3/4 ton mpg empty?

[Garandman]

Not sure about Canada, but here, diesel fuel costs 10-30% higher than gasoline. So that negates a lot of the fuel savings. With mixed city and highway, you probably wouldn't pick up enough to make up the difference in fuel costs. And that doesn't count the $8k additional upfront cost, plus the $100 oil changes.

We "do the math" on diesels for our work fleet. The simplest possible summary is if you drive over 30,000 miles per year or tow a great deal, diesels pay for themselves. If not, gassers will cost less in the long run (5+ years).

That said, we have two Cruze turbodiesels and one Cruze Eco with a 1.4L turbo (gas). The Eco cost $3,000 less comparably equipped but is faster and burns regular. But everyone prefers driving the diesels.

At the moment around here diesel cost 40-50 cents per gallon more than regular.

 

[mikehaugen]

OP, fuelly.com has actual observed mpg. You can select powertrain and body style.

I use a similar site, but the problem I have with them is that of the people I know, very few actually know how to calculate their own mileage, or they just go by the computer, and even then don't really pay attention to any kind of long term average. While coasting down a hill or braking I've seen suvs hit 40 mpg, so to some people that is their best mileage. I regularly ask people what kind of mileage their various vehicles get and have gotten answers anywhere from shoulder shrugs to "well I drive it all week and it only costs ..." or "I just drove 200 miles and used a half tank."

I wish they had a site that you actually had to input miles driven and how many gallons to fill up. I have a phone app that I input my mileage and fillups and it records it all and will give me charts and different averages. Maybe there is an app that you can allow to store all of this in a database somewhere and other people can get results for the different vehicles using this app?

 

[fordmantpw]

I wish they had a site that you actually had to input miles driven and how many gallons to fill up. I have a phone app that I input my mileage and fillups and it records it all and will give me charts and different averages. Maybe there is an app that you can allow to store all of this in a database somewhere and other people can get results for the different vehicles using this app?

Ummm, that's exactly what Fuelly.com is. It's awesome, and a great idea for the OP. The only problem is you don't know the type of driving for each vehicle, so it's a good way to compare overall numbers, but not specifics.

Here is my fuelly image:

 

[mikehaugen]

Ummm, that's exactly what Fuelly.com is. It's awesome, and a great idea for the OP. The only problem is you don't know the type of driving for each vehicle, so it's a good way to compare overall numbers, but not specifics.

Here is my fuelly image:

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/f-250_super_duty/2008/fordmantpw/66614

Ok, I feel dumb now. The site I have seen (actually I think it was suggested here) is gasmileage.gov I think. I have heard fuelly suggested before also but was under the impression it was basically the same so never checked it out. Thanks for the heads up, I will downloading that app.

 

[fordmantpw]

Ok, I feel dumb now. The site I have seen (actually I think it was suggested here) is gasmileage.gov I think. I have heard fuelly suggested before also but was under the impression it was basically the same so never checked it out. Thanks for the heads up, I will downloading that app.

No need to feel dumb...we're all here to learn, right?

 

[DelSc]

I have a 2012 F350 diesel. I average ~16.5 mpg in everyday driving unloaded, and about 13 mpg pulling a large horse trailer. On long trips, I can coax >20 mpg out of it (unloaded) if I keep the speed down. Winter driving makes me lose about 1 mpg.

 

[westcliffe01]

I did a brake rebuild on my 2008 F250 and the mileage improved from 13mpg (unloaded) to now averaging 16mpg. I will get better driving at a constant speed on the highway (19mpg) but 90% of my driving is small back roads. If your milage has dropped, have the brakes looked at. On mine they were seized up solid from road salt and were dragging. With such a big engine it is hard to notice unless one goes to fill up...

 

[Capt Dan]

What is interesting in this thread is the lack of mention of quality of fuel. Are you buying diesel fuel or Bio-diesel? Here in eastern Iowa I only know of a few places to get 100% diesel.

Also the gasoline. I buy non-ethanol gas when I can. A new location of a chain opened by me, and since buying there gas, the computer's average has gone up almost 1 mpg. (I used to go out of my way to get my tractor fuel from them.)

The better the mileage you get the less difference it makes.

 

[OHVarmntr]

I'm buying pump diesel, and adding 2-stroke oil at 1oz per gallon. The Bosch VP44 injection pump on my truck was designed for the previous fuels that inherently had better lubrication properties. The process of removing sulfur from the fuels of nowadays also strips it of it's lubricity, so I add 2-stroke oil to help with wear.

 

[yelbike]

My 2007 Lincoln Lt just did 19mpg mostly highway and 8 mpg on the return trip, mostly flat. Tail wind going there unloaded and slight head wind. Return was towing 20' fiberglass Larson boat with 200 HP verado Mercury plus ezloader trailer, I'm guessing around 4000#.

I know its not 3/4 ton but for comparison. Speed was 110 kph or roughly 70 mph.