Is there any hope?

[Heynow999]

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.

[MadisonMPG]

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

[robchalmers]

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

[wagonman76]

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.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by robchalmers

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

Do you really have the GT in your sig?

[Christ]

Originally Posted by MadisonMPG

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.

[Heynow999]

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.

[Christ]

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

[Big Dave]

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.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by Christ

:facepalm: Why wouldn't he?

Because he is on a site devoted to saving fuel.