"Real World" diesel fuel mileage on Duramax

[Superduper]

Contemplating purchasing a new Duramax Diesel. As you all know, these HD pickups do not publish fuel economy ratings so I'm stuck asking around. I did read in a couple of diesel truck publications that according to their tests, the Ford and Duramax fuel economy is approx the same. If I can get 16+ unloaded, I will likely proceed. If true mileage is in the 12-15mpg range, then I probably won't pull the trigger.

So what kind of mileage are you guys getting? I'm most interested in the latest generation Diesels (2011-2012?) since they might be most accurate. Ford or GM diesels are probably comparable (several magazines stated that according to their tests, the difference was negligible but they didn't post their findings. ) Whe responding, please include as much details on truck as possible so we can attach a configuration to the mileage:

standard or extended or crew cab
SRW or DRW
3/4 or 1 ton
Short or Long Bed
2WD or 4WD

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dogballs]

I have an 08 4WD Crew Cab with 46,000 miles so it may not be applicable but I get 16 MPG average around town. Most of our roads are dirt and that includes a lot of hills and 4WD most of the winter. On the highway I can get 19-20 if I go 65 and 18 if I go faster.

Diesels take a lot of miles to break in and the mileage will improve over the first 30-40,000 miles. So don't get depressed if your early mileage is lower than you hoped for.

I've had 3 Duramax's, all have been great trucks. The Allison transmission is light years ahead of anything Ford or Dodge offers.

 

[tcartwri]

We have an 07 Cube van that gets 15 to 16 loaded to 12K lbs. It is very good on fuel imo.

 

[timswi]

I have an 08 4WD Crew Cab with 46,000 miles so it may not be applicable but I get 16 MPG average around town. Most of our roads are dirt and that includes a lot of hills and 4WD most of the winter. On the highway I can get 19-20 if I go 65 and 18 if I go faster.

Diesels take a lot of miles to break in and the mileage will improve over the first 30-40,000 miles. So don't get depressed if your early mileage is lower than you hoped for.

I've had 3 Duramax's, all have been great trucks. The Allison transmission is light years ahead of anything Ford or Dodge offers.

I haven't ownd a DMAX yet, but your observations are exactly what the guys around here that own them say...They are very happy with them.

 

[Traxx]

I have a 08 CC 2500 as well, but in 2wd. 12-13 towing 28' 5th wheel travel trailer at 10k. 17-19 with 300 lb 5th wheel hitch in bed. 22-24 empty, all over the road. The newer emissions will probably change your milage, and it will be harder to program for more hp.

 

[Superduper]

.............The newer emissions will probably change your milage, and it will be harder to program for more hp......

All music to my ears. I had heard reports from one person in another forum suggesting to expect 12-14mpg based on a radio program where one person phoned into the talk show and posed that question. Of course that made me re-think my plans. I'm currently getting 13-14 around town and 16-18 in my Chev Avalanche which I'm thinking of replacing for several reasons. If I can't get the same or better mileage, then I don't think I can make the switch. Anybody running DRW's. I'm wondering if that will impact gas mileage. I'm not against DRW's per se, but if it affects mileage to any significant extent, then I'm striking it from my list.

As for more HP, well the new Duramax's puts out 397hp +/- and 765ft/lbs of torque...... no, don't need no more than that. When I was towing cars for a living, our old 6.9 and 7.3 ford diesels were putting out around 200hp and 400ft/lbs and they towed just fine, although admittedly, a little slow on the inclines. Keep in mind we were talking curb weight close to 10k lbs with just the wrecker body, and before towing. If these new numbers are true, then we are talking double the HP, 80% more torque, on a standard truck bed..... all translates to me to what I expect are very good performance for a truck. But the real reason I want the Duramax over the new Ford (which is reallllllly PRETTY) is the industrial Allison transmission. IMHO, the chev transmissions were always a concern for me. Hoping for a bulletproof transmission in the allison. Then I saw the HD light-truck comparison video narrated by Howie Long (can view on the Chev website) and if I was on the fence before, it helped me make up my mind on Ford/Chev, even though I still think the Ford is more attractive looking... well anyone that looks at that video would be sold on the Chev vs Ford debate if shopping for a new truck. It was very convicing. Check it out if anyone is curious. The video and the test results that were demonstrated were basically corraborated by a few Diesel truck magazines I read which gives, to me, some credibility.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I had an 04 and an 05 dually 3500 never got better that 12 MPG. I dumped both of them.

 

[PAfarmer]

My 2011 Ext Cab 4X4 gets 13 miles per gallon all day long no matter if its empty or towing. 13 miles per gallon. My 2002 Dmax got about 18 miles per gallon. The 2011 is about 4 times as powerful as the 2002.

 

[farmall40]

I'm on my 3rd D-MAX and none of them averaged less than 15mpg. My currecnt is a 06 crew cab dually and the average is around 16mpg this time of year. All been great trucks.

 

[bucktaker]

Some what experienced here

2000 F250 7.3 ext cab long bed 4wd auto (4 speed) 17 mpg empty highway avg below 72mph towing 15-17k 4h lq horse trailer 9-10mpg 0-75kmiles

2003 F350 6.0 drw ext cab long bed 4wd auto (5speed) 16 mpg empty highway below 72mph towing 15-17k 4h lq horse trailer 9-11mpg 0-67k miles

2007 GMC 3500 crew cab long bed 4wd auto (6 speed) 15.5 mpg empty highway 68 mph towing 15-17k 4h lq horse trailer 9mpg 12-currently 40k miles and counting

I drove the fords for work and did lots of empty open road driving. Never got better mileage than posted even with chips and programmers. Could never believe people who posted high teens an 20's mpg i drove as easy as possible to try never made it. In fact I almost went with a gas motor the last time as maint costs, higher fuel costs,purchase price made me think it was cost prohibited. I found a really good deal on the gmc which was the classic version with the last of the non new emmission dmax's.

Have towed the same sundowner horse trailer with all three trucks.
1) loved the way the 7.3 pulled strong and steady...was overweight for the 3/4 chassis

2) 2003 6.0 F350 drw chassis handled the weight the best best riding while towing. Motor was good but required constant shifiting and high rpms to pull same roads.

3) GMC drw 3500 dmax pulls the load good, with some dowwnshifting on inclines.. rides the best unloaded but is very bouncy with the trailer i may add airbags this summer to stiffen it while loaded.