Ram Eco Diesel towing 3500# 1300 miles

[pmsmechanic]

As a comparison to the Ram 1/2 ton diesel and yours, my Detroit 60 in a Freightliner 228" wheelbase sleeper truck, pulling a 53' Stoughton van trailer, weighing in at 32,500 lb full of fuel, with an average freight payload of 35,000 lb, has averaged almost 8 mpg for its 476,000 mile life. Darn shame that the pickups can't do significantly better.

Lets look at this from the other side of the coin. When pulling trailer my Dodge Cummins does about 15-18 mpg. With high wind resistance and not obeying speed limits I have had a low as 9 mpg. I have had as high as 22-23 pulling a very light and empty trailer. If I drive real nice with no trailer on a long trip I can do as high as 26.5 mpg though that is an exception as I've calculated that only 3 times in the 250,000 km that I have driven the truck.

It;s a shame that a semi running down the road empty can't do the same. My point is that each truck is designed to do a different thing. Your truck is designed to pull heavy loads efficiently. Which it does. Pickups are designed to get better mileage running empty which is what they do most of the time.

If anybody wants to convert my figures to US mpg a Canadian gallon is 20% larger that a US one. Divide my numbers by 5 and multiply by 4 gives US mpg.

 

[KubotaToy]

As a comparison to the Ram 1/2 ton diesel and yours, my Detroit 60 in a Freightliner 228" wheelbase sleeper truck, pulling a 53' Stoughton van trailer, weighing in at 32,500 lb full of fuel, with an average freight payload of 35,000 lb, has averaged almost 8 mpg for its 476,000 mile life. Darn shame that the pickups can't do significantly better.

See, this is what I keep telling my wife, I need a bigger truck cause the fuel mileage is the same, she keeps telling I cannot afford the fuel bill.:laughing:

 

[fordmantpw]

Give them a year or so. My 08 Titan was by far my favorite vehicle I have owned of my two dozen.

I plan to sell my 06 F350 diesel and 2012 Ecoboost and go to one truck if it lives upto the hype.

Chris

Have you seen the numbers on the Titan XD? Not that impressive, actually. A loaded Platinum Reserve only has ~10k lbs towing capacity and 1400 lbs of payload. I was truly hoping for a truck halfway between an F150 and an F250, but all they brought to the table was a heavy half. Stressing heavy because that's exactly what it is: heavy! Car and driver reported 7300 lbs. For me, the F150 isn't quite enough truck, while the F250 is a bit too much, so I was hoping for something in between, but the XD doesn't have near enough payload for me. Basically, it weighs as much as a Super Duty, but has less capability than an F150. It will be interesting to see the reports once they start reaching the buying public.

2016 Nissan Titan XD First Drive [w/video]
2016 Nissan Titan XD Test ? Review ? Car and Driver

 

[buickanddeere]

As a comparison to the Ram 1/2 ton diesel and yours, my Detroit 60 in a Freightliner 228" wheelbase sleeper truck, pulling a 53' Stoughton van trailer, weighing in at 32,500 lb full of fuel, with an average freight payload of 35,000 lb, has averaged almost 8 mpg for its 476,000 mile life. Darn shame that the pickups can't do significantly better.

Efficiency of scale. Power plants, rail transportation and ships for other examples.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Have you seen the numbers on the Titan XD? Not that impressive, actually. A loaded Platinum Reserve only has ~10k lbs towing capacity and 1400 lbs of payload. I was truly hoping for a truck halfway between an F150 and an F250, but all they brought to the table was a heavy half. Stressing heavy because that's exactly what it is: heavy! Car and driver reported 7300 lbs. For me, the F150 isn't quite enough truck, while the F250 is a bit too much, so I was hoping for something in between, but the XD doesn't have near enough payload for me. Basically, it weighs as much as a Super Duty, but has less capability than an F150. It will be interesting to see the reports once they start reaching the buying public. 2016 Nissan Titan XD First Drive [w/video] 2016 Nissan Titan XD Test ? Review ? Car and Driver

I thought it was rated around 14K towing and 2K payload. That's what I was hoping for as it seems you were also. They would have the market niche at those numbers.

Chris

 

[fordmantpw]

I thought it was rated around 14K towing and 2K payload. That's what I was hoping for as it seems you were also. They would have the market niche at those numbers.

Chris

12k towing and 2k payload on a base model 4x2 truck, but those drop quickly as you add 4x4 and options. I was hoping for about 12k/2500 on a fairly loaded 4x4.

 

[Diamondpilot]

12k towing and 2k payload on a base model 4x2 truck, but those drop quickly as you add 4x4 and options. I was hoping for about 12k/2500 on a fairly loaded 4x4.

No better than the gas options from Ford and GM.

Chris

 

[fordmantpw]

No better than the gas options from Ford and GM.

Chris

Exactly. Seems kinda pointless if you ask me. And with the extra 2000 lbs of curb weight, I don't look for fuel economy to be that much better than the gassers. Cost/mile definitely won't be any better than the gassers.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Exactly. Seems kinda pointless if you ask me. And with the extra 2000 lbs of curb weight, I don't look for fuel economy to be that much better than the gassers. Cost/mile definitely won't be any better than the gassers.

14K is the magic number to me. It will just beat out the gas 3/4 tons and not as hulking big as a 1 ton diesel.

Chris

 

[CHDinCT]

Just for comparison, my 2010 F-150 with the 5.4 and 3.55 rear end pulled this trailer from Connecticut to Florida this past September. Weight was right around 5,000 for the trailer. The truck was somewhat loaded with me and the wife, luggage, and a few other things in it - probably 600-800 lbs of weight in the cab and bed, so maybe 1,200 with the trailer tongue load. We averaged 11.4 mpg hand calculated. Speed was 65-70 except when in traffic, and occasionally 75 or more when passing. If I were making this trip regularly, I'd opt for and eco-boost or eco-diesel, but, overall, I was pretty happy with the performance of the last and final version of the old Ford 5.4 ltr.