01Turbo

I currently own a 2012 2500. I am absolutely disgusted with the mileage I get. Averaging around 14mpg mix of city and highway and a brutal 9-10mpg when towing a not very whopping 7000lb TT. Truck is stock. I'm currently considering trading in my 2012 on a 2006 5.9 Cummins truck. I used to own a 2004.5 Cummins and while the mileage wasn't spectacular it was quite a bit better than my 2012 and I really regret selling it. So, am I crazy to think of going to an 8 year old truck from my current 2012 model? Anyone else wish they had a pre DPF/EGR Cummins instead? Yes, deleting is under consideration as well, but I'm worried about giving up warrantee and also there seems to be conflicting info on whether or not mileage will be any better deleted??? Just frustrated with how bad my mileage is. I don't drive hard and the truck is maintained properly.

Lary Ellis (Top)

This is the reason I searched hard last year and found a 06 mega with 30,000 miles on it...I hate the seats but love the 5.9

RyeThomas

3-5.9L third gens over the last 12 years, last one averaged 14.7MPG over the last two years all hand calculated. The other 2 were about the same, I never had the mythical 20mpg third gen and believe its a FARCE. Or its people non hand calculating and resetting their mileage meter at highway speeds.
My 2012 thus far is averaging 14.2mpg. I won't get into my recent road trip but my 4th at sustained speeds beats the pants off my mileage with my last 5.9 (4 speeds and 4.10s suck on the highway at speed). No comparison in comfort and capability when it comes 3rd to 4th gen. I would not go back, but hey that's just me.

Muzzy

I have a 2008 4x4 Megacab that is deleted. I am running a H&S MiniMaxx on a street tune and regularly get between 18.5 to 19.5 MPG combination city/highway HAND CALCULATED. My overhead reads about 2 MPG higher than what I calculated. Pure highway I average 21 MPG, again hand calculated.

-Muzzy

DWeiler

We think alike ---i did the same with my 07 Mega 5.9 DRW with 21000 miles(US vehicle enjoying life up north),made the deal on the truck over the phone and pictures ,hopped on a plane and flew 700 miles to check the truck out.If it was to good to be true i was out a plane ticket but it so far turned out OK in my favor---94000miles later and still rolling strong.New truck bug bites every now and then but i still like this ride.-------CHEERS DW----PS the garage queen 2001 sits in the garage with 43000 original miles,i like to take it out on weekend and the seats are way better too in a second genner.

SOhappy

I went back (2011 to 2006) but I really do miss many features of the 4th gen. The 68RFE, Crew Cab & interior refinements for one (or three...). Mileage is slightly better with my 5.9 now that the cat fell off, but I have bigger tires so not that much better. A deleted 4th gen would be just the ticket, or get a 2013+ with the DEF. They seem to be getting 5.9 mileage.

Grit Dog

So you're down about 3 mpg from the avg 3rd gen. And thoroughly disgusted? I'll trade you trucks. No problem!
While I like mine I'd have a hard time trading down from a 4th gen.
You can fix the problem for easily. Just delete it. Not much risk. Low probability you'll use engine warranty anyway before 100k

old12valve

I'm new here, but I'll chime in. I bought a 2012 3500 brand new and was never satisfied with the mileage, mostly in town. If I kept it around 65 on the highway, and was easy on the throttle, I could squeeze 17 at best, but around town it was abysmal. It could drop down close to single digits, getting stuck in an almost perpetual regen situation. I had it two years, drove it 45,000 miles, but I just couldn't see "deleting" the truck for two reasons. First, voiding a warranty on a $56k truck seemed foolish. Next, I am not into breaking the law, and there's always a chance I could move back to a smog check area where the deletes would be a problem.

I sold the truck off because demand was high for a truck which there were delete tuners for, and I bought a clean 1997 12 valve dually 4x4 with under 100k miles. Now, this was DEFINITELY a massive step backwards. In no way is this truck as fun to drive as the new one. The comparisons in terms of creature comforts is laughable. It's like a hay wagon compared to the new one. But it gets the job done and I get 5 mpg better in the daily stuff even though it's got 4.10's vs. the 3.73's the 2012 had. That's a big difference in fuel consumption.

I do miss the newer truck, but I don't miss the abysmal mileage. It seems the newer Urea trucks do better, but they have their issues too, like dead pedal, oppressive torque management, etc. I'm going to keep my clean old truck a while for the heavy lifting, and was thinking about picking up an Ecodiesel so I can no longer complain about fuel prices.

Scotty

I have an 07.5 6.7 of which i stretched and its now a long bed. I regretted it for the first several months with the horrific mpg.
I was one of the beta testers for Smarty and gleaned some decent improvements.
My mpg is hand calculated.
At 67 mpg I will net all day all the time 19 mpg. Give me a calm day and its 20.6.
My next mpg improvement came from when my head gasket failed at 180k. I had Don M at Formula 1 Diesel work my injectors with the goal of improved mpg. A 20hp stick and now I can touch 22 mpg.
Towing over half its life this truck has gone from 6-7 mpg clear up to 13. HAND CALCULATED. This is in the summer. When winter comes it loses more then I feel it should. All mpg drops lots.
I have what I feel is the best combination of engine/trans and creature comforts.
Currently the truck has 316k, oil analysis is always showing better then normal wear.

Simple things like oversights during assembly can hurt mpg. Loose intercooler clamps, even imoroperly torqued head bolts. The cause for my head gasket breech was finger tight head bolts!

My truck works for a living so mog is bottom line to a point. I love this truck.

01Turbo

Well I guess I should have elaborated more...not only am I disgusted with the poor mileage(unless I baby it and stay under 65mph) I am also disgusted with the brutal(basically non-existent) throttle response and the fact that my $10,000 Cummins engine eats it's own farts. So Ya, all that together kinda pisses me off...but that's just me I guess. Now in response to your idea of deleting...as I said it's under consideration and yes it would take care of all my dislikes about the truck and probably give me the truck I would like the best out of all generations and years of Cummins trucks. HOWEVER, It's not just an easy fix as you say. I'm not rich, so dropping $3600(cost to do it right here with Canadian prices, tuner, exhaust, EGR delete, pyro, tuner mount) is a big hit for me and yes I still worry a little about losing my remaining Powertrain warranty. The engine my not require the warranty as you say, but I don't exactly think the tranny is bulletproof? Anyway, I think I've decided to not trade down as I would take a big hit on the trucks trade-in value and I will be deleting in the near future...I sure hope it's worth it.

Jus Cruisin

My last Dodge was a 2006 dually 4X4 and never did better than high 17's on the highway, if I remember. Then went to a 2008 F250 that was lucky to get 12 with a lift kit and 38's. I left diesels for awhile and now I'm back with a 2014 Ram. I've made 2 trips from Florida to Michigan with it already. One with and one without a trailer. Hand calculated mileage was just under 20 without and just under 12 with the trailer (running around 70mph as much as I could). I am completely satisfied with the new Ram.

By the way, I have yet to have the EVIC show a regen in 7800 miles. Zero problems so far.

Mechanos

I have to see a regen on my 2012 with about 12,500 miles on it. I no idea what to expect if it ever does regen.

RyeThomas

It regen's, Cummins made is seamless no lights no indicator on purpose. They average seems to be a Regen every 200-250 mile range. On a stock truck its hard to notice, your instant MPG meter will drop a few mpg while driving and so entires you can smell it. That's about as exciting as it gets, if your not deleted you are going through a standard regen cycle no ifs ands or buts.

Mechanos

That makes sense and I kind of figured as much... I've just seen a few posts mentioning regen messages in the EVIC. I couldn't find any mention of what would be displayed (if anything) when it was doing a regen. The only message I've ever had in the EVIC is "Oil Change Due".

RAMRODD

I never really cared for my 2010 and 2012 ram. But I really like my 2014 mpg's are better then my 06 ever got pulling or empty! A big part I think is I went back to a manual transmission, manuals just pull more efficient