9.5mpg towing, 14.5 empty...OK or prob?

[EBottema]

Welcome to the world of pre injection AKA waste of fuel. Overcomplicated and emission device crazy! Thats terrible that 12v's get 20mpg easy and these new cummins 600's only get 15. Does not make any sense, lets burn more fossil fuel but cut down on emissions. Backwards liberal logic. Well, either live with the mileage or swap that C600 mess for a real good diesel engine, a 12v

 

[10.5 Dave]

Does not towing at that speed and weight not seem safe. 70 is my limit period towing and usually not that.

I feel plenty safe at 75-80 mph at 2 A:M with little traffic in this truck. My trailer is new and has 3 brake axles. 22,600 lbs divided by 12 tires comes out to around 1450 lbs a tire,hardly a big load for my setup.



I have over 150,000 miles under my belt towing big trailers and I've never been one to sit in the right lane at 55-65mph.



I understand why some people slow down,I just can't stand the constant slowing down and changing lanes when running 65 mph in the slow lane. I find that more dangerous that speeding up a little.

 

[Udaloy]

Tshores,



Your mileage seems just a tad low. It mostly depends on how you're driving. I drove a 40 foot 5er to N. Carolina and back. I took it a little easy on one tank, and registered 10. 6 mpg, and hammered it for a tank, and registered 9. 96 mpg. When I mean hammer it, I'm talking 80 mph and full throttle up the long steep grades. I wasn't passed by anyone.



I pulled my tractor home from the auction house, and it didn't seem to hurt my mileage a bit. I had about half a tank and the overhead started at 16. 5 and went to perhaps 16. 3 after 50 miles of easy driving. That load was around 20,000 lbs, but a lot more aerodynamic than that camper.



Also keep in mind that anything over 2000 rpm forces a third injection event which will have something to do with the fuel consumption at higher speeds.



I've kept my mileage numbers since day one, and with over 15,000 miles, I've averaged 16. 6 mpg. I drive 45 miles a day, 50/50 highway/city. I drive harder than most people, especially in the city. I can't stand the rice burners so I'm always beating them off the line.

 

[RJOL]

Welcome to the world of pre injection AKA waste of fuel. Overcomplicated and emission device crazy! Thats terrible that 12v's get 20mpg easy and these new cummins 600's only get 15. Does not make any sense, lets burn more fossil fuel but cut down on emissions. Backwards liberal logic. Well, either live with the mileage or swap that C600 mess for a real good diesel engine, a 12v

What was the torque and HP of the stock 12V??? How do you think the new CTD's get 610 torque and over 300HP??? It ain't free and it ain't magic...

 

[EBottema]

What was the torque and HP of the stock 12V??? How do you think the new CTD's get 610 torque and over 300HP??? It ain't free and it ain't magic...

Stock HP was 220 and torque can't remember off my head. 12v is a proven engine used in many applications. Cummins 600 is not proven. If it was not for emissions, cummins would never have messed with making new generation engines. The new engine gets bad gas mileage, blame it on emissions, the ole' 12V bombed still can get 20mpg. Forget the new cummins 600, overcomplicated, my bets they wont last nearly as long as the 12v and if they do you will incur much higher costs.

 

[Udaloy]

Too bad you have to drive around in a truck that's not nearly as refined as the 3rd Gens. You make a good (and sharp) point, and I'm not going down the "my truck is better than your truck" route, but my '04 is much nicer to ride in than my '02 was, let alone a '95 to '98 truck. BTW, it was 460 lbs ft.

 

[RTuvell]

This was a very interesting and informative thread until it was hijacked and taken off topic. If you must take shots at each other do it through Private Messages. Don't force it on the rest of us! Shame on you guys!

 

[Schrowang]

TShores,



Here are my numbers for an '04. 5 RAM2500 CTD I600, 4WD, 6-speed, 4. 10 rear with the TSB 18-037-04 PCM reflash.



Fresh from the showroom floor:



Bobtail Around Town (AT) - 12 to 13 mpg

Bobtail Over the Road (OTR) - 16 to 17 mpg



With 2,200 miles on the odometer:



Bobtail AT - 12 to 13 mpg

Bobtail OTR - 16 to 17 mpg

Towing 5'er - 10 mpg



This was a 2,800 mile round trip through the coast and piedmont of NC, into the Blue Ridge and back up the Shennandoah Valley to NH.



With 11,000 miles on the odometer:



Bobtail AT - 15 to 16 mpg

Bobtail OTR - 18 to 20 mpg depending on terrain

Towing 5'er - expecting 14 when the season starts in April



I've kept track of every gallon of fuel I've put in the truck, so I'm confident of my fuel consumption v. miles traveled calculations.



I still get white smoke in the mornings here in NH. But the outside temp is usually somewhere between 5 below to 20 above. Based on that hot exhaust hitting the cold air, I expect to make a few clouds. The TSB reflash seemed to help somewhat with the mileage (mayber 1 - 2 mpg), but what has really made the difference is the 11K miles on the engine and drive train. It has really loosened up.



Hope this helps, and I hope you solve you problem.

 

[RPotter]

If it helps rationalize anything, here's my data.



13,000 miles on the truck



Running empty:



60-65 mph - 19. 0 - 19. 5 mpg



65-70 mph - 17. 5 - 18. 2 mpg



75 mph - 16. 9 - 17. 4 mpg



while towing the boat (7200 lbs total weight with trailer) 9. 8 - 10. 6 mpg



however, combination driving around town and road, running empty, I have never gotten below 16 mpg... ...