Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/85086
: LIGHT- AND MEDIUM-DUTY FOCUS Pickup lines You may have heavy payloads, but do you really need a diesel and a 4.10:1 rear axle ratio? Maybe not BY JOHN G. SMITH P ickup truck buyers tend to fall into one of two camps: Weekend warriors who haul little more than the occasional load of mulch from the local garden center, or serious com- mercial buyers who are more likely to demand the utility that supports a load-hauling trade. The choice of a true "work" truck should begin with a care- ful look at the jobs ahead. Few factors have a bigger impact on the preferred specs than the trailer hitch. "In the pickup side of the com- mercial business, roughly 90 percent of these customers tow, " says Brian Raths- burg, marketing manager for Ford's F-Series Super Duty trucks. But there is a big difference in pickups needed to tow either 10,000 or 20,000 pounds. Weight always should be an impor- tant factor in the choices between one model and the next, Rathsburg says. "Then you can back into what the gross vehicle weight of the truck is, and from there you can back into what the specific configuration is," he says. While heavier weights tend to lead buyers to a diesel engine for its low-end Ford's F-Series Super Duty trucks use a monobeam front suspension for improved handling and durability. torque, its gasoline counterpart often may make more economic sense – even in a commercial setting. Those who plan to trade in their trucks every three years, or haul only the occasional heavy load, may not need a diesel power plant. "It's hard to make that extra expense up just in fuel economy savings unless they put on a lot of miles," says Dan Tigges, General Motors' product man- ager for full-size trucks, which include the Silverado and Sierra. "From a per- formance standpoint, you're not going to see a whole lot of difference." Many truck families will haul the same payload with a gasoline or diesel engine, says Alan Costantino, product devel- opment engi- neer for Ford's F-Series Super Duty trucks. The diesel engine will just do it more efficiently, and its benefits don't end there: The latest models also have borrowed a tool from heavier vehicle classes, introducing exhaust brakes that harness the 32 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2012 stopping power of backpressure. "It'll give you a lot more brake life and makes the truck a lot easier to drive," Tigges says. For 2012, Ram Trucks beefed up trailer towing ca- pacity for its 3500 pickups, now pull- ing 22,700 pounds maximum. Getting torqued Engine comparisons also should look well beyond horsepower numbers, which play their biggest roles when cruising down the highway. It's the twisting power of torque that will get everything moving in the first place. A careful look at an engine's related torque curves – graphs that show the relationship between torque and engine speed – show exactly when this power can be expected. The flatter the torque curve, the more constant the perfor- mance will be at different engine speeds. "You're always going to want to see the torque come in at as low an RPM as pos- sible, because that's going to help you in the launch of the vehicle," Tigges says. Rear axle ratios also play a key role in towing capacity. Those who tow up steep hills or make lots of stops and starts during a typical workday likely will be drawn to a 4.10:1 rather than a traditional 3.73:1, Tigges says; this will keep the engine from lugging when hauling a heavy load and can improve fuel economy. But long-term users of pickups may