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The Reason Why Are Trucks Getting Bigger

(toddofmischief.blogspot.com)
173 points yasp | 1 comments | 11 Aug 22 13:06 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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aejnsn ◴[11 Aug 22 14:05 UTC] No.32425777[source]▶
My truck doesn’t drive near pedestrian areas. A smaller truck cannot trailer my work loads or toys. My modern diesel with high-tech emissions systems intact gets 20+ mpg unloaded.

Perhaps some of you remember trucks of the 80s. Not much has changed dimensionally, without safety improvements. Those did ~8-10 mpg unloaded while making 25% of the power with half the tow rating of a recent truck and none of the modern safety features for collision avoidance, blind spot monitoring, etc. The armchair distortion is real here. Please visit the numbers before making blanket anecdotes—the manufacturer websites have good uptime for their brochures. :)

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2143 ◴[11 Aug 22 14:23 UTC] No.32426101[source]▶
> My modern diesel

Thank goodness you drive a diesel.

Can somebody explain why people tend to prefer petrol engines for trucks America?

Doesn't diesels haul better, because of all that torque from a lower RPM, from a smaller engine?

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rascul ◴[11 Aug 22 14:54 UTC] No.32426675[source]▶
> Can somebody explain why people tend to prefer petrol engines for trucks America?

Fuel and maintenance costs. Gasoline is currently $3.58/gallon here, and diesel almost $5/gallon. Also, diesel isn't necessary for most pickup truck usage. I would consider replacing my gasoline truck with diesel if I had to haul lots of weight often. I would also have to upgrade from a half ton. I have no problem hauling most building materials that I need for work, but I wouldn't want to move for example heavy equipment on a regular basis with my (comparatively) small gasoline truck.

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2143 ◴[11 Aug 22 15:11 UTC] No.32426946{3}[source]▶
> Gasoline is currently $3.58/gallon here, and diesel almost $5/gallon

Why is diesel more expensive? Don't you get diesel earlier in the refinement process?

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1. aejnsn ◴[12 Aug 22 12:04 UTC] No.32437201{4}[source]▶
Demand for diesel has been higher as supply chains catch up. In general you are correct, but ULSD goes through a desulfurization process which makes diesel a cleaner fuel while increasing costs.