the great gas vs diesel debate

[DieselMcBadass]

Everyone at our base has an opinion. Some are dead set on diesel as "the old reliable" and "way its always been." Some like me like the familiarity of gas.

We have box trucks and vambulances. The box trucks except for one are diesel, the vans 50/50 mix. The diesels are all the aging ford 7.3. Im of the mind the diesels are slow and unresponsive and suck to start in the winter. The gas gives performance when needed.

What do you all think? My favorite box truck is our 6.8 liter.

 

[Achilles]

Doesn't suck when you have a block heater.
A diesel is made to tow, especially the Fords.
Diesel has lag time.
Diesel also has more up keep, the engine may last 500k but you'll replace the trans, injectors and everything else.

Gas: mpg sucks.
Lasts about 200-300k.

Best bet, get a diesel. And if you want a quality one, get a Ford.

 

[TransportJockey]

Our Type II's that are gas I'm in love with. I've drive the Type III versions of them and hate them. They don't have any get up and go.

 

[CALEMT]

I'm a diesel guy at heart. I love that our diesel engines are damn near bullet proof and can go forever on a single tank. But what I hate is how slow the acceleration is vs the gas rig. Both have their pros and cons but in the long run I believe the diesel rigs will outlast the gas ones.

 

[Aidey]

Gas, for one major reason, I can hear myself think over the engine. Diesels are just too effing loud.

 

[Kevinf]

Modern diesels should be none of those things (loud, slow to start, smelly). Hopefully America will catch up with European Diesel tech (many American companies make those diesels no less!).

When we are doing standby I like diesel, we sat for 6.5 hours with the engine idling and the A/C cranked and the fuel gauge didn't even budge. Good stuff.

The gas vanbulance we have has pep (and brakes that clamp down like vise grips) which is actually kind of annoying since I'm used to our old clunker diesels with spongy brakes and it takes a bit of adjustment not to throw my partner around after I've been running the old diesels all week.

We had a 2010 Ford F250 (I think) diesel that was quite quiet...

 

[DieselMcBadass]

In the northeast the salt in the winter will eat the frame before any engine gives out so not a big concern there.

 

[rescue1]

I've never had a gas rig, only diesel, but I have no complaints. Yeah, they accelerate pretty slowly, but ideally you shouldn't be gunning it in an ambulance anyway. And yeah, a block heater or a semi-heated garage area should solve any cold weather problems.

The advantage of being able to idle all day without wasting fuel is also nice.

That being said, if I ever drive a gas rig and love it, I won't say I won't change my mind.

 

[Achilles]

In the northeast the salt in the winter will eat the frame before any engine gives out so not a big concern there.

That's not true. I plow with my truck in the winter and the frame is fine. I have a trick that helps though (car wash)
Intact the frame ion my salter is fine as is my plow.

 

[Akulahawk]

Diesels are usually very good at minding the fuel economy because of their wide fuel/air ratio. In my experience, a T444E/7.3L PowerStroke engine is almost bulletproof to the point where you have to actually try to kill one by seriously abusing it. Those motors do last a very long time... but the injectors, transmissions, at the like are likely to wear out before the motor does. Also, from what I understand, the E4OD transmission apparently has some aftermarket parts upgrades that also makes them nearly bulletproof as well.

My own previous diesel pickup was a naturally aspirated 7.3L motor. It got somewhere around 18 MPG until very late in it's life. While it would have lasted a while longer, a rebuild would have made it a very good motor again. Also, what I found is that while diesels can be a bit cold-blooded in the morning, if you have a block heater (and if it's really, really cold, an oil heater and fuel tank heater) they start up in the morning really easily. In fact, my pickup could light off with only 3 of it's glow plugs working, even without the block heater.

Gas motors are relatively cheap and will do the job if you need them to, and they have plenty of get up & go at some expense in fuel economy. We had one gas ambulance (and it was from 1983) that was quite peppy still... but it burned a lot of gas for it's performance level. As such, we didn't use it much because it was so expensive to run.

I'm really a good fan of the diesels. They do last a long time and are good for what we'd need them for. We don't need to sprint... we need to run a marathon. Diesels will do that quite nicely and efficiently. That's also why most OTR trucks are diesels. It may take them a little while to get up to speed, but they can cruise all day quite happily.

Oh, and I almost forgot... I once had a VW Rabbit diesel. If I wanted to go somewhere via the freeway, I figure if I started now, I'd be at 65 MPH sometime around next Tuesday, (it was that gutless) but it would be able to stay there all week...

 

[shfd739]

I tend to like gas over diesel but it depends on the vehicle, weight and gearing.

We have 1 type 3 with a V10 gas motor and it has plenty of power if you keep your foot in it and let it rev. Gas motors make power in higher RPMs so you have to get the revs up. It's quiet too which has been nice.

Everything else we have is left over 6.0 fords, newer Duramaxes and Sprinters.

The Fords are noisy, somewhat slow.

Duramaxes eat emissions parts like egr coolers and seem to always need have scan tool initiated regens done on the exhaust filters. They have power for days though. Plenty of power. Plant your foot leaving a stop sign on a wet road and it will slide out from under you. Love the motor but I hate the package it's in.

Sprinters have been awesome and get diesel right. Feed them fuel, DEF fluid and do the services when needed and they won't quit. Plenty of power, safe vehicle, handle and ride great. Our crews love them.

 

[Tigger]

Our 2002 F series are still running trouble free at over 200k. Despite being really loud I don't think they accelerate worth crap. They are apparently easy to service and rebuild.

Our 2008 F series have been a nightmare with the 6.4. Seems like they end up at the shop once a month. I think they are much quieter and are smoother shifting, so when they work I'd rather be in one of those.

 

[Kevinf]

Our 2010 F350 had its injectors go bad. It's been sitting unused for some time now unfortunately. I liked it as it had much more leg room up front than our type 3's and was pretty quiet compared to them as well.

Our Sprinter is definitely diesel done right. Feels like a gas engine, but runs diesel. No complaints there!

 

[Underoath87]

Our turbo diesel vans and boxes are great (the ones that were built in the past decade, at least). Our newest 5 units (3 vans and 2 boxes) are naturally aspirated gasoline. Sure, they were cheap and nice throttle response, but they have very little power on the highway and seem to use twice as much fuel. Imo, gas is good for light vehicles that need to be quick, but diesel is best for service vehicles.

 

[Akulahawk]

Those 6.0L PSD motors just aren't as well designed/built as the 7.3L PSD motors are. Since they stopped using the 7.3L motors, I've heard very few good things about the newer 6.0L PSD motors. Unfortunately for me, I haven't been paying much attention to the PSD line over the past few years. I've heard little about the 6.4L PSD and effectively nothing about the very new 6.7L PSD motor.

What I do know is that the 7.3L PSD motors were pretty well understood and it's a big bummer (to me anyway) that those motors couldn't meet emissions standards... It just made sense (to me) that if you wanted a bulletproof motor for tough service, build the motor for medium duty trucks and adapt it to "light" duty vehicles.

One of these days, I want to drive a Sprinter van with the diesel motor...

 

[Achilles]

Those 6.0L PSD motors just aren't as well designed/built as the 7.3L PSD motors are. Since they stopped using the 7.3L motors, I've heard very few good things about the newer 6.0L PSD motors. Unfortunately for me, I haven't been paying much attention to the PSD line over the past few years. I've heard little about the 6.4L PSD and effectively nothing about the very new 6.7L PSD motor.

What I do know is that the 7.3L PSD motors were pretty well understood and it's a big bummer (to me anyway) that those motors couldn't meet emissions standards... It just made sense (to me) that if you wanted a bulletproof motor for tough service, build the motor for medium duty trucks and adapt it to "light" duty vehicles.

One of these days, I want to drive a Sprinter van with the diesel motor...

The issue with the 6.0 is people didn't use them how they were built. The were built to tow not go up to walmart everyday.
I tow everyday with my 6.0, only issue I had was a gelled up injector. And alternator.

 

[unleashedfury]

I'm a Gas Engine fan by heart and a total motorhead I love my old gas guzzling big blocks, and the infamous LS series by GM

But when it comes to hauling the Diesel trumps a gas engine any day. I prefer the diesel in a box. Its not the best with acceleration, but idling and cruising along the freeway can't be beat.

 

[mycrofft]

Diesel is better, compressed diesel is better yet. Wait for new emission standards on them.

Mercedes UNIMOG ambulance:

How about a hybrid ambulance?

 

[Akulahawk]

Depending upon the drivetrain setup, I might actually be fan of a Diesel/Electric hybrid...

 

[DieselMcBadass]

I think gas can move a box truck just fine. Smoother more responsive ride is worth a few extra bucks burnt up. And i like turning an engine on, not turning it slightly to warm glowplugs then turning it on.