Truck MPG?

[Corey Bechtold]

Hello everyone. I am currently in the market for a new or used Truck and was wondering what you get for gas mileage. I currently have a 94 Dakota and it has the 318 V8 and gets about 14-16 MPG. My growing family has outgrown that truck so I was looking for a full size with the 4 door extended cab. I drive a lot to different lakes all year round so having a truck that gets 15 MPG or better would be nice. Lets see what comes up.

Thanks,

Corey Bechtold

[anyfishwilldo]

One truck to recomend "Duramax"

[rmh2o]

If you get a chevrolet you should be OK.

[BarryG]

Check out any Chevy or GMC with a 350 in it! A buddy of mine has a GMC van and he will get 18-20 on the hiway loaded down and pulling a boat with more gear in it. That's what I will look at next time I buy.

[hooksetter]

Check out http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

[Corey Bechtold]

Barry, What year? I have heard some similar stories about the older models (97-99). I have also heard that the newer Chevrolet trucks that have the 5300 motor sticker at 15-19 MPG. I am currently test driving a 99 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport with the 5.9 360 and she loves the gas. It's an awesome truck but I don't know if I can afford to feed the beast. The only thing I like is that it is about 3000 dollars cheaper than any Chevrolet. Thanks for the quick responses guys. I have to make a decision by the middle of next week.

Corey Bechtold

[Dano2]

I second the deisel. but if your going gas, dont get a dodge.

I loved my dodge, but man what a hog on gas, had the 1500 sport with 318, and it sucked just as much as the 360. funny thing, I've never been a huge ford fan, but I got a good deal on an f-150 supercrew, needed that extra room, kids are growing, and I have the 5.4, bigger moter than the dodge and better gas mileage, plus LOTS of power, and it handles like a car, better than any truck I've had and I've owned a chevy, dodge and now ford.

If I had the $$ though, I would get a GMC 2500 with the bigger cab in back and duramax.

[Corey Bechtold]

Deisel would be great but there are a few things that scare me about them. One is that they are big money. Deisel gas isn't any cheaper than Gasoline and it's sometimes more hard to find in a pinch (I have a funny story about that for another time), and cost to repair is much higher than their Gasoline cousins. I'll have to stick to the Gasoline for now.

Corey Bechtold

[anyfishwilldo]

Well if you have to stick with gas, than a chev 1500 with th 5.3 is the way to go. It comes with a 4 door ex cab, or a 4 door crew cab. Chev is a little pricier, but there is a reason for that. CAN'T BEAT THE RIDE. Also the creature comforts in the cabs of the Chevs are second to none.

[hunt4food]

My 99 chev. short box extended cab has the 5.3 engine. I get 15MPG with it no matter if it's in town or highway. it's good enough for me. The 5.3 has plenty of power.

[Corey Bechtold]

I'll have to agree with you on that one. This summer I borrowed my brother-in-laws truck for a camping trip and that thing was great! I do auto body repair for a living (not fishing ) and Chev trucks are easy to take apart and put together. They also have their faults too. As does any car/truck manufacturer.

Corey Bechtold

[Gissert]

Cory,

You are correct that diesel engines are more money up front, but you get that back in resale down the road.

There are plusses, big time, and the first is fuel economy. There are no plugs, no wires, or pesky distrubitors. Oil volume is larger, but the drain intervals are also longer.

I have a 2001 Dodge with the Cummins engine and six speed manual transmission. Running empty, I average 19.5 mpg. I have many tanks that have gone over 20.5 mpg. Towing, I get about 18. With the 35 gallon tank, I usually get about 500 miles before I need to fill back up. I got back the extra cost of the diesel option back at 95,000 miles in fuel savings over my old Bronco with the 302.

So far, in 150,000 miles, here is what I have spent outside of normal wear and maintenance items:

One fuel lift pump - 180 dollars

One throttle position sensor 318 dollars

Winter starting and fuel gelling have been non-factors. Almost all of the winter fuel has anti gel additives in the pump.

[TV BOY]

Corey, if millage and space is what you want, stick with the 1500 crew. The 6.0L in my gmc 1500HD crew cab, gets 10-13mpg. My 99 silverado (5.3) would get 15-18mpg.

The sacrifice is the box is shorter now in the 1500 crews--a fourwheeler now won't fit with the gate shut!

[gunflint]

Gissert is absolutly correct about the diesel(not so sure about the dodge part) it's the only way to go.

215,000 miles, 2 alternators, 19.5 mph loaded or empty.

I had one gelling problem, 35 below and I wasn't paying attention. I forgot to ad anti-gel. I would recomend synthetic oil, at least during winter.

[Mike89]

My thoughts are trucks are not built for MPG, but to be used and if you get decent MPG that's a bonus. I might not be right but it gets me by!!

[Chev_trucks501]

I used to drive a Dodge Ram and the best I got was between 12-14MPG. Now I have a Chevy Silverado and I get somewhere between 15-17MPG. Much better especially when towing the boat.

Good Luck

Chev

[Valv]

Corey, I had a '99 Dodge 1500 Sport, one of the best trucks I've ever had. Mileage 14-15 mpg, towing heavy 12-13 mpg

If you will tow anything you might want to consider a 2500 (3/4 ton) you won't be disappointed. I had to sell my 1500 for same reason.

[jltimm]

My vote for a full size truck would be a diesel also.Better resale,and for towing purposes your never underpowered with great mileage compared to the gas guzzlers. Dodge Cummins- 5.9 liter Chev. Duramax Diesel 6.0 Isuzu Engine- Ford 6.0 Powerstroke

[minneman]

Ive got an 03 ram w/5.7, 13-14 mpg, plenty of power. if I drive like my mom, I could get 16 mpg.

[McGurk]

Get a diesel if you plan on holding onto it. Your last truck is 10-11 yrs old, if you keep this one that long (or longer) you will probably be happy with it. My old man has a 94 dodge cummins diesel with close to 350,000 miles on it and has spent more money on preventative maintenence than he has ever needed to spend on breakdowns. He gets 20-22 mpg and pulls a 30+' fifth wheel cattle trailer. 1 manual transmission at about 320,000 miles, but hey, nothings perfect. Like was previously mentioned, resale is much higher too, which nowadays should be considered with the higher prices to get into a new truck. Or just drive it into the ground, and pass it along to the grandkids down the road.

Another thing to consider is the additional weight by stepping up to larger, heavier truck due to the fact you will be driving on the ice. Diesels are heavier, but so is the larger truck all in all.

Good Luck! McGurk

[Gissert]

Gunflint - LOL

I bought my truck for the Cummins engine, it just happened to have a Dodge wrapped around it.

[BarryG]

It's a 98 decked out conversion van. That thing is a beauty, and I don't think he has over 35k on it right now. His father and I have used it to go to Canada a few times when he wasn't able to make it, it drives like a dream and is easy on go juice!

[Corey Bechtold]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll see if there are any Deisel trucks out there in my price range. I have ridden in the newer Chev Duromax deisels and like that they run quieter. I tow a smaller boat and don't require a 3/4 ton truck or a 5th wheel. The responses I've got have kind of pointed me toward the Chev 1500 E Cab 4 door. I won't be able to get the newer Crew cab 4 door because it's out of my budget. If you have any other advice I'd like to hear it. Does anybody know what the older style Chev pickups with the 3rd door extended cab 1/2 ton averages for MPG?

Thanks a lot,

Corey Bechtold

[gunflint]

Gissert,

I hear you on the cummings diesel, great engine. Truth of the matter is I buy what ever truck I can afford when I'm in the market for a truck. As long as it's a 3/4 ton diesel.

[Walleye Guy]

Corey,

I have an 01 Chev extended cab (4 door version). It has the 5.3 engine and a fiberglass topper. I get 15-16 mpg in the city and 17-18 on the highway.

Great truck.

Good luck,

WG

[anyfishwilldo]

Chev started the 3rd door in 96. Another thing they started in 96 was the Vortec 350. The vortec 350 will very from 14-19mpg, depending on rear axel ratio.

[Whopper Stopper]

We bought a 05 Tahoe for the dogs, woods and fishing. Plenty of room for gear, has the back row of seats if more people hauling is needed. We have the 5.3 engine which I hooked up to the wheel house and plenty of power to roll down the road.We traded in our 01 Ford Super Crew. The Ford was nice to look at but that's about it, the one door even leaked air from day one. Before we settled on the Tahoe a sales guy had me take Dodge pickup with the Hemi for a ride, Balls ! Going down the road at 60 when you stepped on it you could about hear the tires squeal. Talk about power! The down side was I have ridden on hay racks bailing hay that gave a sweeter ride. I know my back would of been shot long before the warranty was up on the Dodge. Anyway the Tahoe worked for us.

[Corey Bechtold]

How about those little things a person can do to improve gas mileage. Dual exhaust, K+N air filter, Ram hood, Fuel filters, spark plugs? Has anyone had any luck with any of these?

Corey Bechtold

[Daveo]

Whopper.. that 5.3 L is about the best gas engine on the road. I just loved mine..kinda miss it in a way but am also loving my duramax. Got 24 mpg going up to red lake with it....kinda hard to bitch about that to...next time yea need a GM. let me know ill see what I can do.. I work at the GMC in forest lake.

[Dano2]

I never had much luck with just the K&N filter alone, but have heard of others haveing a LITTLE with the entire Fuel injection performance kit. Although my neihbor (spelling) told me just the filter alone, gave him a couple more MPG with his dodge diesel.

24 MPG, wow, thats awesome, I love the looks of them GMCs too. Thats going to be my next truck for sure.

[Valv]

I don't think there is much MPG improvement with these upgrades, a little more hp maybe but not much. And after you spent all that money, it will take longer to come up even with stock truck.

I only have an exception for spark plugs, I switched form stock (crappy OEM) to Bosch Platinum and I gained 2 t 3 mpg and a better response with throttle, I didn't even buy the 2 or 3 tip type (more expensive) I just used standard Platinum.