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DEF - Usage

Jhurk
Explorer
Explorer
Just on my maiden voyage with my 2014 Ram 3500 Diesel pulling 13,500lb 2009 Cardinal 34'. Pulls like a dream very nice to drive however after 1,000 miles I have gone through 1/2 tank of def, 2.5 gals. Normal,driving I was told I would get 5,000 miles to 5 gals of def. I know pulling under load you use a lot more but I was shocked when I looked at the guage? Is this normal? I'm going to the dealer to inquire and buy so,e more!
Jim Hurkett Chilliwack BC
2014 Dodge Ram 3500 Limited SWA
2009 Cardinal 30 TS
37 REPLIES 37

Searching_Ut
Explorer
Explorer
Your DEF usage while towing seems to be about the same as mine. Loaded my fiver was running a little over 14.6k when I weighed it last year and stands a little shy of 13 feet tall for the main roof, plus AC solar panels etc. Gas mileage towing runs from 9 to 11 mpg per tank depending on wind, terrain etc. I burn around 1 2.5 gallon jug of DEF per thousand towing miles and less than half of that unloaded.

As for the argument about mileage with and without DEF, my 2011 RAM CTD got about 4 mpg less at 80 mph freeway speeds unloaded than the 2015 with the DEF tank does. The 2011 was a standard output engine, the 2015 is the High output which you would expect might get slightly less mileage, but it doesn't work that way. The 2015 definitely gets very noticeably better gas mileage. The downside is that Chrysler doesn't trust you with the gas pedal on the newer engine with the torque management making it sometimes exciting if you're trying to accelerate from a dead stop. The delay in getting into any engine power can be almost dangerous sometimes, but it's probably good for helping to prevent things from breaking when towing.
2015 Ram 3500 Laramie CTD, 4X4, AISIN, B&W Companion Puck Mount
2016 Heartland Bighorn 3270RS, 1kw solar with Trimetric and dual SC2030, 600 watt and 2k inverters.

spoon059
Explorer II
Explorer II
Grit dog wrote:
trail-explorer wrote:
spoon059 wrote:
...Your truck runs cleaner and gets better fuel economy for a minimal expense of adding DEF. Fill it up and enjoy the drive!


Explain how DEF has an impact on fuel economy?


Compared to pre def emissions, trucks burned more fuel doing regens more often.

Yes. We have a camping friend that has a 2012 Ram 2500 with the 6.7. He averages about 15 mpg empty and about 10 towing. I average about 18.5 empty and about 12.5 towing. Not dumping extra fuel into the exhaust system saves fuel, therefore you get better fuel economy.
2015 Ram CTD
2015 Jayco 29QBS

Larry-D
Explorer II
Explorer II
2015 3500 I'm getting a bit over 4,000 miles per 2 1/2 gallons of DEF. So far this has been consistent for about 28,000 miles.

Wild_Card
Explorer
Explorer
The DEF gauge on your truck is like the gauges for holding tanks in your rv. There is no float or linear scale.
2015 Ram 3500 Dually
Sundowner 2286GM Pro-Grade Toyhauler

Jhurk
Explorer
Explorer
I was traveling at 63 mph rpm around 1500. I was shocked when I first looked at def guage and it was at 3/4 wow that was after 400-500 miles. I guess from comments that maybe normal I'll see what dealer says today. As for,the brand of def the dealer says that some cheap brands "Walmart can cause damage. There have been comments on Ram forum that users of Walmart def have caused problems, vehicle shut down tow to dealer and had to have system flushed out? I'll stay with molar for now.
Jim Hurkett Chilliwack BC
2014 Dodge Ram 3500 Limited SWA
2009 Cardinal 30 TS

ktmrfs
Explorer
Explorer
Cummins12V98 wrote:
At 24,661 miles I had used 48.786 gallons of DEF, of those miles about 10K was towing 33K combined. The DEF mpg over those miles was 505.493 mpg.


Interesting. my truck just turned 26K miles, as with you about 10K was towing, but only 18K combined. so far I've used somewhere between 20 and 25 gallons of DEF. about because the first 4 tank fills were on the dealer, and they were refilled with the free oil change. twice I had to add 1 gallon before the oil change, but each case I'm estimating the dealer added about 4 gallons. and I just added 3 gallons this week.
2011 Keystone Outback 295RE
2004 14' bikehauler with full living quarters
2015.5 Denali 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison
2004.5 Silverado 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison passed on to our Son!

Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Explorer III
At 24,661 miles I had used 48.786 gallons of DEF, of those miles about 10K was towing 33K combined. The DEF mpg over those miles was 505.493 mpg.
2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
37,800# GCVWR "Towing Beast"

"HeavyWeight" B&W RVK3600

2016 MobileSuites 39TKSB3 highly "Elited" In the stable

2007.5 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 29,000# Combined SOLD

Bedlam
Moderator
Moderator
I see DEF usage based on my fuel mileage and engine temperature. Hotter engine temps require more DEF to bring down the NOx emissions and burning more fuel produces more NOx which requires more DEF.

I went from a non-DPF diesel to one with DPF and DEF, so cannot comment about the fuel burned during regens in the generation of diesel I skipped. I do not feel a regen in my current truck and can only tell by temporary poorer mileage until the cycle is completed.

Host Mammoth 11.5 on Ram 5500 HD

Wild_Card
Explorer
Explorer
1jeep wrote:
I had an 08 diesel that didn't use DEF, it would inject fuel into the DPF, when that regen would happen your MPG turned into how many gallons per mile!



Your still pumping fuel for a regen. DEF is injected into the SCR which is after the DPF.

The addition of DEF fluid allows less regen and a better regen while controlling NOX out tje tail pipe. Which equals better fuel economy with less regen.
2015 Ram 3500 Dually
Sundowner 2286GM Pro-Grade Toyhauler

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
trail-explorer wrote:
spoon059 wrote:
...Your truck runs cleaner and gets better fuel economy for a minimal expense of adding DEF. Fill it up and enjoy the drive!


Explain how DEF has an impact on fuel economy?


Compared to pre def emissions, trucks burned more fuel doing regens more often.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

LIKE2BUILD
Explorer
Explorer
trail-explorer wrote:
spoon059 wrote:
...Your truck runs cleaner and gets better fuel economy for a minimal expense of adding DEF. Fill it up and enjoy the drive!


Explain how DEF has an impact on fuel economy?

I think what Spoon059 meant was that DEF gives you cleaner emissions than a truck equipped only with a DPF. The massive fuel mileage hits resulting from regen cycles was a real oxymoron; you burn more fuel to create a cleaner tailpipe ?:H

The advent of DEF allows OEM's to tune the engine better while still eliminating pollutants from tailpipe emissions. Yes you burn some urea and have extra equipment and we'll see if it all averages out better (in terms of cost) over time.

KJ
'14 Ram 2500|Crew Cab Long Bed|4X4|Cummins
Curt Q20 with Ram 5th Wheel Prep
2000 Crownline 205BR
1997 Ranger Comanche 461VS
'01 Polaris Virage TX PWC
'94 Polaris SLT750 PWC
3 Wonderful Sons (21, 15, & 13)
1 forgiving wife!!!

LIKE2BUILD
Explorer
Explorer
Jhurk wrote:
Just on my maiden voyage with my 2014 Ram 3500 Diesel pulling 13,500lb 2009 Cardinal 34'. Pulls like a dream very nice to drive however after 1,000 miles I have gone through 1/2 tank of def, 2.5 gals. Normal,driving I was told I would get 5,000 miles to 5 gals of def. I know pulling under load you use a lot more but I was shocked when I looked at the guage? Is this normal? I'm going to the dealer to inquire and buy so,e more!

I just got back from a 2300 mile round trip. The trip out was unloaded and the return was pulling my 14K 5er. When I got home I had just about 1/2 tank of DEF left.

KJ
'14 Ram 2500|Crew Cab Long Bed|4X4|Cummins
Curt Q20 with Ram 5th Wheel Prep
2000 Crownline 205BR
1997 Ranger Comanche 461VS
'01 Polaris Virage TX PWC
'94 Polaris SLT750 PWC
3 Wonderful Sons (21, 15, & 13)
1 forgiving wife!!!

Steve_83406
Explorer
Explorer
Diesel Exhaust Fluid is 32.5% high purity urea (you may recognize the faint scent) and 67.5% deionized water. The cheapest stuff at Walmart for $7.88 per 2.5 gallons is just fine, particularly since it has the American Petroleum Institute (API) stamp right on the front of the container.

Here is a link to a Q&A document on DEF put out by Cummins. It has answers to many of the questions posted in this discussion. Note that it is really written for big rigs, not our pickups.

https://www.cumminsfiltration.com/sites/default/files/MB10033.pdf

Regards
Steve

1jeep
Explorer II
Explorer II
I had an 08 diesel that didn't use DEF, it would inject fuel into the DPF, when that regen would happen your MPG turned into how many gallons per mile!
2016 Ford F350 crew cab dually 6.7 platinum with heavy tow and 4:30 gears
2015 Carbon 327 with a BMW k1600 and Canam 1k inside

trail-explorer
Explorer
Explorer
spoon059 wrote:
...Your truck runs cleaner and gets better fuel economy for a minimal expense of adding DEF. Fill it up and enjoy the drive!


Explain how DEF has an impact on fuel economy?
Bob