Diesel Truck MPG

Camper 2012 wrote:
Do you guys know what would be the best MPG Diesel Truck to pull my 2012 26 Foot Fifth Wheel (7,580 lbs). Thanks for your help.

2x4 Dodge 94-2002 with manual transmission. 94-98 will be 12V and 98.5 to 2002 will be 24V. Late one with 6 speed would be the best.

Chris

Don't know what the best one would be, but my 2012 GMC just did a little over 3,800 miles pulling our Jayco HT 26.5 RLS from Wyoming to Idaho, Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia, Palm Desert, California, Zion, through Salt Lake and back to Wyoming and got 12.2 MPG hand calculated. Console showed 12.6 so it wasn't that far off.

Just returned from almost 8 months on the road and got11.5 mpg while towing and 14-16 when not. Hope this helps.

If you are worried about MPG, you need to reconsider having an RV. Need to concentrate on more important things like towing capacity, stability, comfort on the road as you are going to be spending a lot of time in it. You also need to consider the type of terrain you are going to hauling over. Missouri is very hilly, so you are gonna want something that will hold speed going uphill and bleed off speed on downhill to save wear and tear on the brakes.

Is your weight based on owners manual documentation or on a scale? Is it empty weight or fully loaded for camping weight? Lots of variables here.

Bottom line most diesels get between 8.5 to 14 mpg towing a load. Depending on the above variables.

Our 2008 Chevy Silverado with 6.6 Diesel pulling 14.5k lb. Heartland five'er gets 11-12 MPG, 18-20 when not.

I get 9-10 towing and 16-18 when not. Higher side of ratings when not using the speed control.

All of the big three manufacturers get about the same mileage with current model HD trucks. Somewhere around 10-12.5 mpg depending on headwinds and road grade. That's assuming you are driving 60-65 mph. Tires can make some difference, I see about a 1 mpg difference when I switched tires (for the worse)

Bombfixer wrote:
If you are worried about MPG, you need to reconsider having an RV. ...snip

We can all post what we get towing..but, Bombfixer makes a good point. Forget about mileage and RV'ing. When buying a truck, think PAYLOAD, towing capacity, and most important...what color.

He asked best!!! I gave the best answer so far. The trucks I identified will get 14-15 towing his trailer maybe even a little higher and 24-25 empty on the highway. Chris

06 duramax 2500 or 2002-2006 cummins

our 2002 / 2500 cummins 5.9 auto loader turned in an average over 157,000 miles at 19 MPG. we towed many miles at 14k equipment trailer, a 25' big foot TT, and used it as a run around daily driver.