Best fuel milage ???

[BigAl]

I cannot find the ideal spot to post this thread , so I guess this is as good as any .
Ok all you truck drivers out there ! Listen up !!! In your opinion ,what is the best "mileage per gallon" full size truck brand on the market today that is capable of towing a tractor ? I am assuming it will need to be a 3/4 or 1 ton rated truck that runs on diesel . I am also assuming I am looking at one of the big three, Chevy, Ford or Dodge .With the cost of fuel going higher all the time , I am starting to look at my gas power V8 Chevy with a little displeasure . I have heard some boys saying they are getting 27 miles a gallon out of their Dodge deisels ????? I love my Chevy and empty it gets about 16-18MPG . Loaded it will drop to about 11MPG . I also need to justify the cost to myself that the fuel savings will be worth the cost of a new truck in the long run . I keep my trucks a long time ( 100,000 - 150,000 miles ) so I will be able to calulate the fuel savings over the long run . So! Come on and throw in your two cents ! I also think we need a truck towing section on TBN .
Big Al

 

[Dargo]

If you switch to the Cummins, you may get tired of it before you wear it out. 100 to 150k on the clock is nothing. You will need to run it 500,000 to 1,000,000 to really wear it out. There is one about 2 miles from my house for sale with 1.2 million on it, and it has never had the engine worked on. The guy says it still runs great! Now, the rest of the truck is pretty well done... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I'm not really a good one to give you the fuel economy of the Cummins. Mine is far, far from stock. Also, I almost never run mine not loaded. However, I can tell you that recently towing around 15,000 pounds at speeds from 75 to 100 mph on the interstate only yielded me around 15 mpg. Again, I'm not close to stock, and the faster speeds really kill my economy.

 

[kokopelli2]

honetly i would recomend that you buy a little vw tdi and drive around with that and use your truck to haul with when you need to.

on the other hand i am getting 23.5 mpg in my slightly modified chevy dmax

 

[LarryRB]

I have an 01, H.O. Cummins in a Dodge 3/4 ton with the 6 sp manual trans. I pull a fully loaded L48 with extra bucket on a heavy Bri-Mar 12,000 trailer.. Last week, two trips to New Haven CT area, mostly hilly down and back.. Trailer and tractor with all extra chains etc, is just over 11.000 lbs, and I did the worse ever from this combination and did 12 MPG. I usually can get 20 -21 around town empty and only once, with a heavy tail wind going to Boston I got just over 30. Have never been able to duplicate that since... When staying close to home and the most hilly I operate in, I can get 15,,with trailer and tractor...

 

[Av8r3400]

20-22mpg is the best you'll ever see from a Cummins. I have a '94 5-speed 4x4 the best I ever saw was 20.xx mpg. People that say more are, well, less than truthful. The V-8 diesels aren't worth talking about. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I agree with the idea of a little mpg car and use the truck you have. Long run, much less $$. Thats what I'm doing.
(Love my VW diesels too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

 

[BigAl]

I agree that a little car or truck would be great . The problem is I go between California and Idaho loaded with a equipment trailer a lot . Oh well .... Looks like I will stay where I am at for now . Thanks for the input .
Big Al

 

[YanmarFever]

Dodge ram diesel 02 HO 6 SP. trans
the best i got was 19-20 towing I get 15mpg.
Our truck holds 145 gals. of diesel when its full
Ernie

 

[jcmseven]

Al,

I have a 2002 Ford Power Stroke 7.3L diesel F250 with 4WD and the 142" wheelbase. It has the Banks PowerPack system with the Big Hoss module. It has a lot of power. It will do the following on fuel: Empty, in combination city/highway driving in very hilly terrain, the truck will get 15.5-17.5 mpg. Strictly highway, 18.5 mpg is the average. When towing my John Deere 3720 on a 20' tandem dovetail trailer with the loader, box blade, my truck will get 13.5-14.0 mpg while going a steady 72 mph. This is very repeatable in rolling hills. I help several Dodge/Cummins owners with their trucks and have found the Cummins, in general, will not get substantially better mileage than my modified PS when empty, but when towing a similar load, will get on average of one mpg better when towing (expect 14.0-15.0). They, though, do no have the power that my truck has (although Banks and others do offer plenty for those engines as well). The local experience with the new 6.0L Powerstroke is that they will get 1-2 mpg better in combination driving than a stock 7.3L Power Stroke, but will not improve towing mileage. The Duramax diesel will get about the same loaded as a 6.0L PowerStroke. This is about 17.0-19.0 empty and around 12.5-13.5 loaded with trailer of moderate weight (7500-10000 pounds). The short message here is that yes, there exists some variablity in mileage due to manufacturing tolerances and programming between the "big three" but the differences are small on average between trucks AND manufacturers. While I do not question the high mileage numbers some of the posters, I would say those numbers that are in excess of 20 mpg are anomalies and could not be counted upon in your case. My general observation is that after spending substantial time with each of the manufacturers offerings, the mileage issue should not be the determining factor as each brand would average very close to one another when empty, but if you are doing a lot of towing, the Cummins will provide an average of 1-2 mpg better mileage than the other engines when towing moderate loads (such as a tractor). It should offer 1-2 mpg better mileage than your current truck empty and 3-4 consistently when towing. Even though I own a Ford and think the Powerstroke in my truck is great (especially with the Banks system) if I were buying a truck now new I would strongly consider the Dodge, as the Cummins engine is in my mind the best offering in the new truck lineup. It also likely will offer the longest service life of any of the new engines. But, be aware buying a diesel is not just about fuel and lifespan. You likely will not be able to justify purchasing one based on that alone. You must be satisfied with the performance of the truck as primary motivation, as ultimately that is the thing that will make you happy or not with the purchase. I strongly think in this class, diesel is the way to go for that reason alone.

John M

 

[_RaT_]

Big Al, I cannot believe any full size is going to get 27 mpg, in fact, if anything, I was somewhat underwhelmed at the fuel economy we got in a 04 Dodge 3500 4X4 pulling a 26' cargo trailer to and from Reno to Las Vegas. The truck had the higher speed rear end as well, 3.73 or something in that ball park as I recall. The mileage was about 14 to 15 and we definitely stayed in the speed limit especially in the numerous tiny towns dotting the trip. (does anyone actually live in those towns /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) At this point, if I was in the market for a truck, I would have Dodge at the top simply for the Cummins. I do however much prefer the styling and interior of either Ford or GM over the Dodge.

PS, have you checked Dave Smith up in Idaho? He sells slightly used trucks as well as new and the price is going to be tough to match almost anywhere. Rat...

 

[_RaT_]

<font color="blue"> at speeds from 75 to 100 mph on the interstate only yielded me around 15 mpg </font>

Dargo, what, no highway patrol in Indiana? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif That speed would find you a nice healthy speeding ticket and insurance rates that would make you think about even approaching the speed limit out West. The highway patrol are very, very good out here with plenty of places to hide. My .02 cents says you would be nailed! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif