If one has a definitive need for diesel because they are towing heavy and frequently, then yes, it is the better option. In my travels around every week throughout several states in my semi truck, I have made it a point to take notice about what HD pickups have in them. On the commercial side, gas engine is the preferred power plant by several magnitudes. The lion's share of diesel equipped pickups are in private owner hands. And the bulk of them are in the hands of folks that look like they rarely pull anything. From my semi seat I can easily look down into the bed of pickup trucks. Except for the guys using pickups to commercially pull trailers from plants to dealers, and the agriculture sector, the vast majority of diesel pickups don't have a 5th wheel or gooseneck hitch in them. They don't even seem to have been using the class V hitch on the back as it shows no signs of being used. That one is hard to prove though. In a nutshell, a large portion of diesels in pickups are bought as more of a fashion statement than actual need. You know, the "I have more testosterone because I have a diesel" mindset.
Some of us have grown beyond that and get what will suffice for what we are dong. I haul more than I tow. I don't need a diesel to carry around stuff. I did need more than a 1500 could do though. And for the rare instance I do tow, the gasser will get the job done. I wouldn't be towing throughout 48 states, mountains, etc. Just my neck of the woods. What I need to tow gets done by a class 8 semi truck tractor.
Then there is the additional problems with diesel that gas equipped vehicles don't have. Emissions being one, but while I am 500 miles away, and the wife has to use the pickup to get to and from town for something, I don't want to have her in a situation to have to change a fuel filter at -25F and add 911 to the tank to get gelled diesel moving again. And those of use that go thru a heavy amount of diesel know (I go thru roughly 20,000+ gallons of diesel a year), even if you treat the fuel when you fill up, there are no guarantees that problem will not occur. I can easily handle these issues, but the wife is not quite as diesel savvy. And I live rural. I don't want her sitting in that -25F waiting for hours for a roadside service call to show up. Living metro is one thing, but living rural is another.
If one can justify diesel, then plop your money down and get one.
