i finally got to take my new truck out on the road for a decent amount of time and im pretty impressed with it so far. one of the areas i have to go to for work is pretty hilly, and one of the hills in particular is a real beast. its about 3 miles long, and at least a 10-15% grade the entire way. I've taken 3 of my trucks up the hill and thought it would be fun to do a comparison on how well they handled it. The speed limit is 55, so i decided to start at the bottom of the hill doing 55 and see if i could maintain 55 the entire way without downshifting.

1992 bronco with 5.0, 3.73 gears and e40d. started out at 55 in overdrive and less than half a mile up the hill i was already in drive. at about 1.5 miles i was rapidly losing speed, down to about 35 mph in drive, so it shifted into 2nd. accelerated back up to 55, but was in still in 2nd and turning about 3500-4000 rpm. shifted to drive and immediately dropped back down to about 35. have found that the best way to climb the hill is to stay in 2nd and do about 35-40 mph to keep the rpms in a reasonable range. a good set of gears and a 5 speed would probably help a lot. got 13 mpg on the trip. averages 16 mpg on normal roads.

2000 f250 reg cab with 5.4, 4.10 gears and 5 speed. started out at 55 in 5th gear and made it to the top of the hill doing 50 mph without downshifting. had to stay on the gas pretty hard to maintain speed. if i started out at 65 it climbed it no problem. had no trouble at all in 4th gear doing 55 either. if i could keep it between 2k and 2500 rpm it would climb like the hill wasnt even there. 5th gear just couldnt keep the rpms high enough to accelerate up the hill if i started out at 55. got 17 mpg. no change from normal mpg.

1997 f250 reg cab with 7.3, 4.10 gears and 5 speed. started out at 55 in 5th gear and made it to the top doing 55 and didnt even have to press the gas harder......the turbo kicked in about halfway up and allowed me to keep the throttle exactly where i started out at. i went back and tried it again and slowed down to 35 about half way up and then accelerated back up to 55 before reaching the top. 21.5 mpg. first tank of gas, so no baseline to compare it to. this is my first diesel, and i must say that i am liking it so far

 

Ya, gotta love the diesel's torque!
That's awesome mileage, there's only a few on the forum that get that good. (look in my signature, there are some that would love to get that good!)
Welcome to the forum! if you have any questions, there is a huge amount of knowledge here.

 

probably would maintain 55 up that hill with a trailer too

 

when i first bought my 5.4, i was hooked. i routinely pull over 10k with it and have never thought it lacked power. it pulls everything ive hooked to it no problem. campers, cattle, car haulers, etc. im anxious to see how the new diesel pulls those same things too. i was surpised at the gas mileage too. both of my trucks are reg cab xl models. no power windows, door locks, carpet, etc and no cargo except for me. so they get a little better than a fully loaded version. it also helps that i rarely ever get them above 2k rpm unless im on the interstate. im in no hurry to get where im going and dont mind pulling out a little slower than everyone else lol.

 

i used to think the companys idi 7.3 pulled excellent and dident lack power till i got my powerstroke. my powerstoke puts the idi to shame when a load. i thought the idi pulled better than any gasser i ever had.

 

that first tank of gas was on pure diesel too. no fuel additives or anything. i bought a bottle of power service for this fill up. if it works like it should, then i should see another mpg or so on this tank. i do a lot of work all over wv and va and probably drive about 30-50k miles a year, and any extra mpg helps a lot. i ALMOST bought a dodge because ive always heard it gets 23-25 mpg and the powerstroke got about 12. i couldnt even bring myself to call the dodge dealer and immediately went out and bought the ford to make up for any shame i had caused my family by looking at a dodge lol.

 

Whew, DODGED a bullet there...
I think you'll be very impressed with how these things handle a load.
Towed my dad's skid loader (9k) to a jobsite 60 miles away the other day.
Didnt feel like it was there, up hill, and didnt kill fuel mileage!...

 

congrats on the new truck!!! beware of PMS.... it turned my truck from a stock truck to a beastly 800+ ft lbs of torque monster... (goin to a dyno day next saturday to make sure my estimates are close)