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WA1DH · 08-20-2009, 10:41 PM

Hi all, new member here.

I'll just give a quick intro here. I own a car (99 Ford Escort 2.0) and bike (79 Yamaha XS650) and have been following some of your ecomod tips. Seen a huge difference in the Escort (35-40 mpg now). Have a Scangauge in the Escort and it does wonders - great investment.

Now, with that said, I'll present you with the perfect oxymoron. I'm looking to buy the most fuel efficient pickup truck for towing that I can. I'm looking to tow around 3000 lbs (boat and trailer). Ideally I'd like something with a manual transmission. Due to my budget I'm looking at early to mid 90s trucks. Ford F150 4.9L V6 looks like it could handle that kind of load well but it sucks gas. EPA rates 18 MPG highway but I've searched around and heard a lot of stories of people getting lower than that. Chevy and GMC have 4.3L trucks that do a little better on mileage but I don't know if they would do as well as the F150.

So, what would be a good truck fuel economy wise for the load that I want to tow? First hand experience (even if you towed over capacity) welcome

Edit: One more thing, I'm probably going to wind up having to get a 4x4 truck which might mean lower MPG. Living in New England there are virtually no 4x2 trucks for sale here.

08-20-2009, 10:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
WA1DH Ford Escort Hypermiler Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: South Coast Massachusetts Posts: 8 Doug's Scort - '99 Ford Escort LX Last 3: 35.21 mpg (US) Doug's XS650 - '79 Yamaha XS650 Special 90 day: 50.91 mpg (US) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Economic truck for towing Hi all, new member here. I'll just give a quick intro here. I own a car (99 Ford Escort 2.0) and bike (79 Yamaha XS650) and have been following some of your ecomod tips. Seen a huge difference in the Escort (35-40 mpg now). Have a Scangauge in the Escort and it does wonders - great investment. Now, with that said, I'll present you with the perfect oxymoron. I'm looking to buy the most fuel efficient pickup truck for towing that I can. I'm looking to tow around 3000 lbs (boat and trailer). Ideally I'd like something with a manual transmission. Due to my budget I'm looking at early to mid 90s trucks. Ford F150 4.9L V6 looks like it could handle that kind of load well but it sucks gas. EPA rates 18 MPG highway but I've searched around and heard a lot of stories of people getting lower than that. Chevy and GMC have 4.3L trucks that do a little better on mileage but I don't know if they would do as well as the F150. So, what would be a good truck fuel economy wise for the load that I want to tow? First hand experience (even if you towed over capacity) welcome Edit: One more thing, I'm probably going to wind up having to get a 4x4 truck which might mean lower MPG. Living in New England there are virtually no 4x2 trucks for sale here.