So I'm sure this has been covered somewhere on here but I didn't find much on my search.
I am a small rancher who's in need of a new truck soon. Currently I drive a 2001 Tacoma double cab and use it for all my towing, however as you can imagine it barely does the job. I own alpacas and move them around quite often for breeding and such. My trailers are currently an older two horse straight trailer (about 2500lbs empty) and a 5x10 utility trailer. With the larger future truck I will be installing a gooseneck hitch so I can purchase a 24' stock hauler (about 3,500lbs empty) and larger utility trailer for hay haulage. I'm estimating a payload of 4-6 tons of hay 3 times a year or more as my ranch is growing. Maybe 20-30 trips a year hauling animals all over the Colorado and rocky mountain region.
Here's the issue I'm facing. I put about 20-30k miles a year on my truck and most of that is going up and down the mountain into Denver for work and errands. Maybe 5-7k of that is hauling. Do I need to think about a diesel pickup over a gasser? I like the idea of them as I know its not just the engine but the often stronger mated transmission that will help with the longevity of the truck. Also, diesel usually runs about 60 cents more expensive than gas out here, will the better fuel economy of the diesel offset that? Will the higher maintenance costs and initial cost of the diesel be worth it?
Sorry for the long windedness of this post but any and all help is appreciated.
Ohh, and I will be towing my 40 to Moab at least once a year as well!
I am a small rancher who's in need of a new truck soon. Currently I drive a 2001 Tacoma double cab and use it for all my towing, however as you can imagine it barely does the job. I own alpacas and move them around quite often for breeding and such. My trailers are currently an older two horse straight trailer (about 2500lbs empty) and a 5x10 utility trailer. With the larger future truck I will be installing a gooseneck hitch so I can purchase a 24' stock hauler (about 3,500lbs empty) and larger utility trailer for hay haulage. I'm estimating a payload of 4-6 tons of hay 3 times a year or more as my ranch is growing. Maybe 20-30 trips a year hauling animals all over the Colorado and rocky mountain region.
Here's the issue I'm facing. I put about 20-30k miles a year on my truck and most of that is going up and down the mountain into Denver for work and errands. Maybe 5-7k of that is hauling. Do I need to think about a diesel pickup over a gasser? I like the idea of them as I know its not just the engine but the often stronger mated transmission that will help with the longevity of the truck. Also, diesel usually runs about 60 cents more expensive than gas out here, will the better fuel economy of the diesel offset that? Will the higher maintenance costs and initial cost of the diesel be worth it?
Sorry for the long windedness of this post but any and all help is appreciated.
Ohh, and I will be towing my 40 to Moab at least once a year as well!
