right out of high school i drove a '79 dodge 3/4 tonne van that was my dad's. it was great to have free transpo, but with all the gas $, i could have made payments on an econo car. fortunately for me, you will never catch me in an econo car. in any event, that yellow van would get about 8 miles per gallon in the city. i figured out how to stretch it to 10 mpg in the city by coasting everywhere and making a game out of avoiding any use of the brakes. in fact, i used to throw it in neutral down hills to get rid of any friction.

anyhow.... with my truck now, i am interested to see how much exactly a heavy foot costs me. so for my current tank of fuel, i'm driving like a granny. i'm not quite putting the tranny in N, but i'm not using the accelerator or brake much. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/sleep.gif

so today, i didn't even know it, but i think i really made someone mad. a mini-v with a man (?) driving it gave me a sort of buzz-the-tower type move and then cut in real hard. dodge caravan. i'm driving a crew cab duramax. sure i'm taking my time, but can he do that? i mean, he's in a mini-van. at the light, i pull up and he gives me the tough guy stare.

my rear bumper prob weighs about what his van weighs.

it's funny though, when you slow down, it's fun to watch how dang anxious so many people are. it's a great lesson once in awhile (imo).

Puttin' the pedal to the metal costs me 100 miles in cruisin' range easily.

I think people who drive minivans are just frustrated individuals...just because...

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I really hate minivans. But it does amaze me how damn fast they are. It's kinda funny when I'm cruising up a steep grade at 70-75 MPH and a fricking minivan passes me getting much better mileage no doubt.

Oh well...

Hey Monkey, you weren't being of those guys who is pokin along in the "fast/left" lane and wouldn't move over were you????

Hey Monkey, you weren't being of those guys who is pokin along in the "fast/left" lane and wouldn't move over were you????
it wasn't a highway situation. it was double lane, and i suspect the fella was involuntarily blocked in with a real granny on the other side. not sure.... usually i work pretty hard at keeping everyone in my rear view mirror so i haven't been trained in these ways.

and if it was a slow in the fast situation... i thought we could do anything we want in these trucks?

i just can't do it anymore. i haven't even used half a tank, and it's taking forever. i just can't keep driving like this. i'm looking for a kill.

i'd estimate so far though, that the mileage is 16ish with my foot in it, and 20 like a granny. i'll get more data, but it appears that we have strict rules now for calc'ing mpg's ;)

I just tried this on my last tank and it was unbearable. I made it about 1/2 a tank before I decided the hell with it and nailed it... but while I was driving in granny mode I did notice that the fuel guage needle wasn't moving as much and I imagine I was probably well over 20MPG. Using the DP MPG method, I ended up getting 17MPG on that tank, which isn't bad... 1/2 tank granny mode and 1/2 tank Earnhardt mode.

Dan

I usually try to be pretty easy-moderate on the gas just for economy purpose. Especially in the mornings when my truck isnt as warmed up as i would like, and i get some idiot riddin my tail when im going the speed limit and doing nothing wrong. I usually just hold my speed as if they werent even there. Its their problem and i dont wanna harm my truck over it. I just keep in my mind that my truck could easily crush their undersized vehicle.:rolleyes: And NO thank god im not one of those idiots who stay in the left lane going to slow. ):h