2015 Ram Eco Diesel from North Georgia

[RAMFan]

Hello everyone,

Just joined and curious about fuel economy comparisons of gas versus diesels since this is a new experience for me (diesels that is).

More than half our miles are towing miles and I was hoping the 3.0L turbo diesel would perform best in this mode. As it turns out, the non-towing mode has exceeded my expectations and the towing mode has been somewhat of a disappointment. Overall, I'm pleased with the choice but expected the low end torque of the diesel to have a larger towing benefit. I was hoping Fuelly would have data relative to towing versus non-towing but it doesn't look like it does.

We travel extensively and maintain a YouTube travel channel as well as a daily blog. We just completed a 7 week winter stay in Florida with the new Eco so I will reference it here for EVIC screen shots. Also if anyone is interested in traveling the US, you may find some of our videos of interest as well. All videos are available in 1080p HD.

Blog ..... www.neilandyoly.blogspot.com
Video channel ..... www.youtube.com/travelswithyoly/videos

[Draigflag]

Hello, welcome to the forum. You should find plenty of debate regarding petrol/diesel vehicles here. In the US, diesels are only just catching on, and sadly its mostly trucks that are emission exempt that seem to sell well. In Europe, 60 to 75% of cars are diesel due to high fuel prices and carbon dioxide based taxes.

Every van truck bus and commercial vehicle here is diesel, they can tow much more weight and burn much less fuel than a gas equivalent, and like you say the low down torque is very handy, especially at high speeds or on hills.

[RAMFan]

One item of discussion is the fact that gasoline here is so much cheaper than diesel fuel .... about $0.50 to 0.80 (cents) less a gallon difference depending on what state you live in. The overall operating cost of the two technologies is consequently almost equal while the diesel technology is much more complex due to special emissions technologies and therefore more expensive upfront and also in routine maintenance.

[Jcp385]

Resale value does tend to take the sting out of some of the operating costs though.

One of these trucks was loaded up with camping gear and driven from Chicagoland to Southern California averaging around 40mpg. They can be fantastic mileage wise.

Not sure about towing, I think diesel should still hold the advantage. I've found that raw HP enters the equation more than I thought when towing, and that torque is a bit less crucial than I had thought.

[trollbait]

The resale can take much of that sting out. then the switch to ultra low sulfur gas may mean that price difference will be lower.

[Draigflag]

Originally Posted by RAMFan

One item of discussion is the fact that gasoline here is so much cheaper than diesel fuel .... about $0.50 to 0.80 (cents) less a gallon difference depending on what state you live in. The overall operating cost of the two technologies is consequently almost equal while the diesel technology is much more complex due to special emissions technologies and therefore more expensive upfront and also in routine maintenance.

I thought the fuel price difference was greater. Someone on here said diesel was double the price of gas. If that were the case, then no wonder diesels aren't popular. I'm struggling to comprehend how the US is going to hit the CAFE average target of over 50 MPG without switching to diesel.

[Jcp385]

Cafe isn't that hard...that number is derived from the raw tailpipe data off of the dyno, before it is math'd down to the numbers you see on the window sticker.

[RAMFan]

I've never seen diesel fuel at twice the cost of gas. Late last fall, gas prices fell at an unexpected rate to levels not seen since 2006. Diesel prices however, did not come down due mostly to the high demand for home heating oil caused by the above average cold temps across the east and mid-west. This led to a larger than normal difference between the two. However, according to AAA, the cost of gas has risen $0.45 a gallon in the last 3 weeks so the spread is narrowing. Around here, gas is $2.28 a gallon and diesel is $2.78 a gallon. I'm expecting that by summer, gas prices will be higher and diesel fuel will actually come down due to decreased demand. Also the higher cetane level in summer blend diesel improves mileage measurably.

The long term Edmunds.com test of the Eco that travelled from Chicago to Southern California is not representative of the truck. This was done by a method called "hypermileing". The truck was a bare bones, stripped down base model weighing several hundred pounds less than most normal trim levels. The tires were over inflated and there were other non standard mods as well. In the real world, the SLT, Big Horn and Laramies can deliver 30 mpg if driven sedately at normal speeds over level terrain. Still, for a 6,300 lb truck, this is quite remarkable. I did drive almost 4 miles once at 25 mph (on cruise control) and got 45 mpg for that distance

As far as meeting CAFE standards, it's simply a matter of having a few ultra low consuming models in the fleet (including hybrids and electric) that would lower the average fuel consumption across the entire line up.

Also I might add that when I said the cost of operation between the two is almost equal, that comparison was done using the 3.6L V-6 Pentastar engine as the comparison and this engine is known to be exceptionally frugal. It's a great engine ... I know because I had one before the Eco. But when it comes to towing, I think you need to make the comparison to the larger displacement V-8 Hemi for comparable performance in which case the economy favors the diesel.

[Jcp385]

Oh, of course it's not representative, what I meant to say is that it has potential and capabilities far and above any other full-size pickemup. I am on the driver Wayne Gerdes' site and followed the drive day by day transfixed by a truck able to put up numbers like that.

The Hemi mileage sucks...IIRC my Dad's Hemi got around 11mpg towing his 30' Airstream from Iowa to Texas. His Duramax was not that much better at around 14 or 15ish, I think. Might be a bit off on those numbers. Should be able to manage at least those numbers with this one.

[Draigflag]

There are a few smaller 2.5 diesel pick ups here, they are very popular here. My friends Isuzu might only be able to tow 7000 to 8000 lbs, but its rated at 47 MPG on the highway.