Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Which diesel truck gets the best mileage?

I know this will have several answers, but which diesel truck in the '08 and newer lineup will get the best mileage? I don't mind putting a chip in it if that's going to make a good difference. Just looking at upgrading from a half ton and would like to know some real world numbers on the mileage.

Thanks.

I am a Cummins guy through and through, but I just bought a 2004 F350 with the 6 point oh no! I also have a 12 valve Cummins sitting in the floor of my shop to make the swap next year.

That being said, I hear really good reports out of the 2011 Ford 6.7 Scorpion engine. You specified 2008 and up, but I wouldn't touch any of the Ford engines, but this new one. That is with the hope that they hit it good like GM did with the Duramax from the beginning.

I know the Duramax is an Isuzu with a tremendous history, but the engine was still a new engine for Isuzu and I don't believe they suffered much of the new combo blues like happens pretty often. There are several reports that the 6.7 Ford is getting a lot better mileage than the 6.4 Navistar and even the 6.0.

I really like the 6.7 Cummins and the new Dodge with a true crew cab, but the Ford has my attention of the new trucks. Be prepared for sticker shock.

I think the Toyota 4 cyl diesel that I sometime use at work would be hard to beat. It goes forever on a tank (and is as reliable as a brick)!

...but they do not sell them in the USA.

John

I've heard great things about the new Ford engine as well. Like you said though, they cost twice as much as my first house.

Toyota has a long history with diesel engines outside the US but I guess importing is out of the question for now.

Unless you're going to spend the majority of your time pulling a heavy load, you'll be $'s ahead getting a gas powered 3/4 or 1 ton. The added emmisions items to the current crop of diesels has the mileage of them running unloaded pretty much on par with a gas rig.

If you want a good mileage diesel rig, look at an '06 or older cummins powered truck.

Where are all the cummins guys claiming 22+ MPGs???

For what its worth, I have a 2003 F250 with the 6 liter. It gets 16 MPG with its 3.73 gears, 6" suspension and 37" radial tires. Oh, and 170,000 miles and never a problem!

The brother of my hunting buddy bought a 2008 or 2009 ford and got rid of it 15-16 mpg was the best. My brother had a Duramax that got 21 on the highway and boy is he sorry he got rid of it.

2007 5.9 cummins, auto trans in a standard cab 4x4 with canopy. Stock everything. It gets about 19.5 on cruise at 60mph. No more ever. But it makes power to the ground, pulls anything great.I would not buy any post 07 diesel. 05-07 5.9 is about as good as they get.

My 2006 5.9 got 22 mpg cruising 70, but a newer 6.7 Cummins will not.

My parents just drove up from MI in there 2010 3/4 ton chevy. With the duramax, I was real surprised that in town when I drove it, I was averaging around 20.5MPG. when my mom drove in from the border she averaged 21+ in 4wd doing around 55mph.

Decent power also........for a chevy

I've got a 2008 Dodge with the Blue Tec Cummins...



I have a safe full of guns...



I have several reloaders...



If you want the truth, the Cummins gets about 15 MPG, The guns are all inch or so with a couple that can do an honest 1/2 inch group, my reloaders will mess up on occasion.

I get sick of hearing how everyone has trucks that get 22 mpg, guns that all shoot 1/4 inch and their reloaders never mess up...How is it I get all the junk?

Here's one. I've got a 98.5 2wd regular cab 2500, one of the first ones with the 24 valve engine in it. It's a 5 speed and has a 3.54 rear end. The only modification from stock is a set of Bosch 275 HP RV injectors. On the highway driving 70 it averages 22 MPG. My all time best fuel mileage was last june when I bought a cultipacker off of ebay and had to go to Ohio to pick it up, 600 miles each way with a night in a motel 6 in the middle. I had plenty of time so I set the cruise control for 58 MPH up there and back, my tank on the way up there got 26.0 MPG, on the way back with a 2000 lb. cultipacker in the back it got 25.5 mpg. The truck has 371,000 miles on it also. If you drive them fairly slow they'll get some amazing fuel mileage.

They all get close to the same mileage. the difference is the repair bill for bad injectors and how often you have to have them replaced etc.

Cummings is the best by far (and Im a Ford Man I just wont buy their diesels)

Ford and Chevy have constant injector problems around my area

Dodge has the top of the charts in many of the categories for diesels

I dont know shrapnel. All I know is that my parents put 71,000 in 4 months on there chevy. they haul commercialy. I looked at there logbook and they note the miliage.

going through the midwest where they get alot of the hybrid fuel, they average around 18, otherwise they are in the low 20's. they installed a 100gallon secondary fuel tank in there bed so they can bypass those states

only engine issue they had was when they drove up a couple of weeks ago, they left MI and it was in the 60's. ran into a snowstorm and they forgot there bra. had to limp it to a station to buy a new air filter and bra. the snowstorm they hit caught them off guard, besides they had there new granddaughter on there mind they were trying to see.

Shrapnel, you have a 2008, you are not going to get anywhere close to 22mpg. Most 5.9s will not get 22 either, but mine did once it got broken in and before I put mud grips on it. If you take of your dpf you might get 20. Nice looking truck, nice looking guns.

I hand calculate my mileage and compare it to the overhead readout. The overhead is usually about 1-2mpg optimistic. I have on occasion got up to 24 mpg hand calculated but that was really trying. 60 mph or less unladen on my '03. Realistic average with mine is about 17-18.5 on my commute if traffic is ok, 19-21 on the road empty, and 15-17 depending on what I tow. I don't tow very heavy, usually less than 8k, but I've noticed that if the towee's profile (frontal area) is tall, mileage goes to hell regardless of the weight. My 1500lb Honda Big Red with windshield eats more fuel than when pulling a BMW on a U-Haul trailer with a gross trailered weight of 7k.....

Just clicked over 200k miles on Monday, damn thing has been through 2 waterpumps . Sick of these unreliable Dodges .

Pulling an 9000lb TT i get 9.5 to 12.5 mpg depending on terrain. general driving, trips to town, out hunting etc. the 07 5.9 gets 16mpg on average for several tanks of fuel. trip computer reads on average .6 mpg over calculated. Pretty close as it gets more miles this has been shrinking. started at almost a 2mpg spread. Just turned 22,000 miles by the trend the trip computer should be pretty close at 50,000

My '06 cummins will get 21 on the freeway, but town driving it's down to about 17. If I could keep my foot out of it, I'm sure I could get the city driving up to about 18, but every once in awhile it's nice to blow the accumulated soot out of the exhaust. Towing my boat which with trailer is barely two tons mileage is 16-17, but that's running through mountain passes. The nice thing is, you litterally don't feel the load.

The only problem I've had is the waterpump, crapped out at 50k. Oh, and I need a new set of tires now at 58k.

A bit off topic, but any of you that tow much. Especially if the load varies quite a bit from light to heavy should take a look at the MaxBrake controller. It is the single best thing I have come across in years!

You will be stunned at how much smoother and more controlled the braking is on your truck. I have been using Prodigy controllers, but recently took another person's advice and I couldn't believe the results.

They even work on air brake systems like in my RV for my trailer.

Mileage was much better all the way around the horn for most diesels but when that Sulfur was taken out, mileage went down the ladder.

I have several friends that have the newer Cummins and it was a big disappointment to them on fuel mileage, which was in the 14teens as a general rule. Their older 5.9 Cummins got over 21 mpg rain or shine.

It has taken FORD 3 tries to get it right on diesel truck engines, however I do believe they have finally broken through the ice, with this new 6.7 engine......hope things continue in grand style for them and this engine. I have not met anyone with this type of Ford rig to get any feed back as far as mileage goes.

I'm still driving my '96 Dodge Cummins 12 valve with 5 speed. Usually get 19-20 mpg depending on the wind and quality of fuel.

Does it matter?

You buy a truck to use - as my dad would say - not to look at it.

If you do not have any use for a diesel truck - then you don't buy one. The cost of running a diesel over a gas jobber is about 40% higher due to the fact that the diesel needs constant maintenance.

You are always going to have to watch the filters and the fuel and will always have to keep an eye on everything. If it gels up in the winter - you are looking at a expensive trip to the garage.

A gasoline engine - you stop at the local convenience store and you fill it up with gasoline when the tank is empty and maybe once every 5 or 10 years you change the fuel filter - depending on how many miles per a year you run and what type of fuel you run in it. I have taken many fuel filters off newer style GM gasoline pick up trucks that had 100,000 miles on it - and the original fuel filter and there was NOTHING inside of the filter.

Many times I had to replace the fuel line when I removed the filter in the GM garage when I worked there. Especially if the brake lines rusted out and I had to remove them from the ABS system under the drivers left foot below the floor boards.

A diesel might get good fuel mileage - but when you look at the price of diesel fuel, you aren't saving much over the long haul.

If you had a 7,000 lbs trailer that you towed - you would see a drastic savings, but not just running an empty truck.

The 2007 GMC 6X6 truck we run (Duramax) - 1 ton crew cab, will get 22 MPG towing a 7,000 trailer.
The 2009 Avalanche 1500 4x4, that I run with the same trailer will only get about 4 MPG.

Constant maintenance??? I think you need to lay off dah queens beer.

So far in 58k miles my diesel truck has needed the water pump replaced. Other then that, here is my maintenance schedule:

7500 miles replace oil filter and rotate tires.

15000 miles, replace engine oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, differentian oil and rotate tires.

30,000 miles replace engine oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, differentian oil, transmission oil and filter, transfer case fluid and rotate tires.

Other then that, just keep the tank full of fuel. I've driven it in -30f, and have never had a fuel problem.

That is absolutely the most stupid statement I've yet to read on these forums.

What extra maintenance? A $14 fuel filter that is good for 15,000 miles? Who cares? The oil change costs twice as much on the diesel but the interval is twice as long so in the end the cost is the same. If anything a diesel need LESS maintenance than a comparable gas truck.

My truck gets 22 mpg on the highway, a comparable gas truck would get 15, likely less. Diesel fuel would have to be 50% higher than gas before the fuel costs would even be equivalent. Anything less than that and the diesel costs less. That's before you even take into account that the engine in a diesel will last twice as long as a gas engine. When an engine wears out most people will trade a vehicle resulting in a new truck purchase at roughly half the interval with a gas truck as with a diesel. How much does buying TWO gas trucks to do the work of one diesel truck cost you?

Any way you slice it the diesel is cheaper to operates. Sit down with a calculator and run the numbers instead of pulling stupid statements out of your butt.

[quote=Duquensebeer]the fact that the diesel needs constant maintenance.

Really, I find that interesting since most of us that use diesels for working buy them because of just the opposite of your above statement.

I do agree however if a person tows rarely or doesn't really use their truck as a "truck" the diesel is a waste.

I was recently in a similar situation. A Ford man at heart, but wouldn't touch anything but a 7.3 or a new one and there's no way I could afford a new one and still eat, much less do anything fun.

Contemplated a Ford V-10, few friends have them and the power would have been there for the horse trailer I was thinking of pulling, but they're milage is terrible.

Have a few happy friends with 04-05 Cummins and found a clean '07 with the 5.9. Can't really give detailed fuel usage reports but hand calculated I can easily get 18.5-19.5 empty, slow it down to 60-65 and 21 is doable most of the time. Have scene 22 a few times. My over head is off by about 1 mpg and there's been a few times with the nice SD tail wind I've scene it read 26-27 doing 60. Granted that's a rare thing, but it is always windy here. Just seems more often than not your bucking the wind, rather than going with it.


My folks have an early '03 7.3 Power Stroke, pulling their 32 foot horse trailer with living quarters they get pretty consistently about 10-10.5. Same truck empty is about 15-16 (Club Cab 350, long box).

Oh, paid about the same for my 2500 as a comparable Ford F250 V10



Take a look at a few forums to delete all the emissions crap on the newer ones, but you'll also need a programmer so you don't have to look at the check engine light.

Dude,
every time you opine you put your foot in your mouth. Unbelievable......

These are Imperial gallons,'91 4.0 5speed Cherokee pulling a 7' tent trailer with a canoe up,18MPG;08 6.7 Dodge 6speed manual(a 5speed with a granny gear)pulling 10' tent trailer with 12' tin boat up,23MPG, calculated.That's the same easy 110K(70mph) cruising.I found cruise control will make it worse!.I have seen 13.5liters per 100km on the readout on a run where I am obeying the law ,which is about 30MPG (Imp). Diesel fuel is about 2% cheaper than gas in BC.I'm happy with the fuel economy.

But it's a good point,why waste an expensive truck's milage running empty.

40% YOU say! Holy Cow N Jackrabbits without fur!!!

Well I have an old diesel and it could use some new sheetmetal here and there but it still a strong running 7.3, leaks a little but if I want to pull a friggin house down the road, it will suffice for such a job. Yes, it takes more oil and filters are more money but I don't change it half as often as the V-10 gas (5,000 miles) rig, which is newer a...2006 Superduty F-350.

I think if you factor in the original cost of the diesel engine you might come up closer to the 18% but I just cannot see 40%. I have not had to do anything to the 7.3 other than replace 4 injectors and a water pump. I had a repair job done on the radiator from a bullet during deer season several years ago but no fault of the truck.......tires and brakes yes. It only has close to 290,000 give or take.

I have driven dodge diesels for 15 years, those claiming over 20mpg are mostly full of it unless they are keeping it at a steady 60mph, which out west where I live no one drives that slow.

first truck was a 95 diesel dually 2wd 5 speed, that truck would get about 18mph on the highway, 70-75ish

93 dodge 2wd single cab, the lightest of the diesel truck I owned. it would get 20mpg with a mix of city and highway 18.5 on winter blend fuel and would get a best of 23 mph for some reason driving from salt lake to bloomfield NM, either going or coming, but normally was 19-20 on the highway

02 dodge 4x4 quad cab, 5 speed would get about 17-18 if you keep the speeds below 75, above that and you would get in the 15.5 ish area.

early 04 quad 4x4 auto, this truck didn't have the 3rd injection event. about 16 on the highway at 75mph

06 dodge quad 4x4 auto, this truck was a fuel hog. 14.4 at 80mph maybe a little over 15 at 75, with a mix of city and highway it was less than 15mpg.

all mileage is HAND calculated, which the '06 would read about 4mpg high on the trip computer. all the trucks had stock tire sizes, only one of the 5 was capable of eclipsing the 20mpg number and it was a 2wd single cab with NO emissions controls on it.

I just bought a new ford with 6.7 in it, so far on winter blend fuel I am getting 10% better towing and over 20% better highway mileage than my 06 dodge. I get about 17.5 running 82 mph, I have seen a best of 18.3 with some 82mph speeds some 70mph speeds and some stop and go, I am very happy with the truck and at the end of the day this truck might just well rival my old '93 dodge, when I get to run some summer fuel in it. this truck is a crew cab 4x4 long bed.

I just don't see anyone getting 20+mpg in the newer dodges unless they drive no faster than and keep a steady 60mph. the new dodges don't come with urea injection like ford and chevy so dodge is behind and their motor is choked with EGR and soots the oil very quickly.

CC.
Very informative post. I have two Dodges we use to tow with. One is an 05 we have rolled up about 140K on and a brand new one with less than 10K on it. Your findings are real close to what we have found. I am real interested in how your new F series 6.7 does. With the power levels the 6.7 has I am anxious to see what kind of fuel economy.

Dave

Diesel Power magazine ran a test in the October issue, single rear wheel 2500 and dually 3500 of each brand. Towing and economy. It's a pretty good writeup.

on my trip from tenn. to deap into canada last month i got a low of 22.5 to a hi of 25.8 on my 95 dodge. drove at 65 most all the time. i have over 170,000 on it now.

My 05 cummins with the six speed got 24.5 comming back from Indiana to Pa. Brought a concrete truck back so we never went over 60. Average mpg driving to Montana from Pa. 17mpg. Went out west to pick up two horses 10-11 mpg. I actually used less fuel comming back with two horses on the trailer than I did going out empty, go figure. With all this emissions garbage hanging on these new motors,how can they be as fuel efficent as the 06 and older models.

The older 12 valve cummins in the Dodge pu's did pretty good. Had a 96 that got 21 mpg on a regular basis.

Made a 6 hour each way trip to hunt pheasants last week in my buddies 2008 Dodge 3/4 ton, 6 speed manual, 4x4, crew cab, 4 men, guns, clothes, 2 dog box, dogs and some misc tools/chains/jacks. On the way home I asked what mileage he is getting. He pushed the button and the computer was showing 18.1. He said he hadn't hand calculated anything yet, as he'd just bought it a few weeks earlier used with 33,000 miles on it.

A friend of mine has a 6.7 Cummins in 2008 Dodge 1-ton. He pulls a 32 foot 5th wheel and only gets 16.8-mpg empty at 70mph on interstate. Pulling he gets 12.5-mpg on level highways. His odometer reads 31,000 miles.

Not directly responsive to the OP's question, but we have a 2007 Dodge with the 5.9l Cummins. Last year I took it on a 1800 mile round trip to go hunting in Wyoming. Averaged a little over 70 mph and got a hand calculated 19.5 mpg. This truck has a 6 speed manual and a 3.73 rear end. I added taller tires to reduce the RPM and also installed the Dynatrak front hub kit to reduce the front drive train drag and wear. I just added a 55 gallon Titan fuel tank - it doesn't impact mpg but does impact the miles between fuel stops!

Do you think the Dynatrac kit in the front is going to improve your mileage? Do you know anyone who has installed one of those and checked their mileage?
I thought if I ever have to change a front bearing or hub I'll go with what you did.

That was one of the reasons that I sprung for the Dynatrak installation. I actually think that it helped on the mileage, but it is so tough to keep all the important variables constant for a good and meaningful test. Intuitively (and also from my race car days) a reduction in parasitic drag in the drive trains should convert to more overall efficiency. There are other reasons to make the change, especially as you mentioned when you have to change a hub. Having bearings that are serviceable is nice. Also, just avoiding wear and tear on the front drive train is an advantage. This is a long term truck for us so all of the investments we make to it are to make it more efficient and long lasting. My next project is better fuel filtering.

actually , I beleive the Fords and Chevies still do have EGR and DPF like the Dodges.....the difference is they are using urea injection rather than injecting fuel into the exhast for the regen events .

Think I've sorted it out: Too much blue stuff?

Talked with a guy at our range t'other day, that was driving a fairly new F250 diesel 4x4. Claimed to get close to 22 MPG highway, kinda empty. Didn't stick around to see if he could shoot a rifle, too. ;O)

Well, either me or my calculator must be full of it. Made a 387 mile trip last weekend, filled to the brim when I left & filled to the brim when I got back. 17.1 gallons which, according to my cheap OfficeMax calculator is 22.6 mpg. Obeyed the speed limit (65-70) the whole trip. 2003 Cummins.

If you see him again, ask him if we could arrange for him to drive my '06 F-250 diesel. I'd like it to get that kind of mpg, but the best I've gotten with it so far is 18. Maybe he'd even let me tag along and learn some things.

I gotta be done with the deezils for a while.

In new/newish trucks anyways.

I do have a hankerin to hand select the best of the cummins offerings (bone stock and conservative on power)from the past 10-15 years. Focus would be squarely on dependability & economy, I don't need and don't want 700hp & 800ft pounds of torque. Put a manual trans behind it, a stout T-case feeding a pair of simple dana 60's with disc brakes and selectable lockers and put it all under a vintage ford crew cab long box with just enough lift to clear narowish 35" tires.

Well I had a long talk with my highschool buddy Bosco today! He told me that his 2008 Dodge 1-ton dually gets 15.3 going down the interstate at 70 mph. His rig has .373 gears in the rearend. He has close to 40,000 miles on the 6.7 Liter Cummins Diesel engine. He gets 11.5 mpg pulling a 5th wheel down the road to Florida. Coming back he only gets 10.7 mpg.

yep.

And that aint so bad when diesil is lower than gas, but that aint happened in a long time sustainably.

He can pull the ass out of a goat 24-7.... but how often does he need to?

That's why I went back to gas for a while here.

I am currently on my way to becoming a master diesel tech. I don't care who says what about my friends truck this my friends truck that blah blah blah. It all comes down to a few things when MPG is involved. GEARS....Gear ratios can make or brake millage, Driving habbits if they suck so does your millage, Fuel filters and Air filters keep em clean and fresh.

Do eary year Duramax (GM/Isuzu have injector problems yes LB7 LLY engines are known for them. Once they are swapped to an aftermarket part the truck is good to go.

Do Ford (International) 6.0 and 6.4 have their fair share of injector and egr and turbo related problems....YUP. Ford is going to TRY and make it better with the Scorpion.

Do your 5.9 6BT Cummins have known issues with bad diaphrams in the injection pumps....sure do. Does the 6.7 Cummins have a its problems, yup engine oil being diluted with with diesel fuel.

They all have problems they all have potential to get decent millage, your better bet is duramax or cummins in my opinion. These two engines are a stronger design that the 6.0 or the 6.4 Ford, not to say the Ford's have BAD diesels its just not as strong a design. If you don't believe it pick up a diesel power mag....both Duramax and Cummins can be built up to and over 1000 HP with aftermarker products. The Ford 6.0 and 6.4 Internationals can't really reach those numbers...but we will see what happens with the Scorpion engine.

Pulling a moderate trailer in MN/WI, etc. isn't a big deal with a gas motor, but it's a different story once you start hitting the hills anywhere. Once you start upping the elevation, even in SD the gas motors really start to show their weaknesses (my opinion).

It is a joke that diesel is as high or higher at the pump than premium un-leaded. Up near the Cities two weekends ago diesel is/was 3.49 a gallon. Still around 3.09-3.19 out this way.

It cost money to extract sulfur out of diesel (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel).

But that still doens't make alot of scents on why it is so high priced because refineries that extract sulfur from diesel make a profit on the extracted sulfur?

They charge it because they can. It has nothing to do with what it costs to make.

I have never encountered any problems pulling moderate loads in the Ozark Mountains and anybod who has been down here knows that these are steep long hills especially from Nixa to Harrison Arkansas etc.

My Superduty F-350 V-10 just walks the dog pulling 5,000 to 8,000 pounds. On flatland you don't realize you got that weight behind you, hills sort of ring the doorbell on a long grade at 65Hwy. Gas is 35 cents a gallon cheaper than diesel fuel and easy to come by most anywhere. If I really need to pull a house down the road, I'll just turn Ole Bull loose with it's 410 gears and that 7.3 oil leaking Ford, will simply roll on down the road without a care in the world.

First year LB7's had injector problems. They were improved. I know a bunch of guys with LB7's who are very happy. And the LLY is not "known" for injector problems because it doesn't have them.

GMC Z82 , best truck I have had yet

The computer on my '08 2500 DMax says 15.8 mpg...has a Banks SL tuner, Banks air box and Banks duals...3.73s....265/70/17 Duratracs....

Drive 40 miles of back roads to work daily and 240 miles of highways on weekends to camp...rarely tow....or run the SL...

Don't think the tuner has done anything for the mileage.....rarely have it above the 1 setting....about all it does is tell me the EGT and when the DPF is doing its thing....

BTW, no more Banks tuners for me....their service is the worst....

Computer mileage isn't accurate and with a chip whatever it says is meaningless. Hand calculate, you're probably doing a lot better than that.

I ran Edge/Attitude for a few years and liked it fine. They now have one that gives more power than what I had. The absolute best for a DMax is EFI Live. And I believe there's a DSP5 switch available now for an LMM and that's definitely the way to go.....5 tunes on the fly.

Come to think of it, the computer has been stuck on 15.8 since I put the tuner in......duuuuuuuuuuuuuh......while I am not hung up on MPG it would be nice to know what it's getting...

EFI Live's service has to be better than Banks'....

You're lucky. If I boost the power in my 6.0 it'll blow the headbolts off.

I know most people don't get that good, but a few do. I have one buddy that bought a new one, single cab. long bed, manual tranny. I would have to guess at the year but probably just prior to common rail injection.

We got 26 mpg on one trip and drove 65 most of the time. This was a 700 mile tour of AZ.

A current buddy has an 04 and was driving daily from Tucson to Florence and a fueled with him multiple times. He was getting 22 mph and ran 70.

My 2000 F250 long bed crew used to get about 18. When this new crappy ultra low sulfur stuff came out I lost about 2 mpg.

I rarely crack 17 anymore. 600,000 and going strong.

I got my first dodge diesel in 1989. Got a tad over 22 on the open highway, unloaded. Auto trans, 3.08 rear end. It wouldn't go much over 65.
My present dodge is an 06. Manual box, and standard rear end, (3.89 ?). I live in the mountains, so I get just under 18 on the current low sulfur fuel. With my fully loaded, 10 ft. Lance Camper, and towing my Jeep, it gets about 13.7 at 60 mph on flat highways. E

My cummins 6.7 gets 18mpg when i stay out of it. But it has a 6 inch lift and 37s. Does have tuner, 5inch turbo back exhaust, all the deletes and cold air intake. Love it!

My Toyota Tacoma with the 4-cyl engine, 5-speed stick, and 3.73s gets 23mpg on the highway at 70 mph. It got 25 when it was new, but I guess having a canopy cuts down the mpg. It gets less in town--like 21mpg. I've put 105,000 miles on it in four years and I didn't have to pay thousands extra to get the 4 cylinder. Works for me.

I've had a diesel pickup of one brand or the other since 1988 and the one I have now hardly ever sees daylight. It sits in my shop and waits for when I have to tow something. Then, I get 11 or 12 mpg, depending on the load. It gets 16 or so empty.

If my shop burned to the ground with the F-250 in it I don't think I'd replace it with a new diesel. They just aren't worth the money when I consider the poor mileage and the cost to get into one initially.

YMMV.

2004 Ford with the 6.0 diesel. I get about 18.6 miles per gallon going down the freeway at 80MPH. About 16 miles per gallon driving around town. I got about 10.7 miles per gallon round trip pulling a 9000 lbs trailer from Flagstaff to Spokane (about 1400 miles each direction) going about 75-80MPH when I was on the freeway. Crossed the continental divide (i.e. lots of climbing) 2 times each direction.

I did ten hours yesterday in my 2010 F250 crewcab with the 6.4 and averaged 16.9 mpg with four people and about 1k of cargo in the bed with a camper shell. Average speed on the Hwy was about 70.

I have a 2006 GMC Sierra 2500 HD 4x4 Crew Cab, with the LBZ Duramax and 6 speed Allison, a 3 ton plus truck. After break in (they require about 14k - 15k miles to break in) the mileage dramatically increases. My mileage runs 18 - 21.8 mpg (hand calculated) on the freeway depending on speed, load, wind and terrain. My last trip through Northern California averaged 19 mpg at maximum posted speed (65-70 mph). Around town averages 15-17 mpg.

Winter averages are lower than summer due to winter fuel blends. I use stock tire size, as larger tires cut mileage. A Leer tonneau cover reduces wind resistence, while a GM Performance 4" cat back exhaust system reduces EGR temps and marginally improves mileage (although not by much). I use Amsoil Series 3000 5w-30 HD Diesel Oil which reduces internal drag, and XPD Diesel Fuel Improver to increase mileage and injector life (injectors cost $320 - $675 each, although the DuraMax has good injector life). I installed an auxiliary fuel filter that uses CAT 1R-0749 filters and the new Delco TP 3012 OEM coalescing filter on the engine. I do not use chips, tuners or programmers to protect my extended warranty and prevent excessive wear.

GM hot tests every DuraMax engine on a dynometer stand for eight minutes before it goes into a truck. Every one - not just a sampling. No one else tests every engine, not Ford or Ram. Maybe that's why I have had no problems with it.

This is simply the most powerful, reliable and comfortable truck I have owned or driven, and I drove trucks for 44 years.

The newer diesels of any brand may not produce the same mileage due to addition of the diesel particulate filter requiring regeneration, which consumes fuel, and the expense of DEF/urea injection to cut emissions.

The 3.73 is fairly standard

It's not near as fun as listening to everyones opinion but pickuptrucks.com has their 2010 3/4 ton deisel truck shoot out on their website that pretty much removes all the doubt about which deisels excell and which ones follow the tail lights.

Interesting read, although there's LOTS of people who would take the Ford Chassis, Chevy Trans, mated to the Dodge 5.9


I'm more of a Ford person, but presently have an early '07 Dodge with the 5.9. Can't really say I have any complaints and with the money saved (Thousands) I could have a built transmission, Smarty tuner and have way more power than I could ever need and still have money in my pocket compared to the other two brands.

I sold my 2007 Dodge 5.9 CTD quad cab in November. I got more for it than when I purchased it with 13k miles on it in 2008. The truck averaged 18.1 mpg for me with a best of 23.2mpg last summer. I was running 60mph going to the OBX. I hated the short bed and I did not like the quad cab (too small for my family). My dad has a 2007 Silverado classic body style 2500 LBZ and he averages 16.4 mpg with a few spurts into the 18-18.5mpg range on the interstate. We live 100 yards apart and drive the same conditions, so I would say the 5.9 Cummins is less thirsty than his 6.6 Duramax. I wish Dodge would have offered a 6speed auto with the 5.9 CTD. The 4 speed was decent but there is a gap between 3rd to 4th when towing heavy with 3.73 gears.

shrapnel I feel your pain...each fall we take my buddies GMC 3/4 ton duramax to Colorado and Texas then back to CA and it gets better milage loaded than my Dakota 4x4 v8 empty!!

Does any company build a small suv/truck diesel 4x4?

Wonderful idiots on the news were saying 5.00 gas this morning, so that's 5.50ish diesel prices within a couple years.


F'ing future market spectators adding to their billions screw the rest of us over.

Economy went to crap the last time fuel was over 4.50+, guess they want to tank it again?


ps: Back to the subject, my Dodge 5.9 is basically getting the same as my Buick Regal. Filled up yesterday, interstate driving where I used to get 26-28 was down to 21.6. Fuel quality is such a joke these days. No reason for such poor mileage and the temps weren't even that bad out yesterday. My folks' have the same engine/drive-train (different car) and they're down just as bad.

Today was 3.49 for diesel, 2006 3/4 2500 Duramax. Normal milage empty ranges between 18.5 and 22.5 hand calculated. Towing the 5th wheel worst in a damn stronge headwind was 10.5 best was 17.0. Thing I like is the power, hills are not an issue. If you tow a diesel is best. Maintainance is a bit more on the diesel, but they will last longer than a gas motor.

Wife bought me a '06 Cummins 4X4 4 dr 6 sp for Christmas, 1st trip averaged 24.3, if ya believe the computer, and 23.2 on the way back. Had the tailgate down and didn't exceed 68 mph.

My 2007 Dodge w/ 5.9 doesnt get all that great... I have a Quadzilla Adrenaline on it, AFE stage II intake and an exhaust... I do like to let the horses run every so often so it doesnt get more than 15 or so. That is mostly in town, but do drive about 60 miles back and forth once a week.

Fuel quality?? My hunting partner does his milage on every tank in his Ford Escape.He found the milage was 1 mile less per Imperal gallon,hey we're old, we understand these numbers,on his trip through western states.Yes, the gas quality is lower in western states than Alberta/B.C. I run diesel Max in my truck,since it's the same price.

The Dodge maybe, all the 08 and newer have lost some mileage due to the emission equipment that has been added. I had a 07 Chevy Dmax LBZ 2500 4x4 crew cab sb that did 15-16.5 combined driving and 18-21 highway empty. The biggest impact on the mileage on these trucks is the right foot. The diesel will get better mpg than a gas when pulling a load most of the time. I would test drive all 3 makes and pick which one you like the most. They most likely get about the same mileage anyway. I have a couple of buddies that have 07 F-250's that got the same mileage I saw on my Dmax. I have one friend that has a 08 cummings which he claims to get about 1-2 mpg less than what I got on mine highway or city. However he drives his like a race car.

I recently sold my Dmax and now have a 2011 Toyota Taco 4x4 Double Cab. I loved my Dmax but really did not have a need for it anymore. Diesels are great to have for towing. If I were to buy another one I would buy the Dmax again hands down.

Mine is about the same as yours. I have crew cab 2006 Chevy 2500 HD 4X4 with the Duramax and 6 speed allison. Best fuel mileage I ever got was 22.8 MPG hand calculated. Worst towing mileage was about 12.5 MPG. My old gasser got worst mileage pulling those loads and it was like a snail on the hills. Best fuel mileage I ever got with the 1/2 gasser was 19.8 MPG. Can't beat a good diesel for pulling.

The computers in the newer trucks lie about the mileage you get compared to doing it longhand, that is a duramax, powerstroke and cummins people I work with use. Usually the mileage is less when computed long hand. I have a 97 dodge 12 valve and running under 70 with the cruise on I get right at 20. Pulling a 29' camper down the highway at 75 I get 12. The only thing the computer generated numbers are good for is bragging to your buddies about how great of mileage you get.