Anyone that has ever towed anything significant with both a gas and a diesel knows that for towing, there simply is nothing better than the torque/fuel economy combination that diesels provide.
I used to tow cars for a living. My own business, actually. We had gas motors, we had diesels. As a professional operator, after trying both, there is no way that I would go back. Are new gas motors durable? Absolutely. But make it tow 10k day/in, day/out and suddenly it's not as durable anymore.
For me, this isn't a commercial tow vehicle, it's for personal enjoyment and not my only vehicle, although for my occassional towing needs, it will now do all of those chores since I don't like feeling like I'm overloaded with my other vehicles. I love the excess braking capacity, the tremendous power, the fuel mileage, and the transmission is the icing on the cake. For some reason, a toasted tranny worries me more than anything else on a vehicle, perhaps from bad experiences. These tranny failures along with their big $$ cost usually manifest at the worse time. For me, the allison option has been what I've been waiting for forever, and great for peace of mind. I fix most everything else on my own. I don't touch tranny's though.
Maybe in the end, I saved a few penny's, and then again, maybe I end up a few pennies short by going with a diesel. I'm not going to worry about it, I bought it, and I'm going to have to live with it for at least 6 years, terms of my zero % financing.
As for EPA, CARB, and all that. I know this much: 2 decades ago, I inhaled diesel fumes all day, every day. You got near the tow truck and diesel was all you smelled. The trucks had great torque right off idle and it was the price we paid for those benefits. Fuel mileage was good too. Not great -- averaged 12-13 mpg. But much better than the 7-10 we got with the gas motors. FF 20 years later and the power on these diesels have now doubled. Hopefully, Ford has solved their death wobble issue by now. Also, fuel economy is better than ever. In addtion to all these, is the ability to drive these new diesels without so much as a hint of diesel smell or smoke. That is a terrific advancement and one that I think is better for everyone. Sure, removing all the smog equipment might make for better power and fuel economy, but the improvement is a price I'm personally willing to make. I'm too old to even consider going the delete route and always looking over my shoulders, or worry about putting everything back if I need warranty service. I like my conscience clear and I like sleeping good at night. If it costs a few bucks/month to have that, I'll take it.
