Pickup that gets best milage, need to buy 1

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Ryland

A $200 trailer hitch is much cheaper then a truck payment and almost any non hybrid car is going to be rated to tow at least 1,000 pounds, I've towed 1,000+ pounds with my Civic VX without any issue at all while averaging 40mpg and I just talked to a guy who towed a trailer with 1,000 pounds of lead acid batteries with his Honda Goldwing motorcycle.
but 3-6 months worth of truck payments and you'll have a nice trailer.

Exactly, my father just towed his 1930's wood trailer with the 5hp 48v Miles ZX40 out to the yard waste site to drop off a load, if that thing can tow a trailer I have a feeling anything could tow a trailer.

[cgbjake]

So after thinking about things more, I'm wondering if anyone has had any good luck with a 2 wheel drive 4 door manual gas engine? That way I can stay with a lighter 1/2 ton, keep it cheaper for the initial purchase, and have enough towing capacity for what I need. Anyone have good milage results from a 5 speed gasser with good FE technique?

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by cgbjake

So after thinking about things more, I'm wondering if anyone has had any good luck with a 2 wheel drive 4 door manual gas engine? That way I can stay with a lighter 1/2 ton, keep it cheaper for the initial purchase, and have enough towing capacity for what I need. Anyone have good milage results from a 5 speed gasser with good FE technique?

Most any gasser pickup with 5 gears can get 20mpg driven lightly, even a 5.2ltr dodge like mine can do that with a MT and 2wd

So I guess it depends on what you consider good?

An MT and 2wd does allow for strong hypermiling which may get you into the mid 20's but probably not much past that.

Cheers
Ryan

[larrybuck]

I used to have a '92 Dodge Dakota that got 37-38mpg during the warmer part of the year.

That is never going over 55mph, with admittingly light loads, but with a cab flush canopy, or truck cap; whatever its called in your neck of the woods.

Make sure its the 2.5 4 cyl. w 5spd. The V-6's most common in the early to mid '90's were not as reliable,

This truck is not too small; not too big! No new vehicle depreciation, prices should be very reasonable!

I used it as a courier vehicle on the job about 300miles a day/5 days a week for about 4 years. I put 394,000 miles on it with only tires and shock replacements. Finally, after out of work service, I had to replace the radiator after 5 years.

Very, very reliable!!!


Trailers are good and cheap too! You don't have to pay INSURANCE on one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[larrybuck]

P.S. .... I got higher pay because my Dakota to my company was considered to have a bed big enough to rank full size PU payload.

Most of my co-workers bought Nissan's but they topped out at about 32mpg.

I am 6"4 w very long legs, so again the Dakota bailed me out!

[darcane]

Originally Posted by cgbjake

So after thinking about things more, I'm wondering if anyone has had any good luck with a 2 wheel drive 4 door manual gas engine? That way I can stay with a lighter 1/2 ton, keep it cheaper for the initial purchase, and have enough towing capacity for what I need. Anyone have good milage results from a 5 speed gasser with good FE technique?

What towing capacity do you need?

My truck is a 2wd, gas, V8, auto, ext cab long bed. 20+ mpg. Rated at 6000lbs towing, it's plenty for what I need.

I'm sure I could do better with a manual, but they are rare as hen's teeth on the newer 1500 series trucks (can't really say "1/2 ton" as they are rated at about a ton of payload) and not offered at all after '07 or so. I searched for several months trying to find a '99-06 extended cab, 2wd Silverado with a V8 and a manual and only found three in the entire US. Then I gave up and got an auto.

Manuals are more common the older you get, or if you go with the smaller trucks (Dakota, Ranger, S10).

[Frank Lee]

Looks like 20- to me. Hard pressed to consistently average over 20 with a full-sized gas PU.

[Diesel_Dave]

Not to toot my own horn too much, but if you want to know what a diesel is capable of, I just filled up on Friday. My last tank averaged 33.91 mpg over 1,180 miles:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ank-18098.html

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Looks like 20- to me. Hard pressed to consistently average over 20 with a full-sized gas PU.

*shrug* depends on how you look at it.

You're right, considering all my miles. If you only look at commuting miles (No heavy loads or trailers), my recent average is over 20mpg. It doesn't take many miles at 14mpg to pull the average way down.

[phunky.buddha]

Originally Posted by cgbjake

So after thinking about things more, I'm wondering if anyone has had any good luck with a 2 wheel drive 4 door manual gas engine? That way I can stay with a lighter 1/2 ton, keep it cheaper for the initial purchase, and have enough towing capacity for what I need. Anyone have good milage results from a 5 speed gasser with good FE technique?

I drive a 2008 Frontier- crew cab, long bed, 4wd. Mine has the 4.0L V6 and the 6 speed manual. Running around town and commuting to work, if I shift between 1500 and 2000rpm, I can get 18mpg. On the highway with the cruise set to 80mph I'll get 20-21mpg, running the speed limit at 65-70 I'll regularly get 22-23mpg, and have gone as high as 24mpg on a tank on one trip. No aero mods yet, no pulse and glide, no EOC.

If you get a lighter version (2wd, short bed) and the manual, you could do a bit better. Towing capacity is 6500lbs. It's been really stable towing with a minivan on top of a car carrier driving across Texas.

Looking around at the fuel economy stats on an automatic truck for my in-laws to use for towing their boat, the Tacoma looked like it had the best mix of capability and gas mileage.

If your truck needs are pretty modest and you're willing to go with a "use it when you need it" pickup truck, I'd recommend looking up some of the older Nissan Hardbody (90-97) pickups. The 4-banger manuals did ok on gas mileage (rated 22/27, I got 20mpg beating on mine all the time), but the real kicker for me was that they were rated to tow 3500 pounds (towed a lot of cars with mine) and could still carry 1000 pounds in the bed. You can find them for around $2k.