Surely there are other people living in Fairbanks or Prudhoe Bay…What do THEY drive?? By the second winter, I bet they pretty much have it figured out…How much does a gallon of fuel cost at your friendly local gas station?
Gas is about $4 Per gallon. I havent been to fairbanks for 3-4 weeks so not sure. Lots of diesels here and in fairbanks as daily drivers. .thats what i dont understand.
dagosa. Why 1/2 ton? I figured 3/4 is what i want
What i would like 2 have is a late 60s early 70s. Something without computer,Sensors, ect ect. then i can fix anything that goes wrong myself…but they are getting hard 2 come by
Well just my two cents but I put 480,000 on my diesel car in Minnesota and never again. I wouldn’t even consider it in Alaska. At -20 and below, just trying to keep the fuel from gelling up is a chore, even with #1 fuel and fuel conditioner and fuel heater. Yeah, they have glow plugs and two batteries, but at scout camp had a heck of a time starting it at -20 even after warming it up at midnight. It just doesn’t ignite like gas does. Mine was kept in the warm garage all the time otherwise I would have been out of luck. And when the batteries go, they go and sometimes with no warning and there you sit looking for the nearest place that stocks batteries. Then throw in $300 starters and $600 injection pumps, and $1500 head gaskets, and on and on. Never again. All I can say is if you are going to drive a $3000 diesel in Alaska, wear warm clothes for hiking and pack a lunch.
Maybe you spoiled yours by keeping it in a heated garage. They start and run all winter here even at -50
Back to your basic question, modern fuel injected cars are not harmed by idling. Carbureted cars would not tolerate long periods of idling so if you are looking at a late 60’s to early 70’s, you would be dealing with carburetors.
Car/small truck diesel technology of that era was not good. They were mostly converted gas engines and they did not hold up well.
A modern Dodge/Cummins or GMC/Isuzu diesel are good reliable vehicles. Computer controlled vehicles are a way of life today and while there is a learning curve, they really aren’t that hard to work on. They are a lot more reliable than the older, all mechanical vehicles. You just need a good code reader and access to a factory service manual or a service like alldata.
BB, sounds like you have folks near you that are better experts on this than many of us are. Their experience is exactly what you need to find out.
Whereabouts are you? Just curious…
Im in Central Alaska. Population 70. Caribou migrate through here and the Yukon River is 30 miles away.
Thanks Guys