40 + mpg out of a mid size truck?

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Guys in full size GM pickups do NOT get 25 mpg, I don't care what they say.

WTH? Where did that come from?

[MadisonMPG]

Knowing that it is a diesel makes it much more believable. (even though I believed it from the start)

[JacobAziza]

:P
This thread has been very entertaining to catch up on!
Very.

Ok.
I genuinely have been getting 25mpg.
Thats average, over many tanks, many months.
I use the truck for moves, hauling, and transporting tools to jobs. I'll fit a 1bdrm apt in the back, boxes, furniture, everything the customer owns, all in one trip. I haul 3 tons of soil, rocks, or broken concrete. I recently moved a 2000lb safe. This is all a mix of freeway and city streets.

I don't have any instant feedback, so any number I have is an average over an entire tank.
My best mileage to date is 28.5mpg.
The 28.5mpg run way empty one way, and then about 1000lbs on the return trip.

I didn't say I haven't done any mods, just none that involved fabrication or needed a mechanic or special tools or anything expensive.
I have done quite a bit of modding (coroplast aero mods and accessory downgrades) but all things that would be in easy reach of the thread topic original poster.
I wrote up all my mods here:
Vehicle efficiency upgrades: 28.5mpg (so far) in 2.5ton commercial truck
Easy, cheap stuff.

Driving style is a big part of it too. Frank Lee is right (assuming he can run 50mph). I drive slower than normal, but that is because my truck has no overdrive- its max efficiency is around 25-35mph.
Someday when I can afford a 4spd tranny, I'll start driving 55 (the limit for commercial trucks, which- technically- mine is)


The auto companies have always known how to get better mileage. The problem isn't them. Its the American consumer. They all make efficient vehicles - to sell in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. GM makes a van - not a mini van, but a commercial van - that gets 45mpg. Sold in China. Hybrids sell here because you can get kind of decent mileage while still having A/C and thick cushy seats and 8-second 0-60 acceleration and 20 million electric gizmos and lots of truck space and room for 6 people even though 80% of our car trips have only 1 or 2 occupants.


Incidentally, I just turned my tonneau into a makeshift aerocap by putting the rails on triangle pieces of plywood.
Its too soon to say if it makes any difference at all.
If it does, I'll mention it on my original thread about the truck: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-2-a-8613.html

And I totally agree with alohaspirit: if you are only using a vehicle occasionally, it usually makes more sense to rent one than own your own.

[dwtaylorpdx]

I had a 1965 Datsun L320 Pickup.

1200 CC engine with a itty bitty Nikki Carb on it.
4 Spd on the column...

Got right at 35MPG on the highway. And I was 16 and drove it like I was....16
Lord knows what kind of mileage it would have gotten if I ever shifted below redline.

The good old days...

Dave

[CoastRider]

It's not impossible But I don't know how much cargo you could carry and still get 40 mpg. I am pondering regearing mine again (89 F150 4.9 2wd) Originally had 4.10's now 3.27's and I'm leaning towards 3.08's, even on the highway at steady 55 the engine wont settle into a steady load so it pulses dipping to 27mpg on accell and soaring to 45+ on the mini coast. Soon I hope to get some weight in it and see what I can get when it is working.

Funny I just saw an old Ford Commercial for early 80's F150 they boasted about 20 city 30 highway mpg.

With how I used to drive I got 13 on average. still holding down 25 mostly in town.

[landscaper52]

Well,
Since I appear to have offended a few people here, I figured I'd go back and look up some real data...

You guys should check out TheDieselStop.com for info on guys driving 6.9 liter diesels of all sorts.

As you may choose to see, none of these Ford 6.9 liter diesel owners are claiming to get over 20 mpg under any driving conditions.

They all get around 18, at best.

Sorry, blame someone else, not my data.

As long as some people keep believing that big vehicles can get high mpg's when fully loaded then some people will believe anything.

I'd love to see a big truck get good mpg's it just aint happening.

[JacobAziza]

thats not evidence.

thats like going to a street racing website to "prove" that a honda civic can't possibly get 90mpg, and basjoos must be lying when he claims to.

The people at deiselstop aren't trying to maximize their mileage. If they were, they would be posting here. Before I started hypermiling and ecomodding I was getting 15-17mpg too.

Its not a matter of your "data", its the fact that you are implying that I and other truck owners on this forum are lying.
Its not even offensive as much as just baffling. Why would you even look up a forum to get typical mileage? I have a mileage log which shows the average in my signature. If you don't believe its possible to get better than typical mileage using a combination of mods and driving technique, why aren't you raising the same objection to every post on this forum?

[thatguitarguy]

A couple of years ago I had a 1985 Ford Ranger with the v6, I think it was a 3.8 and a 5spd. Just driving around I got about 17 mpg, but it was ok because I got it to be a truck and not a daily driver. Then I had to start driving it more, and I had to slow down because I was driving very winding mountain roads, and the shocks were really bad. Keeping it under 50 mph jumped my mileage to about 27 mpg, and I was amazed. I was picking up rocks beside the road on my way home from work for a landscaping project, and loaded down with a half ton of stone, on mountain roads, I still got 25-27 mpg, as long as I drove with the tailgate down and kept it around 50 mph.

This isn't hyperbole, just personal experience. I'm not saying anything about any other truck on the planet.

Just 'cuz you can't do it, don't mean it can't be done...

[Mustang Dave]

Originally Posted by thatguitarguy

Just 'cuz you can't do it, don't mean it can't be done...

That's a great quote! Hope you don't mind if I put it in my sig.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by thatguitarguy

A couple of years ago I had a 1985 Ford Ranger with the v6, I think it was a 3.8 and a 5spd. Just driving around I got about 17 mpg, but it was ok because I got it to be a truck and not a daily driver. Then I had to start driving it more, and I had to slow down because I was driving very winding mountain roads, and the shocks were really bad. Keeping it under 50 mph jumped my mileage to about 27 mpg, and I was amazed. I was picking up rocks beside the road on my way home from work for a landscaping project, and loaded down with a half ton of stone, on mountain roads, I still got 25-27 mpg, as long as I drove with the tailgate down and kept it around 50 mph.

This isn't hyperbole, just personal experience. I'm not saying anything about any other truck on the planet.

Just 'cuz you can't do it, don't mean it can't be done...

It had a 3.0 in it. I don't think Rangers ever got 3.8's.