new 2024

Well, I now know what to expect mileage wise. Dragged the TT to Ohio to see the eclipse, had a lovely time, thank you. Saw friends and family and the eclipse with friends and family.

So the worst fuel mileage I ever got with the diesels was 9 mpg dragging the TT through Oklahoma into a 50 mph headwind (brutal, I recommend hunkering down somewhere for days like that, but I digress). That was with the 2.8 liter Jeep 4 cyl. Best was 17+ with the 3.0 liter 6 cyl BMW, both of which averaged around 14 most of the time.

The trip over the West Virginia mountains in the teeth of an ugly, windy, rainy, snow-flurried storm with this 2.7 liter gasser got me 6.5. On the trip back in nicer weather, it looks like an average of about 11 was achieved. This is in line with what I predicted when I bought the truck.

It's performance in the teeth of that storm was great. In tow-haul mode, the engine seemed to want to run around torque peak at 3,000 rpm, as the storm and mountains made it work pretty hard. On the way back, good weather and all, it tried to stay between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm, compared to the normal 1500 rpm unloaded cruising at 70 mph.

Switching between gas and diesel, going either way, there are a lot of things to consider. Folks buying a truck would be wise to dive deeply into the matter before choosing. The simple truth is that once size does not fit all. There are circumstances and uses for which one will be a better choice than the other, YMMV.

Am I happy with this truck, yes, I am, so far. I've only put about 5,000 miles on it, and it has done what I wanted it to do with no fuss. Ask me again in about 100,000 more miles for a more complete picture. In 60 years of driving, I've had many gassers and now 3 diesels, one of which proved to be the least reliable ride ever, another the most reliable ride (Jeep the former, BMW the latter). Whatever you choose, may it prove to be your most satisfying ride.