Heading from Denver, Colorado to Davenport, Iowa next week weather depending.

Stock 2018 F350 gasser with the 4.30's and 275/65r18 tires. Truck has 4200 miles on it. Best tank to date netted 14.5 mpg with mixed use. I'm curious to see what I can get on the highway. I plan to set the cruise at 70-72 and forget it. On the trip there, I will be mostly unloaded with maybe 300 lbs or tools in the truck bed. On the way back, I'll be towing a 24' bumper pull camper which is about 5300 lbs.

My hope is to average 16-17 there and 10-11 back. What do you folks think? Am I being too generous with my mileage hopes?

 

Might not help because I have the same truck but a 2016. Similar trips I got 14-15 empty and 8-9 towing a 7,000 TT. Towing mileage can really be effected by wind and terrain. I often see a swing of 2 mpg depending on conditions. Best every was 9.5 and worst was 6 into a 25 mph headwind.

 

I doubt you'll get 16 especially at 70+. I have eeked out 16.2 but was going 62. At 65 best I've seen is 15.3. At 70 It's 14ish. I've seen 17 once, with a 30 mph tailwind. All of these numbers are empty...or no real load other than people and a suitcase or two. My 2 cents...

 

over 60 mph... empty or towing... is bad for gas mileage... the BIG FLAT Nose., and the weight

then hills, wind.....

 

I have the 2012 F350 6.2L SC LB 4.30 4x4 SRW. All my numbers are WITHOUT towing. I get 14.2 as my best and 12.2 all over the place. I see as much as 459 miles from one tank to 349 miles on one 34 gallon tank. I found it's best at 65 to 67 mph, but it LOVES to do 85 mph! And here we go with 10 mpg! I don't care at all, I'm not rich, but I want to haul a 5th wheel in the near future. I LOVE the power and the setup of a BIG GAS Ford superduty and know they suck down the fuel. But for 22,000 GCWR and up to 15,000lbs 5th wheel for my configuration, not to mention a 3900 lbs payload, I'll buy more gas!

 

Thanks for all the feedback and I'll be sure to report the trip results when I return. I was quite happy with the 14.5 mpg mixed use shortly after picking up the truck. This will be my first long trip in the F350 so I am looking forward to it.

 

I've got the same year and drivetrain. IN THE SUMMER, I get 17+ at 65 mph, 16+ @ 70 mph, 15.5 knocking around day to day. Wind and cold ambient temperatures have a huge negative affect on mileage; as well as road speed. North of 70 mph, your mileage will drop substantially. At your intended speed and at this time of year, I think you could expect 13.5 to 15.5 mpg.

 

I get 8mpg towing a 7k trailer. About 12 to 13 on the highway. 10 in city.

 

Road trip from So California to Phoenix running 80 - 83 MPH netted me 13 MPG Today. 6.2 with 430 gears

 

That's decent mpg at those speeds. These trucks do love to run in the 80's I have found...

 

HST -
I look forward to your results, but I think you're a tad too optimistic.

My truck (see sig line) averages between 14.5 to 15.0 mpg unloaded running about 70-72mph. Loaded up with a Victory m/c in the bed and pulling my 5500 lb camper from Indy to CO Rockies and back, I averaged about 8.5 mpg towing running around 65-68mph. I now have about 6000 miles on my truck.

At 70mph, my 3.73 gears make the engine run 2000 rpm; you'll be around 2300 rpm at that same speed. I don't see anyway possible you'd get better mileage than me. If loaded near the GCWR, then the 4.30 gears might do as well because you'd not have to use quite as much throttle to overcome the force requirement. But running unloaded or lightly loaded (5500 pounds is WAY less than what these trucks can do), you'll be using more throttle to maintain the same speeds.

But it will be interesting to hear of your results!

 

Thanks for the feedback folks and It definitely looks like I was being optimistic after reading some of this info. I know my daily driver car mpg numbers have dropped so I think at this point I would be happy to get 14 out there and 8 back.

 

To stir the pot even more... I added some two bottles of fuel injector cleaner (each bottle treats up to 21 gallons) and 18 ounces of MMO on the fill up yesterday. I'm about 3k on this oil so I'll definitely leave that in there and change when I get back.

 

Man, I wouldn't put ANY of that snake oil in my truck . . . . What problem are you solving?

 

Agreed!

The truck is practically brand new, hardly broken in and you're adding fuel additives like the injectors are on their last legs.

Run the truck and enjoy it!

You bought a 6.2....keep it hydrated with fuel and enjoy the lack of required maintenance a diesel might require.