Diesel Trucks (Fuel Economy)

[Ally 1988]

Was considering buying new truck and have talked to some folks that own either a Ford or Chevy 3/4 ton. And both have told me that they the Ford anyway he tells 20mpg and its a crew cab 4x4 another guy has A Chevy same 4x4 crew cab and he claims 25mpg. Are they yankin my chain or is this true.

[woodco]

They blowin smoke !!!!!! If you see 16 to 20 mpg with any
diesel pick up yur doin good. Best I did with my Cummins
powered Dodge 1 ton was 22 mpg.

My brother has a new powerstroke Ford and is seein 16 to 18 mpg.

[Ally 1988]

My Toyota only gets 18mpg its 4x4 and Four Cylinder an it sucks even more pulling my boat. Like 14mpg and cant get out of its own way when doing so.

[woodco]

The diesel has an advantage .... My fuel mileage is consistent
whether it's bangin around town , highway or towin. I used to tow with a 1988 4x4 , 4door dually Chevy w/454 ...... I would
average 5 to 7 mpg !!!! :eek:

It was a roomy truck though just real thirsty ....

[boataddict26]

I have heard 23mpg from a few people with new F-350's.

[RED ALERT]

Ally,If your buying new don't forget the additional expense of diesel ownership.They are about a $5000 option and in the case of the GM the Allison trans is required at about another $2500.
Oil changes are more $$$ and add in the fact that diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline.If your going to own long term and don't trade out every several years you might re-coup the difference over the long haul otherwise you can go through alot of tankfulls of gasoline before it makes economic sense.
But then there is always the impractical part of our brains that says "Screw it,I want a badass tourque monster diesel!".

[LakeTrash]

5 desiels since 95. Milage at a constant 70 unloaded

95 Ford F350 4 door 2 wheel drive single axle automatic - 20.5

98 Dodge 3500 extended cab duelly automatic - 18.8

99 Dodge 3500 extended cab duelly 6 speed - 19.1

99 Ford F550 4 door duelly 6 speed - 14.4

02 Ford F250 4x4 single axle 4 door 6 speed - 18.5

Those are real numbers over a lot of miles.

LT

[sho305]

Also with the diesel you are buying more truck(motor). Just like stepping up from a 150 to a hd250, where the frame and brakes, etc., are all bigger. My older diesel is 10qts of oil, and I think newer ones are more because of bigger oil coolers. If you have a 2wd and take it easy you will get over 20 likely. The Cummins may get a hair better as it is smaller, but you loose a little on the large load pulling. Yeah, 15-20 depending on how you drive, and 10-15 pulling mostly from all I hear. A diesel is just broke in at 100k miles.

I did lots of miles in a 95 & 96 PSD 1 ton with a stick and 4.10 gears. Worse: 8mpg on the floor mostly, high wind, mostly 4th gear at 65-70 bouncing on the governor at 3200rpm, 10,000+lbs trailer. Best was 15mpg with a nearly empty 3,000lb trailer running under 70mph. Never ran a tank with just the truck, guess 17-18. They would hit the governor at 85mph in 5th, so they ran higher rpm than most you buy now. I drove it empty with 2nd and 5th gear only the few times I had no trailer. We ran them 200k in 4-5 years and got new ones, oil every 5k, pulling all the time.

[Jones Racing #157]

I have a 94 chevy it gets 18 to 20 better if you drive it easy. best part is it still runs great with 242k miles alot of them towing. If you are thinking of buying a chevy you should check out
John Kennedy at kennedydiesel.com this guy is the best with the chevy DMAX

[Greg Moss]

F 350 powerstroke 4 door one ton 20.5 MPG

[Jay2002]

with the overhead console that has the compass/mileage, don't believe it. Mine is off by probably 5-6 mpg. It reads around 20-21 mpg. Realistically, I get around 15-16 mpg. See Ya, Jay.

[TTriton]

I have a 1989 Ford F-350 4-Door Longbed Dually. I have the 7.3L IDI Engine. It has a aftermarket Banks Turbo and I get just barely under 20 mpg on the highway but around town getting in to the throddle hard I get around 15 MPG.

[TTriton]

Forgot to mention that if you want more info try http://www.thedieselstop.com/ they have a amaising forum like we got here on scream and fly.. But they have 28412 Registered Users and normally always have over 200 logged in at a time so when you ask a question you get a answer fast. They used to be called ford-diesel.com but got into pissing match with ford over the name..

[Barefoot Bob]

Had 6000 miles on it and ran from Minnesota to Illinois on a full tank. 21.5
Pulling the boat 16
And the 5th wheel camper with the boat behind 11,000 pounds tow weight, 12MPG
I now have 11,500 miles on the truck and love it.

By the way, 10 guarts of oil on a change, but you only need to change every 5000 miles. Also a 100,000 mile warranty on the engine. The allison trany really kicks but. In the tow haul mode it even jake brakes to slow the truck down when stoping

[Ally 1988]

Not sure which I like better the truck or the house.:cool:

[Barefoot Bob]

I no I am going to have to live with the house longer than the truck:)

[FCnLa]

I get over 20 with the air on....Cummins Turbo 12 valve motor, 4X4, 2500 with all terrains.

And get this, with almost 250,000 miles, it still gets the same milage!:eek:

[FLMIRAGE]

2000 FORD F250 2WD 6-SPEED 3.73 GEARS LWB 20-23 MPG.


2002 FORD F250 2WD CREW CAB AUTO 3.73 GEARS SWB 16-20 MPG.

HEY WHO GIVES A DAMN THE NAVISTAR ENGINE IS TRIED AND TESTED TOUGH. SAW A 2003 W/ THE NEW ENGINE IN IT IT WAS TOO QUIET TO ME KIND OF REMINDED ME OF A CHEVY DUMAX RUNNING. I WAS TOLD THAT THE NEW ENGINE HAS NOW OUT PACED THE BOWTIE W/ MILEAGE, POWER, TORQUE, AND GET THIS THE AUTOMATIC IS A SIX SPEED!

[sho305]

Screw the truck, I like the house better!:D :D And the new Ford 6.0 diesel....after the bugs are worked out;)

[Barefoot Bob]

Man, I just broke 500 and you are almost a guru:D

[sho305]

Holy cow! I been wasting time on here instead of being the cool dude and showing everyone my new hat while barefooting behind a boat!! (great pic!) Naw, I'm wrong....it is too cold for that where you are too;) Real cold and windy today, like 20 out and cutting wind. Heck I don't know...but your house is just boss, I want one some day! Nice truck too, let us know how it runs out as time goes on. I can't believe I'll become a guru this year! Awesome! I have been stuck on here half the day, every time I go to leave email pops in.:) Did you ever sell your motor? There is a 235 near here for sale(on a vector?), but I gotta put this truck together first:(

[Barefoot Bob]

Bulldogdaddy wants my 225 Rude for his Bourum. He is really bummed right now cause his puter is broke. He has called me a couple of times this past week and is busy working every day.

[sho305]

I wondered where he was. You know that big motor is gonna make that thing of his really rock! I figure if I can't buy it yet, I might as well research my next boat here...so I make the right choice;) ;) Funny, I think I only saw a guy barefoot once on our lake? Must be no talent up there???:rolleyes:

[BayviewRick]

I'd take both the truck and the house.. our 2000 Ford Standard Cab, dually 4x4.. she's a rare one, powerstroke, Auto, gets about 18 as an average on the hwy, about 14 in town. The worse we've ever had with it was 8.. that was loaded towing a 330 Sundancer, on our Hydraulic trailer (8,000 pounds alone) with the air on, 93 degrees.. across Wisconsin. I've heard of these getting 20 +, never me though, could be the driver though, i'm not afraid of the skinny pedal!

[boataddict26]

Nice truck and sweet house barefootbob!!

[GO FAST BOATS]

ally,
Hey let me know if you are going to buy a new Chevrolet, I sell Chevrolet and Cadillac and I will make sure that you can get a S&F Discount(sell it at 100.00 over dealer invoice) or I can help you on a used truck. Also i have alot of customers that claim they get around 20 to 22 on the hwy with the Duramax, let me know if i can help
go fast

[Ally 1988]

Thanks for that offer that is better than what I was offered hear Locally just sure hate have to start making payments again. Just payed off everthing last year kind of getting the itch again though.
Thanks again
Gary S.

[Barefoot Bob]

I am one of the Chevy owners that get 20 to 22Hwy, but that was non stop steady driving. I like to mash the foot feet to the floor also. So I really dont baby it when driving.

The way I see it Chevy, Ford and Dodge all have good Trucks. I have to work on all of them. And Im not going to brag mine up and cut someone elses down. There all good and everyone has there favorite. I had a costomer come in today and ask me if I would buy another one just like it. I said yes I would.

I do really like my truck:)

[CUDA]

The nasty weather down here in naples fl. My 24 valve 98 dodge 4x4 gets 13-14 around town , and my buds 2001 ford 4x4 gets 10-11 around town. If I did not need one for pulling 10,000lb + trailers I would not have one.

[sho305]

My ID Ford turbo gets 13 when only doing in town driving. I think it is the auto tranny. I got better with others that had sticks, and about the same with a non-turbo stick(in town). In first and second it revs way up and nothing you can do about it. I could shift at 1200 rpm with the stick and skip gears with the 4.10 geared trucks I drove. It was so easy, so much torque you didn't even have to step on the gas to take off. High rpms kill the mpg when you are empty. Often with the sticks I got better mpg in town; as I ran 75 on the highway must have been 2500rpm or so.

[cbra212]

I am the proud owner of a 2000 F-350 4x4 crew cab dually, 6-speed tranny w/373 rears. Mods include Banks 4" exhaust from the turbo back, air box, K&N air filter, and a 100 horse Super-chip. I can go 581 miles on 31 gallons of gas pulling my rig with the cruise set on 80. I also run the fuel additive called TK7. that has increased my mileage about 22 miles to the tank. These are real numbers on trips I go on very regularly. And I have yet to be outrun by or outpulled by a chevy or a dodge with comparible mods.

[airide18]

My dad has had 8 F-350's since 1987.Never had a problem with any of them.Right now hes got a 03' F -350 powerstroke with a 80HP chip and an airade intake,it gets 22 mpg,the intake and the chip help it alittle on the mpg.Hes already go 70,000 miles on his 03:)

[sho305]

Dad has a 2001 with a chip and K&N. He says it really rolled on his trip from MI to AZ with a 10,000+ 5th wheel. Says his egt will go to 1250 and he has to let off, so now he wants a 5" exhaust!!

[airide18]

With that 5" exause that thing would sound sweet!!!!

[STV_Keith]

We typically see the 94-98 Dodge 12v trucks get the best mileage, followed by the 94-97 Powerstrokes. Next in line would be the 98.5-2002 Dodge 24v trucks, then the Duramax, then the 99+ Powerstrokes.

Just remember, with diesel, the more power they make, the better the mileage gets (if you can keep your right foot off the floor). :)

Keith Lockliear
Diesel Dynamics (http://www.dieseldynamics.com)