Consumer reports Ram 2500 diesel gas mileage

Dave mentioned that the computer in the P/U that gives fuel mileage are notoriously inaccurate so I am going to do an actual fuel and mileage check. Thought I had some data recorded but it is 2 years old and pulling trailer was 11 MPG and solo was 19.6 MPG at that time.
 
jackjoh said:
Dave mentioned that the computer in the P/U that gives fuel mileage are notoriously inaccurate so I am going to do an actual fuel and mileage check. Thought I had some data recorded but it is 2 years old and pulling trailer was 11 MPG and solo was 19.6 MPG at that time.
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Mine's about 10-15% optimistic. It's 2004 fwiw
 
My Dodge has 4.10 gears with the NV5600 and any faster than 65mph my mileage suffers. I have thought about going with a 35 inch tire next time around to help with the highway speeds I average around 18 empty on the freeway doing 70ish.
 
WOW 19mpg? My cousin is meticulous with mileage. He has a notebook in the door with every gallon ever put in his 09. He said his best tank was 12mpg. He is usually pulling a haulmark which was just weighed at 4K lbs. I have no experience with Dodges but all my 6.0 PSD's get around 13 in town and 15-17 on the interstate doing 75mph. Pulling 8500 lbs trailer I average 8-10mpg. I also drive 70-75 as much as I can pulling the trailer.
 
I did an actual check on my 2006 2500 Ram and around the city it was 17.6 MPG. The computer said 19.4 but I believe that is the overall average figure. Will have to check the manual.
 
black_ZJ said:
I'm hoping to get 19-20 when I find me a 94-98 Cummins, with a manual tranny and 33's it should be about there.
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I'm not sure if I'd expect that to be honest. The FACT is that the diesel motor will get better fuel economy and a big gasser. The claims of 19-25 mpg I find quite hard to duplicate with either my 7.3L Powerstroke or my "mileage" 2004 Dodge. They are both better mileage than their gasser counterparts by about 30-50% in my estimation. You should be able to get that mileage on the freeway at or just below 2K rpm without any starts/stops or hills (what I'd deem optimum conditions).


On BOTH trucks, the onboard computer estimation was what the other people claim as actual mpg. Mine has been about 10-20% less when hand calc'd.
 
mbryson said:
I'm not sure if I'd expect that to be honest. The FACT is that the diesel motor will get better fuel economy and a big gasser. The claims of 19-25 mpg I find quite hard to duplicate with either my 7.3L Powerstroke or my "mileage" 2004 Dodge. They are both better mileage than their gasser counterparts by about 30-50% in my estimation. You should be able to get that mileage on the freeway at or just below 2K rpm without any starts/stops or hills (what I'd deem optimum conditions).


On BOTH trucks, the onboard computer estimation was what the other people claim as actual mpg. Mine has been about 10-20% less when hand calc'd.
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I was referring to highway only driving when empty, but anything better than what either of my Jeeps get now will make me happy.
 
black_ZJ said:
I was referring to highway only driving when empty, but anything better than what either of my Jeeps get now will make me happy.
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To really open the debate, I've seriously considered swapping my '04 Dodge for an '95-97 Ford 460 stick truck (or a '99-?? V10 stick truck (needle in a haystack there)) and a Civiorollarandamcordamry for a daily driver. I tow a fair amount between my Jeep and my camp trailer and wonder if the deezel is to big of a pain in the arse to me. Last weekend I was towing with my Dodge and a neighbor was following with his '05 Ford F150 and 26' travel trailer. He couldn't hang with me on the hills, but wasn't bad and had no issues hanging with me on the flats or in traffic. Makes you wonder if a deezel is worth the hassle and the maint. in my mind.

I've just dumped about $2k more into the Dodge (roughly $6k since Nov.-trans, front axle, and a couple other things I can't remember) in tires and a few other things so that truck really does owe me a LOT over the next two-four years so I'm kind of stuck with it for that long. I need to depreciate out the last six months of maint. on my Dodge for that time period to feel like I'm not getting totally screwed by my Chrysler mobile.
 
LT. said:
If they were quoting a 6.7 I might believe it. The 6.7 is a fuel hog.

LT.
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I know that my fuel pig gets the same pulling and empty 2011 Doge ram 2500 cummins ,auto 6 speed trans 13MPG all the time but it only has 20k on it and all stock so far:rofl:
 
AX10TOY said:
I know that my fuel pig gets the same pulling and empty 2011 Doge ram 2500 cummins ,auto 6 speed trans 13MPG all the time but it only has 20k on it and all stock so far:rofl:
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And there in lies the issue. The 6.7L Cummins is a fuel hog in stock form. Deleted they do so much better. I went from a best of 16.5 mpg rolling down the highway empty to an honest 20.4 mpg at best. These newer Cummins engines are pulling fools, once deleted.

LT.
 
My boss has the 6.7 mega cab 3500 and he gets 13 no matter empty or loaded.... around town or on the freeway... according to him... my 7.3 with auto gets 16 empty on the freeway doing 65 (1700 rpm) yet 14 when doing 75 (2100 rpm) you can do all kinds of things to get better mileage some legal some not... Diesel Power magazine did a nice article about why they want to keep the emissions on their trucks... you should read it...
 
LT. said:
And there in lies the issue. The 6.7L Cummins is a fuel hog in stock form. Deleted they do so much better. I went from a best of 16.5 mpg rolling down the highway empty to an honest 20.4 mpg at best. These newer Cummins engines are pulling fools, once deleted.

LT.
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I plan on a h&s programmer (Utah boys) and the deletes ,but I love my truck and it pulls the yota like its a atv
 
When did the 6.7 come out? I rented a few on a construction job in '08, thought it had the 6.7, and got 18mpg or better driving back and forth to Elko (85-100mph). The one with the least miles (2200) is the one that got only 18. The others did better. Three different rigs, all rented from Rugged Rental.

Brett
 
The latest actual mileage check. SLC to Ontario, OR speed 75 - calculated = 18.6 computer = 20.7 Ontario, OR to Gig Harbor, WA speed 65 to 70 calculated = 20.6 computer = 23.8 Also checked the odometer and it read 5.2 miles in a 5.0 mile run. Have not run the numbers but this could be the cause of the difference.
 
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