Todays trucks where is the MPG's

[Hersheyfarm]

If allot less of us paid "the man" the auto makers might have to start making quality trucks again

Federal regs, EPA regs, and most of all unions I'm surprised they can put any product out.

 

[slowzuki]

Not where I'm from!

1998 - 2011 = 23 years

Again, I don't believe the numbers some people are tossing around. A 70's big block truck will not get within 1 mpg of a current diesel truck. Even the poor mileage egr cummins. Maybe a 2wd, 14" tires, std tranny 2.xx rear end big block vs a new 4wd, auto, a/c on, 20" rubber, with 4.11's even then, it would be surprising.

My parents had a 70's 1 ton with a 6 cly swapped in to replace the big block. Even that drank gas, and it had no power steering!

 

[Fordman1981]

Slowzuki all i can say is come to NC i'll hitch up the same trailer same load and we can travel up the mountain in my 08 f350 6.4 and get 11.2 and then do the same trip in my 1971 f 350 dump truck 12' bed and get 10.4 pulling the same speed now the 71 is a 4 speed manual and the 08 is a automatic which is one of the things i hate about it. I left the coast today pulling a pretty near empty 16' inclosed trailer today in the 08 running 65 most of the way home on the interstate and averaged 10.8 to 11.2 fluxing during the trip ending up at 10.9 when i pulled in the shop parking lot today. so again 11.2 in a diesel truck is shame full in my eyes. and we have had several issues with 08 so far I think we don't have the craftsmanship in vehicles we once did will the 08 be here in 40 yrs i think not.

 

[ham]

I am with you Slowzuki. Most of these numbers are BS. I have driven a fair number of these old rigs and they didn't get those kind of numbers. Everybody likes to find the best and then brag about it.

That being said I think an awful lot has always been on how you drive.

But here is the real issue. If by some miralce we could decide a new F100 should have say 300 horsepower and X amount of torgue and make that our goal rather than whatever is the max via new tech it would allow us to shrink the engines and gain the bene of Direct Injection, better transmissions, etc. Instead we build the new stuff in, then we max the HP, and then we brag.

So the key is to order a pickup with the right package.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

You could always buy a used one and not feed the manufacture and save a few K$. Buy one with 100K run it 3 years then sell it, buy one with 35K on it save 10 grand off new run it 4 years then sell it. you dont have to but a $60k truck every 4 years.

You know, the ting with buying a diesel with low miles on it is they are usually trashed. You can't come out on top of any deal with getting rid of a diesel with low miles. The motor itself is a 7k upgrade in most cases and it just doesn't pay. The majority of diesels out there,non fleet, has been tuned, abused, and more than likely has issues. Besides I don't buy used, and if you run fleet your not going to buy used. It's ridiculous to think it's cheaper to buy old and work on it than to buy new take care of it and trade it off with high miles. Putting 200k on a truck in 4 years is a lot of maintenance, and even more if you start with a high mile vehicle, or a low mile junk pile that was tuned and burnt up.

 

[redprospector]

1998 - 2011 = 23 years x 50k miles/year = 1.15 million miles. Lot of parts. Sometimes people and companies have no choice but to pay the man and run what's available.

Might want to check that math there partner.
1998 - 2011 = 13 years. Now given that, are you sure you're running 50k miles/year? If so it equals 650,000 miles, not unheard of.
Now on the other hand my log skidder is 38 years old, and operates like a new one. Yeah, I guess lots of parts but it's still cheaper than a new one.
Same principle as the pickup. What dose it cost you to run a new truck per year? We won't count fuel, just payments and full coverage insurance. I'll bet it's more than it would cost to maintain my old truck, and liability insurance.

Andy

 

[redprospector]

Not where I'm from!



Again, I don't believe the numbers some people are tossing around. A 70's big block truck will not get within 1 mpg of a current diesel truck. Even the poor mileage egr cummins. Maybe a 2wd, 14" tires, std tranny 2.xx rear end big block vs a new 4wd, auto, a/c on, 20" rubber, with 4.11's even then, it would be surprising.

My parents had a 70's 1 ton with a 6 cly swapped in to replace the big block. Even that drank gas, and it had no power steering!

Hahaha. Back in the 70's when someone would brag about their gas mileage, My dad would tell them; "I think you're buying it at 8 mpg, and telling it at 12".
My dad was always a stickler on keeping track of mileage, so I guess that's where I got it from. I can tell the mileage of just about every truck I've ever owned. Like the 1972 Chevy 3/4 ton, 402 big block, TH400 trans., 2 wd. It got 9 mpg. if you weren't hauling anything and kept your foot out of it. But it was just too much fun to be able to keep your foot out of, so I usually got about 7.
1975 Ford 1/2 ton, 360, 3 on the tree, 2 wd. That one got an honest 10.
1975 GMC 3/4 ton, 454, 4 speed, 2 wd. Got about 8.
1979 GMC 3/4 ton, 350, 4 speed, 4 wd. got about 9 unles you had to use 4wd, then all bets were off.
I could go on, but I think that shows the kind of mileage we got in the "good old days".

Andy

 

[lostcause]

the last two trucks i have owned have been virtually identical as far as power trains and setups, other than the model difference between the years:

gmc 2500 crew cab 4x4 6.5' bed, auto trans, 4.10's - 2000 (classic) with a 5.7 and 2006 with a 6.0

there are a lot of 6.0 gm's around here, and most people i know claim horrible fuel mileage - 10-12 mpg. i've actually had better luck with the 6.0 than the 5.7 by about 1 mpg. i've been able to consistently pull 14 mpg with the 6.0 over the last few years (summer weather, non-towing). i haven't been hauling anything for a while, and on a whim i left one of the trip meters running. i'm at 14.1 mpg over the last 1200 miles. certainly not stellar, but for general use i don't think it is too bad. probably only 200 or so miles has been empty. the rest has been hauling building materials, tools, scrap, or people and gear. i do have the luxury of living in a rural area so i don't have much stop and go traffic, so it gets to stay steady for a while. probably 80% of my driving is 45-60 mph on country roads, and the rest is city driving or interstate miles.

don't get me wrong, i could easily be posting 10 mpg numbers, and when i first got the truck i was a lot closer to that. the truck has a lot of bells and whistles, and the one that tells you your averaged fuel mileage actually helped me tune my driving habits to match the truck. i'll never be accused of taking a sunday drive, but i also don't just put my foot to the floor without good reason.

 

[Fordman1981]

Guys going to be Hauling tractor and a few other things up the mountain sunday will post fuel mileage when i get back so far the 71 has gotten 9.6 mpg 9.8 mpg 10.2 and 10.4 mpg pulling same load up and down the mountain. now this is all 45 and 55 mph roads 2 lane so no highway speeds the trucks not geared for highway anyways its a work truck. (the way I like my trucks) The 08 6.4 has pulled the same trip 3 times 9.2mpg 11.4 and an incredible 8.2 mpg when the regen was kicking on almost every time it fired up ford has since updated the computer and its doing allot better on not going into regen as often. Oh funny story i was traveling across the state one week during work in the 08 and i filled up before heading out like i usually do the truck was showing great numbers on the computer 17.2 for a while started climbing more 18 wow i thought did it just break in all of the sudden 19.2 then the check engine light came on and it was down hill from there 19.2 17 15 12 8 mpg i called my dealer they said bring it in they changed a sensor and checked codes gets it normal 13 to 14 not pulling and 10 and 11 pulling after they worked on it since. what ever went wrong and i was getting 19.2 i wish it would have stayed that way LOL:thumbsup:

 

[Hersheyfarm]

Might want to check that math there partner.
1998 - 2011 = 13 years. Now given that, are you sure you're running 50k miles/year? If so it equals 650,000 miles, not unheard of.
Now on the other hand my log skidder is 38 years old, and operates like a new one. Yeah, I guess lots of parts but it's still cheaper than a new one.
Same principle as the pickup. What dose it cost you to run a new truck per year? We won't count fuel, just payments and full coverage insurance. I'll bet it's more than it would cost to maintain my old truck, and liability insurance.

Andy

With depreciation it gets the numbers down on owning a new one. I run more tha 52k a year. More like 60. And any down time is devastating, not to mention putting all those parts on. Who wants to do that all the time. I use my 97 f250 just as as farm truck(rarely driven,not abused) and I'm constantly putting crap on it it seems. 240k on it clock, endless ball joints, starters, batteries, relays, vacuum pump, now I need to replace fuel bowl and glow plugs. Plus small parts like door handle, clutch pedal bushing. Put new exhaust system on too. No wonder it's in good shape.

I don't know about you but around here we always add 10 to everything...