21 mpg

[rhino_50]

I took my truck on it's first trip over the weekend. I drove from south central PA to Chicago. I got 21 mpg. I keep the truck between 70 and 73mph. The boost under 10 pounds. I my edge ez set on 4. Man that thing likes the hills around pittsburgh. Truck ran good. Rhino50

 

[txhawg]

As a proud owner of a 600, I am jealous

 

[HOCummins04]

I drove from Charleston WV to Indianapolis IN this past weekend for the Craftsman truck race. Completely stock truck. Just me and clothes for a couple days. Got 20 MPG hand calculated. The overhead only shows 16. 1.

 

[Got Smoke?]

03 2500 quadcab 4x4 slt, dark garnet red,6sp,3:73,stacks, afe megacannon&afe torquetube,isspro boost gauge&pyro, Uws diamond plate toolbox, more goodies to come! "Dodge makes it Cummins Shakes It"

Where's the pics!?!?

 

[RTuvell]

I took my truck on it's first trip over the weekend. I drove from south central PA to Chicago. I got 21 mpg. I keep the truck between 70 and 73mph. The boost under 10 pounds. I my edge ez set on 4. Man that thing likes the hills around pittsburgh. Truck ran good. Rhino50

First trip and it's a 2003 truck?



I have a 2003 manual also and find my best MPG around 1850 rpm which equates to around 63 MPH in 6th. I commonly get your 21 MPG and better.

 

[DPelletier]

Best trip avg. I got was 20. 2. Speed was kept at 55 - 60mph. I thought that was pretty good for a 8500lb dually 4x4.



Dave

 

[SRadke]

When I drove back for the Mincie event I traveled a total of 7024 miles and averaged 20. 2 mpg through the trip. Freeway speed about 70, highways 60-65. Even a few smoke shows along the way. I love this truck.



-Scott

 

[rhino_50]

Heres a link to my stack pictures. www.supersportsman.com/rhino.htm

 

[KD7GYJ]

Drove my 04. 95 home from San Diego on Monday and averaged 16 MPG traveling about 80+ mph. Heavy foot = less fuel economy.



But driving it around locally with a light foot will get me about 20 MPG. Have about 4K miles on truck. I have got the 6 speed and it's really easy to get your foot into it.



Blair

 

[knewman]

As a proud owner of a 600, I am jealous

dito for me 10 to 12 is about it

 

[jsimpson]

DP; with which truck? That's what I get at 55 with my 03 same specs as yours. Any other speed and load, I get about 13 or 14.

 

[claymike]

Took my 600 on a 400 mile trip empty last weekend at speeds between 70 and 75 mph, 19. 6 mpg

 

[doldenburg]

yea, and i get 25+pullin my 40 ft. trailer loaded. 04 1/2 drw

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

yea, and i get 25+pullin my 40 ft. trailer loaded. 04 1/2 drw

That ain't to bad. I just got back from Blue ridge parkway pullin a 40' Teton triple slide, and I averaged 39mpg, really,this ain't no *****. I drive like a little O man and I can't get better than 16. 5, and I'm a flatlander for christ sake!

 

[John - K5AWO]

I just wish there were some way to know when these reported MPG figures were telling the truth. There's an old saying that "figures lie and liers figure".



I get awful suspicious when I hear reports of DRW vehicles weighing in excess of 7000+ lbs with MPGs above 20+. Mine is about 7700 with my mods, fuel (85 gals), etc... and if I can get a hand calculation above 16. 0 in the flat desert here at 1100 ASL elevation, I am very happy.



I do realize that having a 47RE is a big penalty, but not 5-10 mpg worth. If the factory TC is honestly costing me that much, then I need to get a lockup TC real quick.

 

[Boonieman]

I log and track every gallon of fuel, and have since I've owned the truck, Feb of '03. At 30,543 miles as of today I'm getting a hand calculated average of 18. 3 MPG. This would include a trip to Florida and a trip to South Dakota, and occassional towing of the tractor. One thing I know is that higher highway speeds dramatically drops the mileage. I ran about 80 mph for several hours going through South Dakota last year and was getting 14. 6 mpg according to my trip records. All these are hand calculated.



When I traded in my 2001. 5 235hp/SO 47re 3:55 truck it had 56,045 miles on it and according to the records on it I hand calculate it at 19. 8 mpg.

 

[John - K5AWO]

I log and track every gallon of fuel, and have since I've owned the truck, Feb of '03. At 30,543 miles as of today I'm getting a hand calculated average of 18. 3 MPG. This would include a trip to Florida and a trip to South Dakota, and occassional towing of the tractor. One thing I know is that higher highway speeds dramatically drops the mileage. I ran about 80 mph for several hours going through South Dakota last year and was getting 14. 6 mpg according to my trip records. All these are hand calculated.



When I traded in my 2001. 5 235hp/SO 47re 3:55 truck it had 56,045 miles on it and according to the records on it I hand calculate it at 19. 8 mpg.

When I see a post like this, I can believe it. I try to cruise at 2000 rpm which gives me an indicated 60 mph. With the 235R85-16 treads, my GPS shows 64. 5 mph. That is okay by me 80% of the time. When I get in a hurry, I push it up to 2300 rpm.



I quit logging my fuel consumption after about5,000 miles and just got frustrated with the "why of it" when everything came out 15. 5-16. 0 which has to be the auto transmission and 4. 10 gears.



I will one day upgrade the TC and put in a US Gear two speed box, but it will be a "just because" deal as it will never ever pay back in money saved on fuel.



The TC I can justify for best shifts at lower RPMs. Right now, I don't think there is an upper limit to the slippage in the TC when not locked up because the harder I push the go peddle the RPMs are just higher when it shifts. Not more solid.



If 99. 5% of my driving weren't in the city, I would have bought a manual, but the thought of shifting a gear box again is not something I want to do in Phoenix metro racer's ville.



I sold my little bottle rocket daily driver, a Mercury XR-2 turbo 5 speed. That one got 28-35 mpg depending on whether you were driving at 55 or 95 . I usually drove it in the upper regions of the nethersphere because it was so fun. The clutch was as light as a feather, maybe too light because a hard shift with the boost up to 15+ would slip the clutch.



Thanks boonieman for the report.



-John

 

[CAgnoli]

Just turned 16,600 miles today, and my last tank was 19. 6mpg. BUT, that's 60-65 with the cruise on highway only. If I drive in the city at all, that figure can quickly change to 17-18. All in all, pretty decent for the truck.



Initially, I was upset when I bought the truck because my buddies 2002 bombed was getting 23-24 empty on the highway at 75MPH. Well, I learned real fast that the 3rd Gen body style, coupled with the 600 motor presents it's own challenges.



As I've stated many times in this forum, my drive is the same, every day. If I drive 70 mph I can get 18. 6-19. 2 consistently empty.



If I drive in the city for any length of time, I would say my average economy goes to 14-15.



If fuel would get back down to an affordable amount then my complaints would go away completely. I'm glad I don't live in CA where you poor souls are paying 2. 00 or more per gallon. That's robbery, first class.



Did get filmed by a local news crew the other day filling up the truck. Zoomed in on the 58. 00 total to fill the truck..... then shook his head. Didn't ask me a single question. Dink.

 

[Detroitiron]

some of y'all aint gonna like this,

But you'll just have to deal with it. Just a second, let me check my flame retardant suit for integrity. On a recent trip of 1,100+ miles round trip, I logged an amazing 22. 7 mpg, hand calculated and checked against my Magellan. My CTD is very mildly modified, including: 19. 5" Alcoas, with 225/70 radials, 4" exhaust, aFe magnum FORCE intake, and a Superchips programer, set to the 'no towing' setting for the moment. It takes about 5 minutes to reprogram, and the unit stays in the glove box, so it's not a problem to go from 1 setting to another. I use Amsoil 5W-30 and a full flow/bypass system. I also have a combo 5th wheel/gooseneck hitch mounted in the bed, behind an aluminum diamond plate toolbox, and the factory installed class V hitch at the rear. I run with no tailgate, and I almost always run speed limit "+5", nearly everywhere I go, where the limit is 55 or higher.



I have a slushbox 47RE, totally stock, and 3. 55:1 ring & pinion, also factory stock. To account for the differences in mileage and performance between 2 seemingly identical trucks, both being driven in approximately the same way and in similar terrain and weather conditions, would be an R&D project few of us could afford. These are machines, built and assembled by humans. It logically follows that no 2 are exactly alike, except possibly in outward appearance.



I modified my truck wih an eye toward improved performance, and to me, improved mileage was a part of the equation. So far, everything I've done has helped. I don't drive like a little old man going to church, but I don't do smoke shows or make smoky burnouts, either. Tires and fuel are too expensive for that, and I have to replace 6 tires, not just 4.



Over the past 35 years, I've learned that making horsepower, torque, and mileage on a street driven vehicle, whether gasser or diesel,is a series of small steps, not just 1 or 2 giant leaps. There's no such thing as a 'mechanic in a can', and there are a lot of expensive goodies out there, many advertised and sold through this website, that offer dubious improvements in return for funds expended.



Back to the point, I get pretty consistent 17 mpg around town. Of course it drops when I hook my TT to it, but I haven't towed with the Superchips installed, yet. You guys can believe my numbers, or not. I double checked them because at first I was not believing them myself. I have no reason to brag about it, because I'm the one paying for the fuel.

 

[jsimpson]

Six speed and 2x4 would probably net me a 3 to four mile per gallon improvement. But I need the 4x4 and my wife needs the 48RE. All in all, a 17 mpg overall figure aint bad - it's three mpg better than my wife's Tundra 4x4. And fuel's cheaper to boot (for now).