this is pure bs...pulled rig out to the coast for weekend..some hills, but mainly good interstate..10.3 mpgs..2.53 a gallon and ten mpg ? yes it does a great job, but the mileage is crap for only pulling 9k %%&%
happy pulling....i think we are getting pulled ! bc:rant:

this is pure bs...pulled rig out to the coast for weekend..some hills, but mainly good interstate..10.3 mpgs..2.53 a gallon and ten mpg ? yes it does a great job, but the mileage is crap for only pulling 9k %%&%
happy pulling....i think we are getting pulled ! bc:rant:

While pulling our 10k 5'er out to West Virginia in June, we averaged between 10.5 - 11.5 mpg. That was with tow/haul, A/C, and cruise set at 65. I'm not sure how much that would improve by dropping to 55. We all want more, but I was satisfied with the mileage. Try making the same trip with a gasser and see what you get!

I'm getting 8-10 pulling my 18K lb. 5er in sig at 65mph. What size tires do you have?

Be happy. I have a 8.1L in my truck and pull a 30' fifthwheelthat weighs in at around 9500#. Yesterday I went 102.9 miles against a 25mph wind on the interstate with the A/C on and cruise set at 67. I used 20.017 gallons for 5.14 MPG. You are getting double that!

Bob,

What is the complaint.

I would be happy with that.

I did a 9300 mile cross country retirement trip last sept and oct. I averaged 10.

No complaints from this guy.

Pulling the same trailer with the same load (14,500+) with 96 454 Phoenix to Flagstaff = 3.6 mpg no where near the speed limit (at times in the 35+ mph)..... With 02 Dmax I get 8.5 at the speed limit. And when the hills flatten out to the level...WOW I can get 10+mpg @ 5mph over the limit. No complaint from me!

Bob,

I pull a large profile 5th Wheel trailer that weighs in at 11K pounds. The truck gets between 10 - 11 mpg (depending on how many hills I climb and the head wind). Your mileage seems to be inline with what others are getting.

The fuel prices are a different issue. Looks like they have conditioned everyone and they are here to stay.

Alan

with my 14000 fifth i get a average of 8 mpg

I have a 8000 mid profile fiver that I hauled 4000 miles in the past 2 weeks and I got a range going from 9 - 12.5 mpg. The variance was mainly due to speed. A difference of 5 mph above 65 sent my mileage from 12.5 to 10.5 (65 vs 70). I got 9 mpg when doing 75. I'm sure weight makes a big difference but at cruising speed on the interstate, I think your rig's profile will dictate your mileage.

I also noticed that I get better mileage in hilly areas w/o the cruise set. Look out when Allison decides to downshift in T/H mode. It uses a lot of fuel to try to maintain the set speed up a hill by down shifting.

Yeah, the mileage sucks compared to other vehicles especially when #2 price is at 2.50/gal but you do pay a price for hauling your house on wheels...

Jim

While I agree with everyone that 10mpg is pretty good for these trucks pulling a 10k to 15k trailers, it's still pretty crappy I think compared to a big truck.

Take a big Pete 379 or Kenworth W900 or Freightliner 120 Classic which have the aerodynamic efficency of a brick and hook a 53' trailer and Gross out at 80,000 lbs and these truck's will get 6 to 7 mpg. And more with a aerodynamic model like a T2000 with a small block motor in it.

Are trucks aren't bad but I think they could be better compared to whats out there from CAT Cummins and Detroit.

My .02

DD

.

Just returned from our annual trip in to British Columbia up the Coquihalla highway towing our 9200# fifthwheel. This mountain pass has grades up to 8%. The first year I had this truck, 2003, I got 11.3 mpg during the breakin period going 50 mph. Last year I took our horse trailer with living quarters and my Harley in back, trailer weight 12000#, I got 11.9 mpg going 60 mph. This year I was back to the fifthwheel, having added the juice w/ attitude and running it on level 2, I got 10.7 mpg running at 75 mph. On the 8% grade I slowed to 70 mph and locked out the overdrive, pulled great! The highest EGT I saw was 1322 with 22.3 on the boost and 214 on the engine temp.
I am sure I could get better mpg's if I wanted to slow down, but that is not why I bought this truck. My goal was to be able to pull any of my trailers anywhere at the speed limit (or just a little over) living in NW Washington this means I have many mountain passes to go over and so far my truck has not disappointed me. :)

Well..i'm feeling better already after seeing what the big block gassers get. I have to admit, I put my foot into it for the first time last weekend. Was good to feel her go! When i drive more consistently without cruise and a little slower, my mpgs go into 11 and 12's. I was expecting to see maybe 14 after listening to diesel guys in the past. Thanls for all the great replies, was very interesting to hear differnt views. I guess I am pulling a house! Good luck to all with your rigs, bob

My mpg's are not near as good as that. 7.5 to 8.0 towing my 11000lb 5th wheel. not at all what I was hoping for. I would have like to seen at least 11.0

Just returned from our annual trip in to British Columbia up the Coquihalla highway towing our 9200# fifthwheel. This mountain pass has grades up to 8%. . :)

Hi Patrick from another D/A owner who bought his rig to conquer the Coke! I'm in Kelowna so it's the Coke to Vancouver and the Rogers to Calgary. Surrounded by HUGE friggin passes, its like livin at the bottom of a bowl. Can't believe I lived with my little gasser pulling my 5th for 5 years. It was so hard on the poor lil 350 we stopped pass travelling. Now with the D/A the fun is back! See you on the climbs!

Hi Patrick from another D/A owner who bought his rig to conquer the Coke! I'm in Kelowna so it's the Coke to Vancouver and the Rogers to Calgary. Surrounded by HUGE friggin passes, its like livin at the bottom of a bowl. Can't believe I lived with my little gasser pulling my 5th for 5 years. It was so hard on the poor lil 350 we stopped pass travelling. Now with the D/A the fun is back! See you on the climbs!

Paul
I hear that the connector to Kelowna is even worse than the Coke! I haven't had the pleasure of towing up that yet! We always stop at Merrit for the music festival!

I get about 10 to 12 mpg pulling an 8000 lbs. trailer that's not aero at all - most of the time I'm running about 65 to 75 mph - to compare this - the same 8000 lbs. trailer being pulled with my old 94 GMC 1/2 ton 5.7 gas burner got 8 mpg and top speed was around 55 mph. I think the Dmax just kicks butt!

Paul
I hear that the connector to Kelowna is even worse than the Coke! I haven't had the pleasure of towing up that yet! We always stop at Merrit for the music festival!
Yes the connector is a brutal climb but the worst on the whole coqahalla system is the climb up 5 from the snow sheds heading east to the toll booth. Almost blew up my 350 coming back from vacation at Golden Ears couple years back. Temps climbed , could smell engine/tranny heat in cab...very scarry. Started thinkin dmax/ally same day. We vacationed at Burlington KOA and toured your area on the same trip. Want to get back soon. Can you recommend a great campground? We were thinking Deception pass on the coast ...thoughts? BTW getting 14.2 mpg (us gal) towing my 6500lb 5th.

Cheers and Thanks
Paul

how about 6mpg towing 9000lb 5er at 65 in michigan with 05 lly,over flat terrain, dealer says nothing wrong the mpg is normal, my 02.03 & 04 lb7 always pulled about 12 or 13, this moter sucks!

Towing my 11000lbs toyhauler i got 10.5 on a 250mile trip with 6% grades.
Coming home down the grades were great. put it in 3rd and didn't touch the breaks the whole way down. now thats a truck.

Man, after seeing the fuel use and overheating problems related to the LLY motors my old LB7 is looking better every day. Was thinking about trading it in on an '05 or '06 but now I don't know ......... may be cheaper to keep her!

We have pulled at least 2000 mi with our 5th weighing in at 10000+ and have got a consistant 13mpg. hand calculated. Lots of hilly terrain, quite often downshifts to 4th on the steep hills. Quite happy with the milage so far.

Can you recommend a great campground? We were thinking Deception pass on the coast ...thoughts? BTW getting 14.2 mpg (us gal) towing my 6500lb 5th.

Cheers and Thanks
Paul

Deception Pass is a nice area, there are also many campgrounds on the Olympic Penninula that are awesome. I havn't been out there in a while and don't remember specific names...........

added propane this year and for holidays pulling our 10k trailer we seen a major increase on fuel savings, where we use to be at around the 10 to 12 mpg we are now closer to the 14 to 16 mpg, and lp is much cheaper than diesel, on one 26 gallons, i can now cover close to 400 miles pulling with out looking for a pump

Just got back from a road trip that took me from Palmer, AK to Tangle Lakes on the Denali Hwy, including a 75-80 mile jont up and down the Denali Hwy searching for Arctic Grayling and then a run to Valdez, AK, to include more searching for fish and then back to Palmer, 850 miles in all. Except for the fish hunts, I was towing a 28' Jayco weighing in at about 8000#s. Running at about 60MPH Oh...and spanking a Class C MH with a V10 up a 8% grade (he tried to keep up God Bless Him), I burned 82 gallons of fuel. For the non-math types, that equates to 10.3MPG. I have to say that I am VERY satisfied with my truck.

I am not sure if anyone here has climbed out of Valdez, AK up to Thompsons Pass but my rig held 55MPH with cruise set all the way up. I was very impressed.

On a separate trip without the trailer, I went from Palmer, AK to Fairbanks and back (700+ miles RT) running 65-70MPH and got 22.5MPG.

Have I said I love this truck?

Anytime I can get over 9 towing my King of the Road (16000) I am happy as I can be.

Charlie

Just returned from a trip to Disney with the 05 D/A dually averaged 9 to 9.7 the whole trip 5'er weighs 14000 lbs The same trailer with an 01 D/A 2500HD got 12-13mpg there is a difference with the LLY trucks.

I just pulled a 16,000+ 5th from Kali to Alaska and got 8.8 mpg. I thought that I did great. It is new and the only real miles on it is this trip. I am hoping I can get a little better as I head to Indiana.


Tony

Sounds about right. Also sounds like a great trip. Probably went by my front door here in the Okanagan. Drive safe.

Cheers,
Paul

just returned from a trip from oregon to the mid west, pullin my 28' trailer. 3100 miles and used 250 gallons of diesel, that is 12.4 mpg. i love it! for two days I was stuck following my brother in-law towing a trailor with his van, 50 to 60 if we were lucky, on those days I got 14mpg.

i get 8.5 mpg @72 mph if i drive 55 mph i get 10.5 mpg i thought i would get a lot better fuel mpg than this pulling a 6500 pound tt.

I guess I feel really good after reading this.I'm getting around 11-13mpg pulling around 17,000lbs @ 55-65. The last load I pulled was around 10,000lbs on I80 @ 75-85mph and got 13mpg.

this is pure bs...pulled rig out to the coast for weekend..some hills, but mainly good interstate..10.3 mpgs..2.53 a gallon and ten mpg ? yes it does a great job, but the mileage is crap for only pulling 9k %%&%
happy pulling....i think we are getting pulled ! bc:rant:

Obviously weight always affects MPG, but wind resistance is a big issue so a difference in a few thousand lbs. doesn't make that much difference. Your mileage is what I got with a 30 T.T. at about 11K

Rolled back in on Tuesday (8/9/05) following a 71 day swing out west towing our 10,000 lb camper http://www.sunnybrooktalk.com/members/images/smilies/wink.gif ... note truck is an early '02 ('01 injectors which have never been replaced) 3500 CC, D/A, Hot Juice set on 60 hp in T/H and 90 hp in regular drive ... most towing in T/H w/ cruise set on 65 mph ... rolled back into our driveway with 99,001 miles showing on the odometer ...


9,981.6 miles covered
862 gallons of fuel burned
$1,893.00 total cost of fuel
11.6 average mpg (estimate 80% towing)
8.9 mpg for 240 miles fighting an Oklahoma head wind was the lowest mpg
17.0 mpg was best tank covering 117 miles (non towing) in Winona, Mn.
$2.19 was average cost per gallon
$2.549 highest cost per gallon at Moab, Ut. on 7/15/05
$1.989 lowest cost per gallon at Love's truck stop exit 3 on I95 in Va. on 5/31/05
1 of the original batteries died in South Dakota so replaced both
1 of the original daytime running lights burned out in Texas so replaced both
lost both the oil filler cap and the break fluid tank cap somewhere along the way (no clue why)
changed oil once per standard service schedule
replaced cabin air filters per standard service scheduleI'm happy with the way she performed

Jim

Just got back from a 6000 mile trip to Eastern Canada and am very pleased. I used $468.00 of fuel on the way down half of what my 6.0 cost me two years ago on the same trip with the same 5th wheel in tow. I have not figured out the return trip I know it cost more due to a head wind and pushing the speeds plus an added 1000 pounds on the return trip. My 5er is at 14,000lbs.

We just got back from a two week trip to Yellowstone. Pulled a 10K 5er for 3600 miles, and we averaged 10.25. Worst was 8.5 (30 MPH cross wind), and best was 11.25. Pretty much always in that 10 to 10.25 range. Most towing at 65MPH. Speed does make a HUGE difference on MPG, and so does T/H. I run out of T/H a lot times if the temps aren't real high, and I'm on flat ground. T/H off usually improves the economy about 1/4 to 1/2 MPG.

On this trip, I also got the best that this truck ever got unloaded. 17. Most of that driving was at or under 60 while in the Rapid City area...

CADman_ks

PS: I filled my truck to the top of the filler neck EVERY TIME that I filled on this trip, so I know that my averages are very accurate. Does anyone have any idea how long it takes to fill a tank with a TRUCK PUMP if you're filling to the tippy top? A LONG TIME!!! :)

My experience has been similar to most here.

An easy rule-of-thumb that's darn near exact for me is that my DuraMax gets TWICE the mileage of my previous 454 gasser (in any given situation). My usual tows are up Interstate 5 in California, over the Siskiyous and the mountains of southern Oregon.

Also, my mileage (and performance) improved bit by bit until I got around 15,000 on it.

My two cents

yes, i noticed just the other day pulling my fiver here in new england my fuel mileage increased a bit..my first post was 10.3...my last 2 pulls were 11.3 and 12.4...i am just at 14k miles..maybe she is still breaking in ! most interesting reading about all your travels, hopefully in the next year or so we wil have the opportunity..tks and safe drivin

All of you may be interested in knowing that 3 mpg increases have been reported using my CAI, stack sealing, and Nose shrouds. (http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40080)
More power (towing) also.