Truck MPG?

[Corey Bechtold]

Hello everyone. I am currently in the market for a new or used Truck and was wondering what you get for gas mileage. I currently have a 94 Dakota and it has the 318 V8 and gets about 14-16 MPG. My growing family has outgrown that truck so I was looking for a full size with the 4 door extended cab. I drive a lot to different lakes all year round so having a truck that gets 15 MPG or better would be nice. Lets see what comes up.

Thanks,

Corey Bechtold

[Whopper Stopper]

We bought a 05 Tahoe for the dogs, woods and fishing. Plenty of room for gear, has the back row of seats if more people hauling is needed. We have the 5.3 engine which I hooked up to the wheel house and plenty of power to roll down the road.We traded in our 01 Ford Super Crew. The Ford was nice to look at but that's about it, the one door even leaked air from day one. Before we settled on the Tahoe a sales guy had me take Dodge pickup with the Hemi for a ride, Balls ! Going down the road at 60 when you stepped on it you could about hear the tires squeal. Talk about power! The down side was I have ridden on hay racks bailing hay that gave a sweeter ride. I know my back would of been shot long before the warranty was up on the Dodge. Anyway the Tahoe worked for us.

[Corey Bechtold]

How about those little things a person can do to improve gas mileage. Dual exhaust, K+N air filter, Ram hood, Fuel filters, spark plugs? Has anyone had any luck with any of these?

Corey Bechtold

[Daveo]

Whopper.. that 5.3 L is about the best gas engine on the road. I just loved mine..kinda miss it in a way but am also loving my duramax. Got 24 mpg going up to red lake with it....kinda hard to dam about that to...next time yea need a GM. let me know ill see what I can do.. I work at the GMC in forest lake.

[Dano2]

I never had much luck with just the K&N filter alone, but have heard of others haveing a LITTLE with the entire Fuel injection performance kit. Although my neihbor (spelling) told me just the filter alone, gave him a couple more MPG with his dodge diesel.

24 MPG, wow, thats awesome, I love the looks of them GMCs too. Thats going to be my next truck for sure.

[Valv]

I don't think there is much MPG improvement with these upgrades, a little more hp maybe but not much. And after you spent all that money, it will take longer to come up even with stock truck.

I only have an exception for spark plugs, I switched form stock (crappy OEM) to Bosch Platinum and I gained 2 t 3 mpg and a better response with throttle, I didn't even buy the 2 or 3 tip type (more expensive) I just used standard Platinum.

[Corey Bechtold]

Thanks Valv, I'll give that some consideration. I am going to keep my eye open for a Chevy with the 5.3.

Corey Bechtold

[hanson]

I don't think its hard to argue with any of the advice previously mentioned, I can agree or relate to all of it.

My first pickup- 1993 Ford Ranger STX ext cab 4x4 4.0L V6.

That was one heck of a little pickup until I started to pull around 2 snowmobiles. I got jerked around the road and always felt underpowered, then the transmission puked on me.

My second pickup- 1999 GMC Sierra extended cab 4x4 Z71 package 5.3liter (newer body style). I've got 120,000 miles on it and it still feels like a brand new truck, other than the fact that I need to put shocks on in a bad way. Gas mileage is very comparable to what has been mentioned. I have been very close to 20mpg with it in the summer with no wind on a long run with perfect conditions, etc. It also sipped the gas up like crazy last week when it was below zero pulling a snowmobile trailer bucking a headwind. I also run 285 size BFG All-Terrains which aren't the most fuel efficient tires in the world.

My next pickup- I'm going to stick in the GM family but will more than likely be getting a Duramax. 2 of my good friends have them and they are very nice trucks. Another has a F250 Superduty Powerstroke but it is alot noisier in the cab then the Duramaxes.

[sledhead]

I guess I'm the only guy who drives a Ford, And if you saw my other post I wasn't happy, but none the less I've had nothing but ford's except this pesky chev I've got now. LOL

Ok I usually get 15-17 in the city and as much a 22mpg on a long haul, doing around 80-85. at 70 she drinks it. NOT CONDONNING SPEEDING. Grandpa's got a 98 chev 1500 ext short and gets 17 pulling the sled and house, nice truck, can't believe I'm saying this "I may buy a chev for the next truck" May I said Maybe. lol

My brother-in-law runs a 1 ton crew cab ford w/7.3 powerstroke and get around 22mpg on the highway.

just me 2 cents.

[Dano2]

nope, your not the only one sledhhead, I've got a 2002 supercrew and very happy with the gas mileage, handling, and lots of power. It was abit hard getting used to in the pilot seat though, after having a 2001 dodge ram.

I was never much of a ford fan, and my brother has always had gmc and chevy and wouldn't even say the word "ford", then one day he drove up in one, I couldn't believe my eyes. He's had it for about 8 years now and has been very happy.

My next truck will definetly be the 4 door gmc, with the diesel though. I love the way they look, and are roomier in the front, plus I need that awesome gas mileage for all the fishing and hunting trips.

[Daveo]

I do love my GMC duaramax.. however I will not say its a perfect truck..but then again noboday makes that..The ford has some good things going for it..a few of my friends own the powerstroke but all in all GM has allways been knowen for its smoother ride and better mpg...GM realy built there trucks to be a great road truck that you can take off the road and work with it..ford built a great work truck thats not to bad on ther road...Doge on the other hand???? well I have no comment....one thing I can tell yea about my duramax is that it just plain ole sucks on the ice. with the alicen tranny its way to turquey and you loose your traction very fast....I just bought a set of the bridgestone..winter doulers...its kinda like the blizztacks but for trucks...I went from a E rateing to a C rating...I know i have to buy a new set of tires for summer now...but last year I had to shovel my truck out on the lake way to many times...them Michelins realy stinks on the lake..

[MIKE IN lINO III]

Corey,

My neighbor is selling his F250 crew cab diesel. I think it is a 2000 also has a topper. If interested send me an e-mail and I 'll get you his #.

MStelter at Gopherstatelitho dot com

Mike

[Kingfisher]

I have had new Ford pickups since 1977, I don't think much of their gas milleage, but otherwise am satisfied, they keep a good resale value. I have sat in several Chevy pickups over the years, and have never liked their seats as well as a Ford for comfort. What say you?

[Tripleplay]

I'm in the process of breaking in a new Chevy 5.3 bought in November and I drive 35+ miles to work each day through stop and go in the Cities. Even with that I'm averaging 15 MPG. Took it out of town for Thanksgiving and got over 18 MPG on the highway with it so I'm pretty pleased so far. I had a hard time going back to a Chevy after getting a lemon of a van about ten years ago and totally switching to Dodges, but so far I'm pleased.

I have a good friend who has the exact same vehicle just a couple of years older and interestingly he had a bad experience with a gas station fillup where their tank had cracked and totally fouled up a number of vehicles. Insurance paid for a complete redo of his fuel system and he went from about 15MPG in his regular driving up to 18MPG with the redo. He doesn't think they did anything different but by the change in performance it seems like there must be something different to have that kind of effect. I'd love to know what it is/was since I really put the miles on my truck.

[Corey Bechtold]

Thanks, but I value my hearing. I couldn't resist. I personally don't care for the Ford deisels. I appreciate the offer though.

Corey

[Valv]

I am not trying to change your mind, but I had diesels for past 5 years, and I will never go back. Maintenance is same as a gas, lasting 4 times as much. Power and benefits, no comparison. I wish they made smaller motors, like in Europe, but looks like Dodge is getting there, they are already using a Mercedes 2.7 turbo on their Sprinter vans, and there is talk to drop Cummins in their fullsize pickup, also for a Mercedes.

[federline]

Hey Corey,

I've got a '99 Silverado 1500 Z71 with the 4.8L (a smaller 5.3L, otherwise identical). It's a great truck, and my milage is right in there with the other 99-04 Silverado owners here: 17.5 MPG average, and I can get 20MPG unladen on long freeway trips. Go with the 5.3L for sure, the 4.8L gets the same milage with less oomph for the heavy loads.

Aftermarket mods don't help this truck much for MPG, GM has these new Vortec 4.8L and 5.3L engines tweaked up pretty high for efficiency. The computer sets dashboard codes on me pretty frequently when operating conditions leave GM engineers tight, tight tolerances. Ya gotta use Bosch Platinum plugs in 'em, and keep your filters and sensors real clean, don't skimp.

As with any model of truck, there's a few highly valuable pieces of info about the 99-03 GM 1/2 tons on top of the usual 4x4 pickup stuff that you need to know to live a long happy life with your truck. If you pick one up, I can give you the Golden List of 99-03 GM truck fixit tips... It's a list of ten or so things every 99-03 GM truck owner should know to avoid getting their cash ripped off on certain common repairs. I should write them down someday.....

Like another person I saw on this thread, I put about 25,000 miles on mine per year. It's a tough, powerful truck that rides and drives real smooth, and it's the most self-servicable vehicle I've had in my garage for 15 years. I'd go get a new one today if I had the scratch.

Good Luck!

[Macgyver55]

You wont beat a GM Vortec for long life in a gas motor. We run about 60 of them at work and many are at or near 200,000 miles and have never had a valve cover off. When it comes to resale the GMs are generally better than the others too.

The 5.4 Fords are having some real problems with spark plugs blowing out and stripping threads in the heads. Ford is trying to downplay it but I personally have 2 friends that have had the problem. One was lucky enough to be covered by warranty, the other not.

Their are at least a half dozen guys (drivers) at work that run Dodges (none diesel)for their personal vehicles, probably 3 of them have told me they won't buy Dodge next time.

GM trucks have their own issues too, but for the most part they are user friendly and easily servicable. After working on vehicles for a living for 30 years it has taught me what is the best value for my money. I'd buy the GM.

[knoppers]

my 01 ford 5.4L would get about 14-17 MPG, and not change much when towing, unless you needed to switch off overdrive on larger pulls. my 04 5.4L 300hp will get 15-18 MPG. but pulls much better, and less likely I have to switch out of overdrive. this winter has been less, but most driving is short distance, with much stopping. getting about 13-15 in this so called winter. winter is a different grade of gas. like said earlier, I don't own my truck for milage, its for towing, which it excels at.

[hitthebricks]

[note - Hitthebricks-please read Forum Policy before using the froums again - this needs to go in the For Sale Forum, Thank You]

[Corey Bechtold]

Thanks a lot guys for the feedback. federline, I will let you know if I find a Chevy and then I could get those tips from you. Happy New Year all!!!

Corey Bechtold

[Smokey]

Don't forget that it's not just about the engine. The rear axle ratio and the tires can make a big difference in MPG as well.

I drive a 98 Suburban (old body style) with the 5.7 liter (350 c.i.) gas engine, 3.73 rear axle, 4 speed automatic OD transmission, and Cooper Discoverer HT (highway tread) tires.

Around town, 13 mpg, on longer stuff, 15-16 mpg, sometimes higher. Thats with 2 adults, and 3 teenagers and all of our stuff and sometimes a trailer going about 65-70. That's another thing, push it past 72 and the mileage suffers, not to mention your wallet if you get pulled over.

[Hotspotter]

I'll see what your guys' opinion is of AMSOIL, but I get about 2-3 MPG better running it in my "little" truck (Tacoma). Drain intervals are much longer with the synthetic AMSOIL, and I haven't had problems with it yet, and have been running it for about 80,000 miles. I'm also using their oiled foam air filter, rather than a standard paper filter, which could account for part of that 2-3 MPG increase.

The oil is much more expensive, but saves money over time if you follow the recommended oil-change intervals (25,000-35,000 miles, YES, you read that right), and use their filters. The filters need changing every 12,500.

Joel

[McGurk]

Relating to the Amsoil- how does a person go about changing the oil filter without losing oil? Is it a matter of topping it off with new or catching the dropped oil and reusing it? Maybe it's me but I can't help but drop oil everywhere when changing the oil filter after draining the oil pan. McGurk

[Hotspotter]

McGurk:

You're right, you lose a bit of oil. Depending upon the size of your vehicle's engine, and the resultant size of your filter, you may lose a fair amount. I was told that you could top it off. However, with my truck, as long as the initial fill is near the top of the fill line, after I change the filter I still have enough oil in the motor to forego topping it off.

That's been my experience so far.

Joel