seatrout46

I am new to this forum so I hope this is not an old question/problem.

I have a 2006 3500 SRW 2WD Mega Cab with the 5.9L diesel engine and auto trans. I get anywhere from 19 -22 mpg empty but am disappointed in my towing mileage which averages around 8.5 mpg. I have 57K miles on the truck mostly towing.

The Dodge dealer tech has told me that the parking brake is worn and this could affect the mpg. According to him, there is a sensor on the parking brake that will adjust the fuel if it senses the parking brake is dragging (even if it's not) and this can be caused by worn brakes. The tech did say there is a seperate parking brake system with drum brakes, they do not use the disc brake as a parking brake. Maybe that's why they now call it a parking brake rather than an emergency brake?
My TT is 34' (box is 30'), weighs about 7800 empty, probably close to 10K packed and traveling.
I usually set my cruise control at 65 or 70. Mileages on my last trip were:
7.59, 8.02, 9.10, 8.54, 8.85, 8.66, 7.75, 10.28, 8.48 tank by tank or 8.46 MPG for 1248 miles overall.
My problem may be my own expectations. I was expecting to get >12 MPG while towing. I'm completely happy with the empty mileage but most of my driving is towing.
I am going to fix the parking brake because it is mostly useless now. We'll see if that makes any improvement.
Frankly, the dealer seems clueless or uninterested, not sure which.
Anyone ever had a similar problem? Anyone have some advice on what to check?

namotuman

i get similar unloaded mileage as you.......my toy box is 7500 empty and with a full water capacity (120gal) and all the toys in the back (4 bikes, gear,etc) it probably exceeds 9k. towing this amount i usually get 11+ mpg.....the big difference is that i rarely get even to 65mph. getting close to 65 or over and the mpg's really take a hit. i usually tow at 60 max and would probably get 12 mpg easy if i stuck to 55mph. and that's with 410's. if you're running 373's mileage should be even better...........

Fire Rescue124

my father inlaw had an 06 3500 DRW 2wd 6-speed and i used it back before i had mine to run a horse down to Houston and it got 10mpg i think i was running around 65 to 70 and a stick will get better mpg than an auto. my 04 6-speed 2500 gets 16 pulling 10K running 70 to 80 depends on how late we are for the Barrel race and about 19-22 empty. his new 07 6.7 3500 drw 4x4 6-speed empty gets around 17 empty and 8.8 pulling my truck and a 25' 10K axle trailer to the strip so maybe around 12 to 13K. it got 9mpg pulling 8K last weekend. so if you think your truck is bad on fuel don't get a new one. as far as the parking brake thing sound crazy but i'm not a DC Diesel Tech. but maybe it will help and it needs done anyways. let use know if it works. GOOD LUCK

Pinksa

I get about 10mpg when hauling 27K (7k trailer and 20K feed). Thats with smarty on SW3.

Goober

Slow Down, You can tow at any speed you want but at 65+mph your time between fill ups will be shorter. Sence we are in winter it will be even shorter. Plus if you go slower you can enjoy the country and i am guessing that is why you got the TT.

Big Horn 06

The most I ever towed so far was 7500 lbs, SRT-10 Ram on a car trailer, and coming over the Grapevine pass on I-5 I averaged 16.2, Smarty on 1, 60 mph. And that was before the latest Smarty update.

shortbed rv

Your non towing milage is good, which leads me to believe that the problem may not be the truck. I tow 13k 5er and get 10mpg at 65 mph.

I think you need to look at the trailer for some answers.

cr25ovet

i just came back yesterday from a trip to ky with a 6 horse trailer with 1 horse.
drove between 70 and 85 mph.
averaged 11 mpg. unloaded i am happy if i get 15 mpg in town. i would look at your trailer too.
you push the tow haul button?

desertchecker

Big Horn 06 I live in Canyon Country we should hook up sometime
looks like you have a sweet truck there !

I have laid down some 300 ft + burnouts off soledad cyn rd by the wash that are amazing to show you if you care to have a look , these dodges are ruthless on tires with some HP & TQ

nick

tcr

Man that's a nice lookin' truck! How's it run(if it's yours)? Nevermind, off topic, sorry.

seatrout46

I've experimented with the T/H and it doesn't seem to make a difference in MPG. I've gotten to where I only use it if the tranny starts to downshift and back too often which rarely happens.

seatrout46

A couple of members ahve suggested looking at the TT. Any suggestions as to what to look for?

Ed ke6bnl

\

I am up in Aqua Dulce not too far from you. I love my new dodge to me. right now it is my daily driver.

jrussell

My unloaded mileage is similar to yours, just a little lower due to the 4wd vs 2wd. I usually see 18-20mpg unloaded. Towing a 7-8k load from Salt Lake to Florida it averaged around 14mpg.

Maybe the brakes on your trailer are sticking or something?

Truckman0097

I would check there, seems you have a very large jump between loaded/unloaded mpg.... trailer brakes, are you adding anything to the trailer to create more wind drag? What psi are your tires when towing? maybe you need to air up a bit when towing? How are you calculating mpg loaded and unloaded? same way? Also - with winter fuel it will be lower than summer time by about 1-2mpg