Rant on fuel mileage

[bdmcd15]

i've been viewing other posts with people constantly complaining about fuel mileage...."would have kept my 6.0 if i had known" " would never have gotten rid of my 99 7.3 " etc...etc...etc... Somebody please tell me how you make a 50K plus investment and don't check out something like fuel mileage before hand??? Give me a break...it's like buying a house in a flood plain and complaining when it floods!!!!! I would love to get better mileage, especially towing. At 8.5-9.5 i don't like to stop every 250 miles for fuel on a long trip, but i knew going in what to expect. I would hate to spend the next 5 years complaining about such a nice truck becouse i didn't do my homework. I'll be installing an auxillary tank next week to help offset all the stops on a long trip.

[Packard8]

Originally Posted by bdmcd15

i Somebody please tell me how you make a 50K plus investment and don't check out something like fuel mileage before hand???

As I recall it was Ford themselves that touted the new 6.4L as being "more efficient" (or something along those lines) in their advertising. Also, salesman's BS and the lack of EPA MPG data on the window sticker of 3/4 and up pickups makes it hard compare.

I'm still baffled as to why a Tier II Class 8 OTR truck with 550HP and 1500TQ grossing 100K lbs gets only a few MPG less than an F450 grossing 34K, or why a Greyhound bus gets about the same? Something doesn't add up.

[lowerd96]

8.5-9.5 mpg is just not right. Shoot, that's about the territory my old '77 F-250 4x4 got with a 513 cu. in. 550HP big block gas motor in it, with a C-6 3 speed automatic. I sold it and willingly paid the 6K option for my 7.3L knowing it was an efficient and powerful machine...I love diesel power, and in fact I am looking at the '08's really hard because I need a crew cab. However paying 7K for the diesel, and loosing almost 8 mpg is going to be tough to pull the trigger on...but I'm sure I will do it, hopefully in time when the mpg's go up a bit...after all that is why we drive diesel's...for the power, and efficiency...

[Seapig53]

BDMCD15,
I am really interested in hearing about your AUX tank install. I am looking to do it myself.
As for the mileage, yes it is pretty bad, but also what I expected running 4:88's.
What the heck, I really like my truck. Nicest vehicle I have ever owned.
~Mike~

[bdmcd15]

Originally Posted by Packard8

As I recall it was Ford themselves that touted the new 6.4L as being "more efficient" (or something along those lines) in their advertising. Also, salesman's BS and the lack of EPA MPG data on the window sticker of 3/4 and up pickups makes it hard compare.

I'm still baffled as to why a Tier II Class 8 OTR truck with 550HP and 1500TQ grossing 100K lbs gets only a few MPG less than an F450 grossing 34K, or why a Greyhound bus gets about the same? Something doesn't add up.

i can go along with your "hard to compare" statement if you jumped out there with early job 1's, but beyond that it has been no secret about the less than average mileage these things get. Look at all the whining, moaning, gnashing of teeth posts about the mileage since they've come out. all i'm saying is that no one should be surprised, and if your going to make an investment as pricey as this it would make alot of sense to research the mileage. how about this... test drive the vehicle for a day or two, and calculate the mileage???

[bdmcd15]

sea pig,
i am having the tank installed by a tank manufacuturer in rockwall, tx. 70 gallon cross bed, aluminum diamond plate powder coat black. it will have a guage to the left of the steering column on the front of the dash. it will have a switch to alternate tanks. i've researched alot of them and this is the nicest set up i've seen.

[Packard8]

Originally Posted by bdmcd15

it would make a lot of sense to research the mileage.

True for ppl on this forum, but there are still potential buyers who may not be online reading this from the Superduty sales brochure :

"As the most powerful Ford pickup diesel engine ever, it pumps
some serious iron. High-pressure common-rail fuel injection
helps deliver 100% of its 650 lb.-ft. of torque (80 lb.-ft. more
than 2007) at just 2000 rpm. It also optimizes fuel efficiency,
cold-start capability, and helps to make this Power Stroke the
quietest Ford truck diesel on the road. Here’s the engine you’ll
want for all your heavy lifting."


I think a lot of us *assume* that a diesel pickup will get good mileage based on past ownership. I know I expected more MPG on my Dodge based on two friends who have Gen II 5.9 trucks. I wasn't aware of the third event injection introduced on the 2004.5 models that uses more fuel. Should have done more homework but didn't (tho it prolly wouldn't have changed my decision).

[Justin C.]

Our local dealer said several businesses that regularly purchase new trucks to keep their fleet rotated out recently came back and purchased gas burners instead of diesel. He said it was a combination of diesel prices and MPG that convinced them to change.

Justin

[milo55]

Originally Posted by Justin C.

Our local dealer said several businesses that regularly purchase new trucks to keep their fleet rotated out recently came back and purchased gas burners instead of diesel. He said it was a combination of diesel prices and MPG that convinced them to change.

Justin

I think you will be seeing a lot more of this going on. Heck diesel is a $1.00 more per gallon than gas. Even if it is only for the short term most fleets are rotated every two years.

[clamgulch]

I'm still baffled as to why a Tier II Class 8 OTR truck with 550HP and 1500TQ grossing 100K lbs gets only a few MPG less than an F450 grossing 34K, or why a Greyhound bus gets about the same? Something doesn't add up.

Just a guess here, but the way OTR trucks are geared (lots more gears) and are driven is significantly different than light duty trucks. Tortoise vs Hare kind of thing. Also, OTR trucks are generally driven by folks that understand that their fuel bill can make or break their ability to eat, consequently they are milking every last bit of mileage they can out of their rigs. They also tend to not take their rigs out to the drag strip for a little entertainment and they don't generally race "ricers," knowing that they won't win and that a break down could put them out of work or into bankruptcy. Pickup owners just don't drive like professional drivers for the most part, and their mileage reflects it.

Also consider that OTR trucks are loaded up and run for hours on end, carefully modulated smack in the middle of their most fuel efficient torque band for hundreds of miles every day at a steady speed on freeways and such- pickups are used to run back and forth to the grocery store, the daycare center, the garbage dump, the lumber yard and to and from work, and lots of that is in traffic and hilly terrain on secondary roads. Once or twice a year they are used to tow the 19' boat or 24' travel trailer a few hours each way to a favorite vacation spot. If OTR trucks were driven those same daily itineraries and in the same manner, I doubt they was get 5 mpg, even unloaded (that's an outrageous guess, not intended to be misconstrued as fact).

Of course there's pickup owners that drive like long distance truckers- Dave Whitmer being an excellent prime example, but I'm not talking about them because they are the exception, rather than the general rule.

To take this one step further, let's consider how long the big truck engines last compared to pickup engines: Technically, pickup engines really aren't designed any differently or have sloppier tolerances, etc. If anything, they have tighter tolerances and have much greater demands made of them for RPM, torque band width, power per cubic inch, etc. With servicing being equal, it's the manner in which they are used that wears out the pickup engines in a third the miles that big engines are expected to run. You will see the same kind of high wear and increased fuel consumption in the 30,000 pound and up (medium/heavy duty) class local freight delivery trucks, again with service intervals all being on par.

Hopefully someone who services garbage trucks for a living will respond to this and tell me I'm talking out of my arse, but I suspect those trucks get tons of regular service, don't last near as many miles per engine rebuild as a diesel pickup, and consume tons of fuel.