What is your MPG with Diesel truck and 5th Whl - Montana Owners Club

John Young · 07-02-2008, 04:54 PM

We have a TT now, and I can do 12.5 mpg with our Dodge..

But, looking at the big ol 5th wheel...

wondering how much that might change our mpg..

Driftwoodgal · 07-02-2008, 05:17 PM

We average about 10MPG or a little more pulling our 3400RL with our 2500HD Diesel Duramax Chevy LB truck. We have just traveled over 4,000 miles and depending on the if we were in mountains or the plains it would change a little. We did notice better mileage when we weren't in head winds. Bob normally travels at a speed of 60-62 MPH. We let the Allison transmission do the braking and the climbing for us as he has it on the tow mode.

Colleen

Parrothead · 07-02-2008, 05:22 PM

We are pretty much like Colleen except we have the 3500 GMC Dually. We get 12 MPG unless in a strong headwind or climbing mountains. Ed drives a little slower (55-60) and that may be the difference in the MPG. He has been doing some experimenting with MPG solo and speed. When he only goes 55 on flat, we get 22-23 MPG. If he speeds up, the MPG goes down.
Happy trails.............................

dsprik · 07-02-2008, 05:49 PM

2002 2500HD D/A, Ext Cab, Long Bed, 4×4 w/ 162K miles: 11 mpg towing the 3400 and 18 mpg w/o towing

robb · 07-02-2008, 06:46 PM

We use a Volvo 610 "pickup" 425 HP to pull our 3400RL, get 10/10 1/2 at 65/70 MPH

clutch · 07-02-2008, 07:53 PM

We get as low as 10 and as high as 12 towing our 5er and a second trailer with two quads. With our pull behind tt we would usually get around 13. Just the truck alone 19 is normal.

richfaa · 07-03-2008, 01:30 AM

We have one of those shinny new 08 6.4L Fords and I don't even want to talk about it.

H. John Kohl · 07-03-2008, 02:14 AM

I get between 10 and 12 MPG. I find if I drive at 55 to 60 mph I do better. You will find the air/wind resistance on the 5th is a lot more because of the nose sticking up so much higher than your TT. For that reason staying closer to 55 will help fuel mileage.
Best of luck.
Cheers,

jimcar827 · 07-03-2008, 03:01 AM

I average 13 plus on my chipped '03 7.3 Ford F-250 pulling our '06 Mountaineer 329RLS. I notice with the chip I can stay in overdrive longer on hills. If I plan ahead on the big hills (speed up a tad)it doesn't downshift.
Jim

Delaine and Lindy · 07-03-2008, 03:16 AM

We just returned from a short trip mostly hills and no interstate. We have a 2008 Chevy 3500 DRW's and got 11.5 mpg going out and 10 on the return trip. The pulling weight was 22,600 total. I do tow at 60 mph as stated above if I run faster it goes down. Keep in mind the my 2008 is equiped with a DPF that waste about 2 gals on each tank. You can really save on fuel if you reduce your speed and be easy on the right foot. I don't run any gadgets on my Trucks, I think they aren't worth the cost, and really believe that if they did increase fuel miles as much as some say GM would put them on their Trucks, however my Truck doesn't need anymore HP or Tork. I agree with robb on the Volve, when I was driving a Big Truck (Class 8 ) Detroit 60 series it always got 7 to 9 mpg pull a gross weight of 80,000 at 72 mph. I think you will enjoy the 5th wheel much more than the tag alone. Good Luck with your choice. GBY....

bncinwv · 07-03-2008, 03:46 AM

With our 2007 Silverado Classic D/A 4wd pulling our 3400RL at an average speed of 65-67 mph, I have no clue what MPG we are getting. When I am driving the truck by itself without as Rich calls it the anchor behind it, I have no clue what MPG we are getting. Well, that didn't help much did it?? Sorry folks.
Bingo

Fire5er · 07-03-2008, 05:05 AM

We get 10 MPG towing our 07 3400RL, which has a weight of 12831LBS, with our 06 F-350 4x4 SRW LB weight of 8090LBS with just over 25000 miles on it going 60 - 65 mph.

blarkman · 07-03-2008, 05:14 AM

WE get around 12-13mpg on long pulls, like 1200 miles or more on our 2004 dodge diesel,srw,qc and driving at 1700rpm or 62mph pulling our 3000rk
bob

blarkman · 07-03-2008, 05:15 AM

forgot one thing I now have 70,000 on our 04 rig

Exnavydiver · 07-03-2008, 05:45 AM

We get 14 on the flatlands and 12 in the hill country... Dave and Betsy

mgdg · 07-03-2008, 06:54 AM

When I first got the new Dodge in Jan. I got 11.3 mpg pulling to Fla. Next trip to Fla. I got 12.5 mpg. The next trip to West Branch area to go canoeing I was hitting 14.6 mpg until it regenerated and ended up 13.7 mpg and the same on the way home. Its getting better all the time. On a trip not pulling about 100 miles on the highway here I got 22.5 mpg on the computer. I must say I`ve been very happy with both Cummins engines I`ve owned.

richfaa · 07-03-2008, 07:48 AM

Maybe I should not be complaining so much about the 08 Ford 6.4L. We are doing as well as most of you pulling this 3400 anchor. At the end the day we do 10MPG on a regular basis, sometimes a bit more... we did 11.3 on PA interstate 80 for over 100 miles. Here around Altoona and State College ,PA with some pretty good pulls we read 10 MPG right now. Solo we do not do as well. The best we have seen is 17.3 normally around 15 or so. There are way more folks here who tell it like it is here..than on some other forums..

tjuhl · 07-03-2008, 09:10 AM

Got 12.4mpg on last 4400 mile trip pulling 3000RK at 62mph with '06 Dodge. That's actual, lousy computer showed 15mpg, don't trust those computers. But with no trailer the most I get is 15-16 around town. You said you have TT now, I had 7000# TT trailer before 11600# Monty and only got 11.4mpg with same truck. Another thread some time ago showed several people getting better mileage going from TT to fiver.

JimF · 07-03-2008, 09:41 AM

We had a 30' Terry TT (weight 7340) and got 9.8 to 10.2 behind the 01 Dodge 2500, traded up to the 3400RL, (13900 on Cat) and our mileage is normally 12.4 unless we are in the hills. In the hill country it drops to 9.6 at worst. Non-towing is about 20 town/highway combination. That milage is calculated over the last 14,000 miles.

Dean A Van Peursem · 07-03-2008, 02:40 PM

Over a trip of 1600 miles from the Seattle area to the Phoenix area we average around 12 MPG. Have had as high as 14.8 through the San Joaquin Valley in CA but we had a tail wind and averaged as low as under 11 into a head wind. We are pulling a fully loaded late 2006 3400RL with a 2003 Ford F250 7.3L Diesel SRW with a 3.73 ratio rear end. I try to stay under 60 but sometimes catch myself at 65 or even more. There are really only two major mountain passes between Seattle and Phoenix and those are the Siskiyou mountains which really are several passes over a distance of 50 to 75 miles and then of course the Grape Vine North of LA. It is just a long steep grind for 20 to 30 miles or so with a few minor humps in between. I suspect we are running at well over 22,000 lbs GCVW but I have never regretted having a 3.73 Ratio in the rear end for two reasons: 1.) I may climb the passes slightly slower than others but what the heck is the big hurry anyway? 2.) Over 90% of the time I'm running empty and if I stay at 60 or under on a fairly long stretch, many times I can get over 20 MPG. The 7.3 L Diesel in the truck has been totally reliable as has been the overall truck. This was the year I was going to trade it off for a new one since my 5 year drive train warranty just expired about today. But when comparing mileage on the new ones and the significant additional cost I have decided to stay with what we have and am very comfortable with that. New isn't always better. PS: But the way things have been going on our LATE 2003 3400RL Montana of late, the truck or engine or both will probably completely fall apart on our next trip! :-)

You may also like: