[bryson]

I drive a 2000 F250 -- 2wd, 6spd, 7.3L Powerstroke.

I've been really working on my driving style -- mostly just keeping my speed low, anticipating lights, coasting up to stop signs, etc.

Obviously the driving modifications that conserve energy (avoiding the brakes as much as possible) will make a difference regardless of engine efficiency. My main question is whether load or RPM has a greater effect.

I notice that towing my boat doesn't seem to affect the mileage nearly as much as I expected. I drive the same speed with or without my boat, and usually accelerate at about the same rate. This makes me think that load has less of an effect on a diesel than on a gasoline engine.

On the other hand, a few people have seen pretty substantial improvements by doing things to reduce aerodynamic drag -- something that contributes only to engine load.

I would love for Big Dave to chime in on this -- I would be very curious to compare the mileage difference between his truck in the following configurations:

A: With the aero bed on, but no overdrive (stock RPM, reduced drag load)
B: No aero bed, overdrive engaged (reduced RPM, stock drag load)

If Dave has any of these numbers, or if anyone has an opinion or has performed a similar test, I would love to hear from you! I'm hoping that this thread could provide me with some insight as to the nature of the diesel.

Thanks,

Bryson