Gasoline or Diesel?

Question

We are traveling about 850 miles for a move, From Texas to Missouri.

What will be cheaper, I know diesel is a little more expensive but last longer?!?!

We are traveling for a move and wondering what truck will be better.

a) Penske truck with diesel engine, 50 gallon tank appx. $3.45/gallon for diesel.

b) U-Haul truck with gasoline engine, 60 gallon tank appx. $3.05/gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.

With my calculations regarding MPG, miles traveled, I belive the Penske truck will do us justice. What do you think, or have you been in this situation before??? Thanks for all the help and only serious questions please.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, I don't have the truck makes, so I can't give you much of a comparison.

The best I can can offer you is that I owned a GMC 1500, (half ton,) truck with a v-6 gasoline engine that typically got around 20 MPG on the highway. I had to rent a 3500 for a short period, equipped with a Duramax turbodiesel v-8, and despite the fender flares, the extra weight of the quad cab and 4 wheel drive, got 18 miles per gallon.  

The different dealerships should be able to tell you what the different economy of the trucks are, at which point you're sitting down with a calculator to (if you trust them to tell you the truth,) figure up the fuel cost for your trip.

Personally, I'd probably go with the Penske diesel, largely because I've never seen a gasoline powered semi-truck. Given the additional cost and weight of a diesel engine for a piece of machinery, if the economy of operating it wasn't a factor, nobody would buy them.

Penske also has a number of their own refueling stations, where you can probably get discounted fuel rates to make the effort of finding them well worth it.  

As I notice an increasing number of U-Haul's rescue trucks on the road, I don't remember ever seeing one from Penske, which also suggests a good deal to me.  

My personal preferences for rental moving vans are Ryder and Rollins, but it's up to you in the end. If those are the only two choices I've got, I'd go with Penske.

Good Luck in Missouri

JT

Answer 2

Ive actually answered a question very very similarly like this one. Diesel is the #1 choice when traveling with heavy cargo and far. It wont be hard to drive it will be just like any other truck youve driven except diesel will give you alot better mileage than Gasoline beacuse it burns differently than a gasoline engine. Another advantage to diesel is a diesel engine tends to have alot more torque (better take off from a dead stop) and more power overall. And even though it may not seem so diesel is actually starting to become less pollutive than its equal gasoline vehicle. in short 1 gallon of gas in a 5.4L Gas engine will get you about 20 miles maybe. a 6.0L diesel engine will get you 25 or more possibly (depending on the circumstances) (go with the penske you cant go wrong)

Answer 3

I would go with the Penske truck.

Answer 4

diesel  gets about 15 to 16 a gallon as aposed to about six to seven in the gas job

Answer 5

In general, big trucks will be more efficient running on diesel, however, you have to take into account the size of the truck available, and how much it costs to rent said truck. If the rental cost is the same, or within a $20 or so, it's probably better to go with the diesel.

You can always call up the rental company and ask what kind of MPG rating the truck has.

The size of the tank has nothing to do with the cost of running the truck. A smaller tank only means you might have to stop an extra time to fill up.

Answer 6

Diesel, you go farther on 50 gallons of diesel than 60 gallons of gas.