Diesel vs standard engine for overlanding

[jonnyfrank]

Pros and cons on diesel for overlanding is what I am looking for. I know the diesel will be heavier, but I don't plan on doing any Baja type stuff or deep mud crawling. I am looking for solid dependability. Any insights welcome. Thank you.

 

[Smindustries]

Range. The diesel's range is greater because its fuel economy is better than the gas engine.

 

[oops]

The biggest pros of the diesel are:

1. Range. The diesel can drive roughly double the distance of the 7.3 gas on a tank of fuel. Useful if you’re driving long distance off road.

2. Payload ratings. While all SRW Super Duty’s can physically carry the same amount, the diesel F350 has the highest payload rating. Useful if you’re hauling heavy gear to the trail.

 

[oops]

And here’s the pro-gas argument for off-road use: https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/tfl-tremor-overland.512/#post-93358

The diesel adds up to 800# of weight to the front axle. (I don’t know that the exact number has ever been confirmed.)

 

[Loshad]

When I hear 'overlanding' it think driving to Tierra del Fuego. For that I would want a diesel for reliability and the ability to soldier on with perhaps less than premium fuel. Whether the PowerStroke can do this I have no idea but I have read about a couple that have driven theirs around the world with few problems. I recall that he commented on how they got bad fuel but the PowerStroke managed to persevere. A high percentage of the true 'overlanders' you see in S America are in diesels. Are their Merc and Man diesels better able to digest less than premium fuel than a PowerStroke? Based on how many you see down there they are not having too many problems. Apparently Nissan and Toyo diesels manage well enough, too. Plenty of nutters down there on gas powered Kawasaki and Bimmer bikes too so maybe the gasoline is better than I suspect. In some ways gasoline is more forgiving of poor storage than diesel but since there are so many diesel trucks down there I think the turnover rate is adequate to stave off the effects of poor storage.

Another thing to consider is that the PowerStroke gets seriously good mileage compared to the gasser.

 

[oops]

When I hear 'overlanding' it think driving to Tierra del Fuego. For that I would want a diesel for reliability and the ability to soldier on with perhaps less than premium fuel. Whether the PowerStroke can do this I have no idea but I have read about a couple that have driven theirs around the world with few problems. I recall that he commented on how they got bad fuel but the PowerStroke managed to persevere. A high percentage of the true 'overlanders' you see in S America are in diesels. Are their Merc and Man diesels better able to digest less than premium fuel than a PowerStroke? Based on how many you see down there they are not having too many problems. Apparently Nissan and Toyo diesels manage well enough, too. Plenty of nutters down there on gas powered Kawasaki and Bimmer bikes too so maybe the gasoline is better than I suspect. In some ways gasoline is more forgiving of poor storage than diesel but since there are so many diesel trucks down there I think the turnover rate is adequate to stave off the effects of poor storage.

Another thing to consider is that the PowerStroke gets seriously good mileage compared to the gasser.

I don’t know that we know that the modern diesel motor is any more reliable than gas. Some reason to believe the opposite this day in age.

Availability and transportability of diesel off-grid is a good point though. I’d definitely feel better about that if true overlanding.

Is it true that gas is more forgiving of storage conditions than diesel? I had always thought it was the opposite.

 

[Bill]

If you are considering some remote trips to some far corners of the world, or even through South America I’d consider gas, or an older diesel or possibly a newer, deleted diesel (all through I’m not sure that will solve all the worries).

That being said, I’m in a diesel and am happy with it for what level of adventures I think I’m going to be facing in the next handful of years.


From what I’ve read and seen, not my own experiences, gas is a lot more prevalent in some of those far flung corners of the world and while the fuel is questionable on either side of the aisle the gassers seem to do better with bad gas compared to modern diesels getting into some bad diesel.

If you’re considering trips like that, want to learn more or are just interested I’d checking out Dan Grec and his books/YouTube Channel The Road Chose Me. He’s got some good insights and has definitely earned his strips traversing the PanAmerican Highway over the course of 2 years and then circumnavigating Africa for another 3 years. It makes for some interesting insights on to that level of travel.

 

[Loshad]

Well, gas engines are more forgiving of water in the gas than diesels but diesel is prone to fungi growth in storage tanks that also suffer from water. Fungi are very bad for fuel systems. Fungi contaminated fuel brought down an Antonov 124, about the size of a B747, in a suburb of Irkutsk in 1997. Diesel and jet fuel are quite similar. Fungi contaminated fuel brought down a turboprop plane full of skydivers (15?) in SoCal 30 years ago.

 

[Smindustries]

Fungi contaminated fuel brought down a turboprop plane full of skydivers (15?) in SoCal 30 years ago.

Seems like they could've jumped out...

 

[ICT Tremor]

2. Payload ratings. While all SRW Super Duty’s can physically carry the same amount, the diesel F350 has the highest payload rating. Useful if you’re hauling heavy gear to the trail.

What?

A 7.3 gas F350 XLT Tremor with no other options will have the highest payload in the Tremor line. A loaded up (with options) 6.7 diesel F250 KR or Platinum Tremor will have the lowest.

 

[LoneStar Tremor]

The option to have a larger fuel tank in the stock location would be a big draw to the diesel for me. It’s hard to argue with 1000 miles of highway range once you upgrade to a 60 gallon tank. However low quality diesel and the finicky CP4 fuel pump would be a huge concern for me if I were traveling somewhere I might not have access to parts or the skilled labor to perform a repair on the fuel system on this thing. I’d most likely look into swapping the fuel pump if possible, or doing the disaster prevention kit and then carrying a backup fuel pump if we’re talking about going to places where that would be a concern.

On the other hand, I could be wrong, but I think a lot of these fuel pump issues come from the ultra low sulfur fuel the epa has mandated in the states. Who knows if that would even be an issue with old fashioned diesel.

 

[oops]

What?

A 7.3 gas F350 XLT Tremor with no other options will have the highest payload in the Tremor line. A loaded up (with options) 6.7 diesel F250 KR or Platinum Tremor will have the lowest.

Well, the gas 350 has a 200# lower GVWR and 2500# lower GCVWR than the diesel 350.

Haven’t seen enough data here to know what exactly that’s translating to in payload rating stickers.

We do know that the weight of the diesel is going mostly to the front axles and that the limiting factor in payload ratings is the rear axles. So it’s not as simple as the “diesel weighs 800# more” argument people like to make here.

In any event, their actual capability is effectively the same, no matter what the stickers say.

 

[Loshad]

"Seems like they could've jumped out..."

One would think that but, sadly, it is a regular occurrence. Not frequent but regular. Guys that fly these heaps (nobody jumps outta perfectly good planes) are usually doing so to build time so they are more likely to make bad decisions. I recall that this (and the Antonov accident) occurred on takeoff so there may not have been very many good decisions available.

 

[thevol]

What do you mean by overlanding? can mean alot of different things these days... If you are offroading you almost always want the lightest thing you can get away with, a 6.7 powerstroke is not light by any stretch. The NA pushrod 7.3 is a very simple engine, its why most people were shocked when ford went to such a design with their recent trend of boosting and ohc designs. They also have 4.30 gears which are great for crawling. Fuel efficiency will be 25-30% less than a diesel so a bed mounted gas transfer tank would be a good thing to add to your rig.

 

[Dissident]

For me it would be gas 7.3 for a few reasons.

1. No emission shenanigans, this is where your modern diesel will fail. Also less moving parts in the gas engine
2. Lower Weight of gas engine makes for a better of road ride
3. Gas never gels up like diesel in cold weather so if you get stuck at the top of a mountain pass/alaska you can just hunker down wait for it to pass instead of worrying that your fuel is gonna gel up
4. Range between the two going at off road speeds should be negligible

 

[ICT Tremor]

I think you'd have to have some combo of balls of steel and sheer naivete to take a modern diesel outside the borders of a developed nation. AAA isn't towing back your 6.7 PS on emissions limp mode from Uruguay. Now if they made a 7.3 PS Tremor that would be the cat's meow for global overlanding.

 

[TexanTremor]

The biggest pros of the diesel are:

1. Range. The diesel can drive roughly double the distance of the 7.3 gas on a tank of fuel. Useful if you’re driving long distance off road.

2. Payload ratings. While all SRW Super Duty’s can physically carry the same amount, the diesel F350 has the highest payload rating. Useful if you’re hauling heavy gear to the trail.

The payload ratings are higher with the 7.3. There are threads on this forum detailing this. It's usually around 500 lbs higher payload on a 7.3 with a similiar build IIRC.

 

[bubzilla]

I have a 6.7 that will be used for domestic ”overlanding,” aka camping in the boonies. Payload is something I took into consideration. Truck is a fully loaded Lariat. 2,763 lbs. of payload. After the Leitner forged ACS rack (85 lbs.), iKamper Sky Camp 2.0 (160 lbs.), GearPod XL (50 lbs.), 2 mounting plates and Rotopax (approx. 50 lbs. filled), and Decked storage (230 lbs.), there are 2,163 lbs. of payload remaining for gear, persons, etc. Typically for us that will be way more than enough payload. Here’s the kicker: got the truck so I could also tow a travel trailer. Not going to happen this year due to crazy pricing, but the one we want has a dry hitch weigh of 965 lbs. Loaded that could be as high as 1,500 lbs. (15% of max weight). Still doable, but much tighter.

I think the real answer to the question about which is best for purpose built “overlanding,” the 7.3 or the 6.7, is neither. If I was not planning on towing a 10,000 lb. trailer, I would have never even considered a Super Duty. Way too many other options that cost much less and are more ideally suited to going into remote areas. I’ve seen Jeeps go down trails I would not want to walk and literally climb walls—ain’t no Super Duty, Tremor not, ever born that can do those things like a Jeep.

 

[Yukon Bush Tremor]

The payload ratings are higher with the 7.3. There are threads on this forum detailing this. It's usually around 500 lbs higher payload on a 7.3 with a similiar build IIRC.

Beat me to the comment.

The 7.3 will ALWAYS have a higher payload number than the like equipped 6.7!

 

[jonnyfrank]

Thank you for the GREAT, thought provoking replies. I would be doing a diesel delete if I got the diesel. I recently did one on my BMW X5d and it is like another world. Greater acceleration, torque and 20-25% better MPG. I live in Texas, which helps. It seems to me it is a toss up depending on the variables pertaining to each person and scenario. I can' help but to think that a deleted diesel will outlast a conventional gas engine in this day and age.