Are You Choosing Diesel or Gas for Your Next Tow Rig?

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If you’ve looked at fuel prices lately, you already know why the diesel vs gas question feels more practical than theoretical. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows U.S. average retail prices for the week of 12/15/25 at $2.895 per gallon for regular gasoline and $3.607 per gallon for on-highway diesel.

That spread doesn’t “decide” anything for you, but it does set the tone: the smart move is matching the truck to the work you’ll actually ask it to do, especially when towing is on the menu. We’ll keep this simple and useful by walking through a use-case checklist built around three things you can verify and plan for: what you’ll spend at the pump (using EIA’s published numbers and methods), what the fuel means in straightforward CO2 math (using EPA’s per-gallon factors), and what modern ownership looks like in a rules-and-warranties world.

Your Trailer Doesn’t Pay the Bill

Let’s start with the money part, because it’s the easiest to measure and the easiest to get wrong when you’re excited about a new tow rig. The EIA’s weekly table puts a clear stake in the ground for planning: on 12/15/25, the U.S. average was $2.895 for regular gas and $3.607 for on-highway diesel.

You don’t need perfect forecasts to make a good choice. You just need a repeatable way to think, and the EIA data is built for that kind of steady planning because it’s published on a schedule and gathered consistently.

A quick trust note (because this matters): the EIA’s on-highway diesel price is collected every Monday from a sample of retail outlets, and it targets the cash self-serve pump price (including taxes) as of 8:00 a.m. local time. The EIA also describes how it checks data for errors and uses statistical imputation when an outlet can’t be reached, then publishes volume-weighted averages for the geographies it reports.

So how does that help you choose a tow rig? It turns “diesel feels expensive” into an easy question: will your towing schedule let a diesel powertrain’s strengths show up often enough to justify paying more per gallon in many weeks?

Use this as your simple decision checklist, and keep it grounded in your actual driving calendar.

• How many towing miles will you drive in a typical month?
• How often are those miles long highway pulls versus short local trips?
• Do you want fewer fuel stops on travel days, even if each stop costs more?
• Are you buying this truck mainly for towing, or towing is an occasional job?

Answer those honestly, and you’ll notice something refreshing: the “right” choice starts to feel obvious for your life, not for somebody else’s. And yes, that’s allowed to be a positive outcome.

The CO2 Math

Once cost is anchored, it’s worth taking 60 seconds to anchor the emissions math, too, because it cuts through a lot of noise. The EPA’s standard emissions factors list 8,887 grams of CO2 per gallon of gasoline and 10,180 grams of CO2 per gallon of diesel. EPA also notes that diesel produces about 15% more CO2 per gallon than gasoline.

That’s not a reason to panic or posture. It’s a reason to compare the thing you actually care about when towing: work done.

For towing, “per gallon” numbers are a baseline, not a verdict, because towing changes fuel use per mile in the real world. The helpful mindset here is work-per-gallon: how smoothly and efficiently does the truck move your load on the roads you drive, at the speeds you keep, with the grades and wind you’re likely to face?

This is also where a little expertise can save you money and stress without getting technical for the sake of it. EPA’s per-gallon factors are fixed inputs used in their vehicle greenhouse-gas calculation approach, which means they’re consistent reference points for thinking clearly. Your mpg, especially while towing, is the variable that moves around based on weight, speed, terrain, and driving style, so it’s the part you should plan for with your use-case checklist rather than with a single “best fuel” label.

A practical way to keep this positive is to treat emissions information like any other spec sheet item: useful when it helps you make a decision you can live with. For some people, that means picking the setup that makes long travel days easier and reduces the number of stops. For others, it means prioritizing a simpler ownership pattern. Either way, the EPA factors give you a clean, honest starting line.

Buy for the Next 5 Years

Now for the part most buyer guides skip, even though it’s where a lot of satisfaction lives: modern ownership confidence.

On the policy side, EPA’s “Final Rule: Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles” covers passenger vehicles and light trucks, and it also addresses Class 2b and Class 3 vehicles. For a 2026 tow-rig shopper, the point isn’t to memorize regulation names; it’s to recognize that emissions requirements and certification are part of the environment your truck will live in, which can shape how manufacturers build and support powertrains over time.

On the enforcement side, EPA’s Cummins settlement overview says the company agreed to resolve alleged violations involving certain engines used in Ram pickup trucks, and it includes a $1.675 billion civil penalty along with recall and repair commitments and an extended warranty for repaired vehicles. EPA also states the matter involves more than 600,000 Ram pickup trucks.

There’s a constructive takeaway here that stays buyer-friendly: when you’re choosing between diesel and gas for towing, build “supportability” into the decision. That means checking recall status, understanding what warranty coverage applies, and choosing a setup you’ll feel good maintaining.

One more grounding fact helps keep this in perspective: Americans drive a lot, and DOT/BTS reports estimated cumulative travel for 2024 at 2,470.0 billion vehicle-miles, up 0.8% (about 19.7 billion vehicle-miles). With that much driving happening, buying a tow rig that fits your real habits is a form of relief you get to enjoy week after week.

So here’s the question worth sitting with: if two trucks can tow your trailer, which one gives you the clearest path to staying compliant, covered, and confident through your ownership window?

Choose the Tow Rig That Makes Towing Feel Easy

A good diesel-or-gas decision is surprisingly calm when it’s built on verifiable anchors instead of opinions. EIA’s weekly fuel-price reporting gives you a realistic starting point for budgeting, including a transparent methodology for how prices are collected and published. EPA’s per-gallon CO2 factors give you a clean baseline for thinking about emissions without guessing. And EPA’s rules and enforcement context are a reminder that ownership confidence is part of performance now, not an afterthought.

Choose the tow rig you can understand, afford to run, and maintain with confidence, because that’s what keeps trips enjoyable and predictable even as standards and updates continue to move.

You don’t have to “prove” anything with your choice. You just have to pick the setup that fits your towing reality best, then own it with a clear plan. So which matters most for your life in 2026: fewer stops on travel days, a smoother pull under load, or the most predictable long-term ownership experience?