07 Diesel truck new to forum

[07 ThunderRoad]

New to this forum. I use my truck to tow a 8,000lbs travel trailer. Switching to a diesel truck doubled my fuel econ when towing. I need to improve trucks fuel economy when towing and driving with no load.

[skyking]

Welcome! One of our members has set the bar very high for the 07 6.7.
Is yours 4x4?

[Diesel_Dave]

Welcome! There's quite a few Cummins guys on here.

We've created a "team" that you can join here:
EcoModder Team Competition

There's no real benefit per se to being on the team, but it'll give you a quick way to kepp an eye on other folks with the same type of truck.

Go ahead and start a fuel log too. That's the biggest thing that you can do to start improving fuel economy--start keeping track of it.

[07 ThunderRoad]

Originally Posted by skyking

Welcome! One of our members has set the bar very high for the 07 6.7.
Is yours 4x4?

My truck is a 4x2 with a 5.9 CTD. I tried to start a fuel log, but I guess I will need to have the mileage driven for that tank of fuel to start the log. Truck is not driven in the winter (except around the block once a week). Plus, we have winter blend of #2 & #1 diesel. I usually get 25% of my fuel for free with the grocery store points. Once I start the fuel log, I will be messing up the fuel cost totals with the free fuel.
I would like to know about aero for the travel trailer. Should I install a belly pan? How is it done for the best aero efficiency. My T.T. is the typical brick in the wind. I do know my sweet spot is 58mph when towing. 12.5 - 14mpg. Any help will be appreciated.

[skyking]

The cost is not so important for tracking usage. Don't even put it in there if you don't want to. Do you have a canopy? You could see some benefit with a canopy and a deflector at the back of it to move the air up onto the TT.
More ambitious is a folding boat tail for your trailer. It would net you the largest gain.
Look in the aerodynamics forum to see what the commercial truckers are doing. They have these simple little boat tails that fold quickly. They would not do it if it did not pencil out for them.

[Diesel_Dave]

Where are you getting this free fuel from? I use grocery points at Kroger, usually getting about $0.50 off per gallon for one fill up per month (which is usually all I need). Is this the type of thing that you're doing?

Yeah a belly pan should help. I've planning one, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Depending of how much you haul stuff in the bed (or if your trailler is a 5th wheel), you might want to look into a bed cover.

Just a note as well, some people with towing trucks keep 2 fuel logs--one towing, one not. You may find that works well for you.

[Kodak]

Welcome to EM, Thunder Road. Fan of the boss, I take it?

Thunder Road is pretty nice tune - gotta love the harmonica intro.

[07 ThunderRoad]

Originally Posted by Diesel_Dave

Where are you getting this free fuel from? I use grocery points at Kroger, usually getting about $0.50 off per gallon for one fill up per month (which is usually all I need). Is this the type of thing that you're doing?

Yeah a belly pan should help. I've planning one, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Depending of how much you haul stuff in the bed (or if your trailler is a 5th wheel), you might want to look into a bed cover.

Just a note as well, some people with towing trucks keep 2 fuel logs--one towing, one not. You may find that works well for you.

I don't drive my truck in the winter. I have Giant Eagle fuel perks. If you buy food or gift cards for other stores, you get $0.10 off fuel for every $50.00 you spend.

[slowmover]

I went through the way I see some of this in a thread on another site:

Fuel Mileage Upgrade [Power & Economy in Trailer Towing]

Note the info about perfecting hitch rigging. With that leverage set and verified on a certified three-pad weigh scale, then the "effect" in a manner of speaking, of the trailer acting upon the truck and visa-versa is brought to the lowest point.

If you'll go through the suggested points for work on the TT, etc, then all other comments/suggestions/changes will be magnified.

I would like to know about aero for the travel trailer. Should I install a belly pan? How is it done for the best aero efficiency. My T.T. is the typical brick in the wind. I do know my sweet spot is 58mph when towing. 12.5 - 14mpg. Any help will be appreciated.

TT [travel trailer] spec, just as with TV [tow vehicle] spec is the most important question.

The order of "knowing" vehicle expenses beforehand is relatively:

- Vehicle specification
- Climate
- Terrain
- Intended Use

Second, (a NeilBlanchard quote) has to do with vehicle spec,

the relative order of [mpg] importance is still:

* Drivetrain Efficiency
* Aerodynamic Drag
* Weight
* Rolling Efficiency

A non-aero trailer will always have a higher horsepower demand, and (importantly) never handle, brake or trail as well. So, once one has gone through and made ideal the mechanical baseline of both vehicles, solo and when hitched, one has reached a limit.

12.5-14 mpg isn't at all bad. Given that we here do not know at present the length of the trips, the terrain encountered, or over how many miles this figure is representative, it already looks good for what it is.

One might peruse the threads hereabouts in re big truck/trailer FE aero improvements. And, especially, orbywan with his Class C boat-tail build.

Moving to an aero trailer is the best change. Plenty of good used candidates. My towing mileage (sig) was in 105F degree Texas summer weather at 62+ mph. I imagine that I would have broken 16-mpg easily if I had slowed to my present 58-mph.

There are plenty of examples of CTD's pulling trailers of this type (most famously, Airstream) of from 28-34' in length, and from 8k to over 11k in weight averaging 14-16 mpg. The key is the overall average mpg. I estimate (as in the linked post) that a conservative number for me is 16-cpm solo, and 26-cpm towing, at todays prices ($3.79/gl).

Smaller A/S trailers (23' and under) being pulled by TD SUV's and sedans are seeing high teens easily, and there are a few examples in the mid-20's.

I also went through some of the same in a thread on this site:

Touring Musician

where the reduction of business expense was paramount, and, as one is both living and traveling in an RV, some of the same applies as a large context has to be considered, IMO, for total expenditures to make sense.

If one is full-timing in the TT, and covering a lot of miles then that would be a different approach from a combined rig that only travels a few weeks per year. Treat vehicles separately, and break out solo miles from towing miles to get an idea of just what the "towing penalty" really is on an annual and multi-year basis.

.

[07 ThunderRoad]

Originally Posted by Kodak

Welcome to EM, Thunder Road. Fan of the boss, I take it?

Thunder Road is pretty nice tune - gotta love the harmonica intro.

I like The Boss, But I actually picked my forum name from the option package on my truck. It is a trim package, grill bug shield, step tubes, shocks,... and other trim. You could install the parts and the name plate on the truck or the dealer could. Any Ram truck could have this done through Mopar parts. The 2003 - 06 1500 Ram trucks could have this package added at the factory with the Hemi engine.