Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives 1/2 ton diesel truck becomes reality

Maybe. The older technology Toytota Hi-luxes get mid to high 20's in 4WD I was told by South Africans I used to work with. The Grand might be a tad lighter vehicle.

Keep in mind South Africa used Imperial gallons before they went metric.

What's the diff? The SA guy I worked with was/is one of the smartest dudes I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I'm pretty sure he knew how to do the math if it was crazy different than US gal and he'd been to the US and Europe a bunch.

Imperial gallons are about 5 US quarts. (25% 'bigger' gallons) Canada used the same measure prior to going metric.

I've got a '73 F-100 that would be a damned good candidate for a 5.9 two valve motor. It's on its 3rd owner and 3rd 302. Miles? Speedo hasn't worked for ten years! Just waiting to find the right wrecked truck, and if it could coincide with tax return season, that would be great! Even a turbo'd 7.3 with mechanical injection would be good.
Wait and see game right now.

I'm betting your flat wrong. HP doesnt mean chit really, where towing is concerned. Torque, torque, torque. And the diesel has the hemi beat on that, not too mention reaching its torque curve at much lower rpms, which helps a great deal when pulling a load.

Exactly right. Low RPM torque beats high RPM horsepower for towing every time.

High RPM=High HP = low MPG

Funny boys with their toys. Your hemi makes more HP than my Semi tractor with a 12 L Detroit diesel in it...... Want to see which truck pulls a trailer better? I'll pull 60,000 lbs up a 5% grade at 58 MPH. All day long......

Who wants to hold the bets? I'll give odds....

I just got a 1/2 and 1/2 ton truck with a real diesel engine. 2012, the last year you can get a diesel without having to add Urea...

Just wondering why you have to add Urea??

Urea is a much better solution than injecting extra fuel to regen the catalyst, which is what Dodge uses.
Nice rig, btw Shrap.

Actually, all manufacturers are required to add Urea to supposedly cut down on emissions, Dodge was the last to switch to the new fuel requirements, Ford and GM have already gone.

Caterpillar has indicated that they will not produce diesel engines for the truck market anymore due to the Urea requirement and produce engines for construction and off-road applications where Urea isn't required...

What sort of MPG's are you getting? I hear so many wide spread numbers when it comes to diesel pick ups.

BTW, nice looking truck!

From what I understand Dodge's way of getting by without urea for the last few years was by using fuel to regen a nox absorber catalyst. The engines using urea injection use a scr catalyst, which reduces nox more efficiently. With the ability to control nox to lower levels the engines have more leeway in the air fuel ratios they can run which has mileage benefits in addition to not wasting fuel regenerating. The urea sytems are simply better technology.

The latest diesels use urea injection (DEF) and DPF which injects extra fuel (ca. 1/2 gal/tank) to clean the DPF approx. every 400 mi (dependant on driving conditions).

A buddy of mine bought a 12 3/4 ton long box for $35k, what a deal. Yours looks good also.

I only have a couple hundred miles on it. I went prairie dog shooting today, over and back, driving dirt roads and fields, netted 14.2 MPG

A good discussion, but with a lot of rationalizing by people to support what they own. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I am sold on diesels and the economics make more sense when you consider a few facts. Diesel fuel costs about $.35 more here in Nevada but last year it was cheaper than gas for awhile. In the future it is likely to cost less gas with the advent of biodiesel. My 2002 Ford I bought new and has only 126,000 miles on it. It is worth a lot more than a similar gas truck. I can easily keep it another 10 years or more. I will probably trade it eventually for a diesel 1/2 ton.

Won't most of the drivetrain in these half ton trucks have to be upgraded for a diesel application? Might as well get a 3/4 ton. I guess I don't see the need for a light towing rig with a diesel. I definitely don't see the need for a diesel non towing daily driver. mtmuley