# Gas vs Diesel



## DAZ982500 (Apr 2, 2005)

can someone tell me the pros cons of these motors in atruck and relation to plowing


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## DeereFarmer (Dec 12, 2005)

Just to start off, diesels weigh a lot more than most gas engines, so plow manufacturers recommend smaller plows. There is a lot of added stress on the front suspension components. diesel engines get better fuel mileage and have more torque. You will end up spending $5-6K for a diesel engine if you buy a truck new.


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## DAZ982500 (Apr 2, 2005)

I want to mount a 8" Hiniker on a 96 chevy 3500 any other considerations would be helpful.A diesel too.


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## magnatrac (Dec 22, 2006)

I have owned and plowed with both gas and diesel trucks . As far as plowing is concerned there is no hure advantage to either truck. I pushed a blizzard 810 with an 03 f-350 w/5.4 and 3:73 gear. It was a weak truck but it never ran out of pushing power. I would loose traction( I carry a pallet of salt in the bed) before pushing power. The diesel I owned was a 02 2500 ram with a 8' western pro plow. Again I would loose traction pushing a heavy load long before power. If I got out of my truck to shovel at out condo job I could always count on climbing back into a cold truck. Even with the heat on high that thing ould cool off so fast!!! I went back to a gasser to keep thing simple I had too many problems with my cummins. My brother and buisness partner made the switch back to gas this past winter for the same reason. I guess to answer your question it doesn't matter so much with plowing it's more what your doing when you not plowing. Alot of guys preffer plowing wiht diesels but it's all the same to me!!! This is just my opinon!!!
Good luck


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## stroker79 (Dec 2, 2006)

DIESEL FUEL IS CHEAPER!!!!!!

Haha, hope to be saying that for a loooooong time

Anyway, I have never plowed with a gasser so im very biased but with a diesel, you really arent stressing the engine at all. You are operating it in its main powerband while plowing. Its fuel efficient, I could go 48 hours on one tank of fuel and thats in my shortbox f250 with a 29 gallon tank. As for the heat, I have never had a problem not having any heat. Id let my truck idle as i shoveled and would crank the heat to dry out the cab and keep the snow off and when I got back in itd be so hot i would roll the window down for a good 20 mins. I dont really see myself ever plowing with a gasser, I love diesels waaaaay too much.


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## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

For plowing it doesn't really matter,

The only thing that matters with plowing is traction. Good tires and weight.

I have both gas and diesel and both will plus the same plow size fine. 

Heck my little Toyota with the sander and plow will still spin the tires before the 4 cyl engine runs out of torque when plowing.


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## mayhem (Aug 25, 2006)

stroker79;391143 said:


> DIESEL FUEL IS CHEAPER!!!!!!
> 
> Haha, hope to be saying that for a loooooong time
> 
> Anyway, I have never plowed with a gasser so im very biased but with a diesel, you really arent stressing the engine at all. You are operating it in its main powerband while plowing. Its fuel efficient, I could go 48 hours on one tank of fuel and thats in my shortbox f250 with a 29 gallon tank. As for the heat, I have never had a problem not having any heat. Id let my truck idle as i shoveled and would crank the heat to dry out the cab and keep the snow off and when I got back in itd be so hot i would roll the window down for a good 20 mins. I dont really see myself ever plowing with a gasser, I love diesels waaaaay too much.


Deisel is more expensive per gallon than regular fuel around here, but less than premium IIRC. You get greater fuel economy, but I'm not sure if you would ever recoup the increase in purchase price through long term savings...TCO its probabyl a wash between similarly equipped gas versus deisel trucks.

Deisel engines have massive torque way down low...if you can maintain traction you can move more with a deisel than a gas motor...but traction is what its all about when you're moving a mountain of snow.

Deisel engines tend to be heavier than a gas counterpart of similar displacement, but that weight comes from heavier blocks and internals...they need to be stronger and heavier to deal with the compression ratios a deisel operates at. One paoff is typically a deiserl engine will outlast a gas engine that undergoes a similar life and has a similar maintenance schedule...if you keep your trucks for 12 years a deisel might be abetter choice just for the longevity.


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## DeereFarmer (Dec 12, 2005)

I've heard that you have to drive 150K miles or more to notice any savings on fuel vs. the upfront cost. Just think, there might not be any diesel left in 15 years by the time you would start to see savings. At the same rate diesels get better resale value as well. So maybe you would only spend another $2K for the diesel engine in the end. Afterall, it's just money. Buy what you can afford, but what you want more than anything. I'd take either. I've only owned gassers, but won't to venture over to diesels soon.


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## graycenphil (Mar 4, 2006)

Then again, you could run your diesel on vegetable oil, and save a lot of money on fuel.


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## Oshkosh (Sep 11, 2005)

*Diesels...*

Diesels for the above mentioned reasons, Better fuel mileage working and driving,torque down low where needed.A typical diesel will out last a gas motor two to one mileage wise.There is always an exception!
As of this past week Diesel is *.*10 a gallon cheaper.lol Never thought I'd see that again..
As far as payback on a diesel? Say it is a $6,000 option.I don't know ,new car lots scare me.lol 
For arguments sake say Reg unleaded and Diesel are the same price the diesel truck will get better fuel mileage than the gasser,figure that out over a year, say 30,000 miles a year at $3.00 per gallon for round numbers a gasser getting 12mpg and a diesel getting 18mpg (They get better mileage than that) Just trying to be fair!! You'd save $2,500 a year in fuel alone with the diesel.
Keep the truck for three years and you more than paid for the diesel option in fuel savings alone.
Throw in the many thousands in dollars MORE in resale value for a diesel and you are way ahead buying a diesel truck...Just good business...


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## Jay brown (Dec 26, 2005)

i would say it is a wash.....in my case we only plow about 4-6 days per year, now tell me how i can make a resonable decision based on that? if you plow 100+ days per year than i would really sit down and think it over. personally i prefer gas trucks simply because of the cost basis, my plow trucks are "Plow trucks" and sit all year long and i can say that my $5k gas chevy makes me more ROI than my $20k PSD


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

Like my Wife Said I run a truck into the ground before I even think of replacing it.
She's all for me buying a PSD Ford for my next plow truck.
The diesel will go 300K before it pops the gasser may go half that with Less MPG.
As long as the frame is sound I will just repair it and go on.
I really don't care what it looks like.
A diesel makes sense if you are going to run it for along time.
The engine's the main part of a truck everything else fairly is cheap to replace.


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## Jay brown (Dec 26, 2005)

yep diesels will last awhile longer than gas, but like i mentioned earlier ours are "plow trucks". we run our two gassers about 500(750 if you count reverse) miles per year and at that rate the motor should last about 300 years. not trying to fight here, i love PSD's, we have 6 of them, but if your going to have a true plow truck that sits 350 days per year get a gas.


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## magnatrac (Dec 22, 2006)

Like I said earlier gas or diesel it's all the same plowing. Now if they could make the rest of the truck last longer, that would be great. I'll gladly buy another diesel when they make a truck that will last half as long as the silly motor!!! Just my past experience, Good luck!!!


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