Maggie’s Truck help true mpg

[Bryan W M]

Thinking about selling my forester and f350 7.3 and just having one vehicle.
Problem is I use my truck but drive 70 miles every day.
Need a crew cab and 4×4
What are you guys truly getting with your trucks? Looking at 5.4 f150 with 3.55 gears. Or 5.0. But open to other.
Is an average mpg of 18mpg a dream.

Yes I know driving habits, tires ect factor in.
Forester is only getting 18-20 for me.

 

[Tnc]

My boss has a ‘16 Chevy 1500 crew 4wd with the 6.2L and gets 19mpg everywhere he goes

 

[Chili47]

have a 14 F-150 with the ecoboost average 20 when i treat it nice mileage goes down if you use the power lol.

 

[Mooseknuckles]

Dodge eco diesel. My mom has one and is getting around 27-28 empty and around 20 towing an enclosed trailer that is about 5k. Just keep the fuel system clean.
I have a 14 gmc 1500, usually get about 13 back and forth to work but it only 6 miles round trip. I can pull 18-20 on the freeway.
Just my two cents.

 

[Thumper580]

2016 GMC Sierra, crew cab, 4x4, 5.3L V8. Active fuel management...gets 22-23 on the highway.

 

[AIAW]

2019 F-450 Limited (6.7 PowerStroke) - 4.30 gears

I get 14 MPG everywhere. City, highway, pulling a 25-foot enclosed cargo trailer. Doesn't matter. 4.30 gearing is low enough that the 6.7 just never has to "work" unless you are tugging 32K around.

The 3.93 would be a better option in a SRW diesel, or even a 4.10.

These engines are tight at first too. I expect it to get up to about 14.5, maybe 15 around 8K-10K miles. I'm at 3K right now.

It's not my daily driver though, so there is that.

 

[Jones35va]

2019 F-450 Limited (6.7 PowerStroke) - 4.30 gears

I get 14 MPG everywhere. City, highway, pulling a 25-foot enclosed cargo trailer. Doesn't matter. 4.30 gearing is low enough that the 6.7 just never has to "work" unless you are tugging 32K around.

The 3.93 would be a better option in a SRW diesel, or even a 4.10.

These engines are tight at first too. I expect it to get up to about 14.5, maybe 15 around 8K-10K miles. I'm at 3K right now.

It's not my daily driver though, so there is that.

Thinking about selling my forester and f350 7.3 and just having one vehicle.
Problem is I use my truck but drive 70 miles every day.
Need a crew cab and 4×4
What are you guys truly getting with your trucks? Looking at 5.4 f150 with 3.55 gears. Or 5.0. But open to other.
Is an average mpg of 18mpg a dream.

Yes I know driving habits, tires ect factor in.
Forester is only getting 18-20 for me.

I have a 16 ram ecodiesel and I avg 26-27 mpg hand calculated at my previous job. 65 mile 1 way route and truck does excellent. 3.92 gears

 

[Shadow knows]

Well all this info is shit really, you need to be honest with yourself. How fast do you want to drive?

Add forced air injection (turbo or supercharger) and the mileage gets worse as the psi builds. It’s that simple.

Dodge,Chevy, ford will get great mileage at 55, twist them up,,,,,, well they are not designed (mandated by the government) to get “x” mph at 70 mph.

Which way is the wind blowing?

Nothing really changes in people when you ask this question. You need to be specific in you question.

What mileage do you get out of your 2019 pickup under conditions:
55mph @ 30 degrees vs 100 degrees
70mph @ 30 degrees vs 100 degrees

Add 12 mph head wind

How does it handle hills and mileage.

Tune your question to your driving condition and you will get a better reply.

Then you have the 50-60% that are just die hard and all other brands are crap. About 15% fluff the numbers so dumb that they get 20mph pulling a horse trailer up the mountain in a 40mph head wind while running 80mph because they spent $60,000 on a pickup and have to justify it somehow.

Been down this road about 2 decades now asking people about vehicles before I buy. Just what I have learned. Lol.

 

[264win]

18 power wagon 2500 6.4L hemi. 16 mpg hwy 13 in town.
If I was going to buy a 1500 it would be an ecoboost Ford.

 

[George P. Burdell]

Get the ecobost or go for the 6.7 super duty. My 16 ecoboost gets about 20 and my '18 f250 gets 18. The superduty is so much more truck though.

 

[Jones35va]

Go to fuelly.com and get real comparisons. You can choose year model engine and get an overall avg. as to what others are getting.

 

[W54/XM-388]

I have a 2000 F350 4x4 Crew Cab with the 7.3 Turbo Diesel setup for towing.

MPG depends a lot on traffic and speed.
If I go highway with no traffic and empty truck, about 50mph to 55mph I'll get about 20mpg
Push 70 and such and it goes down to 15mpg
Drive like a commuter doing errands running around town and down to 10mpg

How you drive has a huge part in what you get MPG with just a lot of vehicles.

 

[2ndamendfan]

I have a 2000 F350 4x4 Crew Cab with the 7.3 Turbo Diesel setup for towing.

MPG depends a lot on traffic and speed.
If I go highway with no traffic and empty truck, about 50mph to 55mph I'll get about 20mpg
Push 70 and such and it goes down to 15mpg
Drive like a commuter doing errands running around town and down to 10mpg

How you drive has a huge part in what you get MPG with just a lot of vehicles.

This^^^^^
I will add. At the dealer we used to get people bitching about MPG all the time. We had a MPG tester and could prove they were driving like idiots.
60 mph will be 19ish. For every 5mph over that you will loose 2 mpg. So when someone says they are getting 13 mpg on their 7.3 they are either doing all city driving and/or doing 80 on the freeway. (We have 80 mph limit here).
Both my brother and I have 2002 7.3 powerstrokes. They are twins in everyway including paint. My brother routinely gets about 2.5 mpg better than me. We traded trucks for a week years ago and he got better in my truck than I get. Just figured he drives like an old man, and I am always in a hurry. MPG is some peoples thing, it is not mine. I need to get where I need to hauling what I need (could be just me and my guns but still carrying something). An extra $10-$20 in fuel isnt going slow me down.
One thing is the trucks have small fuel tanks. I put a 50 gallon one in mine and my dads. Best thing ever. If MPG is a concern I can go almost 800 miles on fuel.

 

[W54/XM-388]

One thing is the trucks have small fuel tanks. I put a 50 gallon one in mine and my dads. Best thing ever. If MPG is a concern I can go almost 800 miles on fuel.

The tank on mine is something like 43 gallons, I think it's the original, but possibly the first owner could have changed it.
It can go a long way before filling up, but then when you do, it hurts your wallet something fierce.

 

[2ndamendfan]

I do want to add this. I have seen people chase MPG and they are idiots. Get a vehicle that does what you want MPG should be way down on the list. I will explain.
Either you need (or want) and F350. If 15mpg turns you off then you neither actually need or want and F350.
Another example.
Back when fuel was over $4.00 a gallon, (Most I ever have paid for fuel is $4.76) people started to unload their SUVs and go back to Sedans. I knew many families with 3 kids stuffed into a Toyota Camry. The SUV fit their needs better for sure. I talked to them and they were so excited saving what amounted to $75-$100 a month. Lets say they got a used Camry for $20,000, they literally would have to drive that car for 20 years to pay for it off the fuel money they saved.
Then the economy gets better, fuel gets cheaper and they ditch the sedan for another SUV that costs $40,000. There is no way they saved enough money on fuel owning Camry for 4 years to pay for it. They have spent $60k chasing MPG.
Me and my 2002 F350 just keep trucking along. People wonder why or how I have money for guns, this is why.

 

[2ndamendfan]

The tank on mine is something like 43 gallons, I think it's the original, but possibly the first owner could have changed it.
It can go a long way before filling up, but then when you do it hurts your wallet something fierce.

Short bed is 29 gallons, long bed is 38. Been that way since 1999. OBS had 2 tanks, 19 and 17 for a total of 36.
Edit: mine is a short bed (crewcab)

 

[AIAW]

2017+ Super Duty diesel long bed's come with 48 gallon tanks now. Mine's a 48 gallon. Have to hit the pump up twice since it cuts off at $100, hehehe.

• Long-bed regular-cab and short-bed or long-bed SuperCab Super Dutys equipped with the gas engine get the 34-gallon tank.
• Long-bed regular-cab and long-bed or short-bed SuperCab Super Dutys equipped with a new Power Stroke diesel engine get the 29-gallon fuel tank and the larger 7.5-gallon diesel exhaust fluid tank. Short-bed crew-cab Super Dutys (160-inch wheelbase) with the diesel get the 34-gallon fuel tank and 7.5-gallon DEF tank.
• Super Duty crew cab with the 8-foot bed (F-250, F-350 or F-450) comes standard with a class-leading 48-gallon fuel tank when equipped with either a gas or diesel engine.

Fucking DEF... sigh.

 

[2ndamendfan]

2017+ Super Duty diesel long bed's come with 48 gallon tanks now. Mine's a 48 gallon. Have to hit the pump up twice since it cuts off at $100, hehehe.

• Long-bed regular-cab and short-bed or long-bed SuperCab Super Dutys equipped with the gas engine get the 34-gallon tank.
• Long-bed regular-cab and long-bed or short-bed SuperCab Super Dutys equipped with a new Power Stroke diesel engine get the 29-gallon fuel tank and the larger 7.5-gallon diesel exhaust fluid tank. Short-bed crew-cab Super Dutys (160-inch wheelbase) with the diesel get the 34-gallon fuel tank and 7.5-gallon DEF tank.
• Super Duty crew cab with the 8-foot bed (F-250, F-350 or F-450) comes standard with a class-leading 48-gallon fuel tank when equipped with either a gas or diesel engine.

Fucking DEF... sigh.

well it is about damn time. I was good up-till 2015, did not know they had finally got bigger tanks.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Thinking about selling my forester and f350 7.3 and just having one vehicle.
Problem is I use my truck but drive 70 miles every day..

Something you might try is make a big spreadsheet of all the variables, such as fuel cost, estimated realistic MPG, miles driven, vehicle cost and such. Then see what it looks like for a 5 to 7 year ownership run, you might find things work out a bit differently than you thought.

Also it's possible that trying to have just 1 vehicle that does it all may not wind up working for you & it may be simplest to have a big truck for when you need it & then something better on gas for when you are just driving long distances with 1 or 2 people if that's something you do.

 

[powdahound76]

Trade your Lezbaru for a Prius.........

Keep your truck.

I used to buy cheap Honda Civics for commuting (had 47 miles each way, lived on a nice lake in the mans though). Bought the first for 2k. drove it 90K miles and 1 set of tires, sold for $600. Bought the next for 7k (much nicer and low miles) Drove for 8 years, can't remember how many miles, probably 160k, sold for $2500. Only ever did routine maintenance (tires, belts including timing and H20, hoses, filters, and shocks and brakes).
My last one got 34 MPG in all but driving like Richard Petty up I70 or in a nasty wind. I would average 4-5 tanks on paper (it didn't have the stupid computer). Still see it driving around by the same kid I sold it to 2 years later.

 

[2ndamendfan]

Hard to beat a Honda Civic for a beater.

 

[powdahound76]

my brother bought a already well used civic for $400 to drive to and from work (5 miles each way) working in a factory making big truck transmissions and he was pretty dirty when he left. drove it for 60K over 4 years. only put oil in (leaked a little....) and changed the filter once in a while.
got a lot of miles because it always ran so we took it cat fishing a lot with the smells of chaw spit, empty beer cans, stink bait, fish guts, cutting oil, and nasty farts all mixed in, his wife didn't want us taking anything else........

 

[AIAW]

It's true. My daily driver is a Acura TSX. Got a great deal on it and it's basically a fancy version of the Honda Accord.

I do however find myself driving the truck more often than not, just for the hell of it. Tough to hit the 85 MPH speed limit in the F-450 with 4.30 gears though without really spinning that 6.7 over pretty high - 2600 RPM at 80 MPH.

 

[Bryan W M]

Problem is I need the truck and need good gas mileage. You add up insurance, taxes on 2 vehicles it adds up. Cant do the Honda tried it. 5 miles on gravel one way beats the hell out of a car. I know I can get by with a half ton. I drive 30-40 mph on the gravel for 5miles and 30 miles on 2 lane at 55-60mph one way. Have 5 stop signs on that drive. So I was hoping that 20 mpg from a crew cab 4×4 was possible.

 

[wh20crazy]

05 GMC 2500HD 4x4. LLY Duramax with a mild efi live tune. 265x70x17's. 22mpg if I keep it at or below 60mph. 19 to 20 @ 75. 14 to 17 around town. In 06 GM added 6th gear, which helps highway mileage. Bigger tires kill mileage. Making boost kills mileage too. All my numbers are hand calculated, the dic shows ~15% higher.

 

[Rthur]

16 GMC HD DM 2500
Averaged 18.3 on a 3300 mile round trip to Idaho hunting.
Wasn't pulling anything.
Includes some mountain road driving.
Made 1450 to Pocatello first day.
Drove like Mario Andrucci more than a little.
Was lucky on the head wind on the way out, not much to speak of.

R

 

[MtnCreek]

These seem way, way high to me!

 

[Rthur]

Problem is I need the truck and need good gas mileage. You add up insurance, taxes on 2 vehicles it adds up. Cant do the Honda tried it. 5 miles on gravel one way beats the hell out of a car. I know I can get by with a half ton. I drive 30-40 mph on the gravel for 5miles and 30 miles on 2 lane at 55-60mph one way. Have 5 stop signs on that drive. So I was hoping that 20 mpg from a crew cab 4×4 was possible.

GMC Diesel Canyon might be the answer.
Haven't any first hand experience but supposed to get 28-30 on the highway.

R

 

[Rthur]

These seem way, way high to me!

The above isn't a "justify my purchase" deal.
Number the computor kicked out.
I kept all my fuel receipts and had to calculate gallons against fuel gauge upon return to my driveway.
Compared the two and seemed to line up.

R

 

[AIAW]

Ford has a mini-PowerStroke 3.0 in the F-150 (formerly only available overseas) now if you are set on a diesel too. It's no mad powerhouse like the 6.7 is obviously but it's getting decent numbers.

 

[fastmouse]

Macan T , mileage thought would be better

 

[TripleBull]

Hard to beat a Honda Civic for a beater.

A CRV is close on mileage to a Civic, has better driving position, AWD and more room to haul shit. We recently did a 2000 mile trip with a Civic and a CRV, each with 3 adults + luggage at 75MPH and the MPG comparison was within 2mpg.

 

[Rick H.]

I have a 2002 Silverado extra cab with the smaller 4.8 V-8, and 3.73 gearing. I'm one of those people that keeps a book on my vehicles. Bought this truck in 2002 with 10,800 miles on it, and it now has over 240,000. I make an entry with literally every time I fill the tank. Also note oil changes, fuel pump, tires, brakes, window regulators (my truck just kills them) whatever. That's a lot of data. I get 16.5 to 17.0 mpg per tank normal driving on the stock P245/75-16 tires. I mention that tire stuff because that has been my single greatest contributor to changes in mpg. I drove from north Jersey to Delaware a few times with the cruise set to less than 60 the whole 5 hours, and would get upper 18s for mpg, but that's it. Changing to P265 tires dropped mpg to about 15mpg, and for a while I had a set of 20s on chrome rims on the truck, which looked good, but got me about 13mpg. I agree with 2ndamendfan in that you should get a truck for it being a truck, and not sweat a couple extra mpg.
That said, my commuter car is a 2001 Toyota Echo, auto trans and A/C, but little else. Bought it about 7 years ago, have put over 100K on it, and aside from consumables, only had to put an exhaust system on. (NY road salt is a killer) Also have a book for that and I get between 36 and 41 mpg. Regular gas, and it's actually good in the snow when it has good tires on it. It's ugly, but that little thing grows on you, and I really like it.

For the usage you describe, it sounds like you really need a commuter vehicle in addition to your truck.

 

[lawofsavage]

I get about 15mpg with 35" tires in the city and about 18mpg going 75mph in a 17 F250 6.7L 4x4.

ETA: Before that, I had a half-ton GMC pickup with the 6.2L 4x4 with 33" tires and it did about 22mpg on the highway at 75mph but it sucked ass in the city like 12mpg.

 

[Waorani]

I track all miles/fuel for business. Last couple of crewcab, 4x4, F150's (don't remember rear ends but nothing special):

2011 5.0 - 37,000 mi = 17.4 mpg

2015 3.5 Ecoboost - 20,000 mi = 17.4 mpg

 

[Geno C.]

Problem is I need the truck and need good gas mileage. You add up insurance, taxes on 2 vehicles it adds up. Cant do the Honda tried it. 5 miles on gravel one way beats the hell out of a car. I know I can get by with a half ton. I drive 30-40 mph on the gravel for 5miles and 30 miles on 2 lane at 55-60mph one way. Have 5 stop signs on that drive. So I was hoping that 20 mpg from a crew cab 4×4 was possible.

How much truck do you need?

 

[Mike Casselton]

My next door neighbor has the diesel 4x4 crew cab Colorado. He gets a combined mpg of 26.
That's in Tampa commuter traffic, mixed highway and pulling his 22' Pathfinder boat.
He said his mileage is better if it's just highway driving.

 

[Bryan W M]

How much truck do I need. Well I know I cant go smaller than a 1/2 ton and sometimes I over load those. Need the crew cab for kids.

 

[Geno C.]

This creeper van I’m building could work for you then. Little diesel with a gvw of 11,900 and can town a 7,500 trailer. 22mpg in the city but 16-17 at interstate speeds. A cargo van be found cheap and add as many seats as you need.

I’m a right tool for the job kind of guy but I know it doesn’t make $$$ sense. I put 25-30k a year in my dually so I figured a road tripping vehicle would be a better idea for when I don’t need to tow a big trailer

 

[7WSMShooter]

18 Ram 1500 3.0 L eco diesel Crew 4wd. 12k miles averaging 24.8. Would be more but
She idles a lot. Straight highway not in the mountains I get 29-31

 

[remaction]

I had an 18 f150 5.0 4x4 with a 3.31 rear end, crew cab 6.5' box. From 5,000 to 13,000 miles it averaged 20.2, with about 2,700 of the miles coming from a trip to Maine and back. On that trip, running about 75 mph average, I got 22.4 on the way out and the overall trip was 21.4. I was amazed. After that, once home, the remaining miles brought me down to 20.2. On the road with those 3.31's it just f'ing cruised. It went back at 13,000 miles under a lemon law buy back for transmission issues that started back at 600 miles and they just couldn't get it right. I'd say 18.5 is doable as most of my miles are from 5 to 20 mile trips.

I replaced it with an 18 3.5 ecoboost 4x4 (couldn't find a 5.0 due to year end and got a screaming deal on a loaded 3.5 Lariat). 3.55 rear end, crew cab, 5.5' box. I have just under 5,000 mils on it so far and the average is 18.3 since day 1. I just got back from a 600 mile trip to Duluth and running 77 mph I got 18.4. This is with the winter blend of gas. Always seem to get better mileage with the summer blend here. I'll reset it at 5,000 and see what the next miles bring, but that 3.55 will not get the mpg that the 3.31 had as at 77 mph it runs about 400-500 rpm's higher. I don't remember exactly that the 5.0 with 3.31's was running for rpm's at 77 mph but I think it was around 1,500. Maybe someone can weigh in on that.

The 5.0 with the 3.31 seemed a bit doggy to me, but I'm pretty sure the 3.55 would fix that.

 

[7WSMShooter]

Thought I would check mine today on a short trip. 37.4 miles. 17.8 miles was pure highway driving where I stayed between 70-73mph due to
Traffic with a high of 80 mph.Elevation was within 15-20 feet from start Of trip to finish. The other 20 miles were country backroads but I had to pass through 2 small towns and drop down to 35mph and a few traffic lights. Didn’t take off at the stoplights but I did move on with a purpose. Average about 50-53 mph on the backroads.
Ended up with 31.5 mpg driving the way I drive normally.

 

[7WSMShooter]

So wondering where my mpg is going as my overall overage now is 25mpg and I found this
Screen. My truck sits at idle due to some of my work sites and sitting waiting to pick up my son from school. This Ram eco diesel is doing ok.


I do like the Ford trucks better and if I could get an XL or XLT 150 diesel I would jump on that. But you have to step up to a Lariat at least
To get the diesel Unless you can get a fleet vehicle.

 

[Geno C.]

I had an 18 f150 5.0 4x4 with a 3.31 rear end, crew cab 6.5' box. From 5,000 to 13,000 miles it averaged 20.2, with about 2,700 of the miles coming from a trip to Maine and back. On that trip, running about 75 mph average, I got 22.4 on the way out and the overall trip was 21.4. I was amazed. After that, once home, the remaining miles brought me down to 20.2. On the road with those 3.31's it just f'ing cruised. It went back at 13,000 miles under a lemon law buy back for transmission issues that started back at 600 miles and they just couldn't get it right. I'd say 18.5 is doable as most of my miles are from 5 to 20 mile trips.

I replaced it with an 18 3.5 ecoboost 4x4 (couldn't find a 5.0 due to year end and got a screaming deal on a loaded 3.5 Lariat). 3.55 rear end, crew cab, 5.5' box. I have just under 5,000 mils on it so far and the average is 18.3 since day 1. I just got back from a 600 mile trip to Duluth and running 77 mph I got 18.4. This is with the winter blend of gas. Always seem to get better mileage with the summer blend here. I'll reset it at 5,000 and see what the next miles bring, but that 3.55 will not get the mpg that the 3.31 had as at 77 mph it runs about 400-500 rpm's higher. I don't remember exactly that the 5.0 with 3.31's was running for rpm's at 77 mph but I think it was around 1,500. Maybe someone can weigh in on that.

The 5.0 with the 3.31 seemed a bit doggy to me, but I'm pretty sure the 3.55 would fix that.

First I’ve heard of winter blended gas... diesel sure but gas?

 

[remaction]

Geno,
https://newsroom.aaa.com/2013/06/what-is-the-difference-between-summer-and-winter-blend-gasoline/
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15339380/the-vapor-rub-summer-versus-winter-gasoline-explained/

 

[Codiekfx400]

2018 Silverado z71 5.3 liter gets about 20 mpg at 50 mph and about 16 mpg at 70 mph it’s a truck and wind drag is a huge factor.

 

[Mattio]

2017 f150 4x4, 5.0 v8, 6-speed auto 16mpg average

 

[Handloader]

2017 Honda Ridgeline.Front wheel full time (read great on rain and snow). can pull 5,000 pounds, Crew cab, with built in trunk in the bed. I mostly drive HWY miles and get 24-28 mpg regular (I-70). I have an old 92 Ford 250 diesel if I really need to tow.....

 

[powdahound76]

I have no idea. I keep my foot out of it most of the time so that helps. It has aftermarket pipes that make it too fun to not drop the hammer from time to time.

 

[Geno C.]

My ‘13 F350 drw crew cab 4x4 has averaged 13.2 in the last 55,000 miles. Spends a lot of its life in the 25-32,000gcvw range though.

‘07 dodge sprinter long wheel base high roof, last 5,000 miles has averaged 18.4 mpg. Over half that is highway speed which makes the mileage tank for this one.

‘15 GMC 1500 crew 4x4 5.3L over last 21,000 miles averaged 14.5. Almost all town running.

‘00 Ecursion 7.3 4x4 over its life with me of 159,000 miles averaged 16.2 even though it had a lot of engine work and a little bigger tires.

‘16 GMC 2500 6.0L crew 4x4 over 6,000 miles averaged 10.1 with most town running. FIL didn’t keep this one long because of the shit mileage and he didn’t need the 3/4 rough ride for a putt around town truck