F250 fuel economy question

dmccarty · Jan 12, 2006

bmaxwell,

Take a look at The Diesel Stop web site. The hard start issue sound familiar as does the poor milage.

The milage might be correct though since you are driving 7-8 miles one way. My truck is not warmed up until I have driven I would guess at least 5 miles. Maybe more. If you are using winter blended fuel you will also get poorer milage. And when its colder out the milage goes down a bit especially if you are driving short distances.

The part that bothers me is the trip milage of 15 mpg... Hopefully you can find an answer on the web site I listed.

Later,
Dan

_RaT_ · Jan 12, 2006

<font color="blue"> Working them hard takes a tole. In that regard, they aren't much better today than trucks of 20 years ago </font>

Maybe its time to consider going with a larger (and safer) towing vehicle and forget about light trucks. I am friends with some fellows that used to buy Dodge 3500's to tow their dump trailers around as well as their Bobcat T190's. The drive train (usually the transmission) was always the weakest link. Now they simply buy a vehicle designed to pull (and stop) those loads every day. They have the new GMC trucks that are not pickups, not sure of the model but they are larger then any of todays light pickups.

Farmwithjunk · Jan 12, 2006

Simple economics. I get a vehicle allowance from my employer. It's for a pick-up truck. I can use it any way I please. The allowance is re-negotiated every time I get a new truck.

About 75 or 80% of my driving doesn't involve dragging the trailers.

A 3/4 ton pick-up, combined with my 14,000 trailer stays below 26,000 GVWR. That helps with license, taxes, insurance, and a host of other issues pertaining to cost of operation.

In my case, it's more practical to just trade trucks every 3 or 4 years. That keeps my milage at or below 100,000.

In the immortal words of Alfred E. Newman,
WHAT? Me worry?