Is there any hope?
 

Hi

I bought this truck and will be using it to tow a trailer. I usually don't have to tow it very far and it is usually on city streets, so I am not too concerned about MPG while towing. I will have to drive the truck back and forth to the yard which is a round trip of 120 KM on the highway. This is where I can use the aerodynamic improvements.

The truck is a 1990 1 ton crew cab 4x4 dually! On the plus side, it is a diesel (6.2l naturally aspirated) and the front hubs are freewheeling.

I am looking for suggestions.

I have already installed some airtabs on the back of the cab, and I would like to buy some flat "racing disk" hubcaps. When I get some time, I would like to build a aero cap for the back. I think I could get away with some grill blocking as the temperature never seems to get very high. I think it has a massive heavy duty rad in it. Actually, pretty much everything is heavy duty.

My suggestions? Smaller diesel truck, that is a 2wd and not a dually.

what the F*ck are you towing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a house!

AC unit in April, it was still snowing here. Will you be plowing too? Looks like you might be able to use the plow mount to make the nose a little sleeker. Or if it adds significant frontal below like some do, take it off if you don't need it, then you're not carrying around that extra weight every day. Lots of little things you can do like stuff you mentioned too. I'm sure you could block the grille at least when not towing and you wouldn't notice a temperature rise. My cars have HD radiators and the temp doesn't rise with upper grille blocks.

If you only really need the truck to tow, and have a place for another car, maybe you could pick up a cheap second car for your commute, and it would probably pay for itself with the fuel you would save.

Do you really have the GT in your sig?

:facepalm: Why wouldn't he?

OP - For aero, that truck is almost hopeless... almost... Full belly pan, aero-cap sort of thing, except make a cap that creates a smooth transition to your trailer, so there is no turb between the end of the truck and the front of the trailer.

The biggest eco-friendly thing you could do right now is not even worry about better mileage, but spend a couple hundred on a BD production system, and learn how to use it properly to make your own fuel. The carbon dioxide that plants use during their life to create the oil that you need for the fuel actually exceeds the amount of carbon you release by burning the fuel, so it's still environmentally positive, and will only cost you ~$1.00 per gallon, and no vehicle modifications necessary.

The second things to do are to tune the engine to make it more efficient.

Third would be extraneous details, and last would be aero. Sure there is alot to gain from aero on your truck, but in this case, the bigger fruit is way high on the tree.

I need to drive the truck to the yard as the truck is my daily driver, so commuting in another car is not an option.

I have to tow a 30 foot solar powered trailer called "The Eco-trailer". It is an eco friendly hair and make-up trailer that is used for location filming. It's pretty heavy, dually is definately neccessary. And I will be snowplowing as well.

Actually, I plan to run the truck on WVO. I ran my last truck on WVO, I just have to move the equipement to the new truck.

How much of this driving time will you be going faster than 40MPH? 50MPH? 60MPH?

Not hopeless at all. You can improve your MPG by 25-40% easily enough.

I recommend a "fastback" sloping bed fairing. Mine was worth 3 MPG over an open bed.

Aero improvement beyond the bed fairing is not gonna be easy or effective.

There is one mechanical thing you can do. GM diesels eat automatic transmissions. Next time it breaks, don't replace it. Convert it to a NV4500 manual. Not only do you get markedly more efficient by losing the torque converter, but you gain a better overdrive ratio and a lot more durability. A NV4500 will easily gain you another 2-3 MPG over and above what the "fastback" cover will gain you.

The mileage you drive makes more aggressive modding worthwhile.

Because he is on a site devoted to saving fuel.

Obviously, you're more concerned with superficial numbers than actually quantifying a gain, considering that this is the second time you've made a comment like this. (That I've read. Gods know how many more times beyond that.)

Check the tag in the sig. Sure, the car only gets <20 MPG with him driving it, but he's getting ~40% better FE than the EPA suggests he should be getting. THAT is the point of this site, to do more with less.

Not everyone is going to go out and get a smaller, more fuel efficient car, some would rather do what they can with what they have.

Maybe he's only driving that car on weekends as a cruiser? Maybe it's a vehicle that he drives for pleasure, or for work, or any number of things that you don't currently know, which could affect the situation.

Meanwhile, you've got a minivan with sub-20's posted to your garage. How is that different?

There are some companies out there that make rims that bolt on to full size truck hub but that take heavy truck tires (80-100psi), there was an article a few months back in Farm Show magazine about these style of rims they claimed longer tire life and better mileage.
changing fluids to synthetic should help as well, you have a lot of gear oil in the rear end, tranny fluid, engine oil, all of those would be good to change.
Then as far as driving goes, you have a vehicle that is designed to tow or haul alot, so when it's empty you can shift alot sooner then you would when it's full.

There are a couple full-size trucks around here with hub adapters and 22.5" rims with LP tires on them. Those guys are serious about hauling stuff around, often pulling farm equipment and full size heavy duty flatbeds.

Where the hell did that come from? Any of it? My point was, if he can afford a 180,000 dollar car, he doesn't need to save gas. The van is my mom's, and I don't drive it. The truck is solely for towing/hauling.

You never know... some people just want to save gas because it is the right thing to do. Money may not be the motivating factor here. But there is the possibility that saving money, hypermiling as one of many methods, allows him such luxuries. Did you know that the average millionaire buys used, rather than new, cars? Those kind of habits allow them to become millionaires. "Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else" - Dave Ramsey.

Okay, no more discussion on the Bentley GT or I'll delete it because it really doesn't have anything to do with anything to do with this thread :)

hope
 

grille block is good.A deep airdam to block air below front bumper good(as low as bottom of oilpan).An aftermarket fiberglass hood,as Harwood sells for hot rods,which has a huge blister cast into it would help streamline the windshield area.Any kind of bed cover.If your trailer is not a gooseneck,even a sheet of plywood across the rails ahead of gate( half-tonneau) will help.Flex-fan or thermo-clutch if a fixed fan now.Electric fan even better.Fairings behind the duallies could help reduce wake area a bit.belly pan if you can stomach it is better than just front airdam.Can you run without the outside rear tires when not towing?