R..J,
The long flogged battle over 2wd vs 4wd. In this case I lived down south and many guys have 2wd (drive all 4 in the rear) mainly for hwy use. That was what my truck was originaly purchased for at the time. IMHO there is far less maintenance on 2wd and to date that is the case. Less than $30 for pads that weren't really needed at 172k. Otherwise no driveline repairs at all. Had I known that I would be back in Minn I would have opted for the 4wd (6 in this case) even thought it goes against my grain. I'm getting too old to be shoveling trucks out of snow banks. haha

Now, I grew up in Minn on the Iron range, long before there was 4wd except for Jeeps so I learned what it takes to run around in deep snow and mud......ie common sense, just don't go where you will get stuck and use off road tires when you have to. But lacking CS occasionally, I carry some killer chains too and with them I get moving. Like 36 inches of wet snow, no problem except a smashed spoiler. Should have stayed home like everyone else. I also have a queen sized water bed that I fill up with water about Oct 1st. This sweety weighs at least 1200 lbs I also have a spare if the going gets really rough and CS is totally gone.
As for MPG that's what this truck does for me. It's also supposed to be bullet proof but that is more like bullet resistant. I have no intention of selling it, ever. If it lasts another 30 years I'll probably have to give up the keys...if the key still works. I'll probably be riding around on the bare frame with the mighty CTD still cranking away. . In the end resale value means nothing to me. Cost per mile is what counts.

JyRo, Just for info, This dually 5spd "owns" big trailers. haha It rides smooth and pulls like a champ even without power adders. Take it easy at about 55-60 and it gets good mpg too. It's really at home on the road with a trailer. It actually rides pretty good for a truck unloaded too.

 

bentwings - I guess you and me could be twin brothers. I can't say that cost per mile is the only thing that counts, but it's probably my biggest factor. Because, I really find it a PITA when things break. Not only do I have to fix them (which is generally a learning experience for me, which makes it not easy like it would be if I already knew how to do something), but it's money that I would rather be spending on something else. Guys on here like to bomb their trucks (which is fine). I like to bomb my mortgage.

A lot (or maybe most) guys on these forums sure spend A LOT of money on their trucks. And more power to them. I have spent about $650 to $700 on power. And that's it. I feel just a bit guilty about that. Because now I'm starting to get some clutch slippage ... which means I'll wind up spending money on a clutch that I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't bumped up the power.

But other than ~$700 for power, I've spent relatively no money on the truck. Besides regular oil and filter changes, I've put 1 set of tires on the truck, and 1 set of front brake pads. The only time the truck has been down was one LP, that was replaced for free by the dealer. That's it. The truck has NEVER laid down on me since the 1 LP.

I bet your truck does owns trailers. As does mine. I had 2 main reasons for buying 4WD. 1) In case I ever REALLY needed it. And I did once. I'll mention that below. 2) In case I REALLY NEEDED to sell the truck (if I were having monetary problems). Regardless of needing 4WD or not, the truck will sell so much faster if its 4WD. And if I'm hurting real bad for money, and must sell the truck, I don't want to have to give it away because I needed the money last week.

The one time I needed it. I was pulling my enclosed trailer with 2 (small)tractors in it. I stopped overnight at a hotel, in northern N.C. (or maybe southern VA). The parking lot was tight and it looked like it may snow a good bit overnight. The hotel was also up a somewhat steep hill and had a sloped parking lot.

Sure enough, the next morning everything had about 3 inches of snow (which is a good bit for the south-east). The parking lot was tight, and sloped. But I purposely parked where I could jack the combo around to get out, and also to minimize traffic blockage. Anyway, I was a bit scared to start jacking the truck and trailer around between parked cars with that kind of snow coverage on a sloped parking lot. I had to go from leaning sideways on a slope, to backing the trailer up the slope to turn around. 4-Lo saved my hide and my clutch, and a nice passer-by helped me know when to stop to clear cars on my trailer's blind side. He saw that I was in an unavoidable pickle ... nice guy. I don't think a 2WD, especially a dually, would have had the traction on that snow to do what I had to do.

If I had 2WD and a dually, I would've sat there a lot longer (until like noon) waiting for the snow to melt or wound up sliding into parked cars. But I had to skee-daddle. I had zero time to wait around.

- JyRO

 

I just rolled 50K miles on the 05 in my sig. Thats 50k since Sept. 9th of 05. It is my daily driver. It goes on out town trips. It spends the majority of time in Houston traffic. I have a log book of every fillup. Each fillup to the top of the neck. The majority of my entries end with mileage of 20 or better. Rare on the better but several tanks better than 20. My worst tank was 11.7 mpg but that was about 2 weeks after purchasing the truck and it idled in traffic for 18 hours and 230 miles escaping a hurricane. My best is 830.9 (23.1 average). If I cant go at least 450 miles before I reach 1/2 a tank I feel cheated.

 

again i say, when i am ready for my next truck i am going to shop this forum for one of the "few
" trucks that are able to get 20 mpg.

 

Well that will be a '03-04 2500 SWB 2wd 6spd with a 3.73.


MikeyB

 

herb,
Does that mean I'll be getting an offer on my Cummins and chassis in about 20 years after the body has rusted away??

they will be taking my keys about then so you might geta good deal. ahaha

 

Just got back from Sikestom Mo a couple hours ago. 501 miles took 33 gallons.
No trailer--had box loaded level with kiln dried oak boards. ran between 70-80 mph with air on.
15 MPG

 

I drive a 98 12 valve 3500 4x4 quad cab 225 hp pump and injectors and 3 stabe billet converter pistons washers etc.. and I get about 13 mpg maybe 15 highway if a baby it, is that normal??

 

If you baby it, I would think you'd get at least 16-17 or so.

 

my 97 got 14mpg I traded my 06 powerjoke which got 12mpg for an 07 CDT that gets 13-14mpg needless to say I drive em for the POWER but 20 sure sounds nice.

 

I'm glad to get 450 on a whole tank!
Joe

 

Well, in case nobody notices, I am the person who started this thread way back when. I dont have access to the internet very often. I bought my truck about a year ago with 130,000 miles on it and I myself have added 35000 of my own miles in the year I've had it. I drove the wheels of this truck and it never missed a tick and I actually have been able to break 18 to 18.5 mpg with it in the past 3-4 months. I am satisfied with that figure with 166000 miles and having 4wheel drive. I just sold it though, and I hope the guy who bought it has good luck with it as I had.

 

Did Springfling several weeks ago. From Yakima, WA to LA and back, 2400 mile round trip. I was pulling m 18' car trailer with my 71 Dodge Charger (about 5000 pds), had a canopy and the bed full of parts and 3 big guys riding, got 18.5 MPG average, running an average of 62MPH. I'm pretty happy

 

Now, for the other end of the spectrum. I just did a run down to Nawlins and back. On the way down there I ran max cruise for a large portion. In case you guys haven't experienced what max cruise is, basically 85 mph is as fast as the cruise will run. You can set it over 85 mph, but it will slow back down to 85 mph. Or you can set it at 80 mph and keep bumping the switch 'UP' and it will quit speeding up at 85 mph. At least that's how it works on my truck.

But, on the way after a bit of fiddling around in Picayune, MS, I refueld and from there all the way back to Montgomery, the truck was locked on 85 mph. I refueled again and hand calculated the mpg when I got back to town.

I got 15.73 mpg on the max cruise final leg, 3 guys in the truck, but otherwise empty. The previous tank did not get filled completely, but fairly close. I'm going to say that while cruising at 85 mph with the A/C ON, I'm getting somewhere between 15.75 mpg and 16.25 mpg.

 

Drove from Shelby NC to Charelston SC, this past weekend filled up before we left. I have 520 on the clock and still have a little under a 1/4 left no light on yet.