Question for the AK residents on here. What are your preferences when it comes to fuel options? Advantages or disadvantages between diesel and gasoline? Any other vehicle related issues that might be important to someone looking to move to Alaska?

IF you have electricity to keep a block heater going for days at a time, then maybe diesel makes sense if you have a need for the towing power. If you plan to live off the grid, I would forget about diesel. Diesel has been more expensive than gasoline for the past few years.

For Alaska, if I had a choice and wasn't towing a large trailer everywhere I went, I would go gasoline every time...JMO

If someone is asking should they buy a diesel truck, then my immediate response is no. When you need one, you won't be asking others should you buy one.....

IMO, diesel is worth it if you are towing often or heavy. Even then, a case can be made for gas vs the increased costs.

For short runs/grocery getter - definitely not.

...and I'm a diesel fan and have one.

I have 3. One of them in good operating condition.... You rode in the blue and red Chev, Mike. Fishing rig that doubles as carnival ride. Got a near identical GMC in red, given to me - bad motor. Probably going to have the engine from blue and red put into the all red this winter.

50 below is a bit hard on diesels and diesel owners - but we use the Expedition for that. I love my Ram 3500, especially in the milder coastal climate and summer temps we are mostly in - when not in Kotzebue.

Gas. One word of advice is if you can find a nice boat with a cabin down south cheap, buy it. You can flip it for a profit in SE with little problem, or you can keep it and be able to get out and do a lot more than you would be otherwise . I am amazed at how much boats cost here in Ketchikan, it is ridiculous.

That was an "E" ticket!!!

Don't live up there, but it's damn cold here and I've started my Cummins a few times in -18 to -20 below without being plugged in and it's fired right up (use synthetic 5w-40 and treated fuel of course).

Worst part about a diesel in the winter is it takes forever to warm up.

Spot On -

Diesels need to run long enuff to reach normal op temp for more than a few minutes. This allows the engine to lubricate properly and last longer.

In our part of the country 'right now' diesel is only a few cents more /gal than gas BUT I wouldn't count on that lasting long.

Jerry

I wouldn't own a diesel pickup newer than 2006 or so, when they started DPF and exhaust filters in '07.

If you must have an automatic, there's no reason to get a diesel this day in age...

I live in Maryland where it rarely ever gets below 0. I've got a piece of crap '99 F550 with a power stroke that won't start without being plugged in if it's under 50 degrees. Most of my big trucks won't start without being plugged in if it's below 10 or 15.

If I lived in AK and didn't NEED a diesel, you couldn't pay me to have one. Matter of fact, if I didn't have to own trucks for my business, I'd sell them all. They're a pain in the azz, especially when it gets cold.

This too. All the new trucks have to use DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) which is basically water with urea in it that is injected into the exhaust system for the good old EPA regs. They're even more of a PITA. The truck will need to be warmed up substantially before the exhaust system will work because the DEF needs to be thawed out. They have coolant lines that run through the DEF tank in order to thaw and keep it from freezing solid. Then if you have computer glitches or sensor issues, your really screwed. Plus the DPF needs to do a burn off (regen) periodically. If you're on dry leaves or grass, it could light the place on fire or melt the asphalt.

another vote for gas. I have a '06 duramax diesel but would not get another diesel unless towing heavy frequently is planned.

I run gas trucks, pard has a diesel. His pulls better has more torque, but he's had major problems with it.


I may buy my first diesel for a strictly lower 48 truck to pull our 5th wheel. But it's warmer down there.....well most of the time

Speaking of boats... We have a few down here...one that rarely gets used, and needs a new fuel tank is a tank of a 21 hydrasport CC, open of course, 200 Johnson. Runs rough really well, etc... Wife says dump it, we'll never use it up there...

I have a flat bottom tunnel with a 25 on it, I know, shoudl be a jet, that can be solved...

I have an airboat...thats a no brainer mostly.

But being inland around Delta Junction, is there any use of teh 21, haul it to Valdez to fish the salt as often as we can or just not good enough for AK salt?

Thanks for the advice guys. I've never owned a diesel and was curious to see what everyone's take on them was. I'll stick to gas. I'll probably still trade in for something newer that gets better mileage than the 14mpg I'm getting with my '05 Sierra.

It takes about 30 sec. to dump a 2.5 gal jug of DEF into the tank about every 5000 miles. Definitely not a PITA. Just another fluid to check, and the computer does that for you.


I'll have to check my book, but my understanding is that the heater is electric. It works automatically.

That is the case for every vehicle now.

The fire stories are about 10 years old. That problem has been resolved.



The new diesels are very clean operating and probably cleaner than many gas rigs still on the road.

They drive almost like a gas truck (acceleration and performance) and can't be beat for HP and torque.

That said, my caveat above still applies.

Pretty much this.

Used to be though that you would buy a diesel to get a vehicle that would go into 200k for miles. Gassers have gotten a lot better and getting high mileage out of them isn't as much of an issue.

Unless you're towing a lot - IMO it's not worth it.

One of the happiest days in my recent life was the one on which I sold my diesel pickup. They cost much more to buy, maintain and run than gas trucks. They have special issues in the winter that gas trucks do not have.

The only reason to consider a diesel is if you do frequent heavy towing. Even then, there are gas trucks that can probably handle the job.

Actually, the place where we buy our fuel for the trucks, has a DEF pump, so it's not a big deal to put it in. However, they're telling us now to keep them topped off because the urea will crystallize in the tank and can build up.

As far as heating the tank goes, I'm not sure how it works with small stuff, but on heavy trucks it's a water line. That's another reason to keep them plugged in, to keep the water circulating through the coolant lines to keep the DEF from freezing.

Yes, every thing can have computer glitches, but when you have this crazy exhaust system, it's a lot more to go wrong. I've got a 2012 Kenworth that hasn't been right since we got it. We have constant problems with it. KW points it's finger at Cummins, and Cummins points it's finger at KW.

Again, I don't know much about small stuff, but I've seen a truck melt asphalt when doing a standstill regen. If your stuck in a traffic jam or in the city and not moving over 35 mph, and that thing decides it needs to regen, you have to pull over somewhere and sit for a half an hour while it does it's thing.

Yes they do burn very clean and have plenty of power, but my response to the OP was that if you don't NEED a diesel and you live in a cold climate, why put yourself through it. I was just trying to let him know what he's in for if he's considering buying one in AK. But you live up there and have one, so it must be OK. I just know from my experiences, that once it gets below 20 degrees, it really starts causing a lot of problems. I've got a 2500HD GMC with a 6L gas engine. Once very couple of weeks, I might pull a trailer with a Bobcat or load the truck with a ton or so, and it pulls fine. In my opinion, I don't need a diesel so I don't drive one.

I'll admit it was an assumption on my part that the OP is considering 'small stuff' and not a Kenworth. I might be wrong about that though.

When I was managing M&R for a large trucking company - our issues with DEF seemed to be 2 things.

1. Operator error. Drivers not adding it, adding it to fuel, adding diesel to DEF tank etc.

2. Corrosion of the electronics associated with it. Freightliner really didn't want to talk about that one but we'd get them covered (ordering 4500 trucks a year from them gets attention)

If you haul heavy loads often, a diesel is the way to go. If not, buy a gasser.

As far as the issues with diesels and DEF, they're pretty well solved now. Like anything new, there were growing pains, (remember all the tranny problems when OD was a new thing?) but things have been pretty well figured out now.

I have a GMC 2500 diesel . I love the truck. I just got 20.3 MPG Highway. Has 220k on it with about 3k in repairs since I got it when it had 26 k on it. I would not buy another diesel though. They are just too much money . I usually pull 1,000 to 4,000 lbs but really dont need a diesel but today I dont think it is worth it. I do believe it will last another 220k though. My BIL has 370 on his and it's the same as mine and it's still an awsum truck.

I have a 1995 F350 with the 7.3 diesel. I'll probably drive it till it drops. It has been pretty much trouble free. I did have the glow plugs replaced several years ago. It starts well in cold weather without being plugged in but runs a little rough for a couple minutes till it warms up. Plugged in it fires right up and runs smooth. It runs 18 mpg on the highway.

I haul a camper with it a few times a year and use it more to haul firewood and saw logs for my mill. It doesn't amount to a lot of work every year but it's nice to have the power. I never noticed that it takes any longer to warm up than the gas rigs I've had in the past.

Have had 4 diesel trucks in the past 20 years. Love 'em. However, would never have a diesel in a cold place if I didn't have to. Even down here in the "little states", it occasionally gets cold enough that diesels gel up even with fuel additives. 06:00 on 20 Feb 2015 outside Falmouth, KY:



No problem "starting" at -18*F, even without a plug-in block heater. Let it warm up while I cleaned the windows. Dropped over the hill into a "cold pocket" 1.5 miles from the house. Fortunately was able to limp it into the neighbors barn lot. And this is with about 3x the prescribed amount of Power Service Diesel additive...

Besides the cold start, cold maintenance issue, as noted above, diesels cost more to purchase initially, more to maintain (filters, repairs), as well as fuel cost. If you are not pulling/towing on a regular basis (farm, ranch, logging, construction), you'll be money ahead to just buy a gasser and pay the extra fuel cost when towing. Especially in a cold climate... My $0.02...

In the winter here, stations offer #2 Diesel at the pump, which has a much lower gel temp, over #1. It's a non issue, for the most part. Using additive and #2, I've never had a work truck, or my personal truck gel up on me, and I experience way colder temps than -27F every winter. Keep a bottle of Diesel 911 on hand, just in case.

Jeff

Gotcha. Down this way, #2 is not available. Some guys will add in a certain amount of kerosene to lower the viscosity/gel point. I've never been comfortable with that practice. And yes, I found out "after the fact" about the 911 additive... Live and learn...

seeing that my 7.3 is paid for and fairly low mileage( currently about 140, and we put only about 2000 a year on it so it'll be fine in 6 years or so when we hope to move) I think we'll stick with it. LOL

I suspect #2 diesel is an unknown, except the more northern states and Canada. The helo's that take us to work, are fueled with Jet B in the winter as well.

Jeff

Isn't #1 diesel a winter/ heating oil and #2 the one that gels in cold temps?

You're correct Dan. Brain fart on my part. #1 is the winter fuel. Lower freeze point, but less energy/slightly lower mileage.

Jeff