Super Strippy

[GasSavers_dan]

My name is Dan and I bought a base model Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi in 2004. Other than cruise control, this truck was as base as it comes. Originally I went looking for a used Ram or F150 to use as a commuter vehicle that could occasionally substitute as a family vehicle. The dealership told me I couldn't get financed for a used one but could get financed for a new one... scammed? I immediately got power door locks and windows put on as it is a quad cab. Four years later I finally have a CD player as I never used the cassette player it came with. I love the way it looks but my original intent was to buy a commuter vehicle. Since I bought it in Oct 2004 I have pt over 100,000 miles on it and it's only 3 1/2 years old. I have finally decided to make it more fuel efficient as I'm going through a divorce and don't want to buy another vehicle while still married. More for her to take, or make me sell. I started off with 15-16 miles per gallon. Careful driving raised it to 16-17 mpg. Expecting to be homeless for a while as I can't afford two rent payments (we have kids) I just purchased a camper shell. Expecting a small drop in feul efficiency, since my shell is higher than the roof, I have joined your website in search of saving some money long term. I covered the upper half of the grill with grill covers I purchased, homemade ones are unattractive and I have no skills yet. I had a K&N filter installed, again I have no automotive skills yet. The filter raised me up to about 19 mpg but that was before the grill cover (+) and camper shell (-). I want to change my truck's name. I had been caling it Strippy since I bought it stripped (base model). Super Strippy is a temporary name till I put on my new ram air hood.

[theholycow]

You can almost certainly fabricate a better fairing for the camper shell, which most likely has a flat front. Can you post a picture of it or something similar? Is it one of these?


If so, those are very heavy and will certainly make your truck into a fuel pig. You might want to reconsider and trade it in on a travel trailer instead, so you can park your home and drive your truck without it.

Your Ram 2500 probably is equipped with Load Range E tires, which are good for 80psi. My empty GMC 1500 rides and handles well at 80 psi all around, your truck with a heavy camper on the bed probably needs those 80psi just for safety. Pump up those tires to whatever the sidewall says for maximum.

I'm surprised to hear you gained 2mpg with just a K&N filter. It made zero difference on my 1997 Grand Am, and I've never read a report of one actually helping. I suspect your old filter was clogged, or Dodge's engineers really failed badly when they designed that system with such a cheap-to-fix bottleneck (which, from their point of view, merely requires a different size/shape filter).

[GasSavers_dan]

I have an MX Series truck cap with walk in door by A.R.E.
I am currently on a work computer that doesn't allow for rt clicking and pasting images or I would have done so when I joined. I'll try to do so at my other job. I work 90 hours a week and use work computers to do my web surfing and purchases of truck related doodads. The filter was part of an air filter performance kit.

[theholycow]

A little googling tells me it's this:

That's not heavy or aerodynamically terrible. I've seen some nice setups for 1 or 2 nights of camping in caps like that, but I can't imagine living in it. More power to you if you can do it!

I'm sorry to hear about your divorce, it sounds like an uncommonly rough one if you're working 90 hours per week and expect not to have enough money for your own apartment. I doubt the courts will let you have the kids overnight if you are living in your truck.

[GasSavers_dan]

No, I have no problem with them living with their mother. I work constantly because of her addiction to pain meds and new purses, among her other bad habits. I work 48 hour weekends at one hospital, get Mondays off and work 10.5 hour days the rest of the week. I'm too busy during my limited time off to "live" in it. It will be merely a bedroom of sorts for sleeping at night. Then I'll shower at the 24 hour gym in our town or at the hospital's locker room. But enough about me. This is a vehicle site. Divorce is not bad news. It is parole from a 10 year sentence. Don't cry for me Argen... GasSavers.

[theholycow]

Divorce is not bad news it is parole from a 10 year sentence.

Words of wisdom (even recognizable by a man whose marriage has recovered). Mind if I use that quote on another forum?

Anyway, you mentioned raising your FE from careful driving, but did you practice any particular strategies or just reduce your speed and accelerate gently? You're getting great mileage for a heavy truck with a big engine.

I posted a [hopefully decent] summary of basic stategies if you're just getting started with hypermiling, with an automatic transmission truck in mind...
http://www.gassavers.org/showpost.ph...4&postcount=12

[GasSavers_dan]

Why does it say you can't post a reply on the bottom left?

[GasSavers_dan]

I would be honored, if someone were to quote me.

Thank you for the link. I will put it in neutral when stopped at a red light from now on. I had been putting it in park until yesterday when my new ScanGuage II seemed to indicate there was no positive benefit the putting it in park.

My driving consists of slower acceleration, letting off the gas pedal in slower areas of town, and only driving 60mph to work/55 home. Getting up 10 minutes earlier is a great savings when you drive as much as I do. The speed limit is 70mph in my section of I95, but I don't mind driving like an old man when I have a 34 gallon tank to fill.

I am eager to find out what the savings will be with my partial (50%) grill block. I am using it for my 160 mile commute to the weekend job. Next weekend I will remove it and see what the difference is. I will do it again both ways this month to see if I can post semi-scientific results. Kind of peer review-myself?

[theholycow]

I'm jealous that you have the ScanGauge. I'm going to try to squeeze out the money for one soon...

The two stickied posts at the top of the "Experiments" forum describe how to really do the most scientific experiment you can. I haven't read them but I suspect it's not possible if you don't want to make a special trip and spend some gas on the experiment. For me, I experiment within the confines of wherever I'm already going.
http://www.gassavers.org/forumdisplay.php?f=6