towing mileage of trucks

SabreCanuck wrote:

laknox wrote:

SabreCanuck wrote:
There is one thing that is perfectly clear on this topic. It is virtually impossible to compare ACTUAL mileage from one user to the next due to the various methods of calculation....

But, I agree that most will get 8-10 towing and 15-20 not towing. Go pick your favorite color.

What "various methods" are there? Fuel used divided by distance is pretty simple and I can't think of any other way to do it. Works for any measuring system, too. :H

Lyle

Lyle - You can argue that the calculation is simple, yes but getting the actual NUMBERS is where the various methods come in.

FUEL USED - Dash reading? Imperial or US gallon? Amount at fuel pump? If so, was tank completely topped off on first tank and not topped off on second tank or vice/versa?

DISTANCE - Dash? Odometer? HubOdometer? GPS? Rand McNally? Google Maps? PC*Miler? Any variation of the thousand "miles travelled" software will give you different readings, sometimes different between versions of the same software. Did the user arbitrarily add/subtract 4% due to tire size. Did they take into consideration tire wear as well then? What was the % added to, the dash Odometer which is off compared to GPS to begin with?

My comment was that all comparisons are never measured THE SAME
and therefore impossible to compare without knowing the EXACT way of measure for every single comment. It is a broad statement.

There's one major issue with this on modern vehicles. Fuel temp changes the volume dramatically. You would have to measure the temperature entering the engine and the temperature of the fuel as it returns to the tank plus the temperature at the start of your trip and the final temperature in the tank upon completion to really be accurate. The temperature in my tank will sometimes reach 135*.