Hi all, I know there are already posts regarding MPG. Wondering if anyone has any updated long term numbers. Don’t want to be stuck at 12 but am seeing some 15+ folks out there. Considering buying an F250 7.3 with 3.55s. I currently have a cummins and Tacoma and don’t want to be crying at the pump if prices keep going up. Thanks in advance!

 

I had a 07 F-150 and mileage feels about the same.

12.3 MPG in stop n go around town errands and such
15 MPG or better, backcountry 2 lane highway
17.2 MPG at 70 or so, expressway with light traffic.

Ford Pass remote start and heated seats causes me to idle too much in the mornings.

 

200 mile trip today on 2-lane 55/60 mph highways. 16.3 MPG round trip. 7.3 with 4.30's.

Getting 9 MPG pulling a 11K 5er on same type of roads.

 

What is your mileage pulling the 5er on the interstate at 70 mph? 7 mpg?

 

Upper 7's to 8. Wind is a huge factor of course.

 

I pull a 6K flat-nosed travel trailer and get 8 average. Don't have any empty numbers, as it's a dedicated tow vehicle. F250 7.3/4.30.

 

This has been my experience also, my truck is definitely getting better mileage now that it has some miles on it. Mine has 37's also with 4:30 gears.

 

I wish my truck would see some of the mpg's. I've been averaging 12.5 to 13.5 before I put the tremor valance and now 11.5 to 12.5 mpg. But I didn't buy the truck thinking it was going to get great gas mileage.

 

Below is a chart on the towing mpg for 2022 Lariat 7.3 F250 CCSB 3.55 gears with a loaded slightly under 6000# 2018 Lance 1995 travel trailer with an aerodynamic front. First stop from midway between Prescott and Ashfork was Kingman includes about 80 miles local driving without a trailer before we left and the 10 mpg probably shows the impact of the higher pre departure mileage.

Last fuel stop before Cali was Carson City and the return to CC was next fuel stop on the way back. Figure 8.6 mpg over the Sierras to Placerville area via Hwy 50 each way from Carson City. The 7.21 was fighting headwinds and grades to from Hawthorne to Tonopah.



The improvement to 9.32 was a tailwind out of Beatty that pushed us along and terrain leveling to Henderson. A good part of that was exceeding 12-15 mpg (Scangauge reading) for long stretches which boosted the average. Winds again leaving Henderson and grades past Hoover Dam dropped the mileage to Kingman to 8.8 and the final leg from Kingman was fighting wind and gaining elevation on Rte 66 to Crookton, which dropped the mileage to 7.9 to return to point of departure. That 7.9 (not shown here) is read by the Scangauge and is very accurate for fillups. I expect the final fillup from Kingman would be within +/- one tenth mpg. Could improve more because I won't have the trailer in tow when I drive into Prescott to fill. Including the 7.9, average for the whole trip was just under 8.7. One other important note is that I had a bit of a load in the bed which gave me a slight nose up attitude which was catching a bit of air. A more leveled out rig might have shown better.

Also, nearly all of this trip was shifted manually in M. With wind and grades the automatic wanted to hunt and leaving it in a single lower gear decreased fuel economy about 1 mpg for each cog. So, I "drove" it picking the highest gear to maintain speed and mpg.

I believe this is more representative of what one might experience here out west on longer hauls. The mileage is more of an irritant having been diesel spoiled than a concern. As long as fuel is available, when translated into $$/miles driven it's easier to digest. Having shed the $8800 differential for the diesel engine price, maintenance expen$e$ and potential problem$ corrects my attitude nicely. You can still drive 230 miles or so @8.6mpg between fuel stops (3-4 hrs) where it's time for a bathroom break for me anyway. Gas Buddy on the smart phone makes fuel planning simple and you can save a ton of $$.

Power was never an issue and the new truck easily handled grades against the wind at the 70 mph speed limit. It's so quiet and effortless that I sometimes easily hit 80 without realizing it to pass. But the 7.21 mpg reflects having to use lower gears to do it! Passing was easy as long as the wind didn't affect stability. Engine braking is also very good. Not like my exhaust brake on the diesel, but very good anyway. Rarely had to use the brakes to slow down on mountain downgrades, changes in speed limits or highway exits. I should have gotten the longer wheelbase with the larger tank, though.

Edit 1- (the 7 in the towing y/n column s/b a "y". This is a ,jpg file snapshot of my spreadsheet and wasn't going to change it for that!)
Edit 2- 87 octane all the way.

 

Do you have any data like that running empty / not towing?

 

Nothing that extensive. I've been towing with it pretty much after the break-in because that's what I bought it to do. I do have a "best" from Bakersfield to Kingman bringing it back to AZ after buying it in Roseville, CA. A stretch of 382 miles @ 15.98 mpg with virtually no wind. That encompassed a run up to Tehachapi @4300 ft out of Bakersfield (400' above sea level) down into and across the Mojave desert over 2 or 3 "passes" of 2500' or so, then a descent to 488' above sea level to the Colorado River at Needles, then the climb out to Kingman at 3400'.

Speeds varied a bit between 65 mph to 85 mph with several stops to accommodate the break-in period. I'll put up what I have before this last trip in a later post, but covers only the first 1500 miles. I haven't seen that number (15.98 mpg) since then.

Local average for a couple of trips running empty into Prescott (5400') from 4400', 75 miles round trip has been about 14-15. I'm pretty easy on it, too. Get into a little bit of traffic and it will make a difference.

 

Here's the data encompassed in the first 1500 mi. The 88 mi tow was a test run from 4400 ft to 7000' over 44 miles and the return trip. The 66 mi tow was a test run from 4400' to 5400 ft over 33 miles and return.



Note the mpg that included the 88 mi tow is higher than for the miles driven with the 66 mi tow. That's because the 88 mi is a smaller % of the 295 mi driven than the 66 mi tow is of the 140 mi.

I might have done better with the over all mileage on the 88 mi tow. But I wanted to see how much faster I could get up a couple of steep grades over the other 2 trucks. It was substantially faster and made me smile.

This is the story for the miles I've put on it:
total miles 3020; total gals 283.47; total mpg 10.65

A note on fillups. I fill until the auto shutoff activates and then do two more about 15 seconds apart. That gives me pretty consistent fill data. I don't top off because in past vehicles it can cause problems with getting fuel into the carbon fuel vapor recovery canister (if it still uses one).

 

bankstruck, thanks for the additional info. I am kicking around ordering a F250 / 350 with 7.3g and researching what gear to get the best mileage. I don't tow anything of significance (dirt bikes mostly on an open trailer). I would like to add 35" tires tho, so every reply I've seen in searches says "go 4.30", but from what I've been able to find and read, sounds like the trucks getting the best mpg are 3.55 or 3.73 trucks (at around 16+/- mpg). Going to 35" tires is the kicker tho, as it drops a 3.55 down to 3.27 and a 3.73 down to 3.43. Ideally, I'd go F350 to get the 3.73 and add 35" tires, BUT..........my insurance says that may bump me to commercial policy, which I'd rather not deal with.
I've fed my current GM 2500HD 6.0g 4.10 at 10-12mpg for the last 18yrs and would like to see higher mpg if possible. I really think 4.30 would be overkill for my uses.

 

The 3.73's and 35's work just fine together. I am at 10k miles now and about half of it seems like it was towing. Even the excavator in the mountains at 8000 ft was really no problem for the 7.3 3.73 truck on 35" tires

 

I've averaged 12.94 MPG for my first 7,500 miles on my 22 F350 Tremor. Mix of city and highway, never above 75 on the highway. No towing, running factory tires at 50fr/45r.

That is calculated using a phone tracking app, the truck-computed mpg has been a little optimistic.