Fuel Mileage - Montana Owners Club

dannyl · 08-17-2005, 09:37 AM

With fuel prices going up, up, & up I was wondering what kind of mileage people are getting from their rigs? I am driving a Dodge 3500 Cummings duelly and get 17 empty and 13 towing. I have a friend with a 2004 Dodge that gets 15-16 towing horse trailers.
Come on RV'ers let us know how you are handling the increased fuel prices. Are you using "chips" etc to increase your mileage?

Charlie · 08-17-2005, 10:21 AM

Danny
Milage will vary with different rigs and TV setups, driving habits, and road conditions. My truck in particular has 3.73 rear gear, lots of folks are running 4.10's and they do have better power to tow with. I added a chip long before the fuel crisis came along for additional power, but it did help fuel milage. Solo on freeways I have got as much as 21, running city traffic usually about 17-19. Towing it has been a much as 14, but normal is 10-12.

From the very first tank and every tank of diesel that I put into this truck I set up a program on the computer in Microsoft Excel to calculate and track its performance. Overall average for 81,500 miles is 14.867 MPG, with 44,300 miles solo at 17.960 MPG and 37,200 towing at 12.303 MPG. Some of the towing miles included are with my boat which is lighter than the RV so the overall average is a little better than 10-12 indicated above. Cost per mile for fuel has been .0998 (cents) per mile.

Montana Sky · 08-17-2005, 01:08 PM

With my truck I average 20-22 highway (empty), city is 16-18mpg (empty). Towing my 3400RL I run an average of 13-14mpg. My Chevy is 100% stock except for the EGT, Turbo boost gauges, and the custom flow tailgate I run in the summer months. The way I found to handle the rising fuel costs is I needed to loose 20lbs, so I stopped eating and now use my food budget to help the fuel budget. =) Works for me.

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-17-2005, 02:44 PM

Haven't had the new GMC long enough to check the mileage while towing or empty hiway driving but I'm getting just a tad under 20MPG just driving around town. This engine ain't got a thousand miles on it yet. Can't imagine what milesge I'll be getting once it is broke in. The 03 had 70,000 miles and I was around 22 around town and 13/14 with the Monty. Next week we will be doing some hiway driving with the trailer. I am anxious to see what the GMC will do than.

BTW-Found diesel for 2.39 on the reservation below Hamburg, NY.

gitrdun · 08-17-2005, 04:04 PM

I have a 2005 Chevy 2500HD Duramax/Allison, 4inch turbo back exhaust,Hypertech tuner,auto meter pyrometer and boost gauges and 265/75/16 tires pull a 2980RL and average 14.2.

Parrothead · 08-17-2005, 04:34 PM

Montana Sky
LOL I love your logic.
Happy trails................

Bill Hill · 08-17-2005, 05:01 PM

gitrdun,
how well does that cat-back exhaust do in lowering you EGTs? Larger exhaust is on my wish list.

Montana_1953 · 08-18-2005, 08:03 AM

7mpg with my setup

Montana_2005 · 08-21-2005, 04:11 PM

19 mpg empty 12-13 "full"... so far... but that was just a best guess too.... I had to practically wrestle Kevin to the ground to get him to check the mileage with the monty on.

Merv · 08-22-2005, 10:27 AM

get around 12 mpg with this setup
empty or loaded, doesnt matter.

Merv

Fordzilla · 08-22-2005, 10:35 AM

I get 17-18(empty) and 11-12 pulling my previous trailer. Haven't towed far enough to really get an educated guess with the new Monty yet. I have thought about a 4" exhaust, but living up here in the snow belt they recommend I go with a stainless steel one that is $,$$$. Will have to see if it will pay back itself over the life of the truck or not.

Bowie · 08-22-2005, 11:02 AM

Average 17-19 without Monty. Generally 11-13 with her. Obviously depends on if we're flatlanding or in the mountains, city or hiway. Best mpg was coming out of the Rockies--boosted us up to 24 mpg

richfaa · 08-22-2005, 11:16 AM

MERV..I'm not sure you have enough truck to pull that camper..nice picture tho....

Merv · 08-22-2005, 11:28 AM

Richfaa,

I was towing with a 96'Dodge 2500 V10. It was starting to get tired and needed a rest. Besides, it only got 6 to 8 mpg.
So I went pricing 3500 duallys. Toooo Much money!
So I still got a diesel, its just a tad larger. Wheel base was 6" shorter than my 2500 though.
And its fun to drive !!!!
But maybe you are right, I should have gotten more truck.

sreigle · 08-22-2005, 03:08 PM

Our Ford hit the "magic" 30,000 mile mark recently. Our four previous Ford trucks, both gas and diesel, seemed to reach peak mileage right about that point. This one seems to have made a similar jump in mileage although I need a few more than 30,900 to know for sure. Yesterday we did a 170 mile round-trip highway trip. Going, we got 24.5 mpg. Coming home we got 18.6. That makes an overall of 21.55 mpg. There was an altitude shift on the trip that accounted for the better mileage going than coming. Also we were in rolling foothills for much of the trip and a fair amount of flat land for the remainder. Reaching the peak mpg right about now is very welcome.

richfaa · 08-22-2005, 03:21 PM

MERV ..I drive a truck like yours, a few years newer and it has 38 foot of school bus attached to it, weighs in at @ 26,000LBs and it is governered at 65..If not it would do 90 or so.You just might be able to pull a few more LBS..... Do you think????

DCP · 08-23-2005, 04:21 AM

With my 2005 F250 Ford and a 3:73 rear end, I am getting about 11.5 MPG. This is a 6.0 liter diesel and loaded down.

padredw · 08-23-2005, 04:47 AM

Back to Steve and off topic but I'll be brief. Steve, I'm hoping you and/or Vicki will tell us more about your journeys in the Red Rock/Yellowstone area. Waiting, Padredw

Merv · 08-23-2005, 04:48 AM

Richfaa,
The only difference between my rig and your school bus, is all of the kids making all that racket.

richfaa · 08-23-2005, 06:09 AM

I drive for a private school. lake Ridge Academy. Here in my home town.No noisy kids,all ladies and gentlemen.But the international is awesome, I really like the air ride seat.When we were looking for a new Tv we did look around for something like you have but could not find one that was suitable.

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