Diesel MPG

[BPS##]

Taking my local prices I'm STILL 0.06 per mile in fuel costs cheaper for diesel vs gas.

And diesel power is far superior to gas power when it comes to towing.

[Tizzy]

Originally Posted by ParkWelding

Is that truck completely stock? I haven't heard of much more than 14MPG from a stock 6.4

no, its not stock. its got a AFE cold air intake, EGR delete, DPF delete, H&S XRT pro tuner.

the cold air intake is a must on a 6.4L it is an instant power gain and MPG gain. i did the EGR delete b/c the failure rate of the EGR on the 6.0 and 6.4. is pretty high. so that was done more for bullet proofing but you see a pretty big performance jump once that is done truck becomes significantly more responsive. and the biggest thing was the DPF delete. huge power gain and MPG gain. the tuner was strictly purchased to shut of regen and EGR. if you do a DPF or EGR delete you need a tuner to shut off the function.

[Cummins343]

In the long run, i think it will. I've got an '06 2500 with the 6.6 duramax and I seem to get right around 19mpg unloaded, and 14 pulling the trailer.

[scotts lawn care]

I had a 6.0 gas 2500 chevy and only got 7-8 mpg pulling my 24' enclosed with three mowers in it.
Im probably pulling about 10k lbs. Now with my 2004 duramax im getting 13-14 mpg. Ill never go back to a gas as long as im towing.

[PlantscapeSolutions]

Originally Posted by TheChiefsLawnCare

Im considering getting a ford f250 or f350 to pull a fully loaded 7x16 enclosed tandem axel trailer. Right now I have a 07 GMC sierra 1500 with the flex fuel engine and the gas mileage is killing me. Do yall think I will get that much better mpg with the diesel. If I had to guess i would say im proab getting between 7-10 mpg with the sierra. I would also like the heavier truck for the bigger payload.

I have an 09' Ram 3500 dually 4x4 deleted and last year I managed 17.6 mpg's on a 400 mile at 65 mph trip empty. I changed to 4.10's and on a recent 350 mile trip at 55 mph it was down to 15.1 mpg's. I want to install a Dynatrac free spin kit and hopefully I can gain back 1.5-2 mpg's like I did on my last truck.

Gas trucks with a moderately heavy load will always get horrible fuel millage. The Hemi and other with fuel saving features only save fuel when empty. Once you load it down the millage tanks.

If your buying a truck you plan to run the hell out of delete it right away if you can do that in your area. The fuel saving long term will really pay off. I deleted my truck at 20K and the only warranty thing I've had to foot the bill for after 60k of driving was a water pump that crapped out prematurely.

If your going to delete I would do it with a truck with a very proven record like the Cummins or even the Duramax if your going to be under warranty still. There is a reason about four companies make kits to put Cummins engines in Fords but nobody makes kits to put Powerstrokes or even Duramaxes in other trucks. For longevity the Cummins is the most popular Diesel engine swap and has the most parts support for mounts, ECU's, trans adaptors, and everything else. If your a Ford fan you should ask yourself why Ford puts same engine used in the Dodges under the hood of it's big F650 & F750. Hmmm.

[TheChiefsLawnCare]

Originally Posted by PlantscapeSolutions

I have an 09' Ram 3500 dually 4x4 deleted and last year I managed 17.6 mpg's on a 400 mile at 65 mph trip empty. I changed to 4.10's and on a recent 350 mile trip at 55 mph it was down to 15.1 mpg's. I want to install a Dynatrac free spin kit and hopefully I can gain back 1.5-2 mpg's like I did on my last truck.

Gas trucks with a moderately heavy load will always get horrible fuel millage. The Hemi and other with fuel saving features only save fuel when empty. Once you load it down the millage tanks.

If your buying a truck you plan to run the hell out of delete it right away if you can do that in your area. The fuel saving long term will really pay off. I deleted my truck at 20K and the only warranty thing I've had to foot the bill for after 60k of driving was a water pump that crapped out prematurely.

If your going to delete I would do it with a truck with a very proven record like the Cummins or even the Duramax if your going to be under warranty still. There is a reason about four companies make kits to put Cummins engines in Fords but nobody makes kits to put Powerstrokes or even Duramaxes in other trucks. For longevity the Cummins is the most popular Diesel engine swap and has the most parts support for mounts, ECU's, trans adaptors, and everything else. If your a Ford fan you should ask yourself why Ford puts same engine used in the Dodges under the hood of it's big F650 & F750. Hmmm.

thats some funny **** about the cummins. i think its so true. id be happy with a cummins or a power stroke. i dont hear to much about the dmax. its all ford and dodge.

im checking the mpg this weekend so ill let yall know the final outcome.

[Grumpydave]

How many miles a year? pulling vs. empty? Do you have other diesel equipment? Yes you can get higher mpg with a diesel but maintenance can be higher and repairs are higher. I ran a 2001 1st gen D-Max for years and while it was running it was awesome...but when it was broke, and it was broke a lot, it was just an expensive boat anchor. Got rid of it for an 09 F350 with a Triton V-10. Yes empty the ford gets a little better mileage than the chebbie got towing but its a much nicer truck for personal use and I can live with the fuel costs... and I guess you don't have to worry about finding a diesel pump at 2am in the middle of a blizzard. Good luck with your choice.

[jvanvliet]

Originally Posted by BPS##

Low mileage 7.3Ls can be found but you can't be in a rush to buy one.
Its one of those start looking things and be ready to jump fast when you do find one. They don't last.

There are a lot in the 200k to 300k miles range.
Those guys seem to think their trucks are worth twice what they are too.

If you find a 7.3 with low miles better bring a diesel mechanic. If it doesn't have close to 200K or more on it, it's probably been sitting on blocks cause it doesn't run.

New diesels don't do all that well on the MPG's and diesel fuel is more than premium these days.

It's hard to justify a price premium for a new diesel given the gasoline engines get nearly as many MPG's, have the same load capacity and cost thousands of dollars less. Also, I don't believe the new HP numbers since they have new formulas for calculating them.

We have:

1 1997 F350 7.3 ltr International, about 300K gets about 12 mpg pulling 22ft enclosed trailer (loaded, 3 machines , etc.) we don't drive it like a race car.

1 1999 Dodge 3500 5.9 Cummings, about 200K gets about 16 mpg pulling same type of trailer.

Both in very good condition and neither one has problems pulling a load; Ford is an automatic & the Dodge is standard shift.

I keep my eye out for these warhorses, if I find one that meets my specs, I'll probably buy it and keep it as a backup. They don't make em that tough anymore.

[PlantscapeSolutions]

Originally Posted by Grumpydave

How many miles a year? pulling vs. empty? Do you have other diesel equipment? Yes you can get higher mpg with a diesel but maintenance can be higher and repairs are higher. I ran a 2001 1st gen D-Max for years and while it was running it was awesome...but when it was broke, and it was broke a lot, it was just an expensive boat anchor. Got rid of it for an 09 F350 with a Triton V-10. Yes empty the ford gets a little better mileage than the chebbie got towing but its a much nicer truck for personal use and I can live with the fuel costs... and I guess you don't have to worry about finding a diesel pump at 2am in the middle of a blizzard. Good luck with your choice.

I'm assuming your biggest problem was injector related since you had an 01'. GM was first to the table with the common rail injection and had some issues. Just like Dodge/Cummins was first to the table with the DPF to meet the higher emissions standards in 2007.5 and had to deal with issues.

Yankee land is not very Diesel friendly. I'm from Maine but live in Texas and it's very fuel friendly down here. Up there gasser HD's are the norm but down here there like a pink elephant. You have oil field guys, catlle guys, and a host of other contractors that need to pull 20K+ loads that only a Diesel can easily handle. Once your accustomed to 400 HP and 800 ft lbs of torque (at 1600 rpms) for towing heavy loads it would be pretty disappointing to go back to spark plugs again.

[Grumpydave]

"I'm assuming your biggest problem was injector related since you had an 01'."

Yup. two full sets in 25k and a set of heads and gaskets. Started at 117k but 6 months past warranty and GM was declaring bankruptcy.No help from them. That was enough for me. Hope the next guy had better luck. You are correct, for daily heavy pulling you can't beat a diesel but most of us don't pull more than two or three ZTRs or a tractor. Gas will work fine for that...