Why Should You Choose A Diesel Engine For Your Truck

Often times, people decide to purchase a large truck to haul very heavy loads. If that is not your intention, and you'd like to purchase a truck to drive more like a car (with quick, quiet acceleration), you may want a gasoline engine.

There are three main benefits to this:

Gas engines run smoother
Fuel is easier to find
Gas engines start easier in cold weather

If, however, your intent is to use your truck for towing, you may want to consider a diesel engine.

The three main benefits to this are:

Good fuel economy
High mileage
Better for towing

Now, the price of a diesel truck is very high, but it very well may be worth it. They have many benefits, and could very well save you a good deal of money in the end. Benefits vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. You can compare these benefits below:

Ford

In 1994, Ford introduced its international engineered power stroke diesel. This pushed the 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck market to where it is today. Before this, the big one inch gasoline engines made these poorly built diesels barely considerable. Over 70% of super duty Fords were sold with the optional 7.3L V-8 diesel engine from 1994-2002. Because of this engine, Ford became one of the leaders in diesel trucks.

Dodge

In 2002, Ram didn't have enough power with the 245 HP 9.5L, so Dodge promised more powerful engines for the 2500/3500 platform, and they definitely followed through on their promise: the 2500 and 3500 Dodge Ram Heave Duty trucks are the newest ¾ and 1 ton trucks on the road.

The new base engine is the 5.7L gasoline V-8, which revives the well-known, historical Hemi name, as it is the most powerful engine of the group at 345 HP.

Chevrolet/GMC:

Coming standard with GM's 6.0L gas engine V-8 are the GM 2500/3500 twins Silverado HD and Sierra HD. The engine is ideal for ¾ ton trucks where towing isn't a concern. Based on Chevrolet's venerable big block engine are the upgrades that start with the 8.1 gas V-8.

Diesel trucks have proven to be:

Efficient with mileage
Great for towing
Easy on maintenance

Also, you won't need to get them tuned up nearly as much as gasoline engines, because-unlike gasoline engines-diesel engines do not have spark plugs.

If you need or want to haul heavy loads frequently, you should probably stick with diesel, since you can get better mileage (diesel trucks are built to go 250,000 miles more). Because of all these reasons, although diesel trucks tend to cost more, they will end up being well worth the money in the long run.