jr

I don't think the smell of diesel exhaust lingers. I have smelled it in the truck after one of the kids climbed in when the truck was running. But when I climb after its been sitting I never smell any diesel. If you spilled some fuel then that would be another story. You have to be alittle careful at the pump. Look down. You can get fuel on your shoes and then into the carpet. The truck is my wifes grocery getter so I don't drive it on a daily basis. So I'm not used to the smell. Now the dead sea otter smell of my pickup is a different story. I don't smell it anymore. I took over driving the pickup from my wife when I bought the X. Its amazing how kid smells linger.

Chart

If real concerned about the smell/soot on start ups, you could make a sheetmetal "funnel" attached to blower that vents outside. (Like the saw dust control system on a radial arm saw). The large end of the funnel lines up with the tail pipe on the truck, and the blower is controlled by a wall mounted timer next to the light switch by the house door. You'd need to park the truck in roughly the same place each time, but these trucks are so big that happens anyway.

26scarab

Rob,
Before you make your mind up I will let you drive my truck , you can even pull your boat around for a while . You will definitly want a diesel, smell or no smell !
If you like mine I will let you drive my buddies truck (same as mine but with a chip) It blows mine away !
My friend was a die hard chevy guy , always had big block trucks (duellys etc..) and one ride in mine and within a week he bought a Cummins. Yes he likes the Chevy but aluminum heads on a diesel turned him off plus the $10,000 more price wasn't worth it!

Advantage_Rob

I am a suv guy, pickup's are cool, but I like to cram 10 people in the truck on the way to somewhere. I'm bugging my friend to let me pull my boat around with his f-250 sometime soon.

NASTY HABIT

our of the last 4 chev duallies.... 2 of them 454s' 2 diesels.. and a 2000 tahoe gas .. We prefer the Excursion with the V-10... have also had had a couple Ford PSD'S in the past couple yrs.... great engine.. but as stated cost up front and maint.. can offset what you save in mileage my ford psd work truck prob only got 12 mpg anyhow... but was loaded to the gills... always...in 90k miles the only prob i ever had was a broken flywheel..which isn't good but .. oh well... we average 11-12 all day long with our V-10 no matter what.... have herad a good chip and k-n really waks them up but haven't done it yet.. also stretch out the mpg .. so they say......have fun...... he y something else to consider is ... you can put a queen size mattress in the back of an Ex.. and still have room for the cooler and clothes......

blown formula

Why has no one tried the Gear Vendors (see their web page) overdrive/underdrive unit? It is electrically controlled, will work on 4x4 or 2wd vehicles (but not in 4x4 mode). This seems like the solution to the low mpg ratings of the V10. Each model is unique to truck manufacturer (not interchangable with adapters) and in some cases may be available as factory installed option.
I found the web site interesting, and it would be less expensive than the diesel, plus could be moved to a new truck of same manufacture when trade in time comes, or remove & sell it outright to OSO!! I personally do not tow my boats much, so mpg is more important to me as I drive 230 miles each weekend to the lake (50 weekends a year, boy what a drag ).
But when I did tow, the underdrive would work perfectly for that purpose. Just my thoughts, check it out!

T2x

1999 F-350 4x4 PSD....extended cab.....103,000 mi

Maintenance to date....... one glow plug relay switch and brakes and tires at 80,000 mi.

Starts on cold mornings without smoke.(make sure the glow plug circuit is fully operational...friends have had problems in that area)....definitely no need for a "plug in" block heater.......we don't use them even on the full size tractors anymore.

17.6 mpg lifetime to date.......... 15.8 towing the 28 Skater.

No front end issues (Maybe that's a "250" thing or related to the Excursion)

Jack rabbit starts and incredible acceleration from 40-80 blows the V-10's away.

Buy the diesel and keep it awhile....the engine is good for 500,000 miles................

T2x

Wildfire

1999 F250SD 4x4 Ext cab, short box V10

12mpg all day every day. Got 13 once coming home from Tulsa. I had the truck for 22,000 miles.

My brother has a '99 crew cab that he had reprogramed to the '00 specs. Claims to get up to 14mpg now. Maybe the newer ones are more efficient.

Fever500

I just bought a 2002 F250 PSD 4x4 SC SB 4spdOD w/3:73 Limited Slip rear end. Awesome truck!

For info on PSD's and Ford Trucks go to:

Ford Truck Forums

JoeD

I bought a v-10 F-250 back in november,I have 18000 miles on it already,its a great truck with no problems but it is a little thirsty avg. is 11.7 mpg.