eco Diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee 20.8 MPG at 55MPH

[bell]

I drove round trip from Carolina Beach NC to Myrtle beach SC 180 miles 33mpg with out the trailer.

The milage calculations are interesting and being able to get that kind of milage towing a travel trailer has got to make you feel good. Years ago we had a Coleman pop-up trailer and towed it behind a Toyota pick-up truck and it did a great job...we could hardly tell it was back there. Not to hi-jack this thread, but: has anyone tried to put one of those "wind deflectors" on there tow vehicle...you know the ones you mount on the roof to help push the wind over the trailer? We have one and tried it on our Jayco trailer years ago and it didn't seem to make much difference. However, on our Elkmont we can really see where the bugs and dirt hit just the top 20% of the trailer (on our Jayco it was not that way...maybe because it was further back from the Suburban or the front of the trailer had more of an angle). Maybe this would help with wind resistance...the wind can make such a huge difference...but not nearly as much difference on our Elkmont as the trailer we had before this one. That one was an "extra tall" (took like five steps to climb up into it) 2011 Outback. Now that trailer was a nightmare to tow!

Conrad

[Padgett]

NP. Now if that was the worst of my brane fades I'd be happy.

BTW I really like diesels particularly turbo diesels like the new GC. But the $6-$10k premium plus diesel being about 20-25% more than 87 PON around here and it does not make sense for me. My TV is flex-fuel so if things go bust all I need is a still in the back yard...

[mecicon]

Originally Posted by Padgett

My TV is flex-fuel so if things go bust all I need is a still in the back yard...

Come on Padgett, you sure you don't have an active still already?

All in good fun.

[funpilot]

Originally Posted by Padgett

NP. Now if that was the worst of my brane fades I'd be happy.

BTW I really like diesels particularly turbo diesels like the new GC. But the $6-$10k premium plus diesel being about 20-25% more than 87 PON around here and it does not make sense for me. My TV is flex-fuel so if things go bust all I need is a still in the back yard...

If you get the Ram Ecodiesel the premium is under 2K list last I looked.

[LoveToCamp]

Also, when pricing a GC Limited (lowest model one can get a diesel in), going from a 5.7 Hemi w/8-spd tranny, the price increase for the diesel is only $1,300. I like to compare comparable situations, and not extreme low-end to high-end. Someone looking for a diesel would not likely be considering a 6-cyl GC,

Also, the differential between diesel and Regular gasoline in the Denver area is much less than 25%. Much of the time I pay 20 cents a gallon more for diesel, which at today's $2.89 Regular price is 7%. Put the difference at 50 cents, which is rare around here, and the differential is 17%.

Then, throw into the mix that I get 30+ mpg on the hwy at 75 mph (not towing), while my wife's GC 5.7 Hemi gets 18 mpg, the diesel makes more sense. Put the TM behind each vehicle, and my diesel gets 20+ mpg, while the wife's 5.7 Hemi gets 15.

I will take my diesel GC over any version of GC gas engine any day, for my uses.

Not to beat a dead horse but: One more consideration would be the increased resale value of a diesel powered vehicle over a gas powered one. I'll bet once you figured in this increase it would make the diesel not seem to cost that much more.

[mecicon]

Originally Posted by Stone859

Not to beat a dead horse but: One more consideration would be the increased resale value of a diesel powered vehicle over a gas powered one. I'll bet once you figured in this increase it would make the diesel not seem to cost that much more.

Well of course you paid more for the diesel, if it depreciates at the same rate the diesel will always retain more resale value (as long as the diesel is not a 1970's-1980's GM diesel).

In most cases the model with a higher original MSRP will always cost more.

[Padgett]

Don't get me wrong, if I were in the market today, a turbo diesel will be a big plus (and we will see more diesels as the new MPG requirements go in place.

However, when I bought my GC in '12 there was no diesel available. Further when I buy a new car that I like it tends to be kept for decades (why I have a lifetime warrenty) and the V6 has proven to be fine for pulling the TM. The only downside was that after 20k miles the OEM tires began felling a touch squirrely in the rain so I replaced with Michelins.

BTW the mix may change dramatically in the next decade as new CAFE requirements take effect.

It is not just the initial higher cost of the diesel that gives it a higher resale value, but vehicles with diesel engines depreciate at a lower "rate". You can read this in the attached article where the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) spells this out in the attached article:

http://autos.aol.com/article/diesel-cheaper-gasoline/

In summary they say that the vehicles they tested saved between 10 - 39% in depreciation costs alone over there gas powered counterparts.