Ok guys im looking at buying my first diesel and i have some questions I dont know wether to get a chevy or ford. Ive been doing a lot of reading and i think the fords fuel mileage is going to suck. Ill be towing a 7x16 enclosed trailer with 3 atvs inside of it so the overall tow weight will be right around 5K. I guess is what im really wanting to know is what kind of fuel mileage you all get with your duramax, for daily driving, and what you get in tow, Im looking at a CC 4x4 2500

Thanks,
John

I have a dually so I can't answer your question but if you get the duramax you won't be dissappionted.

I have a dually so I can't answer your question but if you get the duramax you won't be dissappionted.
what kind of fuel mileage do you get ? just curious

Before I had my power adders I got 16 on the freeway no load, and towing I get in the neighborhood of 10-12 i'm not sure. Daily driving if I keep my foot out of it I can get 14. Don't go by my numbers though because the guys with smaller truck say they get alot better.

I have the 2500HD crew cab, short box and get 20-21 mpg on the highway empty (if I run at 65-70), 16-18 mpg mixed driving and 10-12 mpg towing our 11K high-profile fifth wheel.

i haven't towed any thing with my dually yet but on the highway i get 18 and 15.5 to 16 every day driving to school and back.

18 to 21 at 75mph on the highway empty, 11 to 13 at 75 on the highway with 3 horse trailer loaded and 15 around town empty with a meduim foot.

fuel economy is always a hot debate and varies from day to day. In essence I can say with a wide range you'll get anywhere from 15-22 highway with a SRW setup and 10-14 towing. They're are way too many variables but all the baselines I've seen fall within these ranges. I've seen as high as 21.31 and as low as 16(I don't do much towing)lifetime average is 18.7. Than again the newer LLY's seem to get slightly worse than my LB7 though as well.

i get 17mpg round town, have not had a chance to get it out on the highway for long strech yet, go with the duramax, it is a much simpler fuel system than a ford, in the long run less parts to wear and break saving you money

IMHO Chevy Durmax:ro)

I like the Chevy, probably cause I'v owned them for 30 years. Always liked their engineering methodology most of the time. Sometimes I wonder when they put little mirrors on a big truck. Mine does 16 in the city and 19 ~ 20 on the highway MT. Does everything I want it to and in style. I had a Ford once, had the big 460 - ABSOLUTELY NO POWER! I think that motor made 125 HP and 400+ ft pounds of torque - yahoo. It would keep the trailer moving but it took it ten miles to get it up to speed. POS I know the new ones are much better but they are just following what GM has already done. Sorry Ford owners, I respect your trucks and their ability but I like the Chevy. :stirthepo

So what about overall reliability ? The Chevy definetly seems to be the best bet for the money. I have owned all kinds of vehicles from foreign to american, My family is CHEVY loyal but were only talkin 4.3 v6 motored s-10s. Im by no means brand loyal so im always open to honest opinions. So with the 5K trailer that im refering to towing its probably easy to say ill get 15 MPG towing it?? I currently own and use an Expedition as my tow vehicle and it totally kills me on fuel. Towing this 5K enclosed trailer im lucky to get 7.5 MPG this is using a light foot and everything so it really puts a damper on how far i can travel to race.


And again thanks for all of your input i appreciate it so very much !!

John

i get 20-21 empty on the highway, 19 with the atv in the back and about 18 with a light two place atv trailer and one in the back. with my 5k enclosed 7x14 i get 14-16 its a flat nose so if you have the v front it should help a little

Ouch.... I get around 8-9 with my trailer (lately) but it's just a slightly larger load.):h ):h ):h See below.

Last tank with no towing I average about 18.5. That's about 65% highway though and driving it easy. Nothing faster than 70 on the freeway but usually closer to 65.

Reliablility. Right now I'd say GM has the upper hand, especially if you factor in the Allison trans.

My guess is you'll be in the area of 13-14 towing. But that's a guess.:confused: Many variables play into that. Terrain, driving style, power upgrades (small power upgrades actually help!), tire changes, lifts, etc.. You get the idea.

i get 20-21 empty on the highway, 19 with the atv in the back and about 18 with a light two place atv trailer and one in the back. with my 5k enclosed 7x14 i get 14-16 its a flat nose so if you have the v front it should help a little
man now thats what im talking about i have a 7x16 american hauler Vnose trailer. Do you race or just recreationally ride?? One more thing As far as frienly ness goes the chevy drivers are whoopin the crud outta the ford guys i put a post on thier forum asking about what kind of fuel mileage the F-250s where gettin(mind you i made this post 8 hours ago) and not one person has posted an answer !! Looks like chevy is my next truck !!

I am prejudiced against F Censored d.....

But from what I have read about recalls and fires being started on several different models, I wouldn't touch one. Wife has an 03 Escape. I call it a POS.

My best milage was 28.83 CANADIAN gallons. Had lots that were less. I drive about 62-65 MPH (103-105 KLMs) per hour.

Chevy,thats an easy one.Ford has way to many problems with there powertrain.

I have an 02 crew cab 4x4 short bed, with a 4" Rancho lift, with 33's. I pull a 7x16 haulmark enclosed trailer for work, weighing about 6k lbs. I get 13.5 to 14.5 on a constant basis. If i'm not towing its right at 18 mpg. hand calculated. I would go with the duramax. I love these trucks
Kevin

durability ===> '02 3500 (with '01 injectors) 86,000+ miles to date with zero engine/transmission issues


mileage ===> when driving to get good mileage (on summer diesel) I can count on 17+ for mix of city/country driving ... non towing on interstates speed is a major factor in mileage, if I keep her around 60mph she'll get around 19 mpg, the faster I go above that the more the mileage drops to where at 70 mgh she'll do good to get much over 15mpg ... towing our 11,000+ lb/33' camper at or below 2,000 rpm I can count on 11+mpg (last summer covered 10,095 miles in 55 days, would estimate 90% towing and averaged 12.5 mpg for the entire trip ... will get around a 2 mpg drop on winter diesel

Jim

i have owned fords and chevys and through our companies several of each go with the chevy! love the powerstroke but love the duramax better

What kind of quad do you race?

2004 Yfz450 Jb/pep

when i pull my 35 foot fifth wheel from chicago to orlando, i usually get around 11 miles to the gallon.
My chevy is mostly stock with the exception of the k&n air filter.

Hey JH nice quad! I have a 416ex race bike for sale, PRP custom axis long travel, hiper, over 12k invested will sale for less than half of investment if any of your buddies are interested. Oklahoma is the location.

Duramax is a great truck. My dad gets consistant 12 driving around with a fairly heavy foot and hauling 100 gal of diesel and a tool box in the back to and from the job site. When pulling our 4 place open snowmobile trailer to michigan we got about 10 going 85-90. Idk how fast you run, but this ought to do tons better than the excursion.

On Edit: I forgot to say welcome to the dieselplace forum. These guys are a lot of help around here and know the duramax inside and out. :ro)

never did any towing but my 04 duramax got 15 in the city and 20 doing 85 on the freeway. my new ford on the other hand sucks in the milage department. took a trip to LA last week down I-5. hand calculated 15.6 mpg but its about the same around town.

i get about 20 doing 80-85 and about 16-17 around town. when towing a 34' foot sunny brook travel trailer about 10,000lbs get around 13-14.5 doing 70 on the northeast coast.