I'm Questioning Power/Torque of Gas vs Diesel

topless wrote:
Ask yourself, why are all 18 wheelers powered by turbo diesels? Also why are most trucks used for heavy hauling turbo diesels? Hp is a method of rating the work a motor will do, but torque is what moves things. It's not hp that loosens nor tightens a bolt, it torque.
Having said that, for general,use, a gasoline engine is fine. There are more advantages to a Sprinter than just the turbo diesel. When driving in mountains, you can use the manual shift mode in the transmission to engine brake and save over heating you brakes. Since the Sprinter was designed as a delivery van for use around the globe, it handles difficult terrain with ease, uphill, downhill, tight turns, narrow roads, and those in combination. We drove the road between Montrose and Durango Colorado and after that 107 miles of hairpin turns, 3 - 12,000 ft passes I learned to really appreciate the Sprinter. There are hairpin turns on the side of a mountain that are 15 mph. I don trembler a single level part of that road, Longest straight might have been 1/4 mile. The next day we drove down Hiway 50 through Monarch Pass . Speed limit is 45 mph, by using the lower gears, never touched the brakes all the way down the mountain. Was following a Suburban that was riding its brakes all the way.
There is more to a truck than just the motor, I was one of the first on this forum with a Sprinter. Got all kinds of static about how my 154 hp motor wouldn't do work. It does.

I agree. You must have the I-5 diesel like in my 06 PW Plateau TS. I have driven the merciless Coquihalla Highway from Vancouver to Kamloops and some of those long uphill stretches practically bring trucks and motorhomes to a crawl. I will sometimes downshift to 4th but generally can keep going around 45 to 50 mph, passing all sorts of RVs. All RVs(regardless of what people say) do heat up a bit including mine on long stretches but the diesel has the grunt to do the job my previous V10 managed but with 4500 to 5000 revs and lots of noise--although i did like the V10 on lesser climbs. Most highways though are fine for most rvs, gas or diesel. But the old I-5 td gets me 30mpg(24USgal) whereas my V10 got 10-14mpg(8 or so USgal). Hmm.

Al