Diesel vs. Gas Trucks
11:06 am |Published: 12/20/2019
Diesel vs. gas trucks is a topic that comes up often. In general, there are four topics to cover to help you make your decision.
Miles Driven Annually
With diesel trucks, high miles tend to work best. Because of the new DEF systems and burning off of carbon particles, it takes high heat in the exhaust system to operate properly. A diesel truck that isn’t driven far will have far more regens than a truck that is running miles on the highway daily. If your truck is lower miles (under 30,000 miles a year) you may want to look at a gas truck.
Acquisition Costs
Diesel trucks range between $5000 – $8000 more than their gas counterparts. With Isuzu coming out with a class 5 gas truck and Fuso already has a class 5 gas truck there now are options where there were none recently. No longer does load capacity up to 19,000 GVW have to affect your decision. In addition, Ford has their gas option in medium duty from 26,000 GVW – 33,000 GVW with the Ford F650 – F750.
Resale Value
Historically, diesel trucks have held their value much better than gas counterparts. With the CARB compliance issue this has definitely changed. With the current “diesel hangover” there are many companies and individuals seeking out gas trucks for their fleet. This demand could therefore change the secondary market and increase gas truck resale.
Daily Route Length
This next topic, daily route length, plays big into the decision of diesel vs gas trucks. If you have a short route and the diesel truck doesn’t have time to heat up and burn particulate matter then you may be looking at regen issues. If your routes are short, looking at a gas truck might be a good solution.
No matter your need, I have a truck solution to fit it. Reach out and let’s discuss what might be a better fit for your company.
