truck
l have a 35 ft Fleetwood camper 7800 lbs l have been pulling it with my 1996 f150 ent. cab 4x4. it pulls it ok but can tell it is back there, l am looking to buy a 3/4 or 1 ton. what l need to know is...
Forum Discussion
Here it is in a nutshell - not considering purchase cost, or maintenance costs, or any other usage differences between the two types of engines:
It boils down to whether or not you want an engine that shifts "a little" (diesel engine) or "more" (gas engine) when pulling your Fleetwood. To some owners this difference, seemingly subtle, may be important. Other than at high altitudes (since most modern light truck diesel engines are turbo-charged, while many modern light truck gas engines are not), there are light truck gas engines now being offered that come close in "performance feel" to light truck diesel engines.
Horsepower is what provides the work energy and horsepower is horsepower .... whether it comes from a gas engine or a diesel engine. The only "torque" that counts is the torgue the finally gets applied to the drive axle(s). Since a diesel engine of any given horsepower produces high(er) torque on it's crankshaft, it can spin at lower RPMs and a vehicle using it can have taller overall gearing ratios and hence needs less transmission gear changing to keep the proper torque applied to the drive axle(s). Since a gas engine of any given horsepower produces low(er) torque on it's crankshaft, it must spin at higher RPMs and a vehicle using it must have lower overall gearing ratios and hence needs more transmission gear changing to keep the proper torque applied to the drive axle(s).
The choice as to which power plant to use is as simple - or as complicated - as that.
It boils down to whether or not you want an engine that shifts "a little" (diesel engine) or "more" (gas engine) when pulling your Fleetwood. To some owners this difference, seemingly subtle, may be important. Other than at high altitudes (since most modern light truck diesel engines are turbo-charged, while many modern light truck gas engines are not), there are light truck gas engines now being offered that come close in "performance feel" to light truck diesel engines.
Horsepower is what provides the work energy and horsepower is horsepower .... whether it comes from a gas engine or a diesel engine. The only "torque" that counts is the torgue the finally gets applied to the drive axle(s). Since a diesel engine of any given horsepower produces high(er) torque on it's crankshaft, it can spin at lower RPMs and a vehicle using it can have taller overall gearing ratios and hence needs less transmission gear changing to keep the proper torque applied to the drive axle(s). Since a gas engine of any given horsepower produces low(er) torque on it's crankshaft, it must spin at higher RPMs and a vehicle using it must have lower overall gearing ratios and hence needs more transmission gear changing to keep the proper torque applied to the drive axle(s).
The choice as to which power plant to use is as simple - or as complicated - as that.
