 

[Bornon]

Good points mopar. My buddy with his can't report back, as it's still in the shop lol.
I hope there 3.0 is not as bad as I'm seeing and hearing thru my grapevine. Milage is the only positive I hear at all. Any things better after my last rig (6.4 4.88's 8-9mpg)