# Look At What I Saw Today...



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ok, so this is an undoctored photo after 164 miles of driving on the expressway with Cruise set. Your mileage may vary.









I hope everyone by now knows that I am happy to share my real-world mileage data with the group. I won't try to sugar coat things, and my mileage hasn't been great in the F350. However, here was an opprotunity where I had to make a 180 mile trip for work in the truck on the highway (solo of course). I was running with the winter grill cover, the tonneau closed, and the only thing besides me and a full tank of gas was the child seats in the back seat and the 5'er hitch in the bed. Winds were calm, ambient was ~20 deg for the first half and ~25 deg for the afternoon return leg. Oh, I also didn't hit a regen cycle or obviously it would have been back in the teens (regen drops fuel economy to ~10 for 15-20 min) I know it's the trip computer, but it has always proved to be accurate, or even a little conservative. Anyway, for anyone who says it can't be done in a Ford, I now have the proof.


----------



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Congratulations Nathan!
I have only ever dreamed of seeing a number like that in mine. Now I have hope!









Happy Trails,
Doug


----------



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

Thats better then my S-10.


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

This was taken last year, before the BIG trip to Michigan (not complaining...was a great time).


----------



## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

Best I've seen in the old Dodge is ~18 mpg. Last trip was 16.8 for a 400 mile trip in cold and snow. But, that is a lot better than a gasser that would handle a large 5er.


----------



## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

I thought you were test driving a 2011 for a second.


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

BlueWedge said:


> I thought you were test driving a 2011 for a second.


He does that for a living...


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

BlueWedge said:


> I thought you were test driving a 2011 for a second.


Nope, still trying to get my hands on one of those......









Acutally, early in the trip, I hit a high of 21.8, but then the Semi moved and I sped up from 60 to 65mph...


----------



## Hanson (Jul 27, 2009)

What is meant by "regen" Ive been truck shopping, thinking of replacing my 04 Avalanche to better handle my 28krs. Any suggestions----- Im sure this topic has been beaten to death time and again, but I need to ask. Ive been looking at F250's, as Ive had a thing for Fords lately. Looked at a 09 F150 yesterday, without the "max tow" and it still has a towing rating of 9600lbs. Seems like alot of these half ton trucks are made as passenger vehilces only lately. I live in MN, and am concerned with the cold affects on Diesel, as this would be my daily driver as will. If I tramped on someone else's post, I do apologize. Comments?


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Hanson said:


> What is meant by "regen" Ive been truck shopping, thinking of replacing my 04 Avalanche to better handle my 28krs. Any suggestions----- Im sure this topic has been beaten to death time and again, but I need to ask. Ive been looking at F250's, as Ive had a thing for Fords lately. Looked at a 09 F150 yesterday, without the "max tow" and it still has a towing rating of 9600lbs. Seems like alot of these half ton trucks are made as passenger vehilces only lately. I live in MN, and am concerned with the cold affects on Diesel, as this would be my daily driver as will. If I tramped on someone else's post, I do apologize. Comments?


No worries. Nice name by the way, but you spelled it wrong!









Ok, Regen is a term on the newer Diesels 08MY+. It refers to the cleaning of the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). The filter prevents the black soot from making it out of the exhaust pipe and then when it starts clogging, it "regen's" which consists of dumping raw fuel down the exhaust and burning out the soot at very high temperatures. Obviously though if you are dumping fuel down the exhaust you are wasting it and the fuel economy numbers reflect that. With my driving style/pattern, I typically get 1 regen per tank of fuel, but on a tank where I didn't get a regen, my FE # will be ~1mpg higher over 300 miles.

It sounds like you are towing with a 1/2 ton today. I can't speak to the new F150's with the max tow option, but can state that the difference between my 2006 F150 and my 2008 F350 with a 28RSDS was night and day. I would very highly recommend getting a 3/4 ton!








Obviously the 3/4 ton is more expensive and more trucklike, but try one out. If you are shying away from the cost of the Diesel, you might want to consider a gasser. Regardless, you'll probably want to check out the Ford website for the details on the 2011 Super Duty's that are coming out very soon.


----------



## WYOCAMPER (Mar 28, 2007)

[/quote]

Obviously the 3/4 ton is more expensive and more trucklike, but try one out. If you are shying away from the cost of the Diesel, you might want to consider a gasser. Regardless, you'll probably want to check out the Ford website for the details on the 2011 Super Duty's that are coming out very soon.








[/quote]

X2. The V10 in the SuperDuty makes a stout and reliable tow rig, but it is being discontinued in the F250/F350 after 2010. There is a new 6.2L gas V8 in the SuperDuty for the 2011 model year.


----------



## Pooh&Tigger (Oct 20, 2008)

Awesome, we just upgraded from a Dodge Ram 1500 to a Ford F350, music to my ears. Thanks for sharing your results.

Think that I'll notice a difference towing this spring


----------



## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

Pooh&Tigger said:


> Awesome, we just upgraded from a Dodge Ram 1500 to a Ford F350, music to my ears. Thanks for sharing your results.
> 
> Think that I'll notice a difference towing this spring


Yeah you may see a little difference.









Oh and your new Ford is a Powerstroke Diesel. Ford=Powerstroke, Chevy=Duramax and Dodge=Cummins.

Enjoy.


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Pooh&Tigger said:


> Awesome, we just upgraded from a Dodge Ram 1500 to a Ford F350, music to my ears. Thanks for sharing your results.
> 
> Think that I'll notice a difference towing this spring


Oh, you'll notice a difference in towability! You'll also notice the two big things that affect your fuel economy are rpm and turbo boost. My whole trip, I probably only exceeded 10 psi of boost a half dozen times and I did my best to keep the revs below 2k. Those two metrics are impossible to maintain with a trailer, but instead enjoy the advantage of just watching the turbo gauge raise on a hill rather than the speedo lower.









Oh, but if you're heading across western Kansas into a headwind and notice 30 psi of turbo boost, start looking for a gas station (for diesel that is)









Also, my FE has been continuously improving over the first 25k miles. I don't know where it will plateau.


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Pretty cool Nathan!

Too bad it cant get that more often. Ive seen mpg range from 13-18 this winter empty. Been seeing 7-11 loaded. Cold, wind and winter fuel hurts things. I know Mi. has winter fuel too. In the summer you number could be 1 mpg higher. So just maybe you might see a higher number sometime till it regens.

Carey


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> Pretty cool Nathan!
> 
> Too bad it cant get that more often. Ive seen mpg range from 13-18 this winter empty. Been seeing 7-11 loaded. Cold, wind and winter fuel hurts things. I know Mi. has winter fuel too. In the summer you number could be 1 mpg higher. So just maybe you might see a higher number sometime till it regens.
> 
> Carey


I think I'll save the picture just in case I never see it again!









My last 2 tanks were strictly city driving and I got in the 13's. Maybe I got a good batch of Fuel at Meijer of all places (Sortof like a super Walmart for those of you outside Michigan)

My average for Solo driving has crept up from 13.5mpg to 14.5mpg over 25k miles and 18 months, but like I mentioned, it rarely sees the expressway for more than 10 miles at a time.


----------



## 1jeep (Jul 24, 2007)

Wow...not that i am complaining but i have never seen more than 18mpg! At least that is better than my previous 1/2ton.


----------



## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Hey congrats Nathan!!! Awesome mileage - glad to see you are getting some good mpg's out of that Navistar powertrain. I am really going to be interested to see what the FORD powertrain does here in a few weeks!!!

-CC


----------



## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

okay I'll agree that is nice to see that kind of mileage ESPECIALLY with a Powerstroke,







BUT couldn't help but notice it was taken at 65 mph!!







It's really NOT THAT impressive! YIKES!! felt better when I saw the next one (I can't remember who posted it) was take while in park!!








also Duramax = GMC too. 
Okay got you mother-henned and taught, I can go to bed!!


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

ember said:


> okay I'll agree that is nice to see that kind of mileage ESPECIALLY with a Powerstroke,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I posted the one while in park....I tend not to use my cell phone to take pictures while driving.


----------



## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Not sure what all the fuss is, I am sure he slowed down to take the photo.


----------



## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Perhaps some people don't find driving a vehicle that is around 7500lbs over 70mph to be something they want to do on a regular basis. I know your Jimmy is around 1000lbs lighter but still it is alot of iron to get stopped. Shoot I think Carey's dually grosses around 10k with all the gear he carries with him. On the highway unloaded, I run no faster than 71-72mph. I tow at 65mph. Be happy for the guy. I don't think he got taught much of anything. He engineers the trucks.

-CC


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I just installed my champion genny in my truck. lol now my truck weighs 10300 or so. Its been a really cold winter. Ive had to idle a ton. Maybe I can save my truck a bit using the gen. I dont know if it will be any cheaper. Surely better for the engine though.

I have seen a few trips empty this winter that I got 12.5 to 13 empty. That does include idleing. I was in sub zero temps with wind. About as bad as it gets. All that weight doesnt help when in horrible cold conditions.

The canada trips are starting to pick up. I imagine I will spend much of the next 2 months doing canada trips.

I bet my lil champion gen gets a workout. It will be only powering a 1500 watt space heater but still will be running 10 hours a night.

I havent seen 18mpg since mid october. In the summer I push 20 often. Winter blended fuels hurt things too.

Hows the lil guy doin Curtis?

Carey


----------



## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

I'm hoping that the new Scorpion diesel will do the same..... I'm saving my pennies and mowing some neighbors yards to get enough dinaro for that bad boy......


----------



## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

I reset the AVG MPG on the truck yesterday. If you hold the reset when the AVG MPG display is up it will go into immediate AVG MPG mode(gives runtime/current AVG MPG reading). Going downhill it was displaying 50-99 AVG MPG- I didn't have a camera.









This is a good mode if you are trying to figure out your mpg driving habits. 


_Looks like I was spreading misinformation. After checking this again, holding the reset knob when in AVG MPG simply resets the AVG MPG. It would be nice if it would do a runtime AVG MPG._


----------



## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Just got back from a 420 mile roundtrip from home to NY running just with the family and bed load of luggage and presents.

Mix of town and interstate driving equaled 577 miles on one tank before fueling up.

Lie-O-meter showed 23 mpg as an average for the tank. Hand calced it at 22.19 MPG.......not too bad, hopefully it will still improve once I hit 25,000 miles.

Steve


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Thats some good mpgs steve. My truck is such a heavy slug I could never get that. I have seen 19 on maybe 2-3 tanks of fuel over 272k miles. Rest of the time Im in the 15-17 range. My avg is around 17 in warm weather and about 15 in cold weather.

I wish I could run one of those smartys. They just dont work for us guys needing long lasting engines. Some run tiny chips, but the vast majority that get there engines over 500k just run them all stock.

Carey


----------



## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Yes, it is amazing what just a little tweaking will do....

A less restrictive air filter, a free flowing exhaust, and a little tuning goes a long way in a diesel.

The biggest problem with tuning, is that it is hard to keep your foot out of the go pedal when it is so much fun! Unfortunately, that decreases MPG, plus, that is where the hot rodders start to break things......

Steve


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

collinsfam_tx said:


> Perhaps some people don't find driving a vehicle that is around 7500lbs over 70mph to be something they want to do on a regular basis. I know your Jimmy is around 1000lbs lighter but still it is alot of iron to get stopped. Shoot I think Carey's dually grosses around 10k with all the gear he carries with him. On the highway unloaded, I run no faster than 71-72mph. I tow at 65mph. Be happy for the guy. I don't think he got taught much of anything. He engineers the trucks.
> 
> -CC


Again, I'm not going to hide the truth. As I stated, I ran down there at around 60 right with the trucks. The trip home was at 65mph. The added 5 mph to 70 mph equates to at least 2 mpg in my experiences. I very rarely exceed 65 when towing. When driving solo, I won't hold up traffic, but if the right lane is moving at 65mph, then there's nothing wrong with that either...









Incidentally, I also drive the speed limit when driving the DW's Flex.


----------



## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

huntr70 said:


> Yes, it is amazing what just a little tweaking will do....
> 
> A less restrictive air filter, a free flowing exhaust, and a little tuning goes a long way in a diesel.
> 
> ...


A buddy of mine was very concerned with his 6.4 diesel's fuel consumption. He put in some form of computer chip, that changed shift points, held gears longer etc. I asked him 3 months later how that chip was doing for his mileage. He said "crummy- worst ever". When asked why, he said that he now owns a hot-rod, and has his foot mashed to the floorboards all the time.....







.gif[/img].gif" />


----------



## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

Oregon_Camper said:


> okay I'll agree that is nice to see that kind of mileage ESPECIALLY with a Powerstroke,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you OC and your family as well as the rest of us on the road really appreciate it!!

I posted the one while in park....I tend not to use my cell phone to take pictures while driving.








[/quote]


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

ember said:


> okay I'll agree that is nice to see that kind of mileage ESPECIALLY with a Powerstroke,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you OC and your family as well as the rest of us on the road really appreciate it!!

I posted the one while in park....I tend not to use my cell phone to take pictures while driving.








[/quote]
[/quote]

Oh, now I see where you were going with that statement....









Yes, I should have waited until I was at home, but I figured it would go into regen before then and I didn't want to lose my trophy. I know no excuse, and I apologize.


----------



## fshr4life (Feb 7, 2009)

I just did a round trip to Boston from just north of NYC (about 420 miles round trip) and my computer said 21.0 at the end of the trip. I had my DW, DS and luggage in the cab of the truck. I wrote down the numbers when I filled back up, but haven't hand calculated it yet. I think it will be closer to 20.3 - 20.5 or so based on past experience with the computer. I used just over half a tank for the whole trip. I ran between 60-70 mph the whole way and went through a rain/snow storm on the way back. I'm pretty happy with those numbers given the conditions and winter fuel.


----------

