I need buy a new 1/2 ton truck, reg. cab 4x4.
Looking at the Ram 1500 and Sil verado.
Anybody have gas mileage figures for either in mountain terrain?

Liars will claim 18-20. The truth is closer to 13...

Laffin.
That Bozeman guy is pretty funny.
(He has a Cummins, I'll bet...talk about bad mileage....)

I have a 2012 Hemi, 4x4 reg cab.
I drive it every day to work on the same road for 70 miles roundtrip.
When it was new it got 14-15. As it broke in it got better.
It has 42,000+ now.
All week, every week it gets 17-18 per gal. with hwy tires.
It's traveling mostly empty and gets less if I pull a trailer.
The road to work ain't flat......or even close to....

4x4 2012 4 door here, with an ARE fiberglass top.
31,000 miles.

From Houston to East Ky. and back 70mph+avg. 17-18mpg.

From Houston to Missoula, 1500 lbs. in the bed(airbags) avg. 16-17mpg.

Put trailer behind it with my side x side, 15mpg.

Terry,
you ever tried high octane non-ethenol?
I haven't, just run the crappy 87 octane.
Just wondering.....

The newer ones must be much better....Have an '03 Quad cab that averages 11 around town. Maybe 13 on a trip.

Good lookin' truck...stout...all kinds of power...But the gas mileage kinda sucks.

Neighbor has one of the new ones and claims he's been getting 25 mpg with it. Needless to say I'm a bit sceptical Maybe in neutral, downhill with a tailwind. But I'm thinking high teens is more realistic.

My auto is a 6 speed, were they different in 03?
They have an 8 speed now.

The 6 cylinders claim that kind of mileage.
Haven't heard of that high from a Hemi.

Sounds like you have your mind made up, but no way I would buy a regular cab 1/2 ton 8' bed with a Hemi when I could get a 3/4 ton 8' bet with the same Hemi. Quite a bit better truck in every respect, probably around the same mpg (maybe 1 less) and not much more at all in price.

2011 Silverado 5.3 gets 16-17 with Goodyear Duratrac tires. Would do 18-19 with regular all terrain tires.

2010 GMC 4x4 1/2 ton extended cab, 16-17 around town, 20-21 running 77-78 on the interstate. Thats with the 10% ethanol crap.

My father in law's 2012 Ram quad cab with the Hemi gets 22mpg on the highway. It has a system that cuts out cylinders when it cruising speed. My 2008 1500 megacab with the hemi does not have that option because it is built on the 2500 chassis. So I only get 15 mpg on the highway.

Send me your phone number and I'll text you a pic of my mileage. My hand calc'd has been right with the computer. 18.6 this week with mixed driving.

2014 Ram 1500 Crew cab, 4x4, big horn, 8-speed, 5.7l Hemi.

Modern trucks can get 1/2 decent straight freeway miles, but mix in city driving and it drops in the crapper. My 5.9 cummins will do 21 on the freeway, but mixed driving is 13-15.

^ this is the truth. Unless you are a Cummins guy then you get 28 mpg everywhere, while pulling a trailer. You sure you own a Cummins, because you don't sound like the rest of the Cummins guys I've talked to?

A buddy bought one last spring that's all you mentioned, but not a Bighorn. He drives a good bit for work, replaced a Silverado 2500 Duramax with the Ram and it regularly does 20-22 MPG out the PA turnpike/I-80 and back, on frequent trips to Ohio.

He often pulled a work trailer with the Duramax, no longer needs to as he got a huge box truck to haul his equipment in. So didn't figure he'd need another diesel for himself and two or three employees.

OTOH, another amigo bought a new 2013 crew cab 4x4 Ram with that same engine and that thing gets terrible mileage. But it's not the newer 8 spd. tranny.

I've talked to several other guys at our gun club that have 2014 Silverado and RAM half ton 4x4s. All say they're getting 20 MPG or better, highway. That's both onboard computer calculated mileage and hand-figured mileage. Some didn't believe what the read out said and did it the old fashioned way, both concurred.

I pulled a wind bucking trailer with ATV's on it this weekend. It got 13-16 into the wind depending on my speed. 16-19 on the way home.

My 92 Cummins always got 19-20 without a trailer, until around 2007 when the diesel went <15ppm. Now around 17-18 is the best it does. I always wondered about the ones that got 24 mpg.

03 with the 4.7.......25-30 mph headwind today........10.5, I will not get the 4.7 or the smaller motor again.

Yup,

Had an 02 4X4 with the 4.7. Gutless wonder that used fuel like crazy. Traded it for the '03 Cummins and never looked back.....

Just got back from a trip from Phoenix to Laramie WY. I drove my 2012 Ram Laramie 2500 HD 4X4 extended cab short bed with the 6 speed tranny and 5.7 motor and 3.73 gears. I installed a free spin hub kit a few weeks before we left. I drove 2500 miles at either 20 mph or 80-85 mph The best mpg I saw was 17.7 and the worst was 16. I was very happy with the mpg's on this trip. It did drive better with the new hubs. YMMV

I ordered the Ram 1500 on Thursday.
Reg.cab, Hemi, 8spd auto, 3.92 Anti Spin,
Should be here before Christmas.
I will report on the mileage.
Thanks for all the help.

Coach

Laffin'! So true.

I hear enough of the wonder mileage reports and nearly convince my self I need one, then realize that 1: I don't tow enough to justify it and 2: most people are full of chit.

Great trucks for hauling!

Is the RAM 1/2 diesel out yet?

yup. Gets 28 mpg.... ;-)

I'm another that had an 03 Ram with the 4.7, gutless is spot on and my gas mileage was ok on long highway trips with no load, 16-17 mpg. It would tow ok but gas mileage went down by quite a bit.

My next truck will be a 2500 with the Hemi.

This thread is not going to make me go out and buy a new truck in the hopes of getting one with better fuel mileage.

On my recent trip to Utah my 1998 Chevy 1/2T ext cab 4x4 with the 5.0L got 19.1 mpg from Fort Collins to Grand Junction ... up and over the Rockies (11,200 ft).

I have to admit that's about peak fuel economy. It doesn't do near as good around town or when towing.

Kinda like black bears around here. Every time someone sees one dart across a road, it "weighed about 350lbs".

400lbs, if it was at night.

Wednesday I picked up the one I ordered. Same thing except I got the 6 spd. trans. Also the 8' box. All my driving is on hills and rarely above 55, so the 3.92 is real nice.

With the prices of the new trucks my old 69 Ford F-100 is looking better all the time.

I like old trucks as much as the next guy, and have two myself. But comparing new to old trucks is like apples to bouncy balls.

i gotta wonder how people are calculating gas mileage on some of these trucks. that little computer readout don't mean sheeit most of the time. divide miles by gallons used for 3 or 4 fillups in a row will tell the real mileage.

Mine was within 0.2 hand calc'd.

The truck is affected by wind more than any other I've had though.

I've got a '12 crew cab. My longest trip was about 1400 miles. I got 21.1 mpg on that trip. Most of the time I get 15-16 around town and 18-19 on the highway. If I put my foot in it, that goes down quickly. But it's FUN!

I drive a 2013 Silverado 58 miles roundtrip each day, about 80% on the highway and the rest in town. I average 17.5 to 18.2 per tank, hand calculated each time. FYI. I have the 5.3 liter motor.

400+ mile round trip to camp and back with the new (2014) Silverado ext. cab 1500, 5.3L 4x4. 19.8 MPG combined highway/back roads for the trip.

Meant to set the other trip odo (it has two trip odos) when I got out on the fourlane on the way home to see what it did just for highway mileage, forgot to.

Several folks I know with 2014 1500 4x4 Rams and Silverados are getting 20 to 22 MPG highway. Helluva lot better than the paltry 18 MPG highway my 2010 Silverado occasionally did.

Brand new 2014 RAM Crew Cab 5.7 Hemi...

900 miles on the ODO, no tonau cover yet...
18.5 commuting to work..50-50 hiway, stop-go...22 on
the freeway locked on 70.

I need to replace my 2005 F150 after the Triton 5.4 nuked on me two weeks ago. Like need a new motor nuked.

That is an entire story unto itself...

Drive the new F150's including the Ecoboost (eco BS).

No comparison...RAM beats it hands down on enonomy.

Tony

I have a 2011 Ram Outdoorsman 1/2 ton, 4wd, 5.7 Hemi, crew cab short-box with 3.78 gears, it does have the variable valve-timing system that drops down to a 6 or 4 cylinder when the power is not needed. I keep a book on my vehicles and every gallon of gas that goes in it is hand-calculated, I have found that the computer estimation is about a mile per gallon on the high-side, if it says 18 I really get 17 or so.

But to the subject - I have 44,000 on it and in-town (which it rarely is) I get around 15-16. On the highway I have gotten as high as 22 mpg but for an average it is more in line with 17-19 and recently it has been closer to 19, perhaps the motor is getting more broken in and working easier.

Now the bad news - I had to replace the factory Goodyear Wrangler 6-plys that came as original equipment on the truck and found that they are not available over the counter. I put on Toyo AT's which I have on a couple of my other vehicles and it looks like I have lost about 1 to 1-1/2 mpg but the Toyo is a 10 ply and a more aggressive tread so I am not too surprised by that.

My 2 prior vehicles were a 99 and 2003 Chevrolet 1/2 ton extended cab, 4wd, anytime I got 16 on them I was smiling. The Dodge is hands down better than the Chevrolets - better ride comfort, a ton more power, but it is also 8 years newer in technology.

drover

I've always calculated mileage by hand, based on a full tank to start, how much to refill it again. Been "close enough" over the past 50+ years that I've been driving and worrying about such schit.

But here's the thing: That worked fairly well with trucks that had short fill tubes, but it's still a guess as to how much gas yo put in to refill it, etc. On my old Chevys with the tank behind the seat, no sweat on knowing the tank was full again, for example.

Clicking the nozzle a few more times in the belief that you've now put enough gas in for a good calculation, still leaves one guessing as to the actual amount of fuel used, based on refilling the tank.

The fuel use technology on newer trucks so-equipped, is measuring the actual fuel use to calculate the MPG "as you go".

So if there's a small discrepancy between the fuel use readout and your "hand calculation" method, who's to say one is better than the other?

New truck came in 1st week of Dec.
16.2mpg on 1st tank of gas.
This thing is very quick with the 3:92 gears. I would guess low 6s for 0 to 60 time.
8speed auto with the hemi.

Coach

I have 2013 outdoorsman crew cab. It has the fancy 8 speed tranny and all that variable valve stuff. I get 14mpg combined. On long road trips though I can get 18-18.5

12mpg if you do not punch it.

I have 2013 power wagon 5.7 himi 4:56 gears 14mpg tops

Just to keep the thread honest I will enter my findings. This compiled after a years ownership.

2014 GMC Sierra 1/2 ton. 5.3L motor, 3.73 rear end with tow package, 4x4, Double Cab, and 18" stock tires.

Best ever fuel economy 26mpg (must have been downhill all of the way or something)

Average 18-20 with 24 not hard to record - for freeway and a little in town diving.

Average 16-18 in town only (hard to keep your foot out of it)

Towing just about anything remotely heavy 14-16 with tow haul mode.

I would have to call the Ram / Chevy thing about a draw. I do think the GMC interiors are nicer but that is my personal opinion. What gets me is nobody chimed in about the Toy Tundra.

Heck that was my second choice before Dodge Ram

Well, don't forget your resale value with the Ram will be in the crapper compared to other makes. This is the only reason I didn't buy a Ram; when I researched the resale value it was a good 10-15% behind GMC and Ford.

The best Mileage I had out of an older truck was a 78 Ford with 400 engine 3/4 ton 4x drive - 18 MPG.

The present truck I have is the 2nd newest I've owned and have had it since new, first half year 2007 v6 with 5 speed 2 wheel drive. Best mileage was 27 MPG round trip ~ 1,000 miles. I have over 180,000 miles on it and it still doesn't burn oil. Very little maintenance. I've pulled trailers with it quite a bit, mostly car trailer 17'.

I'm about to retire and will pull a trailer to AZ each Fall. I'm seriously thinking of staying with gasoline. As I've never got outstanding mileage with diesels, 4 door and 4x drive likely.
Am considering Chevy and Ford first then Dodge. Don't think I'll ever own another Jap truck. The 2012 Niesan I owned was at best 13 MPG on highway.

Certainly not the case with diesels. I sold my '03 to a fellow Campfire member in January of last year with 297k miles on it for $17k. Truck was in outstanding shape, though.

2014 Ram....crew cab...

22-23 on the highway... Recent trip...17ish around town.

5.7l hemi... 8speed, front grill louvers.

Also have their 3.21 rear, which really helps the milage.

Love the truck....

Tony

I have the same set up. My around town mileage is about the same but I get 20-21 on the highway. I get 16 pulling a wind sucking 4 wheeler trailer and 17 pulling my boat, which is narrow 16.5 Amumacraft.

I have the 2012 2500 crew cab 4x4 with the 5.7 hemi. Stock wheels and tires. 3.73 gears with 6 spd auto. I average 17-18 highway and 14-15 in town. I did put the freewheel hubs on the front to be able to shut off all of the rotating mass (wear and tear as well as fuel mileage) I thought 17-18 was pretty good for a 400 HP 4x4 3/4 ton truck?

you bet 17-18 is very good for a 3/4 ton gas truck

you are running alot cheaper than my diesel...