Milage with diesel engines in a pickup

[Pistol Pete]

Thinking about buying a diesel truck. My question is what are you guys getting for milage with them?? Loaded and with nothing behind them. Trying to justify the cost of a diesel engine vs a gas. Plus I know resale is better on a diesel. Put a lot of miles on in a year and trade to often. Thinking I could get a diesel and keep it longer and be able to pay for the diesel in fuel costs. NO...I do not pull big loads, just an 18 foot glass boat and a camper twice a year to and from the lake lot.

[fishing tech]

Diesels are mad to work not grocery store and back. To need the power 2 times a year i don't think it is worth the extra cash.

[MuleShack]

I just drove to South Dakota to pick up my fish house on Friday.

Going out empty i was getting 24mpg and coming home pulling a 20' lodge fish house I was averaging 18mpg with a Ram 2500 with about 125,000 miles on it.

They are nice for hauling, but for a few trips during the year, I would stick with gas.

[Ufatz]

Here are a couple tips from an old diesel truck guy: First, most diesel truck guys are gonna LIE about their mileage. Second, when you need something fixed it will be MORE expensive in most cases. Third, they are at their best when HOT.....like any engine...and are really NOT made for short frequent trips. Fourth, they DO tend to be smelly just because the fuel is odoriferous. And fifth, they are BIG time powerful and you miss 'em when you get rid of them.

Think it over carefully.

Oh, mileage? My Powerstroke Ford routinely got 16 +- empty and 13/14 pulling 30' Airstream. Truth.

[311Hemi]

I just drove to South Dakota to pick up my fish house on Friday.

Going out empty i was getting 24mpg and coming home pulling a 20' lodge fish house I was averaging 18mpg with a Ram 2500 with about 125,000 miles on it.

They are nice for hauling, but for a few trips during the year, I would stick with gas.

You can consistently get 24 mpg (freeway) out of your Ram hand calculated? What year is it and is it a 4x4? At those mpg's your truck is cheaper to drive gas wise vs a gasser so over a lot of miles you may recoup the cost, even with diesel being more expensive.

My 2003 Ram Cummins 4x4 QC consistently gets 16-17mpg city driving, and 18mpg on the freeway. I could get better on the freeway if I slowed down to 55-60mph, but that is not going to happen. I have never seen 20 mpg, I think the best I have ever seen hand calculated was 19.6mpg. I am running 35" all terrain tires though. Mileage on our last trip to Leech from the cities loaded with 18' HSO-Classifieds Sportfish full on gas and all gear for the family was around 14 mpg.

My dads 98' Dodge 2500 2x4 gets upwards of 21-22 mpg on the freeway, he has 300k on his truck and takes his time getting from place to place.]

My father in laws 2010 Dodge 2500 4x4 QC LB Dodge is getting worse mileage than mine, but that truck only has probably 10k miles at this point.

I would not buy one strictly for the mileage aspect, because you will not be guaranteed 20 mpg. The new Hemi's get pretty decent mileage, very comparable to what my truck gets. I would consider a 2500 one if I were going to do it again, especially with regular being cheaper than diesel now. A friends 1500 4x4 hemi gets 18mpg on the highway from what he was saying.

[MuskieJunkie]

UHOH, internet gas mileage quesions....

I use to own a Ram 2500 cummins, the only towing I did was my boat. I loved that truck but in my opinion it doesn't make economic sense to use in that situation. Now I have a mid size V6 SUV.

When you are on the highway towing and if you keep the speed down you'll get great mileage, but around town they get poor mileage. To get 20+ miles per gallon you'd have to be not towing, on the freeway with the cruise set at 55.

As far as justifing the cost, I think when I bought mine the cummins was a $6k upgrade, that's about 2,000 gallons of gas you could buy, it would take A LOT of towing miles to recoup that cost, unless you're towing big trailers I don't think it's worth it.

[MuleShack]

just to clarify, the mileage was based off the digital computer gauge in the cab. I reset the mileage when I took off. When I stopped at the dealer in Brookings, SD it said 24mpg average. I didn't reset it and when I arrived back home in the metro it was reading 18mpg...so I didn't get 18 on the return trip it was much lower I guess to average 18 for the trip. I was doing 60 for the most part the whole trip except a short stint on hwy29 from watertown to brookings where it was probably 68.

Yes it is a 4x4 '05 and I am using AmsOil in everything...no lie

[CJH]

I would not buy one strictly for the mileage aspect, because you will not be guaranteed 20 mpg. The new Hemi's get pretty decent mileage, very comparable to what my truck gets. I would consider a 2500 one if I were going to do it again, especially with regular being cheaper than diesel now. A friends 1500 4x4 hemi gets 18mpg on the highway from what he was saying.

+1 (unless you tow a heavy load a ton or put on BIG mileage and want to turn over your vehicles less)

[311Hemi]

just to clarify, the mileage was based off the digital computer gauge in the cab. I reset the mileage when I took off. When I stopped at the dealer in Brookings, SD it said 24mpg average. I didn't reset it and when I arrived back home in the metro it was reading 18mpg...so I didn't get 18 on the return trip it was much lower I guess to average 18 for the trip. I was doing 60 for the most part the whole trip except a short stint on hwy29 from watertown to brookings where it was probably 68.

Yes it is a 4x4 '05 and I am using AmsOil in everything...no lie

I'm not doubting you, just want to be sure what we are talking about. So you get this consistently after hand calculating? I only ask because most people (such as the OP) are asking what he could routinely expect to see for MPG. If you see 24mpg routinely (hand calculate) over multiple tanks of gas then I would not sell that truck (or let me know when you are going to)!!!

I have seen my computer do around 23mpg after filling up and going 55mph for around 100 miles, but there is no way I routinely could expect that on a whole tank of gas...ever.

[nobody05]

I have a 2010 Dmax with 14K, driving like my 85yr old grandmother I can get as high as 23. Now my driving pulling skid loaders and backhoes about 12-13, normal driving about 16 avg all acording to the on board computer! It's 100% stock except for a PPE programmer on tune #2

[Scott K]

You would be surprised how much them trip computers can be off, especially if you are running a programmer.

[MinnesotaMike]

F250 w/ 7.8L 125,000 miles.

Last weekend I went to Grand Rapids via Floodwood from Lino Lakes. 75 mph on the open highway pulling two 4wheelers, vehicle computer said 16.9 mpg, hand calculation was 18.4. I reset my trip milage everytime I fill up, kind of anal about the mileage.

If/when I buy a new truck it will not be a diesel. I just don't need one anymore.

Good Luck,

Mike

[311Hemi]

If/when I buy a new truck it will not be a diesel. I just don't need one anymore.

But will it be a 3/4 ton?

I find myself having the same thoughts from time to time, but who knows when I will looking for a new truck. Wont be any time soon.....hopefully not for a loooong time and I can re-[PoorWordUsage] things then.

Either way, I am am pretty sure I will be doing another 3/4 ton.

[MuleShack]

Sorry Hemi,

I never do the manual calculations...just so happened I thought about it as I was leaving and wanted to see what it could do for this trip.

Normal everyday driving for me is a mix of pulling lawn trailers, boat and occasionally a 20' felling along with empty driving around for errands in the summer, my electronic meter is generally between 17 and 18mpg when I reset it.

[MinnesotaMike]

Hemi,

I doubt it, I just don't need it. We had a 24' Searay that we towed around. Now we just have wheeler/sled and smaller boat trailers.

1/2 ton should do it.

Mike

[Pistol Pete]

Some more info for everyone. I currently own a chevy, before that a ford. Both trucks got and are getting 11-12 mpg pulling the boat. Just driveing around between 13.5-16.5 mpg. I fish everyweekend and dive at least 55-75 miles one way. I put on between 20-28000 miles every year. Some longer hunting trips out west (wyoming,montana). Usually trade every 3-4 years. Tired of trading and taking a beating. My chevy truck now (5.3 gas)lacks in power pulling my boat, but I can live with it. Just thought I'd put out some more info

[Powerstroke]

'00 Ford F250 7.3L got 18-22 hwy dpending on speed. Towing was 12-15 depending on weight and 14-16 for mixed driving in town.

'05 F350 6.0L Is 17-20 hwy, 14-15 in town and 10-14 while towing. Hand calculated for all the naysayers.

Personally, I've had the v8 half ton, it wasn't doing it. I've had the '00 diesel and loved it but the $4 fuel scared ,e to the v6 suv. Talk about worthless. Now I tow a camper several times a summer. I was torn between one of the new, more capable half-tons, but my love affair with the diesel won. Also the fact that after a few years, the diesel holds its value compared to lower mileage gasser trucks. So I ended up with the '05 at close to the same price of the gas trucks and I still have my diesel.

Yes they do thrive on hard use and long hauls, but they are not bad if you have somewhat of a drive once and a while. Diesels are generally cheaper to own (maintenance) and generally get better mileage. You won't make your money back on a new one, but its you can find a nice one thats a few years old, you will have a nice truck.

You have to decide for yourself. Go drive a few. You'll fall in love with the power. Per gallon a diesel is cheaper. They will last longer. The ride is rougher and might cost more up front. The choice is yours.

[theoilman]

My biggest problem with calculating fuel economy in my diesel (06 Sprinter 3500 w/ 2.7L 5cyl Mercedes engine) is the quality of fuel. For the same city/highway driving with same load my economy will vary by as much as 2 mpg because of fuel quality. So I have gotten very picky about where I buy fuel. Overall I get 19mpg average in summer and about 20.5 to 21 winter. (Yes, everything is AMSOIL in it: Engine oil, transmission, diff, coolant, fuel additives and more.)

[jjz]

Generally a good oil burner can save you some money because of the long life and higher btus contained in the fuel. However a bad one costs a lot more to fix(5.9 cummins however is much cheaper to fix than powerstrokes or duramaxs) and oil changes cost is roughly triple. A long time ago (about 7 years ago) I figured with a perfect gas and diesel rig it would take about 300,000 miles before the higher purchase cost and other costs make a oil burner a money saving solution. That being said I still want a 7.3 ford or older cummins, because good deals on good duramaxs are hard to find.