dodge truck

[boofighter]

i had a chance to ride in a 06 dodge 3/4 ton truck. it had the cummins diesel with the six speed. the interesting thing was that it had a instant MPG read out. with out any effort the truck was getting 28 mpg. mind you that is with out any load. the speeds that we were traveling were 60 to 70 kph. at 70pkh the engine was barely over 1000 rpms.

[GasSavers_James]

thats where diesels are at their best, low load low rpm. I wonder what it gets as it is accelerating up to speed or going up a hill at 110 KMH, the way most people drive them.

[DarbyWalters]

My Jeep Liberty CRD 4x4 gets 30+ at 58.5mpg and it turning 1700 rpm ...it is an I4 so that is pretty slow rpm. The Final OD (it has two) is .67:1

The Dodge Cummins get pretty good towing mileage also.

[jcp123]

The towing mileage is where diesel trucks really shine. In normal driving, it comes out to being only ~1-2, maybe 3mpg better than the equivalent gasser available in the trucks (IE Powerstroke Diesel vs. V10, Cummins vs. V10 or Semi-Hemi, Duramax vs. 6.0l or 8.1l), but the delta spreads a lot wider under load.

[GasSavers_SD26]

Yes.

[philp100]

Never believe the overhead readout for mileage on the Dodges! They are, shall we say, optomistic. Don't have teh overhead display on mine but my friends has been off by more than 5mpg compared to hand calculations.

Phil

[Otistheminivan]

I dont think a cummins gets 20+mpg over a full tank....

Im all for the Diesels, but as of late with the extra cost of the motor 6500 to 8000 dollars vs gas and fuel being over 65 cents a gallon more than gas. Its going to be a LONG time before you get ahead with the Diesel.

I work as a independant contractor for a local Freight company. Right now I do 2 nights and 1 Sat and cover just over 1000 miles a wk. I would love to get a Sprinter for extra space. But the difference in mileage im getting now 22mpg vs 27 in the sprinter. It will never pay for it self at current Prices.

John

[GasSavers_SD26]

Does depend upon your use. For me, going from the gas engine with the trailer was 6-8MPG. With diesel, I'm at a pretty much solid 11.5 all the time other than times when it idles for extended periods. I have got 15MPG over a few consecutive tanks. And I get to go faster.

I think the trick is that there are so few diesel options in the US. Hard to find a good fit. For me, a used shuttle bus fit the bill quite well. Buying a $40k pick up, no, not economical for me.

[Otistheminivan]

yeah dave it all depends on the use. I ran the numbers at our Prices here and 3.02 and 3.69diesel. A 5mpg difference between the 2 the fuel cost are the same. With the added cost either used or new it takes many many yrs to make it back.

John

[GasSavers_SD26]

If there were just "more diesels", the supply side might reduce the prices. I'd love to see that. If I could drive a four door F250 with mileage close to my Taurus, I'd be all over it. But the cost of admission, even used, is high.

The one good thing about the investment in the diesel is the resale. They do sell for so much money that it's almost ridiculous.

I know that for me, to reconsider a gas engine, I'd have to have diesel at 50% more expensive than gasoline. Only for the fuel side. I've had less issues with this engine than I've had with other gas motors.

Now, shuttle buses can be had pretty reasonably too. That was perfect for my application.

What are you driving now? You're an expediter or something along that line?