Towing Gas vs Diesel

[Lmtz1633]

The biggest factor towing with the diesel will be the overheating issue. Small light loads up a steep grade at 100 degrees is probably not an issue. But once you start getting to it’s limits on the same situation with a TT you will probably see the temperatures climb.
I was towing my sxs the other day, probably about 4.5k pounds total weight. Up a very steep grade and it was about 95 degrees out, and the temps started to climb real high. Not high enough to put me in limp mode, but enough for me to have to slow it down. I would say if you can fix the cooling issue with the diesels then it’s worth the trade in. Plus 90% of your commutes are probably non towing, and that’s there the diesel excels better.

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[Trailman]

Gasser here. I tow 2-3 donkeys in a horse/donkey trailer up and down passes in Colorado. I'm very impressed with the capability of the 3.6. Gas mileage..... well I just don't look at it.

If the heat issues on the diesel have been fixed, I'm sure it's excellent, but early on they were overheating and derating on climbs like the Eisenhower tunnel on i70.

 

[Sweetums]

Having driven both, the diesel is about one second slower to 60 - but how it gets there is way, way better. It feels like and effortless force of nature compared to wringing the life out of the Pentastar and banging it off the redline six times trying to get there.

I really like the experience of the diesel over the gas engine, but that's my opinoin.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I think it depends on what we're talking about towing.

I have 7 other trucks besides my Gladiator, so, you know, horses for courses.

Gladiator tows a pop up, that's it, all it's every going to tow. It's a little baby truck with a little baby V6 that's barely adequate to move it down the road empty, with low gearing in my case (4.10's).

Wheelbase, track width, weight are all factors in a tow vehicle. My Cummins F450 will jerk any trailer down the road with ease and never get upset. My Ecodiesel Ram 1500 will pull 7-8000 lbs comfortably, like, cruise set, eating tacos, playing on my phone, easy drive. My TDI 4runner is sketchy with anything over 5,000 lbs, sways, get's jerked all over the road, can barely manage the pop up.

And, one mans no problem is anothers miserable experience. My neighbor has a 2500 with a 350 TBI in it, he thinks it pulls a dump trailer great, second gear screaming 4800 rpm uphill to go 50 doesn't bother him at all.

Then, how often are we towing? Daily? Once a year on vacation?

 

[Ericshere03]

I think this is nearly the same setup, comparing weight and drag.
No problems and mpg is 18.

lol, mileage is better towing the TJ rather than driving it. I have an 05 LJ, love ‘em but MAN! They’re thirsty … on 33x10.50 I’ll get 12-14mpg in this heat with max AC. I do love that 4.0 and simplicity.

 

[Sweetums]

lol, mileage is better towing the TJ rather than driving it. I have an 05 LJ, love ‘em but MAN! They’re thirsty … on 33x10.50 I’ll get 12-14mpg in this heat with max AC. I do love that 4.0 and simplicity.

Thirsty and slow. We have an '05 LJR and left it at home on our recent Colorado trip because the 6 hour drive would have been closer to 8 in that compared to the truck. I should have rented a trailer and dragged it.

 

[Dafonte1968]

Funny that 3.0 has more HP and Trq than my first 7.3 powerstroke. Just hope I get the same miles out of it. (I know probably not) I pull a 21ft pontoon boat with no problems.

 

[wildtaco]

I was planning to write a separate post about my experience with diesel versus gas, but I'll just share it here. My brother-in-law and I both have 23 Rubicon Gladiators with 35s and stock suspension. His is a gasser with 4.10 gears, while mine's a diesel with 3.73 gears.

We recently camped at Burlingame State Campground in Rhode Island. It is roughly 70 miles from our house, with the road being mostly highway, traveling through mildly mountainous terrain.

On the way there, I used my diesel Gladiator to tow my 2018 RPOD 190 weighing in at roughly 3500lbs loaded. I was manually shifting to tow up grades, and because of this, I think it did fine. EGTs were under control, I tried to keep them under 1100F inlet temp. Highest oil temp was in the 240s from what I remember. I got to the campsite at right around 16.5MPG average. Takeaway here is that, yes, temps were under control, but to do that, I had to constantly shift manually.

During our stay, I ended up dropping off my Gladiator for a regear. This was unfortunately the only time the shop could take me in. They didn't finish in time, so my brother in law suggested I try his Jeep, the gas Gladiator. He happened to bring his brake controller with him, so we installed it at camp, and his Jeep was ready to roll.

We used the gas Gladiator to tow the same camper back home. I remembered reading @ShadowsPapa tip to not be afraid to wind up the 3.6 while towing, so I did just that. I let the transmission do it's thing, and it performed flawlessly. Temps were great, highest oil temp was 239F, transmission was hovering right around 200F, just like my diesel. And sure, it didn't have the diesel torque, but what good does that torque do when you end up on the side of the highway in limp mode?

Overall, I think the gasser was a better towing experience, less headache, less finagling. I have my Gladiator back from the shop, regeared to 4.56. So far so good, we will see how this changes the towing experience in the near future. Also, yes, I'd still get the diesel if I had to choose. It's just that much more fun to drive.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Funny that 3.0 has more HP and Trq than my first 7.3 powerstroke. Just hope I get the same miles out of it. (I know probably not) I pull a 21ft pontoon boat with no problems.

My Ecodiesel has 423,000 miles on it lol.

My 7.3 that got swapped for a Cummins had 183,00 miles on it with a bad transmission and two holes rusted into the cylinder head when I bought it.

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[biodiesel]

I'm another vote for the diesel, but make sure you really like the idea of owning a diesel. The Gen 3 engine has proven to be very reliable. I would not have bought the Gladiator had it not had the diesel.

 

[biodiesel]

Funny that 3.0 has more HP and Trq than my first 7.3 powerstroke. Just hope I get the same miles out of it. (I know probably not) I pull a 21ft pontoon boat with no problems.

My buddy just turned 510,000 on his 2015 EcoDiesel.

 

[PuddleJumper]

Having driven both, the diesel is about one second slower to 60 - but how it gets there is way, way better. It feels like and effortless force of nature compared to wringing the life out of the Pentastar and banging it off the redline six times trying to get there.

I really like the experience of the diesel over the gas engine, but that's my opinoin.

I feel like a lot of people have a idk, unfounded fear, about revving out a motor. Hell I use to be the same way. Keep it under 3 or it will blow up, is what I was taught. Then I got into some track racing, then motorcycles, and boats, and anything motor related. There are plenty of instances where you can cause a failure if your riding the RPMs in the higher end. IE boost control line comes off, money shit in a manual, injector failure, etc. But for the most part I learned that most all motors are designed and can be at any rpm throughout its range with no issue. The rev limiter is their to keep it safe, everything under it is fine. There's not a day my gladiator sees where i don't hit redline. I have no issues with holding at 4-5k for 10 mins or longer as long as the temps stay where they are suppose to. In all honesty the avg joe does more damage running it low rpm over short distance. A situation in which the motor never gets up to its optimal temp and load. I've had plenty a used car running rough, And it straightened itself out from a lead foot for 2 hours.

 

[Sweetums]

I'm not saying it's going to damage the engine, just the experience of driving the gas engine vs the diesel's massive low end torque.

 

[1stXMan]

I’ll throw myself on the fire and take the beatings that will come afterwards.

As a diesel owner, I think it’s the better choice all around, but I didn’t buy it for towing and I don’t think you should either.

It’s named an “Ecodiesel” for a reason. Not “Powerdiesel”, “TowMachinediesel”, etc.

If you’re happy with your current truck, modify what you’re towing. If you want a tow vehicle, buy a real tow vehicle instead of an adventure vehicle that happens to have a trailer hitch.

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[Sweetums]

I’ll throw myself on the fire and take the beatings that will come afterwards.

As a diesel owner, I think it’s the better choice all around, but I didn’t buy it for towing and I don’t think you should either.

It’s named an “Ecodiesel” for a reason. Not “Powerdiesel”, “TowMachinediesel”, etc.

If you’re happy with your current truck, modify what you’re towing. If you want a tow vehicle, buy a real tow vehicle instead of an adventure vehicle that happens to have a trailer hitch.

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No midsize truck is the best option for towing heavy loads, but for light loads they are just fine. People who say the Gladiator isn't a "real" truck are comparing apples to oranges. Any full size truck will out-tow any midsize truck, that's just how it is. The truck my be rated to tow 7,000 max, but that doesn't mean you should be doing it regularly. I like to keep at least a 30% safety margin for any tow/metal/rigging under tension - so if I have a 7,000# trailer, I really should be looking at a truck with a 10,000# tow rating if I want that truck to last.

Right now I have a little 3-rail trailer that moves a couple motorcycles, I've managed to dead-lift the tongue of that thing while it was loaded and walk it into a parking space. We'd like to get a little camper trailer and I'm looking at 5,000# gross trailer weight max and I'd prefer to be closer to 4,000#.

Buying the wrong truck for the job or asking the truck to do more than it's made for is not a failure of the truck, it's a failure to assess the job/need correctly and assign the appropriate equipment.

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