MPG
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Jumbo131-I made a trip to Florida in February, the truck had 900 miles when I left with the 5er, going down I went 1162 miles and averaged 10.63 mpg. the trip home was 1140 miles and averaged 11.08 mpg. Our trailer is 12,900 lbs dry, loaded we are about 14,000. The advertised pin weight is 2,390 lbs. The empty millage is coming up just a little, as I stated earlier 16 mpg the last trip is the best I have seen. Hope that helps.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 551
Likes: 1
From: SW Montana
"My mpg has been as low as 7.5mpg and as high as 23mpg.
It really depends on what you are doing.
65 mph on a 300 mile long flat hiway will get you in the 20's
80 mph on a 300 mile long hiway drive will get you 18's
city driving will get you 13-15 mpg
Towing a large 5ver in a head wind will get you 7.5mpg.
Towing same trailer with out the headwind will get you 10.5 mpg"
Painted Horse is right on with the above. It is similiar to what I see in my truck, and what I saw in my original 6.0 as well. I have just under 7k miles on mine, and mileage is getting better all the time. Just did a good pull with the 5er and afterwords, pulled a little utility trailer with furniture about 300 miles and reasonable speeds and got better mileage than my 05 6.0 ever got.
I have a tendency to drive hard with the trailer and make the truck work. I believe it is helping to further break the truck in, but jeapardizes mileage a little. 300 miles this past weekend with about 250 pulling the 5er and average mileage is just over 12.
It really depends on what you are doing.
65 mph on a 300 mile long flat hiway will get you in the 20's
80 mph on a 300 mile long hiway drive will get you 18's
city driving will get you 13-15 mpg
Towing a large 5ver in a head wind will get you 7.5mpg.
Towing same trailer with out the headwind will get you 10.5 mpg"
Painted Horse is right on with the above. It is similiar to what I see in my truck, and what I saw in my original 6.0 as well. I have just under 7k miles on mine, and mileage is getting better all the time. Just did a good pull with the 5er and afterwords, pulled a little utility trailer with furniture about 300 miles and reasonable speeds and got better mileage than my 05 6.0 ever got.
I have a tendency to drive hard with the trailer and make the truck work. I believe it is helping to further break the truck in, but jeapardizes mileage a little. 300 miles this past weekend with about 250 pulling the 5er and average mileage is just over 12.
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: Terrell, Texas
Y'all with the 4wd drw....I bought my 2011 used with 35k miles and I've since put an additional 18k in 8 months. The best I've seen out of my truck is 14.5 mpg. I've tried Valero, Shell, Exxon, and Quick Trip diesel. All of them with and without fuel additives. My most common avg is about 13.8mpg. 80% of my mileage is highway running about 72 mph and i dont tow on a regular schedule. Should I take it to the dealer and have them reset the computer so it will know my driving habits and not the previous owner's habits. Or is the 18k miles I put on it enough for it to learn my habit and forget the old habits?
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 551
Likes: 1
From: SW Montana
Jumbo 131
The 18k you have put on the truck is plenty to learn your habits. Dual wheel trucks are never going to be as fuel efficient as single rear wheel trucks even when running empty. Make sure your tires are up to pressure, and use synthetic fluids. Other than that, use cruise when possible and try not to race everyone off every light. ( I know that becomes a problem, even pulling the trailer, I pull every pass and leave every intersection like I was driving a sports car.)
The 18k you have put on the truck is plenty to learn your habits. Dual wheel trucks are never going to be as fuel efficient as single rear wheel trucks even when running empty. Make sure your tires are up to pressure, and use synthetic fluids. Other than that, use cruise when possible and try not to race everyone off every light. ( I know that becomes a problem, even pulling the trailer, I pull every pass and leave every intersection like I was driving a sports car.)
Freshman User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Arkansas
This is one way of my daily commute to Little Rock, Arkansas on I-40, interstate mileage only, resetting the trip meter once I'm up to speed, and coasting to the stoplight at my exit. However, it is repeatable, and I can average between 27-29 every time I attempt to do so.
The biggest factor in achieving these numbers is slower speed. I drive around 60 MPH (right hand lane only!), and feather the pedal. I've got about 70 PSI in the tires, and I use PM-22 in every tank of fuel. Rotella 15W-40 oil (not synthetic), all other fluids, settings, etc. are bone stock. My truck is a crew cab XLT, 3.31 axle, 18" wheels/tires.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 238
Likes: 0
From: Northern New Mexico
Part of driving is getting the machine up to speed and that takes energy and has to be accounted for over the distance traveled and tank used. Resetting the trip meter AFTER you are at speed is creating a, how should I say it, a falsitude. No offense intended. I drive with a feather foot and on a recent trip of over 300 miles over two 9000' passes, 55 mph on state highways, a couple of miles in 4x4L, 20 miles of 25 mph dirt road, only using cruise control on sustained grades or the flats ..... 22.12 mpg calculated. 
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 503
Likes: 0
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Freshman User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Arkansas
No, a "falsitude" would be to suggest that this is the normal mileage for all factors and driving conditions considered. I didn't do that. I gave the parameters in which this mileage was recorded. It is the mileage that the truck gets when driven lightly at highway speeds and is representative of what it can do under those driving conditions. Since I spend most of my commute on the highway, I was interested in finding out what I could do to maximize the fuel economy under those specific driving conditions. The picture you see is the result.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 551
Likes: 1
From: SW Montana
MAV,
Yea, I can repeat exceptional mileage with my truck to. If I go to my second home, and reset the mileage, I can average probably 30+ mpg. for the next 50+ miles. It is downhill, and speeds on the highway are limited to 60 mph. But it is not indication at all what the truck is actually getting for mileage. For any meaningful numbers, fill the tank, reset the mileage, and then drive. Accelerating and climbing passes are what takes fuel. maintaining speed, unless pushing a headwind or towing, is pretty minute in comparison.
So Yea, I agree with U235fishin, your numbers are a falsitude or bogus. I could repeat your numbers with a dually that actually averages less than 13 mpg with careful attention to when I reset the mileage and where I drove after that!
Yea, I can repeat exceptional mileage with my truck to. If I go to my second home, and reset the mileage, I can average probably 30+ mpg. for the next 50+ miles. It is downhill, and speeds on the highway are limited to 60 mph. But it is not indication at all what the truck is actually getting for mileage. For any meaningful numbers, fill the tank, reset the mileage, and then drive. Accelerating and climbing passes are what takes fuel. maintaining speed, unless pushing a headwind or towing, is pretty minute in comparison.
So Yea, I agree with U235fishin, your numbers are a falsitude or bogus. I could repeat your numbers with a dually that actually averages less than 13 mpg with careful attention to when I reset the mileage and where I drove after that!
Junior User
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Boerne TX
Yeah I sure wish everybody would use real world driving while reporting their mileage, telling people inflated numbers causes others misery. When I first came onto this site I was reading "I get 17-19 city & 19-23 hwy". I now know those numbers are bogus and many here don't do a hand calc'd real number on the entire tank. Sad, almost like telling half the story and not the whole story.
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 13,834
Likes: 25
From: Middle Tn.
I've got an 05, 6.0 that has been an excellent truck so far, knock on wood. Have had it since new. I'm strongly considering getting a 2014 but the mileage claims here don't seem to back up what I've heard. I hate being on the fence not knowing which way to fall. Going up the Eastern Sierras pulling a 31' 5er I get 11.5 mpg and returning I get 13.1 consistantly. I know the new trucks have advanced inside but am I going the wrong way? Just looking for ops.
Super Moderator
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 24,308
Likes: 42
From: SW Virginia
I loved my '11. The only issue I had was a transmission which couldn't be repaired correctly. On long runs unloaded, it was nothing for me to regularly see MPGs in the upper teens to low twenties.
Here is a shot of my LCD after a trip up through the WV mountains into Ohio last year. I-77 is crooked as a dog's hind leg and it's a constant up and down trip through the mountains. We ended up in Dublin Ohio for a conference and that was my mileage at the end of the trip up:
Here is another after a round trip to the Outer Banks of NC from our place in SW VA last June. There were a lot of four lane, two lane, slow, and fast roads throughout the trip so the terrain varied. The MPGs were pretty darn good in my opinion considering where we were driving.
The heaviest I ever pulled with it was around 7k and while I didn't get a shot of the LCD screen then, I can tell you it was still in the mid teens....around 15 - 15.5.
They're great trucks and I'll likely have another one of these days.
Here is a shot of my LCD after a trip up through the WV mountains into Ohio last year. I-77 is crooked as a dog's hind leg and it's a constant up and down trip through the mountains. We ended up in Dublin Ohio for a conference and that was my mileage at the end of the trip up:
Here is another after a round trip to the Outer Banks of NC from our place in SW VA last June. There were a lot of four lane, two lane, slow, and fast roads throughout the trip so the terrain varied. The MPGs were pretty darn good in my opinion considering where we were driving.
The heaviest I ever pulled with it was around 7k and while I didn't get a shot of the LCD screen then, I can tell you it was still in the mid teens....around 15 - 15.5.
They're great trucks and I'll likely have another one of these days.
Freshman User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Arkansas
So Yea, I agree with U235fishin, your numbers are a falsitude or bogus.
Junior User
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Boerne TX
It's not minute for me since it's 90% of my commute.
I'm sorry you don't understand. MPG numbers that are advertised on new vehicle window stickers are separated into city MPG and highway MPG. I simply quoted the max highway MPG number I've seen out of my truck in real world highway driving conditions (not coasting downhill for 50 miles). It's as valid as any MPG number on a window sticker.
I'm sorry you don't understand. MPG numbers that are advertised on new vehicle window stickers are separated into city MPG and highway MPG. I simply quoted the max highway MPG number I've seen out of my truck in real world highway driving conditions (not coasting downhill for 50 miles). It's as valid as any MPG number on a window sticker.
Yes & No, to be an accurate number it would need to be over several gallons (like a whole tanks worth). Anybody can cherry pick the optimum time for false numbers and one would need to hand calc the numbers for 100% certainty. The computers aren't always accurate.