Tow Rig Delimma ( Resolved )

pholmann · Jan 25, 2015

mckeddie said:
.

Says 16- 20 on the milage gauge. If I figure it by hand, it gets 11-12. Same as my old srw f350 got. Old was a 99, the dually is a 2000. Under 60 it gets better. Over 60, the milage falls off a cliff.

Ya you can't trust the lie-o-meter console. I do mine the old fashioned way. I watch my tach more than anything. I've noticed the cliff is about 2100 rpm. 2200 it drops to gallons per mile. Mine has 35's so I'm about 5mph off. At 65 mph on the speedo I'm actually at 70. That's my best fuel mileage range. Like i said empty at that range I'm about 19

offroadohio · Jan 26, 2015

Re:

My 6.turd ford gets 13-14 no matter what I'm doing. I can get better if I stay under 2000 rpm but at 70 mph I can't stay that low on stock tires.

sent on tapatalk

BroncoMike95 · Jan 26, 2015

TacomaJD said:
I'm curious to know what happened with your transmission. It's not very common for a 4L80E to go out with only 48k miles.

It was mine that the trans went out. The guy that did the work said he thought the trans cooler got clogged up. He said there was metal and clucth material in the pan!

It started shifting hard after he was driven a few miles. I drove it twice after it started the shifting problem. The day I took it to the shop it wasn't shifting right at all.

I even call Chevrolet to see if they would help out any! NO! But said they would be willing to help out on a new one! I told him to pound sand!!!

Everything I've read says the 4L80E are great transmissions. I've been wanting a diesel but we can't afford two big car payments so I was waiting on the wife's highlander to be paid off. The only time I drive it is to pull the camper or haul something or if it's been sitting a few days I'll drive it to work or pick up my son at school.

Looks like with the new trans 3yr/100,000 mile warranty I'll be keeping it a while!

pholmann · Jan 27, 2015

Anything is subject to premature failure.

drkelly · Jan 27, 2015

Re:

TacomaJD said:
What about the heater in diesels? One of my best friends has an 06 dmax LLY and always complains about the length of time it takes for the heater to get hot. When it's really cold, he drives his old beater 98 z71 to work so he has good heat.

I always start my vehicle up 5-15 minutes before I leave the house depending on how cold it is outside.

jp fan · Jan 27, 2015

My 06 Dmax pulling to Harlan back in NOV. it has a small tuner on it with a 4400 pound jeep and a trailer that is 3300 lbs

1tfrot · Jan 27, 2015

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drkelly said:
I always start my vehicle up 5-15 minutes before I leave the house depending on how cold it is outside.

this. when it's cold here (like below zero) I'll let it idle for 15mins or so before I drive it. that way it's starting to make a little heat when I hit the road

pennsylvaniaboy · Jan 31, 2015

pholmann said:
You get 11 mpg with a 7.3 6 speed. Something damn sure isn't right with that man. Mine gets 18-20 empty. 15 loaded (16ft trailer with crawler)and 13 loaded heavy as **** (24ft gooseneck with skid steer or tractor). Have you checked the usual fail points? Exhaust back pressure tube, air filter, etc

With 35's no less.....Where is the BS flag character when you need it. You sure you dont have a cummins in there? They seem to get 20mpg+ when towing 20k.

TO the OP, heck yeh. 8.1 is a beast. I would own that if I didnt have my excursion. I had a diesel and went gas....no regrets. Diesel is $0.70 more a gallon, plus fuel additives to make up for the crap fuel, $$$ oil changes, not to mention plugging-in during winter etc. The only thing I miss about my diesel is the turbo sound.

pholmann · Jan 31, 2015

pennsylvaniaboy said:
With 35's no less.....Where is the BS flag character when you need it. You sure you dont have a cummins in there? They seem to get 20mpg+ when towing 20k.

TO the OP, heck yeh. 8.1 is a beast. I would own that if I didnt have my excursion. I had a diesel and went gas....no regrets. Diesel is $0.70 more a gallon, plus fuel additives to make up for the crap fuel, $$$ oil changes, not to mention plugging-in during winter etc. The only thing I miss about my diesel is the turbo sound.

Can you read? 18-20 EMPTY. Not towing 20k. The taller tires do help with it empty. It raised the gearing enough to where on the highway it's better than it was. Around town didn't suffer any but also didn't get better. It used to get better loaded with stock tires. That did suffer with the larger tires. Note 13 mpg loaded heavy.

mckeddie · Jan 31, 2015

Mine gets that if I keep it below 60, but like he said, above 2200 rpm's it falls off a cliff. I drive at 75-80 most times so mine gets the terrible milage I stated. I've pulled my trailer on 2 lanes up to Michigan a few times and it's got 16 pulling. My tailer is a 24' enclosed with living quarters and the buggy in it. The trailer is 4600 lbs empty. It's just not realistic to drive 60 mph for me 99% of the time. I've thought of going to a higher gear or leveler kit and 35's. I'm just too cheap to drop that much money on 6 tires.

pholmann · Jan 31, 2015

Obviously newb who called bullshit is a dodge fan. Why call bullshit? What do I have to gain by lying? I mean really. Cmon. It's pretty common for 7.3 6 speeds to get good fuel mileage. Especially during daily driving.

onepieceatatime · Jan 31, 2015

Re: Re: Re: Tow Rig Delimma ( Resolved )

pholmann said:
Obviously newb who called bullshit is a dodge fan. Why call bullshit? What do I have to gain by lying? I mean really. Cmon. It's pretty common for 7.3 6 speeds to get good fuel mileage. Especially during daily driving.

I heard once that the 2 biggest lies men tell are about ***** and fuel mileage. I worked with a guy that had a 7.3 with 300k and it religiously got 20mpg empty so I believe ya.

MoparMan · Jan 31, 2015

Since we're talking fuel mileage. My 01 Dodge 2wd dually Cummins 6 spd gets 21-22 empty, 15-16 pulling empty 53 ft car hauler that weighs around 8-9k lbs. Pulling the same trailer loaded with 3 cars, trucks or suvs usually grossing around 26-30k lbs gets around 10-11. Btw the overhead mileage display usuall says around 19.

Buddy of mine pulled my trailer loaded with his 8.1 dually and used 3/4 tank of gas from exit 22 on I-65 in TN to Falkville, AL. Think it was getting around 4mpg and the allison got hot pulling the hill coming into AL, we had to stop at the rest area and let it cool down.

pholmann · Jan 31, 2015

Ya you can't trust the overhead lie-o-meter

MoparMan · Jan 31, 2015

pholmann said:
Ya you can't trust the overhead lie-o-meter

Exactly, I know alot of people who think it's right. They're not too bright obviously.

onepieceatatime · Jan 31, 2015

Re: Re: Re: Tow Rig Delimma ( Resolved )

MoparMan said:
Since we're talking fuel mileage. My 01 Dodge 2wd dually Cummins 6 spd gets 21-22 empty, 15-16 pulling empty 53 ft car hauler that weighs around 8-9k lbs. Pulling the same trailer loaded with 3 cars, trucks or suvs usually grossing around 26-30k lbs gets around 10-11. Btw the overhead mileage display usuall says around 19.

Buddy of mine pulled my trailer loaded with his 8.1 dually and used 3/4 tank of gas from exit 22 on I-65 in TN to Falkville, AL. Think it was getting around 4mpg and the allison got hot pulling the hill coming into AL, we had to stop at the rest area and let it cool down.

8.1s are pretty bad ass for trucks but if I was pulling that big of a trailer I would get a diesel and put up with all their bullshit.

onepieceatatime · Jan 31, 2015

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First couple times I filled my truck I got 11-12 mpg because I drive like an old man. Had a half a tank last night and hauled 7 of us to the Shooter Jennings concert last night and my girlfriend drove us all home and she was constantly being taunted by everyone to see what the big block could do and I got 9.5mpg. My friends were egging her on and I was drunk and told her that if I couldn't see the gas gauge move that she wasn't doing it right.