first long highway trip ive taken WITHOUT my trailer and rig..... i got 17.8 mpg ...... i was pretty happy with this..... i got between 13 and 14 mpg towing @ 70 to 75 mph..... my total vw according to certified cat scales was 13,260lb....... this in a 1995 psd, auto....... no mods.....

I Just dumped a 96 F250 with a 7.5 gas. It got

12 empty town/rual hwy
8-9 with camper
6-7 w/camper and 3k trailer

Picked up a Dodge 02 3500 Cummins 4x4/auto/3.55 gears

16.5 empty town/rual hwy
?? camper
10.5 camper/~3k trailer.

11,400 truck plus 2300 on the trailer axle (13,700 CGVW on a DOT scale) Almost double the milage of my gasser. Coastal mountains and keeping my foot into it :D . Glad I got the 3500 dually. Cummins rocks.

94 PSD 5sp 4.10's

18 empty

towing has varied but around 14 with 3,500lb trailer in the hills

'97 Ram 4x4 Auto,3.54 gears, extended cab.

loaded, unknown, (have towed with it yet, just got it two weeks ago)
empty, commuting (40 miles one way through the country at ~~60MPH) the last three tanks have been 21 mpg.

not bad for a heavy, full size 4x4 pickup. my '98 F150 SC 4x4 with 4.6 V8 got 15 mpg empty with a tail wind down hill....

Chad-

on my trip last week(end) to NY (from NC) the first full tank of the trip i got 20.02 mpg - ave. speed was 70-75 mph... night time ~550 miles ran on that tank

01' f250 crew/lwb/2x4/PSD/auto/3.73/cruise ctrl.. no tail gate...

-yag

Originally posted by chumly2071
'97 Ram 4x4 Auto,3.54 gears, extended cab.

loaded, unknown, (have towed with it yet, just got it two weeks ago)
empty, commuting (40 miles one way through the country at ~~60MPH) the last three tanks have been 21 mpg.

not bad for a heavy, full size 4x4 pickup. my '98 F150 SC 4x4 with 4.6 V8 got 15 mpg empty with a tail wind down hill....

Chad-

21 mpg out of a auto ram 4x4??? Find that hard to believe.
I have essentially the same truck in a 98, and it won't get anywhere near 21 mpg. 5.2 or 5.9? Stock tire size?

I'm bettin he has Cummins under the hood.

In my 96.. the best I got was doing 90mph, in OD for 2 hours. I got about 17mpg. doing 70 I get 16.5, doing 55 I get 16. around town I get 12mpg. Thats all unloaded.

Pulling a 8,000lb trailer, I get as little as 2mpg on VERY STEEP grades to 14-15mpg if I can cruise at 70-75 on levelish ground.

Thats a 5.9L-360 w/ auto, 3.92 gears and 31" tires.

I agree, gotta be a Cummins. IIRC, that is the only "3.54 gears" available...

Originally posted by twaldher
I'm bettin he has Cummins under the hood.

In my 96.. the best I got was doing 90mph, in OD for 2 hours. I got about 17mpg. doing 70 I get 16.5, doing 55 I get 16. around town I get 12mpg. Thats all unloaded.

Pulling a 8,000lb trailer, I get as little as 2mpg on VERY STEEP grades to 14-15mpg if I can cruise at 70-75 on levelish ground.

Thats a 5.9L-360 w/ auto, 3.92 gears and 31" tires.

This sounds more like what I see... Ya, maybe he has a Cummins, just didn't say it. 3.50 gears suck.

Originally posted by rkcrawl


This sounds more like what I see... Ya, maybe he has a Cummins, just didn't say it. 3.50 gears suck.

not in a cummins which redlines around 3500 rpm.. you get the 4.10 gear option, and you are limited on speed.. yeah 3.50 gears suck with a gasser, but with a diesel, they are the way to go.

2001 f-250 crewcab auto 3.73 gears
16 mpg daily driving
18 mpg on interstate
best tank was 19.2 mpg pulling small trailer with 4-wheeler and camping gear,and it was the first tank i run out when i left montrose.i don't know if the thin air had something to do with the better milage,but i was in the mountains so it should have gotten worse milage...
by the way i will be heading back to montrose next month pulling my toyota,so i will check with a heavier load...

Originally posted by Hick


not in a cummins which redlines around 3500 rpm.. you get the 4.10 gear option, and you are limited on speed.. yeah 3.50 gears suck with a gasser, but with a diesel, they are the way to go.

4.10's are great, as long as you don't drive over 65 :flipoff2: . The best MPG on the cummins is supposed to be around 1700 to 2100 RPM towing, thats why I ended up with 3.54's in mine.

sorry, left out the fact that it is a 5.9L Cummins. 265-75-16 tires. Empty, I'm consistently getting 21 mpg, driving like a sane person on the local county highways. Not sure what I'll get with it at 70-75 for a complete tank on the interstate.

Originally posted by Hick


not in a cummins which redlines around 3500 rpm.. you get the 4.10 gear option, and you are limited on speed.. yeah 3.50 gears suck with a gasser, but with a diesel, they are the way to go.

Depends a lot on the tires. Buddy of mine had 4.10's with the 5-speed & absolutely could not keep up with all of us in our 1/2 ton trucks because he had to over-rev it. 'Course he could also pull a hill at 30 MPH in overdrive :D He switched to some 33" tires & it made a world of difference. Another friend has one with 3.54's & 265/75's. He says he has to maintain 80 MPH to keep it in the "sweet spot" of the powerband. Granted, that's towing a 36' enclosed race trailer. 4.10's would be a bit much unless he went up on the tires, but as-is 3.54's are a little weak. Something like a 3.73 or 3.90 would be juuuuuuuuust right. That or a set of 245/75's ;)


TEX

Originally posted by TEX


Depends a lot on the tires. Buddy of mine had 4.10's with the 5-speed & absolutely could not keep up with all of us in our 1/2 ton trucks because he had to over-rev it. 'Course he could also pull a hill at 30 MPH in overdrive :D He switched to some 33" tires & it made a world of difference. Another friend has one with 3.54's & 265/75's. He says he has to maintain 80 MPH to keep it in the "sweet spot" of the powerband. Granted, that's towing a 36' enclosed race trailer. 4.10's would be a bit much unless he went up on the tires, but as-is 3.54's are a little weak. Something like a 3.73 or 3.90 would be juuuuuuuuust right. That or a set of 245/75's ;)


TEX

This is SO right! 3.73 or 3.90 with the 265/75 would be a lot better. I won't, however, put 245's on my ram! Talking about looking silly as hell, damn!:eek:

Originally posted by rkcrawl


I won't, however, put 245's on my ram! Talking about looking silly as hell, damn!:eek:

That's a fact! They even look silly on my GM.

TEX

I should be sponsored by Exxon. I have a 1999 K2500 suburban with a 454 and 4.10 gears. My fuel economy is:
8.4 towing the jeep/trailer
11.5 city driving
I am really not complaining (much) we do usually pull around 70-75 mph and slow down in the mountains to 60-65 (drops out of OD). Really the big block is a monster for towing. My buddy has a 1500 suburban with a 350 and he is killing himself on the big hills and some overpasses he drops out of OD. He does get lots better economy than me, due to his 3.73 rear.
I would like to get some taller tires to possibly offset my gears some. Someone said 305's what are those in american sizes?
I did have a 6.5 turbo diesel suburban what wouldn't pull a greasy string out of a gnat's ass. It did fine in the city for economy 18 mpg and 10 mpg pulling the jeep, but it wanted to overheat and wound up eating a torque converter on the way back from Tellico. That was a long ride...
Ricky...seeya...

My truck gets 18-19 in empty daily driving. Towing, at a combined weight of 18,500, it gets 13. The Cummins has been BOMBed a little, and gets better mileage than before the mods. Gotta love that. ;) Last weekend, I towed more weight than normal, but haven't finished the tank yet to figure mpg. Had my heep, two dirt bikes, a friend's Kaw 650 Prairie, tools, parts, and an 11 ft. truck camper on the 30 ft. gooseneck. IMO, you can't beat the Cummins for towing power and mpg. My brother was looking into a GM 6.2 or 6.5 tow rig. I told him he'd have to travel alone on trips, 'cause I'm not going to wait on his slow a$$ truck. He'll probably buy one anyway and learn the hard way. :rolleyes: :D

'93 Cummins Ram W250 LE Club cab, 5 spd, 3.54's, 33" BFG KM muds

i just got back from a 2k mile road trip. 92 dodge auto/cummins dually 4x4 with 3.54 gears. the worst i got was 8.4 and the best i got was 12.7, it averaged out about 11 for the whole trip. i was weighing in at about 18,500 gross. and had wind drag so bad that when i was coming into albequerque [yea its spelled wrong]n.m. from the east i never had to hit the brakes once. and that is one hell of a drop. i had my cruiser on the trailer with a big generator and a bunch of ice chests and a cab over camper on the truck. also three kids, the wife and the dog. empty back and forth to work i get about 17mpg. mike

wow my dads truck gets a consistant 18mpg in town and around 20 mpg hwy. and maybe 17.5 pulling a 12k trailer. we installed the stage one banks and got two mpg better, gotta love that!!!!

Does anyone really care? If I wanted good fuel milage I would get some little peter car like a Geo metro or something. Besides..it is way more fun to burn it that conserve it.:flipoff2: It is kind of interesting to read about though. :D

The f 350 single wheel powerstroke, 4.10 with 285/75/16 i get 14.5 in the city and 18 on the highway. pulling my dads two cars (66 pontiac gto and a 69 vette on a aluminum trailer) i got 14 so not to bad.
I agree if i wanted great mileage I would have kept my vw gti!!!

Originally posted by Blue 84
Does anyone really care? If I wanted good fuel milage I would get some little peter car like a Geo metro or something. Besides..it is way more fun to burn it that conserve it.:flipoff2: It is kind of interesting to read about though. :D

Yes, I really care. It's nice to be able to go on a wheelin' trip with all the toys and not have to plan and save hundreds of $ for fuel, like some of my friends have to. Can a Geo or VW pull a 12,000 lb. gooseneck? Not a good comparison. The point is, I love having a truck that gets decent enough mileage to drive everyday, AND can pull anything I hook up to it while getting good towing mpg. It keeps me from having to own both a Geo and a towing truck (and the embarassment of being seen in a Geo :D ).

Well, last weekend was the first time I towed my Bronco with my F-250. 1991 F-250 has a EFI 302/C6 running 4.10 in the rear axle w/ 33" rear tires. Total weight of tow rig/trailer/bronco was 16,060 lbs on a CAT scale. Unloaded F-250 mpg was about 10.5 mpg and I got about 8 mpg average towing last weekend for 250 miles round trip. Not too bad considering the Bronco gets 8.5 mpg on the road.

http://users.superford.org/ylobronc/applevalleyaug2002/f250broncotrailer.jpg