Alright diesel fans. It's decision time. For those of you who have been following my posts, I found a pretty nice 86 F350 Crew Cab Dually with the 6.9L IDI. I need to know, realisticly, what kind of mpg I will get out of this beast? I don't have a lead foot and normally drive at about 60 mph on the highway. This truck has the three speed automatic in it. I told the fella who owns it that I would give him my final decision on it tomorrow, so I need some quick estimates. What are we talking, 15, 17, 20, 10, 7? Be straight with me and don't exagerate the figures. Thanks. Y'all have been a big help to me in deciding if this truck is a good one or not. I am convinced that it's a good one, but I am hoping for at least a minimum of 15mpg on the highway.

 

My 86 F250 has the auto, 3:55 gears, 235/85 tires and 4x4. On my last tank full to empty I went 255 miles. Thats a mix of town, highway, 20 miles of towing 5000 pounds. That works out to 13 1/2 mpg. If I was to stay on a highway road trip around 60 mph I bet I am upward of 16-17 mpg.

 

What's the gear ratio on the truck, do you know?

 

Being a crewcab and a DRW. Your looking at a heavy truck, so mpg won't be that great anyways. I'd say real world, you'll see 15-16 mpg if the truck is in good running condition.

 

My '92 DRW Crew with the 7.3L and the E40D and 4:10s got 12mpg.

 

That's a wide question really.

All depends on condition of the engine.

IF it is kepted up, tuned up and timed right, it should see mid teens for mpg.

Now be aware, that's a big truck, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's got 4.10 gearing, and 4.10 with a 3 speed isn't funny!

You'll be turning ~3000RPM @ 60mph. But then again, even at that, if well tuned, timed and well kepted, should still get closer to mid teens mpg.


Good exemples in my signature.

1990 F250 7.3 with original injector pump, 377k miles, got around 12-13mpg at the most, when it was alot yougner (original owner) it got ~18mpg.

My motorhome 3 speed 3.54, everything is fresh on the fuel system, timed and everything, has tons of power (considering the 11,000 pound load) and I got 13mpg out of it on the coast of California last summer with it! Cruise control @ 60mph all the time no matter the speed limit on highways!

13mpg out of a 5 ton box on wheels! Tell me that's not awesome!

 

lack of OD hurts.
DRW hurts.
crew cab over reg cab hurts.
60 mph hurts lol.

where are you?
do you drive pretty easy on the take off or jack rabbit?
3.55's or 4.10's? i can't recall from the other thread either.

lots of info left out for a ball park avg mpg estimate.

just saw your profile:
Indiana.
With a mean elevation of only 700 feet above sea level, Indiana is a relatively flat state. -this looks really good for you.

now for the gearing and driving style.


how will the truck be used primarily? if hauling or towing,how much weight? and for how long are the average trips?

when was the engine last tuned up?

"What are we talking, 15, 17, 20, 10, 7?"
so far,id say yes to all the above,because not enough info was provided yet.

 

In Indianna, if you drive reasonable I would say 14 or 15 would be a reasonable answer.

You have flat ground going for you.
You have a fairly low elevation going for you.
Your speed at 60 sounds reasonable.

 

yeah i know with my pickup, i used to drive on a flat commute, when i moved up into the mtns of vancouver island, hahaha mountains, it changed my mpg's a lot. At firs ti was confused, where did my 18mpg go, i then learned the commute took about 3-4 mpgs away. ouch but it depends on how fast i want to run the steep grades. If i want to go up at 60mph, yeah its gonna hurt, if i cruise up at 45-50, its a lot better. These trucks mpg's are all in how you foot works. promise.

 

The amount of hours you run the engine during its warmup period will also hurt your MPGs.

If you have 4.10 gears, I will say 10-12 MPG, if you have 3.55, then maybe 15 MPG.
Thats on an above average day. Drop to 55 MPH and drive longer distances and you might push 16-17.

 

Thanks for the replies. As much as I'd like to get this truck, I am going to pass on it. I don't think I will be able to afford to drive it and the wife has started leaning more towards a small RV that will only be driven on trips and the occasional short run to keep everything lubricated and whatnot. Getting the highest heating bill we'ver ever had sure didn't help to convince her a 13-15 mpg diesel truck is what we need. If the price of diesel was less than gasoline I would have had that in my favor during our "decision discussion" last night. With the miles I drive on a weekly basis, this truck would cost right around $100 a week (at current fuel prices) to drive. All this talk about the price of fuel going up has her spooked.

Being poor sucks!!! I need to hit the lottery so I can go buy what I want without having to worry about it eating me out of house and home!!! I pretty much fell in love with this truck when I went to take a look at it, and now we aren't going to get it. Hell, even the A/C works!!!

Well, if any of you have been looking for this sort of truck lemme know. I will let you know where it is and how to get in touch with the owner.

 

Ummm, if you can't afford the mileage on a truck you might want to check the mileage on an RV. That truck probably gets twice what you're going to get out of even a small RV.

 

Yeah, and like XLT said, you can have a truck and a RV, as opposed to being limited to just an RV.

 

Rico,if you had it planned to drive the truck empty/as a daily driver,to and from work during the week,i think you made a wise decision.
trucks are too expensive to just hop in and drive like a car now.
now,had you a little car that gets around 30 mpg's avg to go along with this truck,and use the truck only when you really needed it,then that will work without draining all your $ in fuel.

but if you think the only time the truck would be used(as a truck) was only when hooked up to a camper,then yeah.i think you have a wise wife for keeping you grounded.

you may just want to look into RV rentals as well.you may find it much cheaper to simply rent an RV when you need one.
of course all costs of rental fee's vs ownership insurance,tags,etc must be compared.

imho,gone are the days where you drive a truck around like a car.
unless of course your made of $,or just don't want or need other things in life.

i have a small car for going places that require just me.
a dually crew cab pickup,even getting 17-18 mpg avg SUCKS compared to what little cars can get.
you can save so much $ year after year its not funny.
be thankful for the wise wife ya got there.even though sometimes it's hard to let go of things we want.it's nice to be reminded of priorities and where $ is better used.

latter on down the road,i might suggest these things for you in a pickup;
3.55 gearing.
SRW.
diesel.
E40D or Zf5 trans.
turbo

this combo,could push you into the high teens avg in your location for your daily driving/commute to work im sure.
it sounds like you may have been after the incorrect rig for 95% of your use anyway.

 

RV rentals are ridiculaslly expensive!

Best thing to do is rent a U-Haul truck, and take some home furniture and turn it into a weekend camper!

Might sound crazy, but when you think about it, it's acually really smart, if you wanna get away for some time without spending a ton of money!

I've met a family that did that couple years ago, sure it ain't as nice as a real RV, but hey when money is tight, or like me, cheap you find a way!