25+ MPG with my 2003 Ram

[Cattletrkr]

The best mileage I got going to Alaska with the Lance camper, 11,000 miles round trip, was 14. 5 mpg. We never went over 60 mph.

About a year ago I drove down to OK City and that's what I got... EMPTY. And MN to OK is all downhill right??? :-laf My truck does not like 75mph. 55-60mph I'll break 18+.

 

[GaryOwen]

I'm a believer!



I routinely get 22-23 mpg (hand calc. ) at 65 mph on my 03. I have gotten as high as 24. 3 mpg. This is with 4. 10 gears. Tailwinds and truck drafting can add a couple of mpg. I think 25 mpg is definitely possible on an 03 or 04.



My 95 gets 19-20 mpg driving at same speed and with same gears, but with automatic. No way I could get 25 mpg on my 95!



Gary

 

[RDyson]

My truck gets between 19-20 mpg on a regular basis. Driving through Yellowstone late last year, I got 22 on two tanks (this has only happened 1 other time). Usually drove around 50 mph. 25 mpg seems high, but possible.

The only time I'm at 50 is when I'm flying thru it to hit 75! :-laf



Randy

 

[wxman]

At the risk of also being considered an utter liar, I averaged over 23. 5 mpg empty between May 1 and October 31 last year (8006. 6 miles on 339. 87 gallons). This is mostly county/state highway driving in the 50 to 60 mph range which includes my daily 8 mile commute (each way). I also have a bed cover and generally use the TST PMCR on low-moderate settings.



Mileage has dropped to less than 22 mpg (empty) this winter in roughly the same driving conditions. Hope it's just winter fuel and not a trend with ULSD.

 

[chwhit]

I have seen a few 22+ average mpg tanks, I can believe 25 with really good conditions, I just put a juice on my truck and am afraid to test the mileage, I've been using all the extra power!!! At this point I don't care if I don't gain any mpg's, love the power, but would not enjoy losing mpg's.

 

[steved]

I've did quite a few mods for mileage, but the best I have seen is just shy of 23mpg... I average around 18mpg... on the highway I usually get around 20mpg and sometimes better depending on fuel... and that is driving VERY conservatively (under 2kRPM)...



I just took a trip to KeyWest with the slide in (around 1500#s???) and towing a small trailer (under 1500#s)... I got 16. 5mpg down and 14. 5mpg back... I was running a touch faster on the way home... with the slide-in's, it isn't really about weight as much as it is about wind resistance... at least in my case.



steved

 

[E7mack96]

my mileage is 20 mpgs at best, 16 at worst.

I have done several long trips in the 2003 listed below. Just this past weekend, I had to run to Mcdonough, GA to p/u a Kenworth. On the way down, I flew (avg of 80 mph) and as such got about 475 miles out of 29 gals (about 16. 4 mpg). On the way back, I did just the opposite and drove at 60. So far, I've gotten 575 miles out of this fill. I figure I'll fill today, and be about 600 miles and 30 gals. This would be about 20 mpgs.



I cannot get the mileage out of this rig like the 2001 did. I had gotten as much as 24-25 on long, flat runs.



I guess 20 MPG is not bad for 8800 lbs. of truck and gear.

 

[SWithrow]

We have friends then we have friends with a sense of humor. For about a month my good friend was dumping extra fuel into my truck everyday I showed up to work. Hard to figure out when but that is where my 25 mpg was coming from. I did the math (not console) and I am averaging 22. 5-23 with the Bully Dog programmed for the Tow mode and cruising at 55-60 and if I program the unit in the Performance mode I get better mileage at 70 but the mpgs drop to 19-19. 5. <O</O

 

[JFlagg]

We have friends then we have friends with a sense of humor. For about a month my good friend was dumping extra fuel into my truck everyday I showed up to work. Hard to figure out when but that is where my 25 mpg was coming from. I did the math (not console) and I am averaging 22. 5-23 with the Bully Dog programmed for the Tow mode and cruising at 55-60 and if I program the unit in the Performance mode I get better mileage at 70 but the mpgs drop to 19-19. 5. <O</O

Wish I had friends like that!:-laf With my 2. 5 mile drive to work everyday a gallon a week would be nice...

 

[GSatler]

Mpg

i get 27. 5 to 28. 1 mpg @ 55mph calulated.

i get 24. 5 to 25. 3 mpg @ 65mpg calulated.

i get 22+ mpg @ 75+ mph calulated.





this is not just top #s. this is all the time.

 

[MEby]

We have friends then we have friends with a sense of humor. For about a month my good friend was dumping extra fuel into my truck everyday I showed up to work. Hard to figure out when but that is where my 25 mpg was coming from. I did the math (not console) and I am averaging 22. 5-23 with the Bully Dog programmed for the Tow mode and cruising at 55-60 and if I program the unit in the Performance mode I get better mileage at 70 but the mpgs drop to 19-19. 5. <O</O

Now thats funny.



The only way to get extremely accurate mpg calculations is to average it over at least several tanks full. if the concrete where your vehicle is parked is sloped and then next time you fill the tank you do it somewhere else or its turned around in the other directions, can make a difference of several gallons. In my motorcycles tank, if I am careful how the bike sits when I fill it I can routinely overfill it by half a gallon

 

[2broke2smoke]

we got 23. 8 hand calculated from WV to myrtle beach with the wifes '03 ...



straight piped with afe intake and ez on level 3 ...



and i don't really care whether a bunch of poor driving dipsticks believe me or not ...

 

[BTowler]

I still find the whole mileage issue a bit frustrating. I have a 2000 that has never gotten better than 20, less than 14 and routinely does about 16 average. Everyone I have spoken to with a 3rd gen complains that they can't get anywhere near the mileage I get, much less 23-25! And they have tried the lower speeds, proper driving, etc. What this tells me is that the build quality for these engines (and the truck as well) is all over the chart, which I find hard to believe. I have never seen such wildly varied mileage reports on any other vehicle in my life.



Whenever I do my calculations I fill at the same station, pump and direction for the course of 5 or 6 tanks so I can get a fairly accurate average.

 

[AKaiser]

Everyone I have spoken to with a 3rd gen complains that they can't get anywhere near the mileage I get, much less 23-25! And they have tried the lower speeds, proper driving, etc.

Pushing air is pushing air, and 3d Gens push more air. My truck at 2-lane speeds gets nearly 20 MPGs, but push it up to interstate speeds (75 MPH) and we're barely getting 17. My last two tanks were 19. 7 MPGs (doing about 50 MPH average, if that) and 16. 8 pushing 75 MPH on the interstate, and that's pretty well consistent with this truck, and seems to be normal for 05s.

 

[MMeier]

We have friends then we have friends with a sense of humor. For about a month my good friend was dumping extra fuel into my truck everyday I showed up to work. Hard to figure out when but that is where my 25 mpg was coming from. I did the math (not console) and I am averaging 22. 5-23 with the Bully Dog programmed for the Tow mode and cruising at 55-60 and if I program the unit in the Performance mode I get better mileage at 70 but the mpgs drop to 19-19. 5. <O</O

If your friend need more friends, here I am! Anyone that wants to put fuel in my tank is a good friend indeed !!!:-laf

 

[PRout]

I think we have a big variance in odometer calibration.

 

[tgordon]

Shortshift has a good point. Going from Lansing, MI to Shawano, WI with an empty trailer I averaged 19. 8 according to the odometer. Then coming back with a 1-2K box on the trailer I got about 17. But for a while I was comparing my odometer to the mile markers and after taking that diferance into account I was getting more like 18. 5-19 mpg.



I am the second owner and run 285X75r16 tires. Granted these are just one tank runs, but the accuracy of th eodometer can make a big differance, I wouldn't even trust the facory 100%. Last friday we had a customer with a sprayer that the computer reset itself. He lost all his calibrations, application history, and the hours on the machine went back to zero, not that he is complianing about that.



Troy

 

[CTD 600]

I'm up to 23. 5mpg with my 2004. 5 going 62mph for 360miles non-stop no wind and flat terrain.

 

[J&LRam]

If you look at most of the naysayers sigs they have lots of mods. You play your gonna' pay. Some sooner than later.

My mpgs stay the same on my 600 mile a week commute as its on the same road/same truck stops at each end/week on week /month on month it don't change and for 61000+ miles. Just filled up at the Big Cabin truck stop with 21. 274 gallons and 456. 8 miles. Do your own calculations. My previous '01 2500 auto 3. 54 gears ran the same miles from here to there on that same commute and it averged 20. 5 to 21 on that same commute. My '96 2500 5 speed 3. 54 averaged 20-21 on that same commute. I've driven this long commute for over 30 years and every truck and car shows within a couple of miles the same miles from here to there.

You guys ain'y gettin' the mpgs for a reason and it sure ain't our figures. Go blame someone else.

JIM

 

[BTowler]

If you look at most of the naysayers sigs they have lots of mods. You play your gonna' pay. Some sooner than later.

My mpgs stay the same on my 600 mile a week commute as its on the same road/same truck stops at each end/week on week /month on month it don't change and for 61000+ miles. Just filled up at the Big Cabin truck stop with 21. 274 gallons and 456. 8 miles. Do your own calculations. My previous '01 2500 auto 3. 54 gears ran the same miles from here to there on that same commute and it averged 20. 5 to 21 on that same commute. My '96 2500 5 speed 3. 54 averaged 20-21 on that same commute. I've driven this long commute for over 30 years and every truck and car shows within a couple of miles the same miles from here to there.

You guys ain'y gettin' the mpgs for a reason and it sure ain't our figures. Go blame someone else.

JIM

Explain why friends of mine with no mods at all who drive like little old ladies are only getting 16-18 mpg tops.