Real world Chevrolet 6.0 gas mileage in 2500 HD

zing · Sep 2, 2015

TomSeller said:
If a loaded semi truck can get 7 to 9 MPG, why can't a pickup get significantly better than that?

Sorry to get off topic from the OP's truck, but a diesel pickup that doesn't do better than that has something wrong with it. I have a 2011 6.7l diesel F-250 crew cab 4x4 with 138K kms on it (about 90K miles). I keep the tires at the pressure recommended on the door panel sticker because I tow frequently, which is 75 PSI in the front and 80 PSI in the back. I don't count litres etc, this is just the truck computer so it may be off a mpg or two, but it should be reasonable close to reality.

- If I drive (no load) an hour or so on the hwy at 120kph (75mph) it will settle out at 12 lp100km (24mpg) and on country roads for an hour doing 90kph (55mph) it drops down to 11 lp100km (26 mpg).
- In the city (no load) with stop and go traffic for a week or so it will settle out at 17 lp100km (17 MPG).
- A couple weeks ago I towed my 37 foot horse trailer from Halifax to Montreal with 2 horses there and 3 horses on the way back, plus a water tower, a few thousand pounds of tack and equipment, and 3 or 4 people. Divided highway the whole way at 70-75MPH avg speed, equal amount of mountainous and flat terrain, over 2400 KM (about 1500 miles). Average mileage for the whole trip was 19 lp100km (15 MPG).

Obviously I can't compare weight with a 65,000 lb semi, so I don't know what to say about that. They may not be apples and oranges, but maybe apples and watermelons? Hard to compare because the scale is totally different.

HHR · Sep 2, 2015

Copperhead said:
Does seem goofy. Semi truck fuel economy has gone up at least 25%, on average, in the last 15 years. Yet the pickups, irregardless of engine, seem to be stuck in the last century. It is truly sad, when the 6.0L in my 2015 2500 averages, for all miles, no better than the 454 big block I had in my '98 2500. It averaged between 13 and 14 mpg. They have a lot of these pickups set up now to be rolling carpeted living rooms with home theatre systems and wifi capability. if they would apply some of their brain wave activity to the motors and drivetrains, we might have better mpg numbers today. It is truly sad that my semi truck has a lifetime mpg average of almost 8 mpg, empty and loaded combined, and my pickup lifetime average mpg is only 14. Especially when one considers, just on empty weight, my semi and trailer weigh in at almost 5 times the weight of my empty pickup.

Semi truck fuel economy has not gone up that much has it? I have a friend who hauls over length power poles and has a few trucks. His '91 Freightliner with a Detroit diesel gets 11 MPG loaded. His 2007 Freightliner with Detroit diesel gets 4 MPG. Our 1971 6x6 "Duece and a Half" with a white turbo diesel gets 10 MPG.

C4Ranch · Sep 2, 2015

Sure they can do stuff to the 6.0L. Direct Injection, turbo, etc. but those are some of the reasons I went with it.... It doesn't have it. Hoping it pays off it long term dependability.

Time and 250k miles will tell.

C4Ranch · Sep 2, 2015

Oh forgot to list ACM...got that on wife's Surburban. Don't like it.

Lineman North Florida · Sep 2, 2015

Picked it up yesterday, dealer filled it up ( all 34 gallons ) drove it home mix of interstate at 70 mph and rural roads at about 60 and stopped before I got home and filled back up and checked it with the pencil and got 14.2. It has the 4:10 rearend.

buickanddeere · Sep 2, 2015

Mine does 12-13 in the winter puttering around on short trips. 17-18mpg on a trip in good weather.
A large set of deep tread Mud Mother Tires knocks down the mpg so I just ordinary M&S in winter and plain boring stock size Michelin tires in summer. .

C4Ranch · Sep 2, 2015

Lineman North Florida said:
Picked it up yesterday, dealer filled it up ( all 34 gallons ) drove it home mix of interstate at 70 mph and rural roads at about 60 and stopped before I got home and filled back up and checked it with the pencil and got 14.2. It has the 4:10 rearend.

Congrats! Check again, pretty sure it's 36 gal tank.

oldpilgrim · Sep 2, 2015

It's not exactly comparing apples to apples but:

My 2014 Tundra double cab, with a 4.6L 310hp v8 gets about 18 mpg for in town driving. Last weekend I took it out for a 200 mile pure hwy run and got 22 mpg.

I haven't towed anything more than a few miles here and there, so I can't report on that.

I'm extremely happy with it's performance.

My old 1990 gmc pu with a 350 got 10mpg empty, loaded, city or hwy driving.

Clint S · Sep 2, 2015

Best we got with our 03 was 15 to 16 puttering around and a bit better on long trips. Our 2015 with around 850 miles is averaging 12-13 as of now, no longer trips in the books yet