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Diesel and mileage
Hi all,
I joined the group after much frustration with the help from Keystone for our 34’ Mountaineer. Just my two cents here on diesel. We had a 35’ Avion in ‘91 and I briefly pulled it with a Dodge Power Wagon (gas) giving 6 MPG. Promptly bought a 91 Cummins and got about 11. Wow, nearly doubled my mileage. In 98 I bought a 98.5 24 valve cummins and gained a couple more mpg. Then I chipped it with a Edge performance chip and gained another mpg and highway mileage improved from 17 to 21. When I bought the first diesel, you’re right, diesel was about .50 a gal cheaper here In Oregon. We bought the Mountaineer new in 05 and it is 3 thousand pounds lighter than the Avion. I now have a programable chip in the Dodge with 5 levels. I typically run it at the second level until a steep grade and bump it to three till the crest then back down to 2. I don’t have the recommended gauges for tranny temp and pyrometer so I don’t go above 3. With the new chip system I can upgrade on the fly and pull the grades at 55 plus. Doesn’t seem to affect fuel mileage. I just turned 300K and did have to rebuild the factory tranny at 185K. I had them do the heavy duty rebuild. Don’t think I would replace my rig with anything newer than a 07 cummins. Too many epa regs on the newer diesels. Thanks for the great conversation and tips on problem solving.
Doug and Barbara Kindred
In the Beautiful Willamette Valley, Oregon
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