Holli

Love my truck, 2012 RAM 2500 (no DEF), but when I started sending my paychecks to the gas station there was a problem. Bought a car instead to do my running around and now my truck sits in the driveway like a maiden in waiting. Hate it!

So goal for 2016: boost up the MPG on my truck so I can go back down to 1 car payment.

Buddy of mine says to delete the emissions and have a chip put in. A 5 setting
programmer, plus deleting the emissions with a full exhaust is $2,900. They have another option where I get 2 settings but no take home programmer for $1,900.

Im mainly looking to improve MPG for daily driving but also to get better MPG when pulling a small horse trailer. Currently getting an average of 15.5mpg daily driving and about 14mpg when pulling the horse trailer.

Ideas? I feel like Im walking blindly into this and would love your input!

ptm600

You'll probably get many that don't agree with me, but in my opinion you are never going to accomplish what you want to. I am going to throw some hypothetical numbers out to give you an idea of what i mean. Say you are currently getting 15 mpg. If you do all of the above and increase by 20%, which I don't think is possible from my experience with my 2005 and trying to increase mileage. You would then be getting 18 mpg. Fuel is pretty cheap now, but lets assume $3.50 a gallon. Higher price fuel makes your plan more feasible. It would take you 74,569 miles just to break even. With cheaper fuel it would take even longer. I don't know how many miles you typically drive in a year, but the extra payment, added insurance, maintenance and registration on your car that you don't like to drive probably are costing you more than you are saving in fuel cost in your truck also. If you average 15,000 miles a year and get double the mileage, say 30 mpg out of the car, not all 15,000 are driven in the car. You still drive the truck sometimes. lets assume 80% in the car, or 12,000 miles at say $3.25 a gallon. Gas is cheaper than diesel most places. Again higher fuel cost makes it more favorable. That is $1300.00 a year in fuel in the car and $700.00 in the truck. This totals $2000.00 in total fuel cost. If you drove the truck all the time. The whole 15000 miles a year at 15 mpg. You would spend $3500.00 in fuel. After all of your costs does the car cost less than $1500.00 a year to own. You have to add purchase price to your calculation, and divide by the number of years you expect to drive it. Say it is a $10000.00 car and you expect to drive it for 10 years. That is $1000.00 a year in cost. Now add insurance, maintenance and registration and you are probably at or above the $1500.00 a year.

Holli

This was exactly the push I needed. The car is costing me roughly $4000 a year in ownership, tags, and fuel. We easily put 30k miles on it yearly. I will be putting about the same into my truck, however I drove my truck all day yesterday and reset the gauges. Filled my LOW LOW LOW tires(from 59psi to 80psi) and was easily getting 17 to 18mpg on my daily driving. With that said, hubby is willing to sell his current car and keep mine. Which means I get my truck back! WEE!

So I still plan on taking the money and investing in deleting the emissions in my truck and reprogramming it. I think I will easily be able to hit 22 to 26mpg depending on my driving once its complete. In the long run, as I plan to never sell this truck, its a solid investment.

ptm600

I wouldn't count on 22 - 26 mpg. I'd bet you will be lucky to break 20. I think most are in the 17 - 20 range with mostly highway driving.

DodgeCowboy

Park it and buy a prius? Do you really buy a pickup a heavy duty one even a 2500 at that for commuter rig? No not really you buy them for work trucks and haulers. Just feel good about getting the 13-15 mpg for a 8k lb truck.

1-2-3

Agree with ptm. If your ever going to do any mods or add ons to save $$$, then forget it. Those are to make it run better/faster and pull harder. The 04 I had, would have been a 4 year break even with the way I drive and the price of fuel if i put an Edge or BullyDog on it. The 12 will be a 6 year because you gotta spend even more. The absolute best thing you can do is maintain your truck like it was your only love, and drive it as smart as possible. just a little slower takeoffs and watch further ahead and let off the gas as soon as you can. Think of it this way. Fuel makes energy. Engery is displaced in heat. Anything that makes heat drinks fuel. Brakes make alot of heat. Flooring it and big loud take offs make alot of heat. Low tires make for hot tires, which makes heat.

And yes, I did really buy a 4X4 3500 as a daily driver. Because I wanted it and I worked for it and I work for what it takes to run it. And I'm going to lift the front up a bit soon because I want to. I know that will probably shave a tad bit off mpg's because more air can go under the truck. I'll just work an hour ot a week and take care of that.

DodgeCowboy

That's what I was getting at we don't buy these trucks for mpg,we buy them because we like them

1-2-3

"we buy them because we like them "

Amen

1-2-3

..and just the sound of them idleing when we tell someone you move it or I'll move it.

staarma

Man I would be happy with the mileage you're getting. I have a 12 and I get 12.5-13 driving around and 8-9 pulling my 27' sled trailer lately.

6.7L MegaCab

I got 9.05mpg pulling our Weekend Warrior this past weekend. That was 70 mph nearly all the way to the mountains and back. I'm deleted with over 114K. The absolute best I've ever got was 22.7 mpg...and that was on my way to Texas.

Delete it because you want to, not for the fuel economy. Might be worth looking into propane injection.

DodgeCowboy

I think it's a known fact that the non deleted guys are killing it on the fuel mileage. Our big living quarters horse trailer I don't think I've seen under 11 mpg hauling 3 horses and two full water tanks and food and propane.

04ctd

I'll give you my two cents:

-you want to keep the truck forever.
-you can't DD something and "keep it forever"


if you can get a cheap PAID for DD, and put the "wear n tear" on that vehicle, then yeah, you can have your truck forever.

but at ~30k miles a year, you will "wore out 2 pickups just riding around" (old country song)

I had ~130k on my 2006, and it needed injectors($3k) & a tranny ($5k)
I just put ~$800 in ball joints & stuff.

I bought me a 2015, and I drive as little as possible (we are driving wife's car on weekends, because it will be traded at some point)

buddy has a duramax with 300k on it, outside looks new, interior is slap WORE OUT, seats, steering wheel, control *****, heated seats don't work.
he just put a ~$2k in the front end (u joints, ball joints, steering)
(did it all himself to save $$$)
He's taking it up to have turbo's & stuff rebuilt soon to freshen it up.


IDK, you can't have your cake & drive it too.

I say you go buy a 2015, my daughter gets ~20mpg overall when she drives my 4x4, I get 18mpg in around town (hot rod it), all stock & brand new.
if you reset the MPG on the highway, it stays over 20mpg on flat roads (will show average 25mpg for ~10 miles, until I get off highway)

SOhappy

On my 2011 I would unplug the EGR connector (quick and easy) on longer drives on the highway. It throws a code, but MPGs would go from 14 or 15 to 19. That's pretty significant.

Sierra1

My 14 got 22.3 MPG down, and 21.9 MPG home with just 4k miles on the truck running summer fuel going from Kansas to Florida. We ran no faster than 80 mph, and had the A/C cranked the entire trip. Those numbers were with 5 of us inside, and a bed full of crap and a soft bed cover. It's not uncommon to see 23+ highway MPG on summer fuel now that the motor has been correctly broken in with 28k pounds behind her I have said it a hundred times, and I'll say it another hundred times....the Cummins motor (and about every other diesel motor) wants/needs to be worked hard! If you putt around constantly on short trips you'' have reduced power and use a more DEF than a similar truck that's worked hard and taken out on the road frequently and run like it should be used.