Lets talk Gas mileage and trucks...

[hillbilli]

2003 f-150 2WD, 4.6 gets 17-18 highway, 14-15 city.. going on 8 years without a payment on it..

[coachcw]

If you want millage get a unrestricted smoker , my 6.0 gasser gets a best of 17 hwy and 10-12 in town , in the woods its even worse since I'm dragging RT along in my jet stream !

[KFhunter]

I got a 01 dodge 2500 5.9 cummins. I put a chip and an hot pump in it ran a 4" exhaust and a cold air intake. It has a 6spd manual in it and i average 27 mpg around town and 29 hwy. it is sitting at about 450 hp and 1000 ft lbs of torque too.

Hand calculated?

No, he flunked in math class. 

Never have and still don't own a diesel that cracks 20 mpg.  Got one thats close at 19 ish in the '05 Dodge.  The '07 gets 16 on a good tank.  The '02 gets 13 but it isn't exactly built for mpg.  120hp injectors and an Edge Comp box hot unlocked likes fuel. 

The 91 1st gen did back in the day (4x4 standard cab auto 3/4ton )  WA to AZ hovering 25mpg and even a tad better.

Had 10 ply skinnys..  before you call BS remember fuel in the 90's was more btu per gallon than it is now. 
It still does very well though and will break 20 pretty easy.   

[coachcw]

I got a 01 dodge 2500 5.9 cummins. I put a chip and an hot pump in it ran a 4" exhaust and a cold air intake. It has a 6spd manual in it and i average 27 mpg around town and 29 hwy. it is sitting at about 450 hp and 1000 ft lbs of torque too.

Hand calculated?

No, he flunked in math class. 

Never have and still don't own a diesel that cracks 20 mpg.  Got one thats close at 19 ish in the '05 Dodge.  The '07 gets 16 on a good tank.  The '02 gets 13 but it isn't exactly built for mpg.  120hp injectors and an Edge Comp box hot unlocked likes fuel. 

The 91 1st gen did back in the day (4x4 standard cab auto 3/4ton )  WA to AZ hovering 25mpg and even a tad better.

Had 10 ply skinnys..  before you call BS remember fuel in the 90's was more btu per gallon than it is now. 

yeah but you couldn't hear your self think in that sucker

[KFhunter]

rides rough too 

[MarkyMark]

2004 Silverado 1500 4x4. 5.3. 285/70/18 AT tires. Just drove from Oly to Pullman 18.5 average mpg

[Caseyd]

Just wanted to add another question...

Is it really worth it to have another little car... that gets say 32mpg... when you have extra insurance, extra licensing... extra maintenance... etc... doens't it end up a wash if you drive them each about 10k?

Yes, get a little car in the 40's MPG

tires half the cost if stock, even cheaper if you're buying mudders for the truck.
oil change 1/2 the cost, less if you buy a diesel truck
insurance cheaper

Doesn't have to be a new car either,  2k will get you a cheap car and you'll break even in about 6 months considering tires/fuel/maint.

My thoughts exactly. Buy the car cheap and it works out. My car gets just over 2x the mpg of my truck. Insurance on my car is dirt cheap, as are most maintenance items. The savings in tires alone nearly covers my insurance for the car. The car saves me hundreds a month in gas.
And since I paid so little for the car, I'm not out much when I finally drive it into the ground. A couple grand will get me another one.

Bought a commuter last year. 1991 honda civic 5 speed. Paid $1,200 for it. Gets 32mpg. Insurance is $40 a month. Maintainance on that little thing has been nearly nothing. Plus if/when something is needed the parts are everywhere for cheap.

[Wanttohuntmore]

08 Tundra, 12-13 in town, 16.5 highway.  A few times 17.5 highway, but most often 16- 16.5.  Gas quality seems to vary the mpg often.

[whitey]

Hornseeker
My 7.3 L supercab gets around 15 across the board. Up hill, down hill, pulling my toy hauler. Love it
My Toyota Tacoma gets around 20, but cant haul a bunch.
My Saturn, The airport car/work car gets about 30 mpg.
The tires on my big truck cost as much as I paid for the car. I can careless if it gets a door ding (They have plastic body panels. ) The tires cost for a set what 1 tire cost me on the Super duty and driving it keeps the miles off of my go to rigs.
The insurance is cheap because of multiple vechicles. The limited wear and tear on the trucks makes it well worth owning it.
I say buy a nice truck and a beater with a heater and call it good.
That being said the fuel my beater saves me makes gas mileage in the other trucks a Mute Point.

[baker5150]

2006 Dodge 2500 5.9 cummins 4x4.  90,000 miles, Lifted on 35's with a Bully Dog Tuner, cold air intake, Max Lift pump, I average 22 hand calculated (dash says 26). 

Towing my 32' travel trailer, fully loaded with water and gear I get 16 to 17 if I play nice.

I was averaging 23 mpg with 35" all terrains, but lost an mpg when I went to Toyo MT's.  I somewhat regret putting the MT's on it, but the traction in the snow and ice is MUCH better, and the road noise isn't many worse IMHO.

I had a 96 civic with a stick I commuted with for 4 years.  got 30 plus MPG out of it.  Loved the mileage.

I think it's worth every penny having a commuter car. 
Just keeping the miles off my truck made it worth it to me.

[Whitpirate]

If you want millage get a unrestricted smoker , my 6.0 gasser gets a best of 17 hwy and 10-12 in town , in the woods its even worse since I'm dragging RT along in my jet stream !

And usually packing my slab of beef in the passenger seat white-knuckling.... I leave the screaming like a girl until after hunting season.

[whacker1]

Ernie, I have the same truck.

I run two sets of tires.  Mud tires in the winter 33 inch and I get about 15-16 highway (adjusted for tire size), 10 in town spokane stop and go driving.  I run an all terrain Toyo open country in the summer in the stock size (31.5) and get 12 in town and 18 on the highway.  3.55 gears. 

I have done some small modifications.  open to single 3 inch exhaust, put electric cooling vans on it in place of the fan clutch assembly, and I used  the 15 cold air intake modification that can be found online.  I was going to put a programmer on it, but haven't pulled the trigger.

I drive for work and don't want to store a commuter car, nor do i want to insure it, license it, or pay for insurance as that eats much of the fuel savings.  However it does save significantly on the wear and tear on the pickup.

If you are not looking to spend a lot of money, I would buy another used F150 that is slightly newer and do some very modest upgrades to improve mileage and buy a set of rims from craigslist with some highway tires or all terrain tires and run those when you don't go off road. 

If you are willing to spend a little more money try and find a 2009-2010 with the 5.4 liter motor, but you will gain the 6 speed transmission.   That seems to pick up about 1 mile per gallon in town and 2-3 on the highway depending on tires and gear set.  It makes it easier to justify the 3.55 gears with the wider range of transmission gears and really does improve gas mileage.  they are harder to find, because ford didn't sell a lot of pickups between 2009-2010 as compared to the prior body style. 

The 2011 and newer either have the Ecoboost or 5.0 to choose from with the same 6 speed transmission and they all do better than the 5.4 on mileage, but the price goes up as well.

[PolarBear]

97 F-350 Crewcab, 7.3 Powerstroke.  I get 21 mpg all day with that thing.  The worst milage I ever got was 18 pulling 7 tons of hay over 2 passes.

[whacker1]

97 F-350 Crewcab, 7.3 Powerstroke.  I get 21 mpg all day with that thing.  The worst milage I ever got was 18 pulling 7 tons of hay over 2 passes.

Yup, boost in mileage, but also in the cost of fuel.  oil change and service are a little more expensive.  at $.75 more per gallon it would probably be close to a wash over 17 highway and 13 in town with a slightly newer and fresher f150 or 1/2 chevy.

[HntnFsh]

Some of you are killing me with your fuel mieage. Some are pretty awesome. Some are pretty hard to believe!