MPG lOOKING FOR ANSWERS

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Add in the extra $8000 inital purchase price, 13qt oil changes, $35 oil filters, $30 Fuel filters, and the price comes closer to equal.
Additionally, you're comparing your 7700 lb fifth wheel with a GVW of about 10000lbs to a 8000 lb travel trailer with a GVW of 11000 lbs.
I'm not saying "DON'T" buy diesel, but there's a heck of a lot more involved in this equation than "simple math" and the price of fuel.

Well my Cummins is only 11qt oil change (only four Qt. more than my old F250 460) and 7,500 to 10,000 mile oil changes.
Filter is only $16 at local Cummins dealer (I could buy a Puralator for about $7.00), fuel filter $20. This is a daily driver 15 mpg around town 12mpg pulling and 20mpg on the highway empty.

The decision was much easier 10 years ago when diesel was cheaper than gas. If you work a diesel once in a while they really don't need tune ups.

All said I would never go back to gas, as my Cummins seems happiest when pulling my 5er!

[JimEli]

5.7 Toyota Tundra.
17 mpg around town.
10 mpg towing 8000# 321RES @ 60-65 mph.
$10 oil filter, 7.5 qts oil, I've never replaced the fuel filter and gas is only $3.65

[LittleJoe]

I prefer diesel and consider my 2004 Cummins to be the last of the non emission engines. In my mind it is worth two of any of the emission nightmares from any of the manufacturers. Best of the new diesels is the 2011 Dmax from that standpoint.

I have worked on diesels for years and have formed my opinions from hands experience. That being said......with the disparity in fuel costs , and the astronomically high parts and repair cost for the new diesels , I would only buy a new diesel for RV pulling if I was pulling at least 15000miles a year at a minimum.
The average guy who pulls there trailer 2-3000miles a year will be much farther ahead $ wise with a gas truck from any of the big manufacturers outfitted for towing, especially if you cant troubleshoot and repair your own.

If you take 10 years to put 200K on your truck buy gas. If you double that, buy diesel. JMHO

[Jeffrey11]

Have a a Fuzion 412 loaded 18k LBS I tow with a SuperDuty 350 2011 6.7. The only change I made was tires. I average 14mpg with the trailer and can get 19 or 20 empty.
I drive hard and average 70 - 75 on the highway. My old 6.4 got about 8mpg.

[dhdb]

Bigger TT, smaller TT it all comes down to resistance (wind and/or friction). A smaller TT with under-inflated tires will pull harder than a much larger 5th wheel with properly inflated tires. Keep you TT washed and waxed, proper tire inflation, and proper wheel-bearing maintenance.

[Hansel]

I've got a 2000 F-250CC SD with the a trusty 7.3L with over 228,000 miles. When just driving around town I get close to 16mpg but when I bolt on the 2005 Laredo I get about 9-11mpg depending on the amount of hills I'm climbing.

I don't think I'd want to buy a new diesel truck nowadays, Ford is having issue's, Dodge doesn't hold any value, but I will say that Chevy/GMC has my vote if I had to replace my truck. The Govt. has ruined the diesel truck industry IMHO

[geo]

I disagree. Ford is doing quite well! I believe the 2011 and 2012 Ford diesel owners here would agree. I also know that there are Dodge owners here on the Forum who would loudly disagree. I also would say that with the Forum rules, political statements are usually frowned upon. Personally, I am very proud that Ford, GM, Dodge, etc., have "stepped up to the plate" to produce a diesel engine that emits less NOx. I think as RVers, most all of us would rather have a clean environment to enjoy rather than go back to the days of smog, etc.

But, the above are just my opinions.

Ron

[jbsmith]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

my Cummins seems happiest when pulling my 5er

I'll second that!

I pulled my 331MKS for the first time on the interstate over the weekend and got 9-11 mpg running 60-65 mph with a head wind. I'm relatively pleased with that, since it's about what I expected.

A newer truck would probably get better mileage, but the old 5.9L CTD in my 2005 is still running strong. I try to keep my speed around 60 mph, but with a little time to get her whistling I've got plenty o' torque to pass with ease when necessary.

With taller tires, I'm geared a little high, resulting in some slow starts unless I really mash on it, but I'm only turning 1600 RPM at 65 mph with the trailer. I try to baby the 48RE transmission as much as possible...weak link behind a great motor.

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[Bigk]

18 - 21 mpg (Not towing)
11 -13 mpg (Towing) avg speed 63 mph.

[Alpinecummin]

i have a 2007 Ram dually 4X4, with the 6.7, six speed automatic and 410 differentials. Empty the truck gets bewtween 16 to 19 mpg on the highway and when pulling the fiver it gets between 9.5 and 12 mpg. This past Monday I pulled the fiver 221 miles and part of the trip was over Jellico Mtn in TN. I was running between 62 - 68 mph and got 11.7 mpg.

Weather, terrian, speed, and what type fuel you use has the most impact on the fuel economy. My truck gets its best fuel mileage on Shell, but I use BP 80 percent of the time. My truck gets its worest mileage on Speedway.

[Tranquilty1]

It's been ten months and 12,000 miles of full timing. I'm getting a consistent 9mpg with my 2012 F250 6.2, 4:3 rear pulling my 11,000 Laredo 266rl. This is way better than I originally thought. I typically drive around 60 - 62 MPH.

[rnkburg]

When it comes to diesel, eliminate all the govt stuff ( smog,cat,emmisions, dpf, etc..) get a good tune for your specific truck and needs and watch the mpg jump. I have a 12v cummins with none of it and a 04 duramax. The duramax gets 23 hwy, and 14 towing a 15k 5er with a boat behind it.

The cummins is around 18 hwy, and less towing but the cummins has a ton of stuff done to it for mods. If buying today I would go back to a 5.9 cummins or a newer if deleted all the stuff or a duramax. It's just my opinion and we all have those.

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[Johnnyfry]

I'm with Geo. we only have one atmosphere and when we F it up, it's gone for good. We can't live in a free for all anymore.

IMHO,

John

[SAABDOCTOR]

I'll throw in my 2 cents since we still have pennies here ( sorry hank) gas diesel no one will ever win that agrument! yes i work mainly on saabs as the name implies. but have been around others. been burned by ford 6.0 duramax's but my 5.9 sofar has been good have heard horr stories about the newer 6.7 cumins but that beening said the reason for most of the issues is the EPA. get rid of that stuff and they would run fine get better economy. i'll go away now back to my saabs if i can find parts.

[Alpinecummin]

I do several RV, boat, farm, and truck shows a year, and I talk to a lot of people that drive diesel pickups and pull a lot of equipment. What I have learned is that it doesn't matter what pickup you own, Ford, Chevy, or Dodge, they all have their problems and the owners think they have the best truck out there! Some of the problems are manufacture defects and some are owner related problems after they turn them up or pull to heavy loads. I have a 6.7 Dodge with 107,000 + miles, and have never had a problem with it. It is stock, and it is staying that way. When I think back, my 1996 and 2001 Dodge 5.9's gave me more problems then this 6.7 in the first 100,000 miles. Once they were out of warranty I turned them up and had more problems! But I had fun with them, they were both great trucks, and I wouldn't own anything but a Cummins!

[rjroling]

My first diesel was a '95 Chevy 3500 6.5 2wd DRW CC with a 5 speed. I pulled a 24 ft. aluminum 5er that weighed 6500lbs dry and got 12 mpg from Iowa to Alabama and back. Bought a 29 ft fiberglass 5er (9000lbs) and couldn't get over 60mph in the "hills" of Iowa (9mpg), so I upgraded to the '03 Chevy 3500 Duramax 4x4 CC DRW. Pulling same 29ft I got 12.5mpg IA/AL roundtrip. Upgraded to 35 ft. bunkhouse (10,500lbs), got 10.3 mpg IA/AL roundtrip. Moved to '08 GMC 3500 Duramax CC DRW, pulling 35 ft. IA/AL roundtrip - 9.7 mpg. Just upgraded to Fuzion 405 toyhauler, so far looks like mileage is down around 7, but we'll see on the annual IA/AL trip.

Conclusions - Drive what you like and pull the toy you want. If you can't afford the fuel, you can't afford the toys!!

[hankpage]

Somewhere along the way "You have to feed the ponies." In most cases more HP = more fuel. ........ But I still don't understand why a cleaner burning engine burns more fuel and if it is not going into the air, where is it going????? It seems like a vicious circle.

[Tranquilty1]

It's been over 1 1/2 yrs with my 2012 F250, pulling a Laredo 266rl (11,800lbs). I get a pretty consistent 9-10 mpg when towing and 15-17 mpg when solo. This is way better than I'd originally thought. My F250 is 6.2L gas with a 4:3 rear, not a 4x4.

[Ken / Claudia]

When I had the truck camper 4450 lbs and pulled boat at 3800 lbs mileage on flats was around 11 over any mountians it was 8 to 9. Boat only around 11mpg. Now with new travel trailer mileage was 8 to almost 10 on first trip, no mountains but alot of head winds. TT has not been over the scales yet, book shows 5576 lbs dry. Normally if it not pulling I use it to drive the coast at 60/70 mph and get around 17. Like others said I don't see much difference in mpg pulling anything.

[Festus2]

A recent study showed that the average Canadian walks about 900 miles per year. Another but different study revealed that the average Canuck consumes 22 gallons of beer per year. And what does all this mean?

It means that the average Canadian gets 41 mpg. Now how's that for great mileage, eh??