56 replies to this topic

[pods8]

Got some numbers for my weekend trip. Went out to Ocean City State Park with a group of friends (tenters w/ kids, not a boondocking trip). Anyways it was a flat run.

My rig: Dodge 1500 4x4 w/ 5.7 Hemi. Running a hawk w/ ~8-10gal of water in it, food/gear, and 400lb worth of people. Note my tires are ~3% over sized (running 34" E-load tires verse the 33" stock size).

I tanked up in Bellevue, WA on friday and dealt with heavy traffic on I-5 heading down to Olympia before shooting over to the coast. Mostly tried to go 65mph (corrected speed 67mph) when I could, there was a lot of stop/go on the first half. After that 140mi leg my trip computer was reading 11.8mpg (~12.1mpg corrected). On the way back I tanked up a bit north of Tacoma and with 236mi on the odometer and the trip computer reading 12.2mpg (corrected to ~12.6mpg). Hand calc says 236*1.03/19.13gal = 12.7mpg, pretty close. Taking off the 140mi of 11.8mpg, uncorrected, it looks like I was pulling about 12.8mpg, uncorrected on the return portion of that tank.

After filling up I reset my trip computer and the ~60mi run home in the same conditions gave me 12.8mpg of the trip computer with confirms the above. 12.8mpg corrected is ~13.15mpg in my rig going ~67mph on generally flat terrain without traffic to deal with.

Dealing with traffic dropped 1mpg off on me.

[GBW]

Hey guys,

Just did a quick weekend trip of 900km with the Hawk. 2/3 of the trip I did at 110km/hr and the rest at 100km/hr. I managed a decent 16.5L/100km. The truck will normally get around 15L/100km. Not too much has been done for modifications, just always well maintained.

[kingb]

I am getting 20.5 with a 2003 Dodge Cummins H.O., quad cab, long bed, and FWC Grandby. It's a manual and that MPG is with the speed at 60-65. Definitely better than I had expected.

[arkoptrix]

Wife and I just got back from a 5,899 mile trip from Eugene, OR to BC, Yukon, and Alaska. Trip included the gravel roads of the Dempster Hwy, the "Top of the World" Hwy, and the Denali Hwy. Worst roads were parts of the "paved" Alaska Hwy.

We took our 2008 Tacoma, 4cyl/5 speed/4WD, with the Eagle camper and rear steel cargo deck. Max speed on best highways about 64 mph except when trying to get out of the way of log-trucks and other big rigs. Usually 35-45 on the gravel roads.

Bottom lines::
26 gas stops on the trip, total gas = 283.6 gal => averaged 20.8 mpg.
By the way - highest priced gas was in Dawson, YK at $5.87/gal
Lowest price was back here in Eugene at $3.80 two days ago.

[Freelheeler]

i like this thread, i've been kicking around the idea of a 03-04 dodge diesel, just don't have the wifey convinced yet! i'd also like to hear more from the ford diesel folks...

[pods8]

i like this thread, i've been kicking around the idea of a 03-04 dodge diesel, just don't have the wifey convinced yet! i'd also like to hear more from the ford diesel folks...

Problem on the fords is the 6.0L was the engine prior to all the emission stuff coming out. Lots of negative opinions from folks on the 6.0L and some folks want to avoid the new emission clamped engines so that means you'd need to look back at older 7.3s.

I've pondered an 03-05 dodge diesel but it'd come at a $12k+ premium over my 03' dodge 1500 with 47000mi for a similar diesel 2500 which I really can't rationally justify to myself at this point (but have been tempted).

[Desert Rancher]

Two years ago, I set out on a quest to find a perfect truck that my older Granby would fit.
Found a '97 F250 XLT 4x4 long bed power-stroke, with 113k for $9k. Mint condition, one owner, who was an older gent. Drove 500 miles to Carson City, NV to get it. Gets 17 mpg.

It is a dedicated camper, so I keep the miles low.

Best truck I ever owned and I hope it will be the last.

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[Overland Hadley]

Wife and I just got back from a 5,899 mile trip from Eugene, OR to BC, Yukon, and Alaska. Trip included the gravel roads of the Dempster Hwy, the "Top of the World" Hwy, and the Denali Hwy. Worst roads were parts of the "paved" Alaska Hwy.

We took our 2008 Tacoma, 4cyl/5 speed/4WD, with the Eagle camper and rear steel cargo deck. Max speed on best highways about 64 mph except when trying to get out of the way of log-trucks and other big rigs. Usually 35-45 on the gravel roads.

Bottom lines::
26 gas stops on the trip, total gas = 283.6 gal => averaged 20.8 mpg.
By the way - highest priced gas was in Dawson, YK at $5.87/gal
Lowest price was back here in Eugene at $3.80 two days ago.

Thanks for this info. I have a friend that is looking at doing this combo, and it is good to get some more real life numbers.

[Gormley Green]

Wife and I just got back from a 5,899 mile trip from Eugene, OR to BC, Yukon, and Alaska. Trip included the gravel roads of the Dempster Hwy, the "Top of the World" Hwy, and the Denali Hwy. Worst roads were parts of the "paved" Alaska Hwy.

We took our 2008 Tacoma, 4cyl/5 speed/4WD, with the Eagle camper and rear steel cargo deck. Max speed on best highways about 64 mph except when trying to get out of the way of log-trucks and other big rigs. Usually 35-45 on the gravel roads.

Bottom lines::
26 gas stops on the trip, total gas = 283.6 gal => averaged 20.8 mpg.
By the way - highest priced gas was in Dawson, YK at $5.87/gal
Lowest price was back here in Eugene at $3.80 two days ago.

My girlfriend and I have been doing about the same trip since May 3, and avg about 13mpg with my 5.4l Ford F150 FX4 6 speed auto. The transmission sucks, IMO. Engine is plenty powerful but pretty thirsty. We tend to cruise 60-65 mph max, ideally 55-60.

[pods8]

The transmission sucks, IMO.

Can you expand on your thoughts here some more? I'm assuming this is the same one they're using on the 2011s right? I'd be interested to know about it some more. The ecoboost 150 has been intriguing to me and I'll be watching it over time to see how it performs and I believe it has the same trans.