Real MPG (no fish stories) towing 520c w/heavy duty crew 4x4 Diesel

[bassin70]

Currently tow with a 2016 Ram 4x4 1500 Eco-Diesel, towing with the wind, speed limit, 16 mpg, against the wind 15 mpg. During the work commute 24 mpg, interstate trip, up to 29 mpg.

Completely understand no heavy duty will get the mpg like this. Towing power not an issue, 1/2 ton just doesn't tow the same as a heavy duty. There is not a logical reason I "need" a bigger truck (just like a boat), just a "want". However, I have to gather as much information as I can to either talk myself into it or out of it.

No so much worried about the towing power since any of the 3 will two 4-5 times or more than I will tow.

So if you tow with one of the big 3 heavy duty diesel(sorry, love diesel so no gasser) 3/4 or 1 ton crew cab 4x4's I'd love to hear your experience with daily commute mpg, and towing mpg. Most the internet data is towing a 10k lb load, I do carry too much crap in my boat, but nothing close to 6k lb:)

Thank you in advance for you input.

[GradyH]

I’ve got a 2016 duramax crew cab 2500. It is leveled with 33” tires. I get 13 ish towing a 520. I get 15-16 commuting in the Dallas traffic and 18-20 on the highway.

[XingEyeballs]

Following

[Bobbypricefishing]

I have a 06 Dodge 2500 with the 5.9 Cummins. I get 17 towing my 521. 20 empty. Fixing to hit 250,000 miles. Hope to get that many more.

[CaymasRodney]

My 15 Duramax get about 12 towing my 520L and about 16 with out, on the road gets about 18, I have a lit kit on it also with big tires.

[22RangerZ520R]

I get 14-15mpg towing, but I don't care........

The purpose of a 3/4 - 1 ton truck is not fuel economy just like the purpose of a bass boat is not speed...

I don't understand why everyone is worried about mpg in a 3/4+ ton truck or any truck for that matter, they weren't designed to be fuel efficient! They were designed to work/tow! You want fuel efficiency, buy a Toyota Prius!!!

Same thing with constantly swapping out props, carrying low fuel, etc just to gain 3-5 mph top end speed on a bass boat... I could care less that my Ranger does 70 and your "brand X" does 75 mph. A bass boat wasn't designed for speed, but for fishing. You want a speed boat, then leave your rods at home and trade in your bass boat for a cigar boat!

In case you can't tell, the "truck mpg" and "top end speed"/"I can only get 69 mph instead of 75 mph out of my Ranger" threads drive me nuts........

[rtinplnc]

2018 F-250 pulling Ranger Z520. I see 15-16 MPG pulling but the real test is trying to pull only 55 or 65 mph. I've notice milage really starts to drop if you can pull 70-75 on the interstate it'll drop to 14 or below. Drove 450 mile round trip Sunday w/o boat with some start and go traffic on I-40 Sunday evening but got 20.5 mpg but I didn't go over the speed limit at all with troopers every 20 miles on I-40 over the holiday weekend.

[ericm]

IMHO the 1/2 ton diesel is the best of both worlds for those that don't really "need" a diesel but still want the extra low-end torque and power. they're perfect for bass fishermen. There are more options in the diesel 1/2 ton class available now than ever. I ran heavy duty diesels (RAM 2500 / Cummins) from 2003 until 2016 and the overall yearly expense averaged out for tires, service, filters, first cost etc is considerably higher than the 1/2 ton class without even considering mileage. I found the newer models to be much more expensive yearly than my original 2003. That's why I'm running a 2016 RAM 1500 now.

[Jamie]

2018 F-250 pulling Ranger Z520. I see 15-16 MPG pulling but the real test is trying to pull only 55 or 65 mph. I've notice milage really starts to drop if you can pull 70-75 on the interstate it'll drop to 14 or below. Drove 450 mile round trip Sunday w/o boat with some start and go traffic on I-40 Sunday evening but got 20.5 mpg but I didn't go over the speed limit at all with troopers every 20 miles on I-40 over the holiday weekend.

I get the same exact results in my 2016 F-250 diesel pulling a Z520c. If you are over the speed limit the mileage goes down hill fast.

[mtatum]

2015 3500 all stock Cummins Mega Cab dually here. Gets 17ish mpg empty. 1 or 2 less towing the 364V. 13-14mpg towing a 5th wheel. Speed kills the mpg loaded and unloaded. Under 60 I can get 20ish but not many highways you can run 60 or under here without getting ran off the road. It's pretty overkill for everything but the 5th wheel. Backing an empty boat trailer down the ramp sucks. Parking lots/garages suck. Drive thru's suck. It's like driving an extra wide and tall limo. But the mega cab is extremely roomy and the duals make it extremely stable in heavy cross winds.

Had an 09 2500 Cummins that was deleted and modified. That was a whole different animal. 28mpg unloaded and 18-19 with the 5th wheel. Running 35" mud terrains. I was between boats when I owned that truck. Towing with a heavy cross wind was a white knuckle experience.

[Fishysam]

Speed makes a huge difference my 16 Cummins at 60-65 gets 17+-1.0 pulling my 20' glass. Empty at 80 is 19 +-1.3, 80 with boat is 15+1.5-3.0

[paulrodbender]

I get 14-15mpg towing, but I don't care........

The purpose of a 3/4 - 1 ton truck is not fuel economy just like the purpose of a bass boat is not speed...

I don't understand why everyone is worried about mpg in a 3/4+ ton truck or any truck for that matter, they weren't designed to be fuel efficient! They were designed to work/tow! You want fuel efficiency, buy a Toyota Prius!!!

Same thing with constantly swapping out props, carrying low fuel, etc just to gain 3-5 mph top end speed on a bass boat... I could care less that my Ranger does 70 and your "brand X" does 75 mph. A bass boat wasn't designed for speed, but for fishing. You want a speed boat, then leave your rods at home and trade in your bass boat for a cigar boat!

In case you can't tell, the "truck mpg" and "top end speed"/"I can only get 69 mph instead of 75 mph out of my Ranger" threads drive me nuts........

Very well said, Sir.

[Ky 520c]

In case you can't tell, the "truck mpg" and "top end speed"/"I can only get 69 mph instead of 75 mph out of my Ranger" threads drive me nuts........

Simple fix, quit reading them. Just sayin....

[ksubasser24]

I get 14-15mpg towing, but I don't care........

The purpose of a 3/4 - 1 ton truck is not fuel economy just like the purpose of a bass boat is not speed...

I don't understand why everyone is worried about mpg in a 3/4+ ton truck or any truck for that matter, they weren't designed to be fuel efficient! They were designed to work/tow! You want fuel efficiency, buy a Toyota Prius!!!

Same thing with constantly swapping out props, carrying low fuel, etc just to gain 3-5 mph top end speed on a bass boat... I could care less that my Ranger does 70 and your "brand X" does 75 mph. A bass boat wasn't designed for speed, but for fishing. You want a speed boat, then leave your rods at home and trade in your bass boat for a cigar boat!

In case you can't tell, the "truck mpg" and "top end speed"/"I can only get 69 mph instead of 75 mph out of my Ranger" threads drive me nuts........

i know for myself I care cause fuel cost money. If I bought a truck and it got 8 and I was expecting 10 no big deal. If I was expecting to get 14 I would be vastly disappointed. I had a 11 f 150 with a ecoboost and 3.73 gears that got 8 when pulling my boat. My 14 150 has 3:31 and I wasn’t worried about lack of power after owning my 11. I get 11 with my 14. That 3 mpg difference has added up when I tow about 8k to 10k miles in a year.

[22RangerZ520R]

Yeah, but it seems every other thread is about one of those two subjects...

Simple fix, quit reading them. Just sayin....

[22RangerZ520R]

All of the big three manufacturers of 3/4+ ton vehicles are very similar in fuel economy.... It's not like a F250 gets 8 mpg and a Dodge 2500 gets 20 mpg.

Sweating mpg on a 3/4+ ton pickup truck and swapping props, etc to get 1-3 extra mph top end on your boat is like splitting hairs... I just don't get it.

But to each his own I guess....

I'm more concerned about what the bass are doing under the water....

i know for myself I care cause fuel cost money. If I bought a truck and it got 8 and I was expecting 10 no big deal. If I was expecting to get 14 I would be vastly disappointed. I had a 11 f 150 with a ecoboost and 3.73 gears that got 8 when pulling my boat. My 14 150 has 3:31 and I wasn’t worried about lack of power after owning my 11. I get 11 with my 14. That 3 mpg difference has added up when I tow about 8k to 10k miles in a year.

[clayrhye]

2014 Ram 2500 Cummins. Deleted. 5" Exhaust turbo back, DRD Tunes, Etc. Towing on 90 horse tune.

22 mpg on the interstate at 75-80 unloaded.
Right around 15 mpg stop and go in town.
Pulling our 18' Pro Craft it gets 17-18.
Pulling 24' Enclosed Trailer with my RZR (7500-8k lbs) it gets 11.5-12.5 on interstate depending on speed and hills.

[22RangerZ520R]

Very well said, Sir.

[jt c]

My 2012 Duramax gets about 13-14 towing my z519 and around 16 around town not towing and about 20 on the interstate not towing. Keep in mind I’m fully deleted and running a bigger turbo and hot tunes. Other wise these numbers were not quite as good

[ksubasser24]

All of the big three manufacturers of 3/4+ ton vehicles are very similar in fuel economy.... It's not like a F250 gets 8 mpg and a Dodge 2500 gets 20 mpg.

Sweating mpg on a 3/4+ ton pickup truck and swapping props, etc to get 1-3 extra mph top end on your boat is like splitting hairs... I just don't get it.

But to each his own I guess....

I'm more concerned about what the bass are doing under the water....

you are correct that they all do about the same. Some just don’t know what to expect and asking those that can provide is beneficial to making an informed decision. I am looking at getting one of the new Titan XD trucks with the 5.0 Cummins. My dad has one and I need something with a 6.5 foot box for pulling my camper. I didn’t want to spend the money on the diesel and have it get worse than my 150 so I have pulled my rig multiple times with his truck to see what it does. It gets about 13 to 14 pulling my rig. The extra mileage offsets the higher price of diesel. The extra cost of the engine is of value as the diesel will pull my camper better. If the mileage was equivalent to the gas when pulling I would save the extra cost of the engine and fuel cost and stick with the gas motor.