# Extended Test Drive



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ok, so we have a few SD trucks at work and I talked a guy into letting me borrow one for a buisness trip (2008 F350 Crew Cab, 8' box and 6.4L that has 20,000 miles). Here are the results of a day's driving:

To and from work:
My F150 gets 13-14mpg (hand calculated).
The F350 gets 13.8mpg by the trip computer.

Highway cruise at ~65-70mph:
My F150 gets 18mpg (hand calculated).
The F350 gets 18.4mpg by the trip computer.

Now I have it for a weekend with the family to really test it out.








(I'm trying to arrange the same experiment with a 6.8L Gas for comparison in another month.....)

Now wish me luck sweet talking DW into one of these!


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

See if he will let you tow your 28RSDS for a weekend trip with the SuperDuty. That might just convince your wife for you hehe.

-CC


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## Wade and Mendy (Mar 11, 2008)

My experience to add to your comparison: I have an F250 SD with the 6.8L V10. I typically get 12-13 driving back and forth to work, which is mostly highway. The best I've ever done is 16 on a 2 lane highway at 55. If you do get the chance to tow the 28RSDS, I would be really interested what you get, since that is the same trailer we have.

On the trip home from picking up our new trailer (my only experience so far) we averaged about 7-8. I was trying to keep up with traffic, which probably hurt me a lot and there are also a lot of hills on I80 in Iowa!

Other than the gas mileage, I love my 250. It will pull anything I want and looks good too! I knew what I was getting into when I bought it as far as the mileage, I just never dreamed gas would be $3.19!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Wade and Mendy said:


> My experience to add to your comparison: I have an F250 SD with the 6.8L V10. I typically get 12-13 driving back and forth to work, which is mostly highway. The best I've ever done is 16 on a 2 lane highway at 55. If you do get the chance to tow the 28RSDS, I would be really interested what you get, since that is the same trailer we have.
> 
> On the trip home from picking up our new trailer (my only experience so far) we averaged about 7-8. I was trying to keep up with traffic, which probably hurt me a lot and there are also a lot of hills on I80 in Iowa!
> 
> Other than the gas mileage, I love my 250. It will pull anything I want and looks good too! I knew what I was getting into when I bought it as far as the mileage, I just never dreamed gas would be $3.19!


I 80 in Iowa is nothing but hills!!!









2 years ago, using my parent's truck and trailer, Iowa was one of the poorest fuel economy areas. It was windy and hilly. I think I even did better in the rockies for fuel economy....


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

collinsfam_tx said:


> See if he will let you tow your 28RSDS for a weekend trip with the SuperDuty. That might just convince your wife for you hehe.
> 
> -CC


Unfortuantely, that is strictly forbidden...








It seems the company is very concerned about someone doing something stupid and them being stuck with the liability associated with a trailer coming loose








Any victims who found out the truck was owned by a large corporation could really take them to the cleaners. I understand, but it is unfortunate..

Additionally, they self insure the trucks. No rider is available for trailers that they don't own...
Not that I'm complaining, a 3 day test drive and a free tank of Diesel is still very nice.


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## ColoradoChip (Jan 21, 2008)

I'm getting about 13.8 mpg around town with my 2008 Ram 6.7 CTD. I've just hit 100 miles, so I expect that to increase as the engine breaks in. I just traded my 2005 F150, and I got about 12.5 around town. I just towed the TT for the first time today! What a difference! I can't wait to take it for a spin up into the hills.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Nathan said:


> Now wish me luck sweet talking DW into one of these!


Seems to me there was some prior discussion about picking up some furniture and a mural and not having room for all of it


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## Rich in CO (May 30, 2005)

Man i love it when an 7000+ truck that can hual 20K all day every day get the same if not better milage than a rig that can only do 1/2 the work or less.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

wolfwood said:


> Now wish me luck sweet talking DW into one of these!


Seems to me there was some prior discussion about picking up some furniture and a mural and not having room for all of it















[/quote]
Yes, you are right








This truck has an 8' bed, but no tonneau, so it works for furniture, but not art works!


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Thanks for the numbers, Nathan. So far, from what I see, the unhitched numbers of the diesel are the same as the gasser. I would be interested in seeing some numbers while she is actually towing. Sayonara, anything planned soon?


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## recon (Jul 15, 2007)

Apples and Oranges guy's, My 07 F-150 averages 19 mpg on my daily commute to work and pulling our popup (3,000lbs loaded) gets 15 mpg. I have a co-worker with an F250(D) '07 who complains about its fuel consumption. My point is if you are going to pull a 26' or smaller trailer a few tiimes a year and have to use the same vehicle to commute with you can have substantial savings when you consider the original cost of the vehicle. Now with heavy trailers the heavier trucks are a must and I would love to have one but it is a matter of apples and oranges.

Jeff


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

* Real trucks don't have spark plugs.







*​


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

windpusher1 said:


> Apples and Oranges guy's, My 07 F-150 averages 19 mpg on my daily commute to work and pulling our popup (3,000lbs loaded) gets 15 mpg. I have a co-worker with an F250(D) '07 who complains about its fuel consumption. My point is if you are going to pull a 26' or smaller trailer a few tiimes a year and have to use the same vehicle to commute with you can have substantial savings when you consider the original cost of the vehicle. Now with heavy trailers the heavier trucks are a must and I would love to have one but it is a matter of apples and oranges.
> 
> Jeff


19mpg is very impressive for a F150 in my experience.

These mileage numbers were done driving the same route (although I admit that I have not tested the accuracy of the trip computer







).

The key to a Diesel is that it is running lean (more air than fuel) most of the time. Gas engines run at the ideal mixture all of the time. Therefore, if you are light on the throttle, you can get the good fuel economy with a diesel. I tried driving thsi truck more aggressively, and the single digits stayed planted on the trip computer. I also learned that it is hard to keep the rear wheels connected with an empty bed and 650 ft-lbs of torque....


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Nathan said:


> Now wish me luck sweet talking DW into one of these!


Seems to me there was some prior discussion about picking up some furniture and a mural and not having room for all of it















[/quote]
Yes, you are right








This truck has an 8' bed, but no tonneau, so it works for furniture, but not art works!








[/quote]
Get the truck, Nathan - the tonneau for the art work is the easy part....


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Incidentally - Nathan how does your truck get such good mileage on the highway? Do you have any mods? Chip/exhaust/intake?

At 72mph, mine gets about 16.5-17mpg and I have the previous generation of the truck which is lighter. My engine is the 260hp 2v version as well. Truck is stock except for a hard tonneau cover which increased mileage very slightly. We have calculated it several times and it varies but the average seems to be about .5mpg. This is with 3.55's and the 4R70W 4spd trans.

-CC


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

Wade and Mendy said:


> My experience to add to your comparison: I have an F250 SD with the 6.8L V10. I typically get 12-13 driving back and forth to work, which is mostly highway. The best I've ever done is 16 on a 2 lane highway at 55. If you do get the chance to tow the 28RSDS, I would be really interested what you get, since that is the same trailer we have.
> 
> On the trip home from picking up our new trailer (my only experience so far) we averaged about 7-8. I was trying to keep up with traffic, which probably hurt me a lot and there are also a lot of hills on I80 in Iowa!
> 
> Other than the gas mileage, I love my 250. It will pull anything I want and looks good too! I knew what I was getting into when I bought it as far as the mileage, I just never dreamed gas would be $3.19!


I tow in Iowa and North Missouri alot and there are a lot of hills. With my 2000 dodge 3500 even in the hills pulling my 30' 5er I get around 12 mpg, but I am also driving the speed limit or below. If I push the speed the mpg will drop to the 9-10 range so I get 20% better mileage by taking my time. The nice thing about a heavy truck especially in Iowa is the holding power. I have gotten caught in 40-50 mph cross winds and 3/4 winds before and the truck and camper stays put on the road even with gust. With my Van and pop-up there were times that I was blown all over the place before, so I appreciate having a 7500 lb truck with 6 wheels. I do agree that cost wise unless you really need the power and are planning on keeping the truck for a long time, It might not be worth the added cost for a true truck, but all of the neighbor kids sure love my truck. Now if only fuel goes down, saw it for $4.25 yesterday on HWY 2.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

H2oSprayer said:


> * Real trucks don't have spark plugs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Sayonara said:


> I averaged about 10mpg with my 2008 6.4L PSD when towing my 32BHDS at about 10k loaded at a speed of 65. it gets better the slower you drive. this year i will try 60 and see what my average is. At the time, I had about 3500 miles on the truck. far from broken in. my truck has stayed in the high 14's low 15's with conservative city driving. little highway driving. when on the highway, it is around 18.
> 
> I bought it and wanted to keep it a long time to tow whatever i wanted. since the DW nixed the DRW i settled on the SRW.
> Nathen knows he can "borrow" my F350 any time he needs to for his decision making purposes. Its a tough call. but i would not have done anything differently. now if (unfortunately when) diesel hits $6/gal i might change my mind.


DT, thanks again for the offer. I choose the work truck, because if I bend it, I only have a 2 page form to fill out








As it was, the only thing that got in my way was 1 curb. (It acutally only got in the way of the rear wheel)


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Nathan said:


> DT, thanks again for the offer. I choose the work truck, because if I bend it, I only have a 2 page form to fill out
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey no problem. now that i think about it, keep practicing with the big ovals truck. Soon enough those curbs wont jump out in front of you anymore!


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