Man, that doesn't sound good at all............

 

The fuel mileage could be better but it is well within acceptable limits for these type of trucks.

I had a 99 F350 crewcab dually, 4wd, with 3:73 gears. My new truck is an 08 F350 crewcab dually, 4wd, with 4:30 gears. The new truck weighs more than the old truck and is rated to tow almost 6,000 pounds more. It is a lot more truck.

I have driven the 08 almost 5,000 miles, most of which has been towing. When not towing it gets 12.8 mpg, or thereabouts depending on the day, with a mix of stop and go city driving. some highway, and some rural roads to and from my house.

Average fuel mileage when towing has been a low of 8.2 when towing 13,400 pounds on an 1,600 mile trip to the mountains and back, and a high of 9.1 when towing 11,000 pounds on mainly flat roads in my state.

These fuel averages are about 1 to 1.5 miles per gallon worse than the 99, and the 08 is not broken in yet and is a lot more enjoyable to drive.

I don't care what anyone says, a truck towing 10,000+ pounds at highway speeds is not going to get much above 10 mpg. Period. I have had friends claim otherwise but mysteriously their claims disappear when we go cross country together, travel the same speed, fuel up at the same fuel stops, and I help them with the math.

I hate to say it, but it is time for someone to paraphrase the old adage, "If you have to ask, you can't afford the fuel." I most often hear this said in relation to fuel for large boats or airplanes, but the analogy is not that far off for heavy trucks engineered to pull heavy loads.

Use the truck for what it was intended and enjoy it.

 

no, actually its a megacab 4x4, SO THERE!!

 

I have 6600 miles on my 2006 6.0 and 1869 miles have been towing a 12k trailer (see signature) and I have averaged 11.15 MPG in those miles and there is no flat hwy's in southern Oregon....

 

Snip,
Is it true that Dodge is having trouble with their transmissions?//
A friend of mine has one of those megacab Dodges, and his transmission is going out. He took it in, mad as hell, and they replied to him that they wont take care of him because he "abused his truck by towing with it".
OMG, can you imagine hearing that from the company that sold you a diesel truck. I can see why he is so PO'd. I thought that is what these new full sized American Trucks are for. I do like the cummins engine, but what is up with that trannie? Is this unusual?

I hope Ford never pulls a line like that with me. I think I would go ballistic! As far as I can tell, ANY truck, powered by a diesel, is made to work and tow, don't ya think?

Oh btw, my 6.0L averages about 16+, driving high elevation mountain highways. On the open, lower elevation straight highways, I have gotten 20.5. Of course, that was with NO head wind. When the wind blows at my face, it drops significantly.
Towing my old trailer (6500 lbs), going over the Sierra Crest, I got about 11 mpg. With my new trailer (11000 lbs), my mileage has dropped. I haven't had the trailer long enough to calculate what I get towing it yet, but the gauge does drop rather fast.

I sure do hope I see improvements in MPG posted on the 6.4 from you guys. I was kind of thinking I might be able to get used to the new front end, and step up to a newer model. But not at these numbers. I'll wait a little longer, and see if the high prices of fuel encourages the manufacurers to prioritize fuel economy in our near future.

 

I see what you are saying. I have the same kind of relationship with ford. They built a MEAN truck, regaurdless of the year (I drive a 1996 ford f150-love it). I just dont like the engines. IMHO, the engines are behind the standards I want. I dont love or hate any auto company. They are all ther to make money, and thats it. Thats probably why your friend had problems. DCX didnt want to spend money if it can be fought. My mom had similar problems with a ford tranny in the 80s in her bronco, and was told "she didnt keep up the maintainace". Pure BS.
All companies do it. Some not as much. Thats just my philosphy.






oh, Id never have a slushbox in ANY truck.

 

Your whole post is very good, straight forward and right on.

 

I agree great post; it does make me wonder sometimes what anyone expects out of a 6+ thousand pound truck which has the aero dynamic properties of a small house…
and YES that does effect MPG...anything above 64mph.

 

Well... For me I'm not sure what to expect? Again, I'm just trying to learn everything I can so that I can make an informed decision on which way I want to go. If the 6.4 is supposed to get 6-8 mpg towing then that's what it gets. If Ford can tweak another mile or two out of it with some changes then that would be OK too. The mileage doesn’t bother me as much as the thing going into regen and dropping to half power while trying to tow 15K trailer up a hill, like I read here. I think what peaked my attention was what “drisschoufa” wrote on page 10… “reprogaming is suppose to even turn the power of the engine off and leaves you only with braking and steering power and tells you to pull to the side of the road and wait for it to finish its job and recycle after that you need to turn off the engine and turn it back on hoping the check engine light went off and if it did then you can drive and if it did not call for help as the truck will not be able to be driving”.I don’t know if this kind of stuff is normal or if this is just with the 6.4. I've never owned a diesel and don't know what to expect, that's why I’m here reading and learning everything I can. I've owned travel trailers before and have pulled through the Smokey’s and something like that would not be a pleasant experience. I will be retiring in a couple of years and traveling the lower 48 , Alaska, and Canada, whether it is with a truck/5th wheel, Class A diesel, or maybe on of those electric cars... NOT! Thanks for everyone’s experience and postings. It really helps in the decision making process.

 

Email me if you would like to talk on the phone.

 

From what I have read and understand this would only happen if there is a bad injector or fuel leak, that put too much fuel into the engine causing it to flame out the exhaust. My experience has been that when it goes into Regen, there is a slight stumble for 1-2 seconds then the power increases giving it more power during the duration of about 10 minutes. The exhaust gets real hot. Will be towing in two weeks about 1500 miles, so I will give you an update. It might not go into regen because it will be running much hotter towing. Someone else that has been towing more can advise us on this. I've been towing just short distances so far and am really looking forward to his the bigger hills. Did I tell you how much I like this truck!

 

A few things here fellas.

The 6.4 isn't getting very good fuel mileage, on average, in any platform. Compared to the competition it isn't up to standard but, I bet it gets better; next year. Remember it is a first year engine with major changes in emission standards. Give them a little time to work on it. If you don't mind paying for 12-14mpg empty then jump all over it. Personally I believe a 3/4 ton, 4x4, diesel truck should get at least 18mpg@65mph. That is what most 6.0's,5.9's and 6.6's get. There has been a big discrepancy in fuel mileage, in every manufactures diesel engine, due to injector quality variables. That and different driving habits will yield wild swings in mpg when comparing identical makes and models. The injector quality deal is the main reason you hear one guy with a 6.0 getting 19mpg and one getting 15mpg. The one getting better fuel mileage will likely have a truck that runs a tick better as well. This could be and issue with the 6.4 also. There has been a minor injector recall already. Maybe they are having QC issues there. It does seem that this new engine is sensitive to break in and starts improving quite a bit the more miles you put on them. Give it a few months and see what people report.

one4
†

P.S. Dodge hasn't had major tranny issues since the 48RE came out. All makers have had some issues. Even the "flawless and best" Allison has had some trannies grenade. Your buddy has a crappy dealer if they told him towing is abusive. Some of the dealers out there are simply amazing!!

 

I think you are comparing the 6.4 to the wrong generation of engines. If you look at the new 2007.5 + trucks in all makes they are all getting around the same #'s which is strange because the Chevy weighs around a 1000lbs less. Regardless they are all lower than the previous engines. If the 6.4 didn't regen than I would bet it would be right in line with the 6.0

 

I agree this generation isn't very fuel efficent regardless of badging. The point is that they need some time to figure out the emission crap. The next year models should yield some improvements; I hope. I won't need another truck for a few years and a diesel is loosing it's appeal if you don't do a lot of towing. It is just hard to let go of the horsepower they give.


one4

 

The mileage seems to have decreased as I now have 5000 miles on it. Running at 75 mph was yielding around 15.5 mpg, whereas I was getting closer to 17mpg. Same goes for 65 mph...at around 17 mpg, it was getting closer to 19mpg. I am talking strictly highway which is running approximately 200 miles. When I get city mixed in and have to filler up with around 24-25 gallons on average, with around 350+/- miles on odometer which gives me a calculated 14 mpg on average. Sometimes it's a little over 13, and 15 mpg, but usually in the 14 mpg range. I believe, if I were to take a trip that was longer than 300-400 miles, I could get 16-18 mpg. The best I've gotten towing my big Ranger bass boat was around 12.5 mpg.