This is my first diesel (2005 LLY) and debated for some time to purchase a gas or a diesel. I finally decided on the diesel for pulling boat and camper and to hopefully keep a truck that lasts well into the 200,00 mile range.

My concern is being a vol. fire firefighter. With my gas truck (just got rid of) I jump in and go. No time for warm up. Will I be able to do this with a diesel? How hard will it be on it Am I asking for trouble?

It sits in a insulated garage (upper midwest) and it stays about 25F in there when its under 0 at night. Should I keep it plugged in all the time?

Thanks for your help guys!

If it will be consistently that cold out or in the garage, i'd leave it plugged in at all times. It will not hurt to do so, and that 2 seconds of plugging it in will mean less time for warm up.

Well, I'm just south of you, (iowa) and the only time I plug in is when the temp drops to the -10 range, if the truck is sitting outside, in my garage I don't plug in.

In the garage at that temp you wouldn't need to.

My truck will start with no problems in -30F without pluging in, but the computer will lim it the rpm's to ~ 1500 until it warms up, which was about 40mph for about 5 minutes.

Agreed, but i do it just to make those cold morning better. Will never hurt to just plug her in.

i think what he's asking is it ok if you have a 3am fire call to just hop in your truck and race to the station while its been sitting there for 5ish hours and its 10* outside.

i'd say plug it in that way its at least THAT much closer to warm up, then at least the oils moving.

also your tranny wont shift into overdrive until 180ish engine temp so your rpms will be higher, but i think you should be fine without warm-up if its plugged in.

(don't quote me on it though!) but i do the same thing every now and then when i'm late for work and have no time to warm her up and i havn't seen any problems other than less fuel mileage because its not up to temp.

hope that helped.

Thanks 231samuel. That's pretty much what I was asking. :D

i think what he's asking is it ok if you have a 3am fire call to just hop in your truck and race to the station while its been sitting there for 5ish hours and its 10* outside.

i'd say plug it in that way its at least THAT much closer to warm up, then at least the oils moving.

also your tranny wont shift into overdrive until 180ish engine temp so your rpms will be higher, but i think you should be fine without warm-up if its plugged in.

(don't quote me on it though!) but i do the same thing every now and then when i'm late for work and have no time to warm her up and i havn't seen any problems other than less fuel mileage because its not up to temp.

hope that helped.

I don't think you will have any problems at 25* without it be ing pluged in. Just give it a few seconds to get the oil flowing before you stab the throttle. I know you will be in a hurry, but try to resist full throttle until it gets a little heat built up.

When I was in Kentucky I had many of early (4am) morining, wake up late, run out the house, and throw the truck in drive. Temp in the single digits, no garage, never plugged in, and never even a hicup.

Leaving it plugged in all the time in a good way to get a big ol' surprise when the electric bill comes. Block Heaters aren't exactly "Energy Star Compliant" ;)

I heard it takes a lot of juice to heat your engine? How expensive is it to plug in every night , all night???

I heard it takes a lot of juice to heat your engine? How expensive is it to plug in every night , all night???
Here is a calculator for you based on your rates. IIRC, the heaters are around 900-1000 watts.

Electricity Cost Calculator (http://www.handymath.com/cgi-bin/electric.cgi?submit=Entry)

This is my first diesel (2005 LLY) and debated for some time to purchase a gas or a diesel. I finally decided on the diesel for pulling boat and camper and to hopefully keep a truck that lasts well into the 200,00 mile range.

My concern is being a vol. fire firefighter. With my gas truck (just got rid of) I jump in and go. No time for warm up. Will I be able to do this with a diesel? How hard will it be on it Am I asking for trouble?

It sits in a insulated garage (upper midwest) and it stays about 25F in there when its under 0 at night. Should I keep it plugged in all the time?

Thanks for your help guys!

I use mine to respond also (paid on call FF). I leave it plugged in all night in winter, engine temp is at 100F when I start it up. I drive easy at first but it warms up quick. If I run emergency (lights/siren) I go easy til it warms up.

I used to drive the gas Silverado (still use it for response sometimes) but no block heater. It was brutal when it was below zero, piston slap for almost the first mile. Some nights if I knew we were going to be busy I warmed it up every few hours at night.

I would think a remote starter would help. Leave the remote on your nightstand and the oil should be circulating by the time you get into the truck.