HD trucks
Opinion, I am looking to buy a new truck, it will be used most of the time for daily driving, however I do pull a 8, 000 lb 5th wheel about once every 2 months. I would like the torque of the diesel f...
Forum Discussion
For your tow load a gas V-8 is more than enough as is a 1/2 ton pickup. The trick is to get the lowest gears offered for the truck. If they offer 4.10 gears go with them. If they only offer 3.73 gears then choose these.
A gas engine will produce peak torque at over 3,000 RPM as compared to a diesel engine that will peak at less than 2,000 RPM's. People wrongly compare a diesel pickup with 3.73 gears to the gas powered version with 3.31 gears and blame the engine.
A 2014 Ford F-150 with the gas 5.0L V8 engine with the 3.31 gears has a maximum trailer weight spec of 7900 lbs. but with the available 3.73 gears it is rated for up to 10,000 lbs., an increase of more than 25%. The same applies with the GM and Ram trucks.
With tall gears the engine is at too low an RPM and the result is slower acceleration getting onto the highway, slower acceleration for passing or for pulling a grade. The difference in MPG with the different gears is going to be trivial and only measurable for the purely freeway portion of your driving with the truck unloaded. Towing the truck can actually get more MPG with the lower gears as the engine is ale to spend more time in its power band and there is less shifting by the transmission with the resulting power losses.
A 3/4 ton truck is going to be heavier and get poorer fuel economy and be a less comfortable truck for daily driving. And for tow loads such as yours it is not needed. Diesel would be even worse for a daily driver as they do not start to provide good fuel economy until they have been driven for at least 20 minutes even in good weather. Diesels also cost 4 times as much to maintain, diesel fuel costs more, and repair bills can be incredible and not necessarily covered under warranty.
I own a 2500HD diesel pickup but I would not dream of using it as my daily vehicle. It is used for hauling heavy loads or towing a heavy trailer. For everything else I use a Prius that gets 45 MPG on average with regular gas and has needed only tire rotations, oil changes, and the CPU battery replaced over the past 7 years and 70,000 plus miles of use.
A Class 8 truck is great if you plan to tow more than 30,00 lbs. on a daily basis and don't mind 6 MPG tops and tires that cost 8x as much.
A gas engine will produce peak torque at over 3,000 RPM as compared to a diesel engine that will peak at less than 2,000 RPM's. People wrongly compare a diesel pickup with 3.73 gears to the gas powered version with 3.31 gears and blame the engine.
A 2014 Ford F-150 with the gas 5.0L V8 engine with the 3.31 gears has a maximum trailer weight spec of 7900 lbs. but with the available 3.73 gears it is rated for up to 10,000 lbs., an increase of more than 25%. The same applies with the GM and Ram trucks.
With tall gears the engine is at too low an RPM and the result is slower acceleration getting onto the highway, slower acceleration for passing or for pulling a grade. The difference in MPG with the different gears is going to be trivial and only measurable for the purely freeway portion of your driving with the truck unloaded. Towing the truck can actually get more MPG with the lower gears as the engine is ale to spend more time in its power band and there is less shifting by the transmission with the resulting power losses.
A 3/4 ton truck is going to be heavier and get poorer fuel economy and be a less comfortable truck for daily driving. And for tow loads such as yours it is not needed. Diesel would be even worse for a daily driver as they do not start to provide good fuel economy until they have been driven for at least 20 minutes even in good weather. Diesels also cost 4 times as much to maintain, diesel fuel costs more, and repair bills can be incredible and not necessarily covered under warranty.
I own a 2500HD diesel pickup but I would not dream of using it as my daily vehicle. It is used for hauling heavy loads or towing a heavy trailer. For everything else I use a Prius that gets 45 MPG on average with regular gas and has needed only tire rotations, oil changes, and the CPU battery replaced over the past 7 years and 70,000 plus miles of use.
A Class 8 truck is great if you plan to tow more than 30,00 lbs. on a daily basis and don't mind 6 MPG tops and tires that cost 8x as much.
