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noteven's avatar
noteven
Explorer III
Apr 24, 2014

HP vs altitude & gas vs diesel

Thinking on a new truck... thinking on gas vs diesel...etc.

At the moment we need tow capacities in the 13,000 - 15,000lbs trailer weight range with 13ft high frontal area...

We live just above 2000ft elevation (lots of windy days too) and most of our TC hauling and 5th wheel towing happens from 2000ft - 7000ft and we haven't travelled Colorado yet...

Watching the manifold pressure (sorry "Turbo Boost" sounds more powerful doesn't it?) on the diesel engine I see it "normalizes" at various altitudes (stays the same) which means the engine maintains it's power output.

Plugging in some advertised numbers and altitudes to this calculator I see the 6.4 Hemi I like (410HP at 5600rpm) would be 50HP down at 2200ft and over 100HP down above 8000ft...

HP at altitude calculator clicky

Prolly have to wait for F150's turbocharged, direct injected, Vsomething MegaEcoBoost bigger brother to enjoy spark plugs...
Tow Vehicles

29 Replies

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  • APT's avatar
    APT
    Explorer
    Apr 24, 2014
    Yes, absolutely, carringb. :) 13-15k RV? Get a diesel dually.
  • goducks10's avatar
    goducks10
    Explorer
    Apr 24, 2014
    Even on somewhat flat or rolling hills I'd want a diesel for that weight.
  • e-light's avatar
    e-light
    Explorer
    Apr 24, 2014
    downtheroad wrote:
    06Fargo wrote:
    Thinking on a new truck... thinking on gas vs diesel...etc.

    At the moment we need tow capacities in the 13,000 - 15,000lbs trailer weight range with 13ft high frontal area...

    Keep it simple and think Diesel.


    Yup, diesel is the logical choice here...
  • carringb's avatar
    carringb
    Explorer
    Apr 24, 2014
    APT wrote:
    F-150 Ecoboost does very well at altitude.


    It might struggle with a 15,000# fiver;)
  • APT's avatar
    APT
    Explorer
    Apr 24, 2014
    It's not gas vs. diesel that is the difference. A turbocharged gasser will maintain higher % of power at higher altitudes too. There just have not been many turbocharged gas engines in thee history of pickups. F-150 Ecoboost does very well at altitude.
  • downtheroad's avatar
    downtheroad
    Explorer
    Apr 24, 2014
    06Fargo wrote:
    Thinking on a new truck... thinking on gas vs diesel...etc.

    At the moment we need tow capacities in the 13,000 - 15,000lbs trailer weight range with 13ft high frontal area...

    Keep it simple and think Diesel.
  • jmtandem's avatar
    jmtandem
    Explorer II
    Apr 24, 2014
    Towing relatively heavy and in the monuntains, diesel is the way to go. Ford's towing guide on line website has excellent information about the loss of power and towing capacities for gas engines by altitude. A travel trailer and certainly a fifth wheel has frontal area considerations as well and those are also addressed on their website. The Ford guide specifies a two percent reduction for each 1000 feet altitude gained for normally aspired (non turbocharged) gas engines and no reduction for turbocharged diesels.
  • ib516's avatar
    ib516
    Explorer II
    Apr 24, 2014
    I'd suggest a turbo diesel for that kind of weight at altitude.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Apr 24, 2014
    If you want to pull that kind of weight at that attatude there is only one answer and it doesn't have spark plugs!
    It if you chose correctly it won't even have glow plugs (sorry personal opinion on Cummins)! Get yourself anyone of the new diesels and enjoy the tow!

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