Best full size truck -for MPG

helloskyharbour

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2004 Jetta GL auto
In my 2WD 24V 6spd truck, I got about 25 MPG and that is basically considered as good as it gets, at least for a 24V. Talk to 20,000+ people over on turbodieselregister or dieseltruckresource and I don't think you will find people getting 27 and 30 mpg unless you are going 50-55 MPH.
 
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catmandoo

Veteran Member
Joined
May 9, 2005
Location
ia
TDI
2000 jetta gls tdi,91 2dr jetta gl n/a diesel
Wyatt Earp said:
The 12V Cummins powered Dodge truck is the best for mileage but lacks a bit of power if unmodified. We see many of them that can pull 450 RWHP and still get 30 MPG doing it. The 24V Cummins isn't bad but as the years go up so does the power and then does the fuel consumption. I get 27 MPG HWY with my 24V Cummins.

,
But your talking imperial gallons so your actual U.S. gallon mpg would be what 10-15%less??
 

bhtooefr

TDIClub Enthusiast, ToofTek Inventor
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Location
Newark, OH
TDI
None
24v Cummins with a cam swap (there's aftermarket cam swaps for mileage instead of the stock emissions cams), manual transmission, tallest gears available, and some weight reduction.

Alternately, for a motorcycle or two, get a cheap Ford Ranger (1998+ regular cab long bed, preferably), get a 2.8 "Power Stroke" drivetrain from South American, and swap it in. :cool: Or, the 3.0 Power Stroke, but that's common rail stuff (good for economy, bad for ease of swapping), and I think you need a very recent Ranger to do that.
 

Sweeps

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Location
Orillia, Ontario, Canada
TDI
None currently. MK4/5/6 Jetta's in the past.
catmandoo said:
But your talking imperial gallons so your actual U.S. gallon mpg would be what 10-15%less??
Imperial Gallon 4.56 litres
U.S. Gallon 3.785 litres

27 MPG Imperial is equal to 22.4 US MPG.
 

TerribleTDI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 22, 2006
Location
Troutdale, OR
TDI
06 VW Jetta TDi, DSG, PKG 1, North Sea Green
DesertV10 said:
Here's a little different idea- the Dodge Sprinter, really a Mercedes, with a 2.7L, 5 cyl., 154 hp diesel, get 24-28 mpg. It's a van, not a pickup, but comes in both passenger and cargo versions and various wheelbases. There is plenty of room for motorcycles, but not 4WD.
You CAN order the Sprinter with a pickup bed standard cab truck design. Neighbor's got it. No 4wd though:( . Otherwise, i'd have it already.
Toyota plans to bring out the diesel Tundra this Summer though.
 

asauer

Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2007
Location
Decatur, IN
TDI
2000 VW Jetta GLS TDI
I agree- 450RWHP and 30mpg is physically impossible with a 12V cummins, unless that truck has been completely stripped bare and lightened at least 1000lb. and/or had an add-on overdrive unit installed, and even then driven entirely on the highway at 55mph. I have been around MANY diesel trucks- and I don't care what diesel truck it is (duramax, cummins, powerstroke) you simply cannot get that mileage. I will agree though that the cummins is the best candidate for mileage.
Have you ever thought about an older diesel truck if it HAS to be a diesel? You can come across 2nd gen 12V cummins (94-98.5) Dodges for pretty cheap with high mileage- around $6k for 200,000+miles. Also, not many people will agree with me, but I have a 1994 Ford F350 with the old 7.3L (NOT powerstroke) that is factory turbocharged, and I'd highly reccommend something like that. I have the pump maxxed out and modified the wastegate to build 13psi loaded. I beat the truck pretty badly (blow black smoke all the time with it) and still get 15-16mpg. My main reason for suggesting these old 7.3LIDIs is because they are cheap to purchase and CHEAP to fix (even though they are almost as reliable as a cummins). Injectors and injector pumps are about the only wear items- need changed every 125k miles or so, which only costs about $800.
Mine has 310,000 miles on it right now, and I have only changed the water pump and glow plugs on it (I bought it with about 240,000 miles).
 

BoostdJetta

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Location
SE Michigan
TDI
99.5 Jetta TDI 5spd
I don't doubt that at all, you'd have to baby the heck out of it to get that mileage... in imperial gallons of course (guy who said that was from Canada). The 30mpg in US gallons would be virtually impossible to obtain whether modified or not.

The 94 and previous Fords have a good reputation for quality, not so easily spoken for on their newer motors.
 

crazyrunner33

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Location
NC
TDI
'10 Golf(bought back)
Our 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 with the 24 valve plus the Edge Juice and an Aurora 2000 turbo gets about 20-25 mpg depending on how you drive. Recently we tried using the Edge on level 5 "Extreme" we got about 28 mpg at 55 mph acording to the overhead computer but i have a hard time beleving that. This weekend we are going to install some Edge Jammer injectors so hopefully the mileage will not drop.
 

g-wagen

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2006
Location
Ontario
TDI
2014 Touareg Execline
best suggestion, go get a chev half ton with the 5.3 all the power you need and great mileage for a v-8 gasser I have an 06 Duramax LBZ 20 mpg is my average
 

TDIPASSATGUY

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Location
ROSWELL, GA
TDI
2005 GLS Passat Sedan
Wait a bit.... I am sure the V6 diesels are going to be coming out of the woodwork. That will be the best MPG, and more torque than the ocasional hauler would ever need.
 

crazyrunner33

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Location
NC
TDI
'10 Golf(bought back)
Dodge will have v6 and v8 cummins in the ram 1500 and the dakota and durango, they are suppose to get around 25 mpg. I think it will be around 2010 when we see them at the stealerships.
 

robzuk

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
Md
TDI
1999 Golf, 2001 Golf, 1987 Cabrio
I have a 2004.5 Duramx/ Allison transmission combos, I get 19-22 depending upon what I'm hauling and how hard I flog it away from a stop sign. I think at 100k I'll be going to larger injectors, I already have the Suncoast Level 5 in the Allison.
 

Wyatt Earp

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2006
Location
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
TDI
2003 Golf TDI
Thanks for clarifying - yes 30 IMPERIAL Miles per gallon. Don't know what that would be with US MPG but it is less. To think that a 12V dodge doesn't get power and economy - you are mistaken.

It can go to the wall with a heavily modified truck seeing 700 RWHP and still getting 17 to 18 MPG. Now of course you stand on the go pedal and like anything that hopped up the economy is going to suffer.
 

Pat Dolan

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2002
Location
Martensville, SK
TDI
2003 A4 Variant, 2015 Q7
I have a good friend in IN who gets a genuine, documented 26 US mpg from his '00 F250 2WD PowerJoke, and I have the same engine/trans and can't beat 14 dead empty at the same 65 mph. I also have a small fleet of CTD3500s, and we get 17/18 US mpg beating the living crap out of them hauling junk through the mountains. Only a bit of D-Max experience, but from what I have seen, not quite as good as the Cummins.

So, for CURRENT US full-size: Ford could be very good, or it could be very bad...and the likelihood is that the 6.0 or 6.4 will blow up in your face many times. The Chevy engine is fine, the ride is incredible, but a manual gearbox ain't gonna happen. The Chrysler entry has the best power, best reliablity, best mileage, most available choices in cab/wheelbase/powertrain. Kind of a no-brainer.

What you REALLY want is no longer built: a 6.2 4x4, or maybe a 6.5 (better power, no better mileage). For light duty, these are great engines with low/mid 20 US mpg consistantly. Just try finding one.

The compromise would be a 12V with 5 speed 4x4 single cab. Lots of them around and dead cheap.
 
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