3/4 ton mpg empty?

[Capricious]

"..Gee, if 85% of your driving will be empty, highway, why even drive a pickup? A newer little Toyota or Subaru or even a Chevy car will give you well over 30 mpg, so why haul around an empty truck?..."



That would be my choice. The money saved on fuel costs would more than off-set the extra cost of maintaining & insuring (2) vehicles, considering the length of the commute.

I have currently available for commuting a 2013 Corolla and a 2002 Ford Ranger (and also a bicycle, which i "drove" to work this morning). In a year or two I will be replacing the Ranger with a larger truck, and you can be sure that the new truck will be parked except when I really need that large of a vehicle. The Corolla will be the commuter vehicle.

Since I would be freed from concerns over "commuting mileage," I will be able to spec. the truck to do what I really need it to do. And since it will not be a "daily driver," I can live without a lot of the "upgraded options" that can almost double the price of a truck. In fact, the price difference between a "work truck" and a "up-graded trim" truck would come close to paying for an economy commuter.

I can't afford to spend a lot of money on a truck for heavy hauling, just to wear it out commmuting with less than 200 lbs in it.

 

[wawajake]

Years ago when I was between jobs I got hooked on the soap opera the Young and the Restless...........this thread and many that end up like this one remind me of that soap opera.

Maybe the simplest solution would be to have Diamond Pilot (Chris) open a thread called "ECO BOOST GODS GIFT TO MAN"............ then he could put all his eco boost exaggerations all in one thread and we could avoid having to see them pulling a thread totally off course. Chris may even be able to get a commission from Ford for his thread , but considering he thinks they never took any money from Government , he will think they can't afford that.

As for the original poster...........I hear ya , even though most of my driving to and from work could be done with a econo car like my wifes.......... not all of us can afford three vehicles, and need to have a truck for those rough road trips and towing . A diesel 3/4 ton sure seems to be the solution for you.

 

[terryknight]

"..Gee, if 85% of your driving will be empty, highway, why even drive a pickup? A newer little Toyota or Subaru or even a Chevy car will give you well over 30 mpg, so why haul around an empty truck?..."

i think you misread his needs, 15% of the time he will be TOWING, during the other 85% he still needs a truck to haul feed, supplies, etc. not to mention he said he likes driving a truck.

OP drive the convertible to work occasionally that will offset the extra fuel spent on the truck, then get whatever truck you want (i am partially to the OBS (Old Body Style) powerstrokes)

 

[vrmnthntr]

My 12 RAM 2500 diesel 4x4 crew cab got about 16 or 17 empty. All stock. Never checked towing 11-12000 lb trailer. But it was noticeably less as I had to fill up more. The land is flat where I am. No interstate driving, local roads. And a bit in town.

My Nissan frontier averages 25 mpg. And do I enjoy that. 4cyl stick.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Years ago when I was between jobs I got hooked on the soap opera the Young and the Restless...........this thread and many that end up like this one remind me of that soap opera. Maybe the simplest solution would be to have Diamond Pilot (Chris) open a thread called "ECO BOOST GODS GIFT TO MAN"............ then he could put all his eco boost exaggerations all in one thread and we could avoid having to see them pulling a thread totally off course. Chris may even be able to get a commission from Ford for his thread , but considering he thinks they never took any money from Government , he will think they can't afford that. As for the original poster...........I hear ya , even though most of my driving to and from work could be done with a econo car like my wifes.......... not all of us can afford three vehicles, and need to have a truck for those rough road trips and towing . A diesel 3/4 ton sure seems to be the solution for you.

That's a great idea. One stop shopping!


Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have tried the commenter car route twice. Both times it didn't save me a dime over a 3 year period each. Time you figure in insurance, Maintaince, tags, ect. Only thing it did was save miles on my trucks.

Chris

 

[roadhunter]

Years ago when I was between jobs I got hooked on the soap opera the Young and the Restless...........this thread and many that end up like this one remind me of that soap opera.

Maybe the simplest solution would be to have Diamond Pilot (Chris) open a thread called "ECO BOOST GODS GIFT TO MAN"............ then he could put all his eco boost exaggerations all in one thread and we could avoid having to see them pulling a thread totally off course. Chris may even be able to get a commission from Ford for his thread , but considering he thinks they never took any money from Government , he will think they can't afford that.

As for the original poster...........I hear ya , even though most of my driving to and from work could be done with a econo car like my wifes.......... not all of us can afford three vehicles, and need to have a truck for those rough road trips and towing . A diesel 3/4 ton sure seems to be the solution for you.

I like that idea!

 

[roadhunter]

roadhunter,question?You state several other people including (the engineer) tell me the correct way to install the air bags?Do you know this engineer personally?How do you know he or she is a engineer?Heck I tell ya I am a engineer if you want me too.God I love the net.LOL

The meltdown continues. Just can't help yourself can you. You want so badly to argue with me and try to get your credibility back after your embarrassing tantrum hissy fit you threw on that thread. Get over it. Move on. All you are doing is continuing to derail threads at this point and making yourself look even worse.

Lets get back to the thread shall we. How did your ford with the 6.2 gasser do on mileage while towing? How did your 3/4 dodge do on mileage?

 

[JJZ 109]

I have tried the commenter car route twice. Both times it didn't save me a dime over a 3 year period each. Time you figure in insurance, Maintaince, tags, ect. Only thing it did was save miles on my trucks.

Chris

A little off topic, but this is what I'm doing now. Got a 2007 Crown Vic police interceptor to save miles on my new F250, as I plan on keeping for several years.

 

[coobie]

The meltdown continues. Just can't help yourself can you. You want so badly to argue with me and try to get your credibility back after your embarrassing tantrum hissy fit you threw on that thread. Get over it. Move on. All you are doing is continuing to derail threads at this point and making yourself look even worse.

Lets get back to the thread shall we. How did your ford with the 6.2 gasser do on mileage while towing? How did your 3/4 dodge do on mileage?

"Please add me to your ignore list"

 

[KiotiKowboy]

A little off topic....

JJZ - Looking at your avatar. You've just got to love a Golden They are wonderful additions to the family.

 

[roadhunter]

Laffin. The meltdown continues.

 

[roadhunter]

A little off topic, but this is what I'm doing now. Got a 2007 Crown Vic police interceptor to save miles on my new F250, as I plan on keeping for several years.

Nice. Have you seen "lets be cops"?

 

[JJZ 109]

A little off topic....

JJZ - Looking at your avatar. You've just got to love a Golden They are wonderful additions to the family.

I had 2 of them for a total of 14 years. The girl pictured passed 12/31/12. Had 13 wonderful years with her. But sorta on topic, she rode a million miles in my pickup trucks!

Nice. Have you seen "lets be cops"?

Nope. But I did park it in the driveway of the empty lot that I own next door to my home. Had a good time sitting in the garage drinking beer and watching the brake lights come on all evening.

 

[TX0303]

The OP was inquiring about "newer" diesel trucks, so I assume he meant 5 yrs old or less. A lot of the MPG posts have been from guys having trucks from the 90s or early 2000s. A "newer" truck is never going to get the same mileage as those because of all the emissions stuff they have to have and all the extra fuel needed to keep the EGTs up so the cat and dpf operate correctly. I am sure technology will catch up some day, but not yet.
That said, I have a 2004 Dodge 2500, built in 2003 so no cat, automatic, 4wd, 4.10 axles. I average 21mpg on the hiway unloaded all the time. Best things I did to improve mileage was: cold air intake with high flow filter +1mpg, tonneau cover +1mpg. Currently have about 260k miles on it.

 

[motownbrowne]

The OP was inquiring about "newer" diesel trucks, so I assume he meant 5 yrs old or less. A lot of the MPG posts have been from guys having trucks from the 90s or early 2000s. A "newer" truck is never going to get the same mileage as those because of all the emissions stuff they have to have and all the extra fuel needed to keep the EGTs up so the cat and dpf operate correctly. I am sure technology will catch up some day, but not yet.
That said, I have a 2004 Dodge 2500, built in 2003 so no cat, automatic, 4wd, 4.10 axles. I average 21mpg on the hiway unloaded all the time. Best things I did to improve mileage was: cold air intake with high flow filter +1mpg, tonneau cover +1mpg. Currently have about 260k miles on it.

Actually, he never said anything about it being a diesel. In 1995-2003ish buying diesel trucks made lots of sense. Fuel was cheaper, mileage was better. Nowadays, mileage is almost comparable, and the fuel is more expensive. Reliability used to be a big feature too, but that seems to have gone out the window. If I was buying a newer truck, it'd be a gasser, unless I was towing big loads very frequently.

 

[JJZ 109]

In 1995-2003ish buying diesel trucks made lots of sense. Fuel was cheaper, mileage was better. Nowadays, mileage is almost comparable, and the fuel is more expensive. Reliability used to be a big feature too, but that seems to have gone out the window. If I was buying a newer truck, it'd be a gasser, unless I was towing big loads very frequently.

Yup. In my area diesel is approximately 40 to 50 cents more per gallon. Then figure $8k or better for the diesel option. Mileage would have to be some fantastic number to recoup that 8 large.
Just browsing online it does appear that reliability is not what folks think of in the past. Couple that with the much higher cost of diesel repairs and it's the reason that I didn't even consider diesel when I recently got a new F250. That and I only tow heavy loads infrequently.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I'm not sure about this, but I suspect it isn't so much a matter of diesels having become less durable/reliable, but of gasoline engines having become more so. When I was a kid, reaching 100k in a gas-powered car or truck was a big deal; now, wracking up 150k or 200k without major issues isn't too surprising.

 

[JJZ 109]

I'm not sure about this, but I suspect it isn't so much a matter of diesels having become less durable/reliable, but of gasoline engines having become more so. When I was a kid, reaching 100k in a gas-powered car or truck was a big deal; now, wracking up 150k or 200k without major issues isn't too surprising.

I think you may have hit upon a good point there. Heck, as noted in an earlier post I recently bought a 2007 Crown Vic police interceptor to save miles on my new truck. Bought it with 109,000 on the clock. Didn't think twice about it. Runs like a champ and shifts smoothly.

 

[terryknight]

the new diesels are also being plagued by more complex emissions controls that (i feel) reduce reliability. i would never own one without a warranty and when that was up the truck would be gone