I will be buying a new 3/4 ton truck powered by a diesel. I'll tow the boat twice a week for 5 months, May to October, as well as 1 mile to work and back year around.

Chevy salesman says the 1 mile to work and back won't allow the diesel engine to achieve proper operating temperature, which will may damage the engine . Is this true?

If so, what is the remedy?

Get a autostarter and let her warm up all the time...it is great for them...

Truck will be garaged, so prestart in morning will be very inconvenient. So it's true that the daily short trips will eventually damage the engine?

I'd buy a little beater to drive daily to work and back. Startup is when you do most of your engine wear damage, and yes, if it does not get up to operating temperature, its not going to be ideal.

Perhaps pick up a slightly used diesel 3/4 and with the 'extra' money, buy a little S-10 pickup or something.

Don't know about short trips = trouble for diesels but my 03 2500 Crew D/A is started 20-30 times a day and is used mostly for around town stops and after 72K miles in 32 months it has been fine with the sole exception of the Delco batteries failing. They come with a factory 5 year/ 100K mile powertrain warranty so let it be GM's problem. BTW it tows my 32 Dominator MCOB beautifully.

Short version: Yes, frequent short trips, with only a few longer trips will certainly not be good for a diesel. The occasional milk run to the corner kwik-mart is okay, but if you're driving a mile each way 5 days a week without any major trips, it will suffer. It's particularly bad with modern diesels with heavy reliance on pollution control devices.

buy a work beater

if your garage is heated....then your fine!.....leave it outside and get a auto start if not....just think...it will always be warm and cold when ya need it.....just get over the garage kept part!

Why not just plug it in at night, they all come with heaters. Mine stays outside and I have plugged it in a few times during the winter, No ice on windshield and instant heat.

mine has 210,000 miles of every day use,I say if you warm it up or plug it in it should be fine,just let the turbo cool/slow down a few minutes before shutting off,that will help turbo life,I have made tons of little corner store trips and things like that,I find myself taking my explorer just because it is easier to park!!