Diesel Sunrader For Sale In Gresham Portland

[kayakthecoast]

Not mine but if you ever wanted a Sunrader that could run on diesel, bio diesel or waste vege oil this beauty has just been professionally converted.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/rvs/4846749188.html

[linda s]

Looks like a nicely upgraded Sunrader but I can't find anything out about the diesel place they say they used.

Linda S

[Derek up North]

"It has good power for a Sunrader and can even cruise at highway speeds while getting really good fuel economy."

[zero]

God help the poor person who tries to run on deep-fryer oil and has no experience with it. You can ruin a rotary-distributor injection pump fast that way. Kind of looks like what that engine has, but can't really make it out for sure. New injection pumps can easily cost over $1000 and not always easy to find.

I also wonder how many people would like having 30 less horsepower then the 22R gas engine and 20 less foot pounds of max torque. That and fuel often costing a dollar more per gallon then gasoline.

[zero]

"It has good power for a Sunrader and can even cruise at highway speeds while getting really good fuel economy."

I bet it gets a max of around 18 - 19 MPG with fuel from the pump costing a dollar more per gallon and a lot less power then a 2.4 gasser.

Right now a 200 mile trip here in Michigan with the diesel would use $29.66 in diesel fuel.

Same RV with a gas engine in 200 miles would use $27.90 and have a lot more power.

[MontanaChinook]

Wah Whaaaah

Sorry couldn't resist. I agree it is important that people understand the advantages and drawbacks to diesel.

[shibs]

diesel is not at an advantage any more IMHO.

With today's diesels you get:

1. Direct injection - more power, but also a high pressure pump and funky injectors that will cost you the farm or a kidney.

2. DPF - that is not perfected yet and more moody than a hormonal adolescent, you will be amazed when you you go from 3/4 tank to 1/2 tank in a blink of an eye, even with a 35 gallon tank.

3. Then you will need to fill urea every so often, not a big headache and still another item to maintain.

4. you will need to replace the fuel filter every 15 k miles.

5. you will get gelled if you buy some poopy diesel and you will need to get your tank drained. just wait till you see the diesel disposal fee. you might not be able to perform any bowel movements for weeks ;-)

6. You will be looking for quality diesel while on the road like a junkie looking for their next fix.

unless you need 1600 lb/ft of torque at 1275 rpm, still to a v10 or a big block. cost per mile is less with gas now and will probably be that way for a long time. EPA as usual lied to us saying low sulphur fuel standards will not increase diesel cost!

oh, I almost forgot, good luck finding someone who actually knows how to work on your vehicle. The last time I took my Chevy duramax for warranty work, they kept it for a month. Might as well have bought a white elelphant for $60K

[Maineah]

The engine in the Sunrader ad is an 83 HP Toyota Hilux engine it does have the advantage of low RPM torque but they were not a drag racer engine the turbo version would be a good bit better. Might be fine in a 18' Sunrader. Diesels have their place but they are not for every one. I owned a 1.9 TDI VW it had all the power you would ever want in exactly the right RPM range I put over 300,000 miles on it with normal service 3 timing belts and one set of lifters. I never got less than 50 MPG. I agree the newer truck diesels are more complex and the only way you'll ever get the money out of it is to drive it forever and have a use for the power, big 5th wheel campers etc.

[zero]

diesel is not at an advantage any more IMHO.

oh, I almost forgot, good luck finding someone who actually knows how to work on your vehicle. The last time I took my Chevy duramax for warranty work, they kept it for a month. Might as well have bought a white elelphant for $60K

I don't pretend to have any expertise when it comes to working on an Isuzu-Chevy Duramax. Newest diesel I own is a 1994 and I doubt I will ever get anything newer. No gain as I see it.

That said - I was working in a diesel shop when GM (Chevy and GMC) started selling their first diesels in light cars and trucks late 70s through the 80s. We had two Chevy dealerships near us and they were absolutely clueless on how to diagnose or fix the engines Especially the fuel injection systems. So many times - they brought the work to us. Ford too - but Ford mechanics seemed to bet better training and at a faster pace.

Local auto repair shops were even more clueless and that's when mechanical injection was "state of the art."

Now? Anyone who wants to own and drive a mechanically injected diesel had better learn to work on it themselves unless they know someone really good and with reasonable prices. Farm equipment dealers used to be a good place to go to back in the 70s-80s-90s. Now even most of them are clueless.

I've got more specialty diesel tools in my own shop that probably 90% of the "general" repair shops out there. E.g. an injector "pop" tester. Also a diesel timing light that uses a Piezo microphone to hear injection pulses and turn them into an electrical signal. Glow-plug hole adapters to allow hooking in compression testers, etc. Timing fixtures for CAV, Rotodiesel, and Stanadyne pumps.

Besides the problems with repairs - "new owner diesel ignorance" has always been a huge problem in the USA. The fact that diesel engines have less power then gas engines has never seemed to soak in. So - back - let's say in 1982 - a person would trade in his Chevy truck with a 350 gas engine and buy a new diesel with a 379 diesel engine. Then when it had no where NEAR the horsepower and torque at the smaller 350 - he (or she) would come back to the dealer insisting something was wrong with it. Ford did not have that issue as much because their first V8s were 427 cubic inches and then increased to 445 cubic inches. So in that case - someone who had previously had a 351 Ford gas engine and now had a 427 or 445 diesel - at least still had the same power as before instead of less.

Other issues with "diesel ignorance" including how to treat diesel fuel in the winter so it does not turn to wax and gel. Also - to lay off the pedal when climbing a hill to keep cylinder-heads from cracking. Gas engines don't tend to do that.

Now newer diesels HAVE to be turbocharged in the USA and gas engines do not. So again – the myth of diesels having more power then gas engines lives on.

Modern improvements with gas engines e.g. direct injection, variable valve timing, and super high compression ratios are bringing substantial gains in efficiency and moving them closer to diesels. This while diesel fuel is $1 or more then a gallon of gasoline. Today – here in northern Michigan – regular gas is $2.19. Diesel is $3.12. Bio-diesel (B90 which is only 90% bio) is $4 a gallon.

Also back in the 80s – the diesel option in a truck was less then $1000 extra. Now it can be over $20,000 extra. A 1982 Chevy pickup cost $345 extra with the 350 gas engine or $1164 extra with the 379 diesel. So a $819 difference.

By the way – back the Isuzu-Duramax in Chevy trucks. My farmer-neighbor bought one the first year they came out. He had a rusted out 1992 Dodge with a Cummins diesel he was consistently getting 19-20 MPG with. He just about always used illegal “farm diesel” which at the time, was just home-heating-oil. When he got his new Duramax home – he filled the tank with his “farm fuel” and shortly after – the truck’s computer locked it into “limp mode” and would not go over 35 MPH. He was furious ! So he went back to the dealer to complain and found out the new Duramax used electric “pump drivers” that detected the fuel and did not like it. Dealer said they could of voided his warranty but let it got that one time. I thought it was pretty funny. We were so used to mechanically injected trucks – this was a surprise. I don’t know of the newer generations of Duramax trucks are the same way.

[kayakthecoast]

Diesel is now cleaner burning than petrol! In USA. I had a 2004 ford v8 diesel and yes you have to know how to care for a diesel motor, and find a good experienced mechanic or work on it yourself. Its a pain if your winters are cold, an engine block heater is a must. I had reliable good quality bio diesel in town and financially it cost more but that smell of French fries out the back was awesome!

I had that engine with a turbo in a Toyota Hilux double cab 4x4 best vehicle I ever owned super reliable, great low torque. I bet it gets above 20 mpg?

[zero]

If the diesel in the Sunrader is running right and geared right,. being an indirect-injected diesel I assume - it's going to get 15-22% better MPGs than the gas version, and have substantially less power. If the 2.4 liter gas version gets a best of 16-17 MPG - the 2.4 liter diesel will get a best of 18-21 MPG, AGAIN only if geared right and many diesel conversions are not.. If someone really wants to compare "useful efficiency" in engines - we'd need a gas and diesel engine with matched horsepower and torque. Like a Toyota 20R 2.2 liter compared to the 2L 2.4 liter diesel. Those engines have the same torque at the same low RPMs, and the smaller gas engine has more horsepower. If we did such a comparison - the fuel mileage difference between the gas and diesel would be smaller.

There is one BIG problem with putting a small, low powered diesel engine in a motorhome where it gets worked hard. The RPM. Diesels get superior fuel mileage when run a few hundred RPM withing their torque curve. With the 2.4 diesel - that is a range of 1800-2500 RPM. When in that range, it lacks the horsepower

needed for powering the motorhome much of the time. That where playing with gearing can help, but there's just so much you can do with a low power engine in a heavy vehicle. Toyota 2.2 and 2.4 gas engines, on the other hand have an amazingly wide torque-curve at higher RPMs. 2.4 gas engine can make the same torque as the diesel's peak at 1800 RPM and go much higher until it gets to 3800 RPM. That's pretty amazing. So the diesel makes max torque of 121 foot lbs. @ 2100 RPM and then drops like a rock. 2.4 gas engine makes 121 foot lbs. @ 1800 RPM, climbs up to 140 foot lbs. @ 2800 RPM, and back down to 121 foot lbs. @ 3800 RPM. MUCH wider useful range then the diesel. That's why big rig tractor trailers have so many damn gears.

I've been a diesel fan since I was a teenager. But things have changed a lot. I don't see hardly any advantage anymore except with very heavily worked engines. Even with that - if things keep going like they are - we might see gasoline powered tractor-trailers again like we had in the 50s-60s. There are already big rigs using compressed natural gas in gas engines instead of diesel. Problem is - they cannot go many places because refueling stations are uncommon.

Also when I hear people talk up bio-fuel, I question the advantage even more. At least conventional diesel fuel has 13% more energy in it then gasoline. B90 biofuel has 13% LESS energy then diesel and is equal to gasoline. Yet today - gasoline is $2.19 a gallon and B90 biofuel here in Michigan is $4 per gallon.

[Maineah]

Don't forget Adolf Diesel designed them to burn vegetable oil. Not too likely cross the road trucks will be burning too much natural gas they can't go into tunnels. Diesels in full sized pickup trucks are now making well over 400 HP with 850 FTP of torque. I do not believe the demise of diesels is imminent. Given a choice I would have bought a Tacoma with the 3 liter diesel instead of the 6 cylinder gas engine but they are not imported into the US. The new Chevy Colorado is going to have a diesel option in the small pickup some one believes in them.

[snail powered]

I would not kick it out of my driveway

[zero]

Don't forget Adolf Diesel designed them to burn vegetable oil. Not too likely cross the road trucks will be burning too much natural gas they can't go into tunnels. Diesels in full sized pickup trucks are now making well over 400 HP with 850 FTP of torque. I do not believe the demise of diesels is imminent. Given a choice I would have bought a Tacoma with the 3 liter diesel instead of the 6 cylinder gas engine but they are not imported into the US. The new Chevy Colorado is going to have a diesel option in the small pickup some one believes in them.

The first "diesel" engines ran on "paraffin oil." More-or-less, plain old diesel fuel but the name "diesel" obviously wasn't in existence then. Rudolph Diesel's engine came 4-5 years later, and his used all sorts of fuels. Coal oil, peanut oil, etc.

I never claimed the "demise" of diesel is imminent. What I said is this. Industry will use whatever is more cost effective. We used to have gasoline and diesel powered road-tractors and farm-tractors, along with a few that ran on propane. It could happen again if running non-diesel engines became more cost-effective again.

The power of newer diesels says nothing specific about diesels. It's just a matter of new diesels are coming out running intercooling and high boost, whereas most gas engines are not (but that is changing).

It also seems to me that just because General Motors is introducing a diesel Colorado, it does not prove they know what they are doing, or that they are marketing wizards. They already went bankrupt once and ripped off billions from taxpayers that will never be paid back. They have also had many diesels in the past and most were flops. Chevy S10 Blazer and truck with the 2.2 Isuzu diesel, Chevy LUV with the 2.2 Isuzu diesel, Chevy Chevette with the 1.8 Isuzu diesel, Chevy 1/2 ton trucks with Oldsmobile 5.7 diesels, cars with 4.3 Oldsmobile diesels, Chevy 1/2 to 1 ton trucks with 6.2 and 6.5 diesels, later Duramax trucks with Isuzu diesels, etc. The Isuzu-Duramax is probably their most successful.

Generally speaking - the USA consumer has never gotten along with diesel engines, whereas people overseas have. So now there are new diesels that don't behave like diesels, cost a lot more then gas power, and often are no cheaper to drive then gas-powered rigs. So when there WAS gain to be had in the 70s-90s, most Americans did not opt for it. Now when there is little to no gain to be had - someone thinks they'll now sell?? Could be but I can't think of a reason why. A brand new Chevy Cruze diesel is MUCH more expensive to buy, maintain, and drive then the gas version. Why would someone buy one? The diesel is probably more fun to drive, but not THAT much. The diesel option is $8000 extra !

Back to the discussion of what I'm calling an underpowered diesel in a Sunrader. Here's an old road test on a International Scout with a 3.2 liter Nissan diesel, pulling a pop-up camper trailer. Not quite the same as a Sunrader RV , but close enough to get an idea of fuel mileage with a small diesel pulling a load. Also an old Mercedes ad that I get a kick out of.

[douglitas]

thanks for all the informed commentary...I learned a lot!

[Maineah]

Ford seems to have caught on to the ideal of forced induction. People over seas get along fine with diesels because they still get considerably better mileage that's some thing to think about when your fuel is $5+ a gallon. Banks engineering holds the record for the worlds fastest pickup 222 MPH diesel powered Dodge Dakota. Western Europe diesel powered cars are starting to out number gasoline powered cars. Audi dominated the racing circuit with it's diesel power race car. Even Subaru has a flat 4 cylinder diesel. A small diesel in a Toy home maybe a little slow but it will still be running when the gas version is on it second overhaul. My friend owns a huge Ford 250 4 door 4WD diesel his mileage is the same as my Tacoma 4 liter 6 cylinder and I would have a hard time getting what he hauls moving much less go any where with it. Diesels are here to stay and getting better every day.

[linda s]

There are some diesel prices near me only 30 to 40 cents more than gas. I guess it just depends on where you are. When your looking at the bigger class A's where diesel mileage can be double the mileage of gas I'm pretty sure you would come out ahead going diesel. Besides I love the way they sound.

Linda S

[zero]

My Ford F250 with the IH 446 cubic inch turbo diesel, 4WD, extended cab, 8800 lb. GVWR package, gooseneck hitch, 4.10 axles, and automatic OD trans gets an absolute best of 17.5 MPG when empty at 60 MPH, on a flat highway. When it has a high-roof camper on it it gets 13.5 - 14 MPG. Pulling a 8000 lb. trailer it gets 10-11 MPG.

My Dodge W250 with the Cummins 360 cubic inch turbo-intercooled diesel, 4WD, extended cab, 8510 lb. GVWR package, 3.50 axle and Getrag 5 speed manual with OD gets a best of 20 MPG empty. With a high-roof camper it gets 15.5 MPG at 65 MPH. With a low-roof pop-up camper, it gets 16-17 MPG at 65 MPH. Pulling a 8000 lb. trailer it gets 12-13 MPG.

Dairy farmer near me has a new Ford F250 with the new diesel engine actually made by Ford. He's getting the same fuel mileage as my Dodge. The "diesel option" for his new Ford was $20,000 extra.

When it comes to big motorhomes or trucks - no diesel is going to get "double" the mileage unless you're comparing a 2015 diesel to a 1969 gasser. A 20-25% gain in MPGs, yes. And how much harder to find and more expensive is the fuel? How much more to maintain? How about the up-front purchase price? Pickup trucks now are often $18-$20K extra for diesel. I assume the same for RVs.

[zero]

There are some diesel prices near me only 30 to 40 cents more than gas. I guess it just depends on where you are. When your looking at the bigger class A's where diesel mileage can be double the mileage of gas I'm pretty sure you would come out ahead going diesel. Besides I love the way they sound.

Linda S

I love the way "old fashioned" diesels sound too. Many of the newest ones don't even sound like diesels anymore. They also don't just use diesel fuel. Most also have urea tanks that must be kept full to meet emissions regs. That's $6 per gallon. Last summer, for a month or so, here in northern Michigan - diesel was the same price as regular gas. The rest of the year though, it was over a dollar more. In New York, it's been more then a dollar more for years.

No way in h*ll that a diesel gets twice the MPGs. In an RV, it's often a 10-15% gain.

Here's one example of many:

2015 33C Bounder Class A with a Ford 6.8 liter gas V8. Cost: $134,000 , highway - 7-8 MPG

2015 33D Excursion Class A with a Cummins 6.7 diesel. Cost: $193,000, highway - 9-10 MPG

So $59,000 extra to get 2 extra MPGs with fuel that just about always cost more?

[Maineah]

My Ford F250 with the IH 446 cubic inch turbo diesel, 4WD, extended cab, 8800 lb. GVWR package, gooseneck hitch, 4.10 axles, and automatic OD trans gets an absolute best of 17.5 MPG when empty at 60 MPH, on a flat highway. When it has a high-roof camper on it it gets 13.5 - 14 MPG. Pulling a 8000 lb. trailer it gets 10-11 MPG.

My Dodge W250 with the Cummins 360 cubic inch turbo-intercooled diesel, 4WD, extended cab, 8510 lb. GVWR package, 3.50 axle and Getrag 5 speed manual with OD gets a best of 20 MPG empty. With a high-roof camper it gets 15.5 MPG at 65 MPH. With a low-roof pop-up camper, it gets 16-17 MPG at 65 MPH. Pulling a 8000 lb. trailer it gets 12-13 MPG.

Dairy farmer near me has a new Ford F250 with the new diesel engine actually made by Ford. He's getting the same fuel mileage as my Dodge. The "diesel option" for his new Ford was $20,000 extra.

When it comes to big motorhomes or trucks - no diesel is going to get "double" the mileage unless you're comparing a 2015 diesel to a 1969 gasser. A 20-25% gain in MPGs, yes. And how much harder to find and more expensive is the fuel? How much more to maintain? How about the up-front purchase price? Pickup trucks now are often $18-$20K extra for diesel. I assume the same for RVs.

Yep guess what my gas Toyota drops to 10-12 when I tow too. At best 20 MPG at worst 10 MPG the big difference is greater than twice the pay load. Diesel 43 cents higher in Maine. When I see the big motor homes in the RV shop with the engine laying on the floor it's all ways a gas engine. Generally the higher price is reflected in the options that come along with the diesel pickups as standard also. If you are looking for a new diesel Ford give Rowe Ford in Westbrook ME a call their price is $8000 difference over a gas engine and the drive line is heavier.

[zero]

Yep guess what my gas Toyota drops to 10-12 when I tow too. At best 20 MPG at worst 10 MPG the big difference is greater than twice the pay load. Diesel 43 cents higher in Maine. When I see the big motor homes in the RV shop with the engine laying on the floor it's all ways a gas engine. Generally the higher price is reflected in the options that come along with the diesel pickups as standard also. If you are looking for a new diesel Ford give Rowe Ford in Westbrook ME a call their price is $8000 difference over a gas engine and the drive line is heavier.

Your Toyota only gets 20 MPG at best? I admit I have little experience with new trucks. My newest Toyota bare-truck was a 2WD 1985. Bare-bones short-bed pickup with a 2.4 and four-speed manual trans. I got as high as 27 MPG with that truck. In fact, it's probably the best little truck I ever owned except for the real-bad rust issues. I'm still driving my 1985 Isuzu 4WD 2.2 diesel mini-truck. It gets 27 MPG no matter how I drive it (never tows though).

[Maineah]

Yes its a 4 liter V6 4X4 6 spd summer time I get about 20 MPG my old 97 4 cylinder 2.7 4X4 might get 23 on a good day. Can't give away 2WD trucks in Maine.

[zero]

Yes its a 4 liter V6 4X4 6 spd summer time I get about 20 MPG my old 97 4 cylinder 2.7 4X4 might get 23 on a good day. Can't give away 2WD trucks in Maine.

2WD trucks are pretty rare and considered useless in any of the areas I've live in NY and MI also.. Where I am right now, I've been searching for a 2WD Toyota parts truck with a manual trans. Seems to be a very rare item - on the road or in the junkyard.

[shibs]

I don't pretend to have any expertise when it comes to working on an Isuzu-Chevy Duramax. Newest diesel I own is a 1994 and I doubt I will ever get anything newer. No gain as I see it.

That said - I was working in a diesel shop when GM (Chevy and GMC) started selling their first diesels in light cars and trucks late 70s through the 80s. We had two Chevy dealerships near us and they were absolutely clueless on how to diagnose or fix the engines Especially the fuel injection systems. So many times - they brought the work to us. Ford too - but Ford mechanics seemed to bet better training and at a faster pace.

Local auto repair shops were even more clueless and that's when mechanical injection was "state of the art."

Now? Anyone who wants to own and drive a mechanically injected diesel had better learn to work on it themselves unless they know someone really good and with reasonable prices. Farm equipment dealers used to be a good place to go to back in the 70s-80s-90s. Now even most of them are clueless.

I've got more specialty diesel tools in my own shop that probably 90% of the "general" repair shops out there. E.g. an injector "pop" tester. Also a diesel timing light that uses a Piezo microphone to hear injection pulses and turn them into an electrical signal. Glow-plug hole adapters to allow hooking in compression testers, etc. Timing fixtures for CAV, Rotodiesel, and Stanadyne pumps.

By the way – back the Isuzu-Duramax in Chevy trucks. My farmer-neighbor bought one the first year they came out. He had a rusted out 1992 Dodge with a Cummins diesel he was consistently getting 19-20 MPG with. He just about always used illegal “farm diesel” which at the time, was just home-heating-oil. When he got his new Duramax home – he filled the tank with his “farm fuel” and shortly after – the truck’s computer locked it into “limp mode” and would not go over 35 MPH. He was furious ! So he went back to the dealer to complain and found out the new Duramax used electric “pump drivers” that detected the fuel and did not like it. Dealer said they could of voided his warranty but let it got that one time. I thought it was pretty funny. We were so used to mechanically injected trucks – this was a surprise. I don’t know of the newer generations of Duramax trucks are the same way.

JDE, kudos to you, individuals like you are an asset. It is refreshing to see the attitudes of folks here, you guys take a problem head on and break it down and find root cause and fix it. Unfortunately, the mechanics that I have encountered at the dealerships will randomly throw parts at the problem and "hope" to get lucky and resolve the issue and get rid of you. Maybe they all have ADD or something.

Unfortunately I don't have the time or the space to perform any major repairs where I live, I might even get a ticket from the city. It is truly sad when I pinpointed the problem with my truck but it took the dealership 3 tries and admit they see a problem and fix it. Should have lawyered up and lemon'd the truck.

On the dmax, the newer ones have direct injections and very high pressure fuel pump with 2 micron filter. I have never gelled, I only buy diesel from a truck stop and I look for an external h20 separator filter at the pump. I do some 10% bio in summer, I have the smell of bio... :-)

You neighbor had a clogged filter sometimes the line will collapse also. I am on my factory filter (bought new in 2008 dec) with 16kmiles on it. I still have 30% left I think. My truck see a lot of idle time.

Turbos: I think turbos rock, congress should make it a law that every vehicle should come with a turbo :-).

Ford has picked it up, Saab had it. Toyota had it. Mazda rx-7s rocked with it. (had a few n/a ones)

I love diesel, the ability to generate 700 lb/ft of torque at 1275 rpm from a 6.6 liter v8 Isuzu with a sequential turbo, it just humbling.

I towed my 8000 lb camper and I had to look in my rear view mirror confirm that it was still there.

With current fuel cost the big v8s or v10 will cost less per mile in fuel. That is just the truth since EPA went with low sulfur fuel.

Plus the gas engines are lot lighter.

Powering up a hill: oh, I did not know that one should not step on the gas when going up a slope. I actually enjoy raising my egt and listening to my blow off valve at the end of the slope. ;-).

Why is that? head temps?

[Maineah]

JDE, kudos to you, individuals like you are an asset. It is refreshing to see the attitudes of folks here, you guys take a problem head on and break it down and find root cause and fix it. Unfortunately, the mechanics that I have encountered at the dealerships will randomly throw parts at the problem and "hope" to get lucky and resolve the issue and get rid of you. Maybe they all have ADD or something.

Unfortunately I don't have the time or the space to perform any major repairs where I live, I might even get a ticket from the city. It is truly sad when I pinpointed the problem with my truck but it took the dealership 3 tries and admit they see a problem and fix it. Should have lawyered up and lemon'd the truck.

On the dmax, the newer ones have direct injections and very high pressure fuel pump with 2 micron filter. I have never gelled, I only buy diesel from a truck stop and I look for an external h20 separator filter at the pump. I do some 10% bio in summer, I have the smell of bio... :-)

You neighbor had a clogged filter sometimes the line will collapse also. I am on my factory filter (bought new in 2008 dec) with 16kmiles on it. I still have 30% left I think. My truck see a lot of idle time.

Turbos: I think turbos rock, congress should make it a law that every vehicle should come with a turbo :-).

Ford has picked it up, saab had it. Toyota had it. mazda rx-7s rocked with it. (had a few n/a ones)

I love diesel, the ability to generate 700 lb/ft of torque at 1275 rpm from a 6.6 liter v8 Isuzu with a sequential turbo, it just humbling.

I towed my 8000 lb camper and I had to look in my rear view mirror confirm that it was still there.

With current fuel cost the big v8s or v10 will cost less per mile in fuel. That is just the truth since EPA went with low sulfur fuel.

Plus the gas engines are lot lighter.

Powering up a hill: oh, I did not know that one should not step on the gas when going up a slope. I actually enjoy raising my egt and listening to my blow off valve at the end of the slope. ;-).

Why is that? head temps?

^ Yep and don't try to talk an over the road trucker into letting up on the throttle going up through the notch...

[zero]

Your neighbor had a clogged filter sometimes the line will collapse also. I am on my factory filter (bought new in 2008 dec) with 16kmiles on it. I still have 30% left I think. My truck see a lot of idle time.

Turbos: I think turbos rock, congress should make it a law that every vehicle should come with a turbo :-).

.

Powering up a hill: oh, I did not know that one should not step on the gas when going up a slope. I actually enjoy raising my egt and listening to my blow off valve at the end of the slope. ;-).

Why is that? head temps?

RE my neighbor's new Chevy Duramax. His problem was not the filter. It was the dyed high-sulfur fuel he was using. Sensor in the pump recognized it as improper fuel and the computer locked the truck into "limp mode." Dealer had to flush out all the dyed fuel and put clear ultra-low sulfur in there to make it run right again. I don't know if the pump-driver saw the color in the fuel or detected high-sulfur. This was the 1st year Duramax and I don't know if the newer ones use the same sensors. I know George Bush while president signed a waiver for people in Louisiana to make it legal to use dyed diesel after hurricane Katrina caused a diesel shortage there. I assume many new trucks can be run on it, otherwise why the waiver? Also my neighbor has a 2013 Duramax and I know he got busted by the NY fuel cops for running it on dyed fuel. So it seems his truck did not mind it.

RE turbos or any other sort of supercharger. They are legally required in the US now for any diesels run on the road. Gas engines don't need boost to meet emissions. Turbos are fun but so are large engines (except for being fuel hogs). All a turbo does is enable a small engine to act like a big engine by getting extra air to burn extra fuel. That or for the original purpose when "turbos" were called "altitude compensators." When it comes to fuel mileage - they're nice because a car or truck can have a tiny engine and get tiny-engine fuel mileage while not under high-fuel and high-boost. Then if you NEED the power - it can act like a bigger engine.

RE older diesels climbing hills and cracking heads. It's more of an issue with naturally aspirated diesels. They are low on power to start with (as compared to an equal sized gas engine). Very often the fuel delivery gets turned up on the pumps in an effort to get more power. When climbing a hill, if you jam the pedal to the floor, it calls for "full fuel." Then the engine cannot get enough air to burn it, and cylinder-head temps climb fast. Very easy to crack a head. Trucks with exhaust-driven superchargers, AKA "turbochargers" don't suffer as much since the turbo delivers more air. But that depends on the engine. And if the engine has an intercooler - it helps cool and condense the air so more can fit into the combustion chamber.

[shibs]

The dye should not have any effect, but dealerships will use that as an excuse probably

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/76-speciality-forums/64-maintenance-fluids/415525-official-red-dye-offroad-diesel-faq-5.html

High sulphur is probably the culprit,

That makes sense for head temps raising and cracking it. No worries here, I will keep my foot on the pedal ;-)

[zero]

When driving my 92 Dodge diesel - I have no need to push the "pedal to the metal" when climbing hills. The 5.9 Cummins with turbo and intercooler pulls them fine, even with a 10,000 lb. trailer behind me. And that's with 3.5 to 1 ratio axles! When I used to drive a milk-tanker with a little 2-stroke Detroit - yeah, the pedal was to the floor just about all the time. My 1994 Ford with a 7.3 turbo all needs a lot of pedal when pulling a load up a hill and IT has 4.10 axes.