Moving up 1/2 to 3/4 ton

[BayouBoys]

After month's of contemplating and research I finally pulled the trigger on a 3/4 ton gas. I am upgrading from a 2011 F150 to a 2015 F250. One BIG question is, what can i expect in gas mileage on the F250 not towing and towing?

My daily driving is a mixture of city/highway i get about 16-18 now without the camper and 8-10 while towing.

For those of you with an F250 6.2l V8 what are you guys getting on these trucks?

Thanks.

[BayouBoys]

I will be pulling a 2014 Passport ~6400lbs dry ~8000lbs GVWR. We are a family of 6 and running out of payload on F150 as the kids grow faster than weeds. Not to mention nearly 36' long. The F250 was a no brainer.

From what I'm getting from you guys I'm looking at about 10-15 empty and 8-10 while towing on flat land.

Thanks for the information.

[TomG2]

Somebody is playing with the "Instant readout" and the readers. Haven't we all backed off the throttle and got 50 mpg or more with our gas guzzlers? I have.

[2oldman]

Houston Remodeler wrote:
The odd thing ; if I slow down to 65 the mpg drops

Incredible...literally.

[IdaD]

Is Lake Charles downhill both ways?

[Houston_Remodel]

The odd thing ; if I slow down to 65 the mpg drops

[2oldman]

Houston Remodeler wrote:
The mpg averages 24-28 in US gallons unless there is strong wind.

With a strong tail wind you'd probably get 30mph. Amazing truck - one for the record books.

[Houston_Remodel]

Remember it very flat round these parts. The highway numbers are very constant on the trip from Houston to Lake Charles 170 miles away. The speed limit varies from 65 to 75, so I keep the cruise control on 70. The mpg averages 24-28 in US gallons unless there is strong wind. We've made this trip many many times.

City driving includes some highway here as we have lots of them The widest highway in the world is in Houston.

Yes I do make a game out of getting the mpg as high as possible. The fuel economy display has greatly changed my driving habits for the better which is not a bad thing.

[Ryan_Elli1]

How in the world are you guys getting 18-22 MPG HWY? I need some of that! Like I said the best is 15.5 and that was hwy. I even have 3.73 so it's not a gearing thing.

[IdaD]

Houston Remodeler wrote:
It took a bit of a leap for me to buy a diesel. When not towing the RV, the pickup is my daily work truck. Most days we pull a small trailer of some sort. When not towing the new truck gets 24-28 mpg highway at 70 mph. City driving is 16-18. Towing the RV is 12-14, but not all RVs are the same weight or wind resistance.

Just thought I'd throw that out there....

My experience so far is 16.5-17 city (suburban more than urban) and 21-22 highway/freeway mix. Highway alone may beat that a bit but I doubt I'd see more than a marginal improvement. I haven't had it long enough to figure towing mileage yet. I think your numbers are not too realistic for most people. Maybe if you're super frugal and always driving in ideal circumstances? They just seem high.

I debated gas too but to me the diesel was more cost efficient and frankly just better suited to a heavy truck IMHO. Heavy gas in town I would expect maybe 12 with about 18 highway under good circumstances. That was just a little too low for what I wanted.

[jalichty]

Towing our Jayco HT 26.5 RLS and our 19' Crestliner, we get around 12 mpg and just got back from about a 350 mile round trip with just our boat and got about 14 mpg. Last spring we took a 3,800 mile trip, about 3,500 towing the FW and averaged 11.9 mpg for the whole trip, to Idaho, Nevada, California and back up through Utah to Wyoming. When driving 70 unloaded we have gotten anywhere from 17-19 mpg on the highway. Now, this pales in comparison to our hybrid which gets 35-40 consistently driving 70 and 35 consistently when driving on the interstates at 75-80. Our DA combo crew-cab weighs around 8,000 pounds fully fueled and ready to go. The D/A combo gets about 40% better mileage in town and about 50% better mileage towing than did our old 454 Vortex back in 2002 before we sold it to get out first diesel, we're now on our third after the middle one, a 2011 Dodge 2500 with a six-speed manual turned out not to be the bet choice for us, after nine months of ownership, for various reasons.

Having said all that, I would hazard a guess that your towing mileage will be less than 10 but unloaded you will get closer to 18-19 on the highway and 12-14 in town.

[Ryan_Elli1]

I havery 6500 miles on my truck now. I have not reset the master fuel gauge and it's at 13.9 I have only pulled our FW about 200 miles but have pulled the horse trailer about 500. When pulling the FW I got 9 and with the horse trailer I get 10.5. I have not been able to get over 15.5 on hwy. Seems pretty comfortable getting 13.5-14. Good luck, enjoy the new truck.

[tbred]

Greene728 wrote:
I just returned this afternoon from a week in Florida to Saint George Island state park. I reset my trip meter when I pulled out of the barn with the rig. 2012 F-250 CC 4x4 with the 6.2 and 3.73 rear. Total miles traveled were 792 (635mi towing, remainder was running around for a week). I averaged 8.8 to 9.6 towing and 10.0 overall. I pull a 32ft fifth wheel that weighs in at around 10k loaded. I'm honestly not happy with the mileage. The truck pulls just fine, but I was kind a hoping for a little better. But after lots of research and reading my results seem very on par for my configuration and camper weigh. I'd be a lie if I didn't say I was sorta disappointed with my results. I also don't average but about 12.8 as my DD in mixed driving.

Those numbers seem pretty darn good to me. We just returned from an 1800 mile round trip to Maryland. Same truck as yours and averaged 8 mpg overall. Lowest reading was 7.2 through the hills in Pa. and highest was 8.9 through the flatlands. Towing 8500 lb. tt. Truck is also Dh's dd and he averages about 11 on his 4 mile stop and go jaunt to work.

[YnotTurbo]

When towing,,, fuel mileage is probably not good for any vehicle. There are so many factors that go into calculating it... Grades, wind resistance, gearing etc. The only thing I am concerned about is how well my truck pulls the rv. In fact, I went ahead and installed a 60 gallon fuel tank so I do not worry about having to refill while on the road...

[funpilot]

There is another approach to this problem that might be less expensive. You did not mention what kind of trailer you are pulling but perhaps getting a lighter one (like LivinLite) or a lighter and lower lower one (like Trailmanor) might be a better option. That way you keep your existing truck. For what its worth, I have a 3124 Trailmanor (opens up to 31 feet long) and I pull it with a 2005 Avalanche 1500 with a 3.42 rear axle and I get around 16 mpg. With gas prices going back up MPG for all of us will become a sensitive issue.

Grrr: Just re-read your OP and saw that you already bought the new truck....

[womps]

kaydeejay wrote:

Houston Remodeler wrote:
It took a bit of a leap for me to buy a diesel. ........When not towing the new truck gets 24-28 mpg highway at 70 mph..

Really??? Not a lot of point folks buying the RAM 1500 3.0L diesel then if the 3/4 ton gets that mileage.
Sure you're not talking Canadian (Imperial) gallons??
Sorry, not buying it!:R

I don't even buy it if he's talking Canadian (Imperial) gallons!!