I'm usually a big advocate of riding a bike, but his distances are just unrealistic for that, especially for a non-rider to begin with.

Glad you're shopping around on insurance, with these old trucks the cost to insure should not be a burden.

 

I would love to be able to ride a bike to school, but for me to take a bike the shortest route is 17 miles one way. That wouldn't be terrible if classes didn't start at 7 am...

I am gonna shop for insurance for the next couple of days. Luckily my policy is due for renewal next month so I won't have to pay any early cancellation fees to switch to a different company. I am also gonna look for a set of stock size tires for cheap to see what kind of impact that has on mileage. Fun fact, not only are my current tires larger and wider than stock with a poor pattern for economy, but they weight ~22lb heavier a tire than the average 235/70r15... Talk about mileage killer...

 

Well there is your problem and I bet you haven't recalibrated the speedo because it's "not off very much". With those tires your effective final drive ratio is 3.06 not 3.55 so if you're only driving 60mph you would be better off keeping the shifter in Drive, and you would have to drive an indicated 53mph to have an actual ground speed of 60mph. If you drive an indicated 60mph you're actually doing close to 70.

 

The speedo is re-calibrated. I did it before I left the dealership the day I bought the tires.

 

I can't believe no one suggested the obvious.

Quit school.

Just kidding. I know it's expensive to drive just about anything now a days.

Where I am diesel is 4.20 per gallon, regular gas is 3.88 or so.

Seems like buying the vehicle is one of the cheapest parts of driving anymore.

Between fuel, insurance and the cost of tires and repairs it's hard to save money.

Trying to find a cheap car that's good on gas and still worth a damn is also very hard to do unless you spend a couple grand. You might get lucky though.

Keeping the truck might work out to be the cheapest in the long run.

Find a girlfriend with a car you use.

Good luck

Joe. W.

 

This is exactly my problem. I have three trucks and a car, with two of them being projects that I care for dearly. I don't know if I'll be able to keep them with what's been going on in the family.

 

if you decide to try and keep the truck,remember the nut behind the wheel is the first thing to adjust.if you can't afford to drive the speed limit,then don't.drive the safe speed minimum at all times and take off as slow as safely possible.
you need to run some smaller/skinnier/hwy tread tires and fab up a front air dam.drop the sucker down so she almost drags.also look into swapping out the 3.55 rear for one with 3.08's.fill it with synthetic and then slow down.drive as slow as you can.try and leave sooner and drive 45-50 if possible.the fuel economy will sky rocket.keep in mind it'll still suck compared to a $800 4 cyl beater car like i run which yields me 35 mpg when i don't need to haul anything besides myself but mid to upper teens will be in your future.

100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com

65+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com

 

I think I'm gonna try a set of smaller tires. If that makes a noticeable difference I might try to find all the parts to drop the truck back down to stock height. As for the driving, I do 55-60 on the highway. The limit is 55 here. I don't stand on it much other than merging onto the freeway.

 

Tires, TALL, skinny and hwy tread. Taller is better then smaller, issue is taller usually means wider, so shopping is hard.

 

Ok well I have been doing some more digging on insurance and that is definitely going to be a good start. I also like the idea of stock size highway tires. So with this in mind I am also considering removing the lift from the truck and bringing it back to stock ride height. I am thinking this will help me a good bit.

 

You may consider placing an add that sharing a ride with someone , maybe network a little with the guys, I would exhaust the avenues. its a little hard maybe but you also never know, you may meet a new friend.
Only thoughts, there is wisdom in the council of many

 

Moped. Get a zillion miles to the gallon, easy to store and ride, and (in most states) you dont need a regular motorcycle license for them. Otherwise something like a Ninja 250 for the summer months (rain sucks but you and the bike won't melt, trust me) will save some money.

 

I know I am a bit late to the party here but after seeing all you have done to your truck and how much you value it I would not advocate getting rid of it at all. I know if it were me, it would kill me to get rid of my truck. If I were in your situation I would recommend going back to a stock or even smaller tire size, taking off the lift and even regearing to get the best possible mpg I could. I notice that I personally get the best mpg driving 50-55 and accelerating like a grandma. Even then the best I can get is about 15-16 mpg or so. If you can afford to get a beater for real cheap that gets good mileage and could still afford to keep the truck I would. With whatever you decide I wish the best of luck and please do keep your truck!

 

I think the decision is made for now to keep it. I will be doing what I can to bring the mileage up as much as I can. Then I will run with it for as long as I can. If it is gonna be too much, I'll likely look to a beater. Otherwise, if I can make it to tax time I should be able to buy a decent can that's better on gas and be fairly reliable.

 

Make it to tax time? Are you saying you're planning on a refund? Why are you giving the government an interest free loan? Change your withholding and get all your paycheck, as a full time student you won't have much if any taxes.

One other tip I can give you is to do what I do. I take full advantage of the Fred Meyer fuel deal, I assume you have one around. I do this by taking advantage of 2x or 4x points on gift cards. For example I eat as subway a fair amount, so I buy subway gift cards at Fred Meyer, I buy a fair amount on Amazon so I buy amazon gift cards there, to top of my tank I use Arco gift cards I get there, etc. Then when I get my 1000 points I buy as much as they'll let me, 35 gallons at a buck off. When I was driving 60-80 miles a day in my big F350 I figured this saved me about $80 a month.