gas or diesel engine for hauling, gas truck, diesel truck, which is better gas or diesel, benefits of diesel engine, benefits of gas engine
STORY AND PHOTOS
BY H. KENT SUNDLING
��������������
��������������
���������������������
��������������������
����������������
�����������������
�������������
�����������
Gas or Diesel?
When you’re shopping for a tow
vehicle, first decide whether to get a gas-
or diesel-powered engine. Here’s information
to help you make that decision.
Cost Considerations
Diesel trucks typically cost $6,000 to
$7,000 more than a comparable truck
with a gas engine. However, diesels
will generally last longer and get better
fuel economy than gas engines. And,
at present, they also have better resale
value.
If you keep a diesel truck a long time,
and/or pull trailers constantly, you’ll
minimize the cost difference over time.
However, everything is more expensive
with a diesel, including fuel, oil changes,
fuel/air filters, emission checks, and
labor on repairs.
Half-ton trucks are available only with gas engines, so you’ll need to choose between gas and diesel only if you plan to
buy a ¾-ton pickup truck or above.
16
Plus, diesels built after January ’07
must use ultra-low-sulfur diesel and
a more expensive CJ4 classification
engine oil.
Factoring in the above, it could take
you more than 150,000 miles to break
even for the diesel option. Diesels don’t
save you as much money as they once
did.
Pulling Power
The underlying reason folks buy diesels
is power. If you tow heavy trailers
most of the time, a diesel makes sense.
Diesels are more powerful than gas
engines because they have more torque
at lower RPMs. This is especially helpful
when towing in the mountains.
Turbo diesels start losing around 4
percent of their power at 10,000 feet
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.