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Old May 15, 2006 | 08:12 AM
  #1  
do the evolution's Avatar
do the evolution
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average miles per tank

hi just wondering what mileage people get from a tank loaded, empty. highway city.currenty my trip meter is 340 miles and about an eighth to a quarter tank left on my 2000 7.3 on my way t0 109 000 miles.Did some hauling of river rock, pavers, every load at least a ton to 1 and a half. one load dude gave me was at least 2 tons.did a bunch of highway aswell to get 340.evolution set to towing.

so just curious, thinkin my baby needs a tune up.thanx
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 08:21 AM
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Markadeck
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From: Charlotte-Fairbanks-Bflo
I am truly amazed at the poor mpg reports I read here. Highway only I have gotten as many as 819 miles out of a tank. Summer time city/highway I will do 650 or more easily. 99 F-250 extended cab, long bed 2 WD. All stock except for the 80 HP Superchip and a just installed last week 6637.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 09:00 AM
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Grunt0311
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From: Paw Paw, MI
First of all, let me say this, fill out your signatures!! We can't compare vehicles if we have no idea what the heck we are comparing!

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. It depends on your truck, and which fuel tank you have. I know my tank is 29 gallons on my truck (see signature). It is different if you have a long bed.

Hard to compare apples and oranges.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 09:25 AM
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k2vailkid
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From: Colorado Mountain Country
Originally Posted by Grunt0311
First of all, let me say this, fill out your signatures!! We can't compare vehicles if we have no idea what the heck we are comparing!
They don't give me enough characters, sorry.

I have a long box, 37 gal. tank. On winter B20 blend I get 600-650 miles out of a tank. (15-17.5 mph)

On wonderful B100 in the summer, I've seen 800 miles on a run from Vail to Vegas, downhill with no wind. (18-22mpg)

The rack and attachments on top of my shell effects my mileage a fair bit.

On a trip from Vail to Jackson Hole and back in late March, all 60-70mph highway, I averaged 15.21 mpg, never figured out why.

Quality of fuel becomes the only variable we can't control. The Biodiesel I run is really good quality, but I don't know how good the Dyno Diesel is they blend with in the winter......
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 11:09 AM
  #5  
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I've been religiously monitoring fuel consumption on all my vehicles since I've got my first own car. In those days the cars (I drove) had no daily meters, so I wrote the odometer readings on piece of paper and calculated mileage at teach fill up. Daily meters make it even easier.
I used to have a sport car, that was making 15 mpg at 200 kph, but 60 mpg at 45 kph.
So to the point ... the major factor in fuel consumption is the speed. I had situation when my wife followed me in sedan behind motorhome, or pickup towing a boat, when the speeds were 70, or 65 mph. At those speeds 92 Mercedes diesel was making 36 mpg, while gasoline wagon close to 30.
The same cars driven with my usual speeds made respectively 28 and 20 mpg.
In my old gas pickup towing 6000 lb boat trailer didn't change the mileage. But I drove it about 5 mph slower, than I drove it without towing.
So to really compare the fuel usage takes confirming the speedometers with GPS, or other method and list what was the constant speed the vehicle was driven. I am not talking about the max you've got driving down that 9% grade, but the speed you had cruise control set on flat.
 

Last edited by Kajtek1; May 15, 2006 at 11:12 AM.
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Old May 15, 2006 | 11:29 AM
  #6  
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stock 99a f250 4x4 extended cab longbed
right now sitting at 350 miles above 1/2
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 11:42 AM
  #7  
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k2vailkid
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From: Colorado Mountain Country
Originally Posted by Kajtek1
I am not talking about the max you've got driving down that 9% grade, but the speed you had cruise control set on flat.
Thankfully it's not 9% west of the town of Vail to Vegas. I maintained 75-80 mph on I-70 & I-15 until a brief stretch in Arizona where you must slow to 60 mph.

That aside, your ways of thinking are very good points indeed, and in the end, we all want to know what can be done to make our rigs more efficent, but also there is not much more we can do about it when all is said and done.

The fact that Markadeck's rig is 2wd gives him, what, 2-3 mpg? I'm sure it makes some difference. A shell helps a bit as well, lifts and bigger tires hurt, different driving styles, the list goes on and on.....
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 11:46 AM
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From: NH
I get 17-18 mpg's in warm weather and 15-16 in cold..
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 12:01 PM
  #9  
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Kajtek1
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From: CA Bay Area
Originally Posted by k2vailkid
The fact that Markadeck's rig is 2wd gives him, what, 2-3 mpg? I'm sure it makes some difference. A shell helps a bit as well, lifts and bigger tires hurt, different driving styles, the list goes on and on.....
I don't think additional drive axle takes that much. Our daily drivers are all AWD and mileage difference is less, than 1 mpg comparing to 2WD.
My Power Stroke sits in 9000 lb flatbed with front bed safety plate and lift-gate, 19.5 wheels. This is not making good aerodynamics at all.
So am I satisfied with 10 mpg? -sure my old 7000 lb Chevy did 6.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 12:04 PM
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Originally Posted by dunbar15
I get 17-18 mpg's in warm weather and 15-16 in cold..
I would almost agree with those numbers here in Ohio too.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 01:16 PM
  #11  
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Markadeck
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From: Charlotte-Fairbanks-Bflo
There, there is a signature. Ambient temperture and MPH are the 2 largest factors when it comes to fuel milage. I very rarely tow anything, but when I have towed a car trailer with a heavy load it has dropped to as low as 13 mpg. But, I do always have at least 1000k of carpenters tools with me. Big gasoline air compresser, ect. What you guys probably don't get is that it is all in the weight of your right foot. Sure it is fun. Expensive fun!! So until you are willing to back off on the throttle, you can continue to cause me to giggle at your complaints about high fuel costs and low mpg. Figure it out, a 2,000 mile trip at just 4 or 5 miles an hour less than what is "fun" makes very little difference in what time you arrive at your destination and hits the Arabs right where it hurts.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 03:39 PM
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I filled up yesterday, squeezing in 39 gallons. That's the lowest I've ever run it down yet. I tend to fill back up at around 1/4 tank or slightly lower. I had gone 537.5 miles so that's about 13.8 mpg. It was probably about 60% highway, 40% town. Can't really say how much I get out of a tank most times because I tend not to run it down that close to empty.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 04:15 PM
  #13  
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Side question. Did anybody actually run out of fuel on PS ?
Judging from the fact, that the fuel is compressed right at the injectors and the system is equipped with electric priming pump, restarting after putting new fuel shouldn't be a problem, but sometimes it is useful to know.
I had hell of the time to prime CAT after fuel filter exchange. All that manual pumping and bleeding did zip. Loosening high pressure line in motorhome wasn't possible.
Had to walk to buy starting fluid.
So I am not looking forward into that experience again.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 04:25 PM
  #14  
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Markadeck
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From: Charlotte-Fairbanks-Bflo
Originally Posted by Kajtek1
Side question. Did anybody actually run out of fuel on PS ?
Judging from the fact, that the fuel is compressed right at the injectors and the system is equipped with electric priming pump, restarting after putting new fuel shouldn't be a problem, but sometimes it is useful to know.
I had hell of the time to prime CAT after fuel filter exchange. All that manual pumping and bleeding did zip. Loosening high pressure line in motorhome wasn't possible.
Had to walk to buy starting fluid.
So I am not looking forward into that experience again.
Funny, I too have a CAT motor home and have run it out of fuel 2 or 3 times. That hand pumping sucks big time. The only kind of bleeding I have done with it is on my forearms from wrist to elbow. Never have run the Powerstroke out, but have put a little over 39 gals in once.
 
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Old May 15, 2006 | 05:20 PM
  #15  
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From: Paw Paw, MI
Originally Posted by ryaneverk2
I filled up yesterday, squeezing in 39 gallons. That's the lowest I've ever run it down yet. I tend to fill back up at around 1/4 tank or slightly lower. I had gone 537.5 miles so that's about 13.8 mpg. It was probably about 60% highway, 40% town. Can't really say how much I get out of a tank most times because I tend not to run it down that close to empty.
You dont need to run it all the way down to figure MPG. Just reset your odometer every time you fill up, and divide the miles you have gone by the # of gallons you put in. I always fill it to the brim (which sucks with these fuel tanks, at least another 5 gals after pump shuts off) and that way I know it is accurate.

Bill
 
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