3/4 ton mpg empty?

[C4Ranch]

My 1/2 ton has 225k miles on the clock and figured it was time to start thinking about replacing.

Been using my BILs 3/4 ton for hauling my tractor and heavy equipment so figured I should look into being able to do it with my own truck.

My land is 120 miles away but I also drive my truck to work daily 62 miles empty.

What's the best mpg I can expect with a newer 3/4 ton empty since that will be 85% of my driving?

Thanks!

J

 

[Soundguy]

my 04 f250 diesel will make 15-17 if you keep your foot out of it. that's unloaded.

My 99 f350 DRW will make UP to 15 interstate, unloaded.. mind you .. it makes that mildly loaded to. will do 11-13 loaded to 14k, depends on where your foot is.

can't help you on gassers..

 

[dodge man]

There are claims all over the place for mpg for a 3/4 ton diesel. It possible to get 20mpg but I'd say 15 to 17 is more realistic and some people do worse.

 

[Diamondpilot]

My 06 F350 diesel has turned in 17 mpg as an average over many many tanks.
A gas version will be around 12 mpg.

If you are looking for towing power and good MPG day in and day out look at a F150 Ecoboost. I have a 2012 FX4 with 3.73 gears that has 40,000 miles on it. My average for the life of it is 18.3 mpg and tows as good as my 99 F350 I had if not better.

Chris

 

[fordmantpw]

I agree with Diamondpilot. If you go gas, fuel economy in a 3/4 ton is going to be mostly non-existent. Diesel will be decent, but you also have higher fuel and maintenance costs, not counting the up-front cost. How much weight are you towing and how often? That will help determine whether you need to go with a 3/4 ton or if a 1/2 ton will do the trick for you.

 

[roadhunter]

So now the ecoboost 1/2 ton tows better than a 1 ton dually diesel and gets better mileage than many cars. That must be some truck.

I've noticed that my truck is extremely sensitive to speed. Anything over 75 and the mileage drops considerably. Wyoming recently changed some of its' speed limits to 80 and the mileage went down to about 12 going that fast. Nearly doubles the mileage going only 60.

 

[JJZ 109]

My 2014 F250 Supercab 4x4 6.2 gasser gets from 13.5 to 15 local driving. I've seen 17-18 on the highway, no load, no trailer and a tonneau cover on back.
For what it's worth, my 2013 F150 Supercab STX with 5.0 got about 8.5 towing a 7x14 enclosed trailer with 2 Harleys in it from New York to Florida. Local driving was no better than the new F250.
Haven't checked it in a long time, but last I knew my 1997 F Super Duty (F450, bascially) dually with 7.3 PSD hauling a 5500 pound total load (7x18 enclosed trailer & cargo) is around 9 MPG.

 

[The Fred]

08 Sliverado 2500 HD 6 liter gas gets 12 empty IF flat going, here in the hills 10 MPG. This is figuring on paper which almost agrees with dash BS-O'meter.:laughing:

Truck has only 10,000 miles.

Fred

 

[5030]

my 04 f250 diesel will make 15-17 if you keep your foot out of it. that's unloaded.

My 99 f350 DRW will make UP to 15 interstate, unloaded.. mind you .. it makes that mildly loaded to. will do 11-13 loaded to 14k, depends on where your foot is.

can't help you on gassers..

You need a tuneup Soundguy. My 350 4x4 longbed CC 7.3 averages 21 highway empty.

 

[Bigfoot62]

. . . What's the best mpg I can expect with a newer 3/4 ton empty since that will be 85% of my driving? . . .

First, you need to know that men will lie about three things:
Their *** life.
Their hunting dogs.
Their MPG.


Seriously, it will depend on several factors, including:
Engine, 2WD or 4WD, axle ratio, and how heavy your foot is! Speed is probably the biggest factor.

Loaded with a big heavy trailer, my F-350 DRW can get 11-13, IF I'll drive it between 50 and 60 MPH. I can cut that down to 7 MPG at 75-80. Empty, that same truck will get anywhere from 15-19 MPG, again, mostly depending on how fast I'm driving it.

My F-250 will only do about 1-2 MPG better when empty. And, it's a SRW, short bed. Both trucks are 7.3L diesels, with auto trans and 4.10 rear axles. With the low-speed rear ends, they are turning 2000 RPM's at 63 MPH.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

My 2015 Silverado 2500HD 6.0 gasser is hovering around 13+ mpg. It has less than 500 miles on the odometer at this point.

Even assuming the diesel gets around 5 mpg better than my gasoline engine, the difference of approximately .20 per gallon less expense for non-ethanol vs diesel - and the additional $8K purchase expense for the diesel engine ... I'm alright with the trade-off on the mpg. Frankly, I hate working with diesel. Even pumping the stuff is downright nasty.

I haven't put this to pencil, to determine where the cost-effectiveness crosses lines. It would surely take years for me to justify having gone with the diesel.

Edit - If I didn't care about my engine, and ran corn fuel, the savings per gallon would be even more significant and drive the time-line further out.

 

[oldballs]

'99 F250, SRW, 4.10 gear, 5.4 V8 gasser, Automatic, 2 WD, Ext cab, 6.5' bed, .....best is 16mph, average is 14. Pulling 4,500 lbs is 12 mpg, but under 60 mph where the rpm is exactly 2,000.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[C4Ranch]

Thanks for all the input!

I'm torn on all the new 1/2 tow capacity claims. My max trailer weight is 10-12k#s. BUT, what concerns me most is the safety factor with all the weight.

I've towed ~9k with my 1/2 ton and it's downright scary how much I'm pushed around even with a weight distributing hitch... Talk about tail wagging the dog...

Compare that to my BILs mega cab CTD where it's solid as a rock pulling.

 

[Bigfoot62]

. . . I've towed ~9k with my 1/2 ton and it's downright scary how much I'm pushed around even with a weight distributing hitch... Talk about tail wagging the dog. . .

Yessir. You've tried it, and didn't like it. So why go there again?

A 1/2 ton is not a 3/4 HD. It never will be. You WILL have some trade-offs. A little less fuel mileage and a little stiffer ride.

 

[fordmantpw]

Towing 10-12k, I would definitely go with a 3/4 ton. If you were at 9k, a heavy-duty payload 1/2 ton would work well for you, but 12k is really pushing a 1/2 ton further than I would like to push it.

For reference, I tow a 9500lb (loaded) fifth wheel. I have a 3/4 ton as I felt it was more than a 1/2 ton could comfortably handle

If I am easy on the pedal, I can eek out 18-19 MPG with my F250 diesel on the highway (if conditions are absolutely perfect, no traffic, 60 MPH). Any stop and go and it drops really fast, though.

 

[varmint]

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?

 

[fordmantpw]

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?

Because he likes driving a truck? Because he doesn't want to maintain 2 vehicles? Just because?

 

[vulcancowboy]

My '03 Chevy diesel with 154K gets 20mpg going back & forth to work (mostly back roads, few stops). Highway it jumps to 23mpg if I keep it around 65mph. Pulling a trailer around 10k it drops to 12mpg.

 

[sld]

3/4 ton as a commuter? Not a good choice. Run the numbers and see if an econo car makes sense. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Bigfoot62]

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?

3/4 ton as a commuter? Not a good choice. Run the numbers and see if an econo car makes sense. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

Because no self-respecting wanna-be farmer would drive a sub-compact car!!!