Ok I picked up the paper today and I am seeing 2008 F-250 Diesel XLT trucks on the lot for under $30,000 here in Orange County CA. This sounds like a great deal. I have been thinking a getting a truck and I thinking the time might be good. What I am thinking is 2008 Diesel , crewcab, 8 ft bed, 3:73 gears I know that I am not going to get the MPG that my little Honda civic gets but I would like to get at least 13 to 15 city. I do not plan on driving this as a daily driver. I like to do some camping and thinking of pulling a 28 ft 5th wheel. I just adopted two little boys and I want them to know the outdoors. I know the mpg will drop when I pull the trailer, but is it relistic to think I can get 15 mpg on a truck like this around town/fwy? And do you think this is a good price for a truck? nothing fancy on the options air,am-fm cd,cruise,auto,crewcab. So what do you think?
Thanks
Dave

 

great prices but crappy mpg..if you get one for under 30K who cares the mpg if its not a daily driver. I would get the 350 but I bet you can get better deal on a 250..you will get 10-12 mpg towing on the flats..hit a grade and you will see 9mpg.. I bet you can find a tricked out 2002-2007 in orange or surroundings areas for far less than an 08 and that will get 11-13 on grades and 14-15 flats with all the goodies..

 

My 08 crew with 8ft. bed with 3.73 gears averages 13.7 to 14.2 city and aroung 16-17 highway.

 

i know it might sound wrong in this forum. but i have a 07 cummins dodge with 4x4 crew cab and 8 foot box that gets 15 city and 20 hwy. i race a bb ford at my local drag strip but i dont think i could drive a powerstroke for work. they just use too much fuel and thats the bottom line. hopefully ford can pull up there socks when it comes to the fuel economy in there work trucks.

 

screamin460,

What do you think is going to happen to your Dodge fuel mileage when your manufacturer has to comply with the EPA crap that FORD has already installed on the 08 6.7's? Dodge's and Chevy's are going to have the same type of impact inflicted on their engine's fuel mileage when they are finally forced to comply. I think FORD was planning on the 6.7 being their engine for a while when it was developed. Unfortunately, this may not be the case now.

I have an 06 SRW that gets 17.5 MPG highway and runs like a top. If you throw some EPA crap on it I am sure the mileage will fall.

 

BIGGDDAVE,

Here is two cents worth of my opinion regarding your question.

I have an 08 F350 DRW and have been very careful to break it in properly. I towed 16K the other day and got about 8 mpg.

I also have an 06 F350 DRW and get about 9.5 mpg with the same load at speeds up to 70mph.

However, when I reduced my speed in the 08 to 64mph I got about 9mpg. The new trucks ride and handle so great it is hard to explain. You will just have to drive one to see.

The EPA crap on them sucks but I am sure that the EPA will be on everyone's butt soon and everyone will have reduced fuel mileage in their newer trucks.

When I am empty I can get 14mpg if I am careful accelerating and don't go crazy on the pedal.

Just my humble opinion.

 

My guess is: BIGGDDAVE (with 2 posts) is asking this question on all three of the big maker's forums.

So 1st off, BIGGDDAVE, you probably don't need a diesel, and second, if you buy a dodge, be prepared for every freakin' electrical thing that can fritz, to fritz. I have owned and do own Their products and it's unbelievable some of the underdesign in the electrical area....

Bottom line is get the best price you can on the truck that will do that twice a year job you need to do. I doubt we'll hear from you again here in any case...

 

[quote=gwcon;6503750]screamin460,

What do you think is going to happen to your Dodge fuel mileage when your manufacturer has to comply with the EPA crap that FORD has already installed on the 08 6.7's? quote]


Absolutely nothing,the current 6.7 Cummins is already 2010 compliant. The 6.4 engine could have been 2010 compliant as well with minor adjusts to the egr functions. The truth is that Ford and Chevy will actually have the issues with there 2010 compliant engines, which im pertty sure there both going urea injection.

 

Welcome to FTE BIGGDDAVE

I have to agree, either your the person that buys what they need or just buy what they want and dont care about pratical use of the truck. IMO don't over buy the truck. Buy what you need, in the colder country you might see worse milage were a gasser could yeild better all the way around. Ultimately the choice is your so do your homework and make a good choice.

 

15MPG around town??? don't know what kind of traffic is in that town but I would say that 15MPG in about any town is not realistic. We do @12 with the 350 around our town.
If it is not a daily driver that helps. It is a fair price. a 28ft 5th wheel is not going to be very heavy.

 

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who answered some questions I had. I like to know what I am getting into so I don't buy the wrong truck. There is a big difference in the mpg between a 07 and a 08 so I have some thinking to do. And Diesel Dan I just want to say welcome to you to. As you can see I just signed on in Sept. So having two post, I dont think is to bad. Sure I am a newby but sites like this is where you come to get info before going to the dealer I am sure the MPG the dealers would tell me would be a little different then what you guys the consumer would tell me. I don't think buying a diesel would be a overkill for pulling a 26 to 28 ft 5-wheel I do like a little play room with the power. Who knows I might want to throw my jeep into the box and take it along. As far as checking out the other top two big makers, I have not checked them out. I am not a chev guy, had one and that is why I am looking at Ford. I want a truck that will last. I will be back off and on to this site. As I said sites like this are good for just info about a truck or tech. stuff. Believe me these sites come in handy. I have used it many times with my cj-7 jeep (made not bought) so I am sure I will be back. I just need to get a truck first. The right truck. Hope to talk to you soon Diesel Dan
BiggDDave

 

Right now is the perfect time to buy lots of them going for a good deal mpg wise well its hard to say I dont see why not you couldnt get what you said some people have said they get crappy and some say they get some pretty good numbers

 

I beg to differ. The technology Ford and GM have chosen for 2010 is far superior to that in use in the Dodge. For one, it allows the use of less egr in the engine, thereby reducing the formation of soot. The dpf will then have a better chance to passively regenerate since soot oxidizes at a lower temperature in a NOx rich environment. Less active regens means less wasted fuel. Less egr means better fuel economy. The NOx absorber that Dodge currently uses has to be regenerated in the same manner as the dpf. It can't possibly see the same benefits as a SCR system. Also, the life expectancy of a NOx absorber is rather short compared to the life of all of the SCR components.

Some people will say SCR is a stop-gap solution. It may be, but it is the best that is available at the moment. Maybe something better will be developed by 2013, which is the next emissions change. My company has been testing urea SCR systems in this country for 8+ years with extremely good results. I've personally been testing these systems for the past 12 months and am very impressed.

Unless Ford and GM do something stupid, I feel good things are coming in for 2010.

 

The 2008 Dodge gets similar mileage as the Ford. My snowmobile buddy has one and it is no better. Are we comparing a 2 wheel drive dodge to a 4 wheel drive Ford?