--- title: Gas or Diesel in Your Next Medium-Duty Truck? Look at Your Delivery Route First description: Ford's 7.3L gas or the 6.7L diesel in an F-650 or F-750? How building centres should choose based on route length, loads, idling and maintenance costs. image: https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Blue%20Ford%20F650%20And%20Diesel%20Trucks%20At%20Busy%20Construction%20Yard.png --- [![Trinity Truck Sales logo](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Trinity%20Truck%20Sales.jpg)The Building Centre Truck ProgramOperated by Trinity Truck Sales](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) [Home](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) Who We Help ▾ [Home Hardware](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/the-home-hardware-truck-program?hsLang=en) [Castle Building Centres](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/castle-truck-program?hsLang=en) [All Canadian Building Centres](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/building-centre-truck-program?hsLang=en) [Fleet Advisor +](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/fleet-advisor-plus?hsLang=en) [Our Truck Guide](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/building-centre-product-catalogue?hsLang=en) [About Trinity](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/our-story?hsLang=en) [Blog](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly) [Contact](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/contact-me-global?hsLang=en) ☰ Looking to speak with Phil? call directly at [(289) 527-4345](tel:12895274345) [Home](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) › [Blog](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly) # Gas or Diesel in Your Next Medium-Duty Truck? Look at Your Delivery Route First ![Phil Aitken](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/e0b1fa7ef5f70dbbc84514aff5461c2a) **Phil Aitken**, President, Trinity Truck Sales • Oct 12, 2026, 8:28:20 PM • 3 min read ![\ For most of my career, dealers didn't ask whether a medium-duty work truck should be gas or diesel. You bought diesel. Gas engines in that class were for people who didn't know better. That changed when Ford put the 7.3-litre gas V8 in the F-650 and F-750. Now I get the question on almost every medium-duty quote, and the right answer for a lot of building centres is different from what it was ten years ago. ## The numbers on paper Ford's 7.3-litre gas engine makes 335 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque in the F-650 and F-750. The 6.7-litre Power Stroke diesel comes in three ratings, topping out at 330 horsepower and 750 lb-ft. Horsepower is close. Torque isn't. The diesel pulls harder, especially loaded and on a grade, and it burns less fuel doing it. Most comparisons put diesel fuel economy around 20% better than gas in similar work. The diesel also costs more up front. On Super Duty pickups the gap runs past $10,000, and the medium-duty gap is in the same ballpark. It costs more to maintain too, with fuel filters, DEF, and a particulate filter and SCR system that all need attention. ## How building centres use trucks The brochure stops being useful at this point. A typical building centre delivery truck doesn't run long highway miles. It runs a few kilometres to a job site, idles while the driver unloads, runs to the next drop, and comes back to the yard. Then it does it again. Modern diesels hate that duty cycle. The particulate filter needs heat to burn itself clean, and short runs with lots of idling don't give it enough. The truck has to stop and run a forced regeneration, or it goes into the shop. I've had customers with diesel trucks spending more time at the dealer for aftertreatment problems than for anything mechanical. The gas engine doesn't have that problem. It warms up, does the work, and shuts off. There's no DEF to buy and no filter to clog. Any decent shop can service it, and it starts on a cold January morning without much complaint. ## When diesel still wins Diesel still earns its premium in some operations. If your trucks run long rural routes with heavy loads, the fuel savings add up. If you're near the top of the truck's weight rating every day, or you pull a trailer, the torque matters. If you deliver in hilly country, you'll feel the difference on every climb. Resale is part of the math too. In some markets a used diesel medium-duty truck still sells for more than a gas one, though that gap has narrowed as buyers learn what diesel aftertreatment costs to keep running. ## The 2027 factor The 2027 emissions rules hit diesel engines hardest. If you're weighing gas against diesel for an order in the next year, a diesel ordered after the change will likely cost more than one ordered now. That's one more reason to settle the gas-or-diesel question early instead of letting the calendar settle it for you. ## How I'd decide Pull a month of delivery records for the truck you're replacing. Look at average distance per trip, how heavy the loads run, and how much time the truck spends idling at job sites. If most trips run under 50 km with a lot of stop and start, gas is probably your truck. If the truck runs long, heavy and hilly, diesel probably still makes sense. If it's somewhere in between, run the fuel and maintenance numbers both ways before you decide. I'm happy to run that comparison with you. Send me what the truck does on a normal week and I'll tell you which way I'd lean and why. 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For 18 years Phil has spec'd, sourced and delivered work trucks for Canadian building centres. [Read Phil's story](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/our-story?hsLang=en) or call [(289) 527-4345](tel:12895274345). Have a truck decision coming up? ## Send me your daily load and delivery radius I'll come back with a spec, price and sourcing plan. No obligation, no lot-pushing. [Get a Quote](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/contact-me-global?hsLang=en) ## Keep reading [![Lease, Finance or Pay Cash for Your Next Delivery Truck?](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Blue%20Crane%20Truck%20At%20Building%20Centre%20Lot.png)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/lease-finance-or-pay-cash-for-your-next-delivery-truck) ## [Lease, Finance or Pay Cash for Your Next Delivery Truck?](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/lease-finance-or-pay-cash-for-your-next-delivery-truck) Oct 9, 2026, 10:42:53 AM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/lease-finance-or-pay-cash-for-your-next-delivery-truck) [![Spec the Truck Your Drivers Want to Drive](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Completed%20Deliveries/Roll-Offs%20(Kargo%20King)/HHDS%20Photos%20%20(A4%20(Landscape))%20(37).jpg)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/spec-the-truck-your-drivers-want-to-drive) ## [Spec the Truck Your Drivers Want to Drive](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/spec-the-truck-your-drivers-want-to-drive) Oct 7, 2026, 5:09:21 PM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/spec-the-truck-your-drivers-want-to-drive) [![Your Truck Is Heavier Than You Think: Payload After the Deck, Crane and Moffett](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/750-2.jpeg)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/your-truck-is-heavier-than-you-think-payload-after-the-deck-crane-and-moffett) ## [Your Truck Is Heavier Than You Think: Payload After the Deck, Crane and Moffett](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/your-truck-is-heavier-than-you-think-payload-after-the-deck-crane-and-moffett) Oct 6, 2026, 10:47:23 AM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/your-truck-is-heavier-than-you-think-payload-after-the-deck-crane-and-moffett) Trinity Truck Sales Inc. Phil Aitken — President  |  (289) 527-4345  |  [phil@trinitytrucksales.ca](mailto:phil@trinitytrucksales.ca) Copyright © Trinity Truck Sales Inc 2026 [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-aitken-a9b96819/?originalSubdomain=ca)    [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561022720417) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Phil Aitken", "url" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/author/phil-aitken" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-13T00:28:37.625Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-13T00:28:20.000Z", "headline" : "Gas or Diesel in Your Next Medium-Duty Truck? 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