Hauler Fuel Mileage?

[George2615]

I have an 05 2500HD Ext Cab 4x4 w/Duramax, Allison, and 3.73 gears.

Off the showroom floor average mileage was 18.5-19 MPG empty, 14.5 MPG towing 6500#.

Added 4" magnaflow exhaust, Diablo Predator programmer set on 65HP / 140 ft lb torque and air box mod.

John_bud is right. My Predator programmer does fool the computer readout on the dash saying it gets 21-23 MPG. I didn't believe it so I manually checked the mileage.

After mods actual mileage manually calculated is still 18.5-19 empty and 14.5 towing but I have 65 more HP and 140 ft lb more torque. Didn't lose any MPG and gained the ability to smoke the tires if I wanted to.

 

[jayhaitch]

So you guys mean a big honkin' Duramax diesel gets the best milage, and a Ford Ranger gets about the same as a 5.7 chevy? I want a diesel!!!

2001 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4 4x4, stock except K&N FIPK intake, 76,000 km: 15.5 US mpg highway, 13 towing 3500 lb (weighed on scale 18' Chaparral/4.3LX Mercruiser), ~11-12 pure city. Love the vehicle, hate the milage

 

[the_sandman_454]

2005 Ram 3500. 5.9L Cummins turbodiesel, and a 6 speed manual 3.73. Empty on back roads/freeway mixture 19-22 depending on how I drive (aggressive or egg under throttle pedal) ~70mph max, and towing up to a 30' bumper pull trailer, medium bobcat on equipment trailer, or my 20' boat ranging from 12-15 again depending on how aggressively the throttle is used. Not used in actual city driving enough to be able to calculate mileage, but rest assured it's bad, too many idiots in the city upsetting me, causing me to accelerate harder than is optimal for fuel mileage.

 

[machmeter62]

92' Ford f-350 dualie 7.3L/444 cu. in. Diesel with a Banks Turbo, with a gross vehicle and trailer wt. approx 16,000#: A trip from SFO Bay Area across the Sacramento Valley over the Sierra-Nevada Mountains (7,500') climb to Lake Tahoe and return, a distance of 500 miles round trip, 13.5 mpg average, but traffic conditions don't help in the Tahoe area or the Bay Area!

 

[Eagle Nest]

1999 f-350 super duty extended cab dualie 9ft flatbed 4x4 7.3 6spd 4:10s truck only 15 mpg. towing 13,000 to 15,000 lbs. 11.5 to 13 mpg. no flat ground alot of hills.

 

[Boomerang1]

1997 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 5 speed Manual 3:54 diff. 5.9 Cummins Turbo Diesel. Custum AFC Plate and injector pump turned up. 650 lb. ft. torque. Weight of empty truck-7000# 22-23 mpg empty - mountain driving. 15-16 mpg pulling 7500# trailer - mountain driving. 12 mpg empty driving 4 miles a day round trip to work.

 

[john_bud]

So you guys mean a big honkin' Duramax diesel gets the best milage, and a Ford Ranger gets about the same as a 5.7 chevy? I want a diesel!!!

2001 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4 4x4, stock except K&N FIPK intake, 76,000 km: 15.5 US mpg highway, 13 towing 3500 lb (weighed on scale 18' Chaparral/4.3LX Mercruiser), ~11-12 pure city. Love the vehicle, hate the milage

Well, a Duramax does get decent milage, but I think a Dodge Cummins with a moderate amount of add ons and a 6 speed manual will get the best milage. Neighbor just added large exhaust, loud lack of muffler and a juice box thingy to a 1 ton dually and is getting 21-24 empty. He added Hp and about 4 mpg. He does drive it nice. But you can sure hear him from a ways off!

jb

Oh, yeah the ford ranger's often stink at milage! They should get 25-30, but only get 15-16! What gives?

 

[Highbeam]

"So you guys mean a big honkin' Duramax diesel gets the best milage, and a Ford Ranger gets about the same as a 5.7 chevy? I want a diesel!!!"

Great observation and one I noticed too when I switched from a toyota p/u to my fullsize chevy with the 5.7 for only a minimal hit in mpg. Much more truck.

Funny that the most capable pickups made, the diesels, get better mpg than a tiny deathtrap ranger that barely can get out of its own way.

To get the big mpg a guy needs to buy a car or a motorcycle. But even a motorcycle can be beat in mpg by a small car, some of the bikes only get 40 mpg or less.

 

[Ryan03]

I own a duramax, but have to give credit to the dodge guys for best fuel mileage, the brother in law has a 99 2500 ext cab long bed cummins and it seems to do a little better on fuel when we caravan to the drags, he is running an edge 60 horse chip and large exhaust, I would be willing to bet that the displacement difference between the two has alot to do with it {cummins 359 vs. duramax 403] . I have read somewhere that for 08 the cummins will increase to 6.7 liter and also get a mild power increase, I hope chrysler knows what they are doing, I would hate to see them screw up a good thing like ford did replacing the 7.3 with the 6.0. I wish they would just leave well enough alone.

 

[GeneD14]

My 2005 F350, 3.73 rear end, 6.0 powerstroke, edge EZ, 4" exhaust, gets 16.8mpg on the highway at 80 mph. If I drive 55 mph on the back roads it jumps up betweem 19 and 21 mph. Hauling a trailer with 13,000 lbs it gets between 12 and 14 mpg at 70 mph.