I have the 06 LBZ now and my last truck was the 6.0L gas GMC with 4:10. the gasser did well and I liked it but the LBZ does better in power and mileage. I love the stability of DRW so I would recommend it. The SRW has clearance advantages that some need but when the wind shear gets up there, like it is in your neck of the woods, the SRW is not as stable as the DRW.
The mileage of the diesel VS gas is basically understood that what ever the gasser does the diesel will do at the very minimum 1mpg better. I checked the 8.1L against the LBZ Dmax and at 11,400 lbs the gasser was single digits in the mpg's and the diesel was always in the double digits. In general comparrison each 1mpg increment is about $4K worth in either fuel cost savings or loss over 100K miles. For example if the diesel is only 1mpg better than the gasser then over 100K miles it will cost $4K less to operate. The benefit is usually far better in favor of the diesel than for gas not to mention the power and stability.

The mileage difference from OLD diesel to NEW emission fuel loss is from 1 to 3mpg. The non emission truck will have better mpg's but the new system is not far behind........ STILL behind though. LOL

Good luck and I vote for the LBZ DRW truck; I absolutelly love mine and I don't see a different truck for me for a long time.
P.S. You can tell if a truck is LBZ by the 8th character in the VIN: if it is a "D" as in diesel it is the LBZ engine.

I would never go back to a gasser! I had an 09 2500hd 6.0 gas and the only thing it did well was burn gas. 13mpg empty and 4mpg towing, screaming at 6k rpms on every hill. My last truck was an 07 F250 with the 6.0 tuned,deleted etc. Absolutely awesome truck! I only had one issue the entire time I owned it and it was $40 STC fitting. Just lose the emissions crap and throw on a custom tune and you are good to go. The f250 got about 16 combined driving empty, 20 on the highway and 14.5 pulling my 28' boat. It would do about 11 pulling 15,000. Now I have a '13 ram with a Cummins. Have only put about 7000 miles on it but It does better than the ford empty 22 highway/ 19 everyday driving. Pulling the boat it's not quite as good as the ford, more like 13.5. I think the high gears help empty but hurt the towing.

Diesel resale is MUCH higher than gas tho...

Really???? What year models are you referring to? Cummins was the first to offer a EB and has the best to date...
According to these guys the dmax has the worst.....
http://www.dieselpowermag.com/featur...k/viewall.html

From what I have seen the Allison is awesome....until over 100k miles....

well said and seeing how diesel engines are what a 6-7k up charge the fuel is now 10-20% higher. Back in the day when they were cheaper and diesel was a lot cheaper than gas it worked. But you can do the math all day with newer trucks, including MAINT and you will lose every time

What are you towing to get 4mpg?!

Factor in depreciation and your numbers will lean toward diesel. The diesel I had before this one was 34k out the door. Drove it for 2 years and 35k miles and sold it for 30k....try that with a gasser and see where it gets you....

That depends on what price point your at. A fully chocked King Ranch 4X4 Dually is going to cost you north of 65 and you're going to lose a small fortune on it two years later..........

A 25' gooseneck dump trailer with a mini excavator, a big hydraulic breaker, and an extra skid loader bucket on the trip I was referring to, but it never did better than 5.5-6mpg pulling anything of any real weight.

We just took in on trade a 2006 Dodge 2500 ram crew cab 4x4 diesel Laramie with 54,000 miles
1 owner Black with dove gray leather loaded up in mint condition. It will be on our website next week for sale.