Yeah I was thinking about a programmer just too many choices

LOL True True! I guess I sould have said a head wind kills your mileage no matter what

 

No mention of what gears you're running. They do make a difference. I have the 4:10's and had 4:10's in my 04.5. The 04.5 got fantastic mileage. I could pull your weight, NO tow haul, @ 75 m.p.h. and still average 13-15 m.p.g. depending on which way the wind was blowing!! Wind & shape of unit was the only differing factor with the 04.5. NOW my 07.5, I'm hangin' right there with ya at barely crackin' double digits, but again at 75 m.p.h. If I could keep it down to 68 m.p.h. I would gain 1 m.p.g. or maybe 2 but since I'm workin' while I'm driving the 1 or 2 m.p.g. gain is not worth the extra time in the seat over a 1,300 mile trip. I have found that with the 4:10's towing, NO tow haul, even over mountains with the cruise control on and set @ 75 m.p.h. the truck downshifts less which saves more fuel over the long haul than towing @ 65 m.p.h with the tow haul on or the truck constantly downshifting every time ya go over a bump in the road. Just my .02

 

Hmmmm...3.73 ratio. I have gauges installed and working now so now I feel safe dragging this thing around. i am hauling her again on Friday and now i can watch my EGT's while staying out of TH. It made me so paranoid towing w/out gauges becuase my experience has showed me when the motor lugs the EGT's climb. I am hoping to maybe tow/haul in the hills and run normal everywhere else. if my temps stay in check which they should but now I will know for sure what the heck is goin on w/ my truck while I am driving.

 

oh and 330k on your 04.5? Wow man you are a driving machine!

 

Yeah, not much time at home and now with the current price of diesel, I'm burning up a lot of profit, have a truck that's 11 months old with 122k miles on it and not being able to put anything aside to replace it. I don't like taking them over 200k for work. After 200k miles on the 04.5 the Dodge wrapper just started costing me too much in repairs.
I'm at a real crossroads here!! Hard decisions to make VERY shortly.

 

Oh, never had any guages in the 04.5 or the 07.5. I keep em' stock, maintain them better than myself and use the tach. Only had a couple little problems with the Cummins powerplant in the 04.5. It was the Dodge part of the truck that forced me to upgrade to the 07.5. LOVE the new truck, gonna keep it stock too, but he, the new truck, sure has a healthy appetite for diesel!!

 

i just got back from a trip to Gimli Canada, we towed a u-haul trailer there and a 75 toyota land cuiser back to fort collins, the mileage on the way there was about 12.7mpg for an average of speed from 65 to 80+. on the way back with all speeds over 70 aveaging 75+ i got 9.1mpg not sure if this is normal or not i have just shy of 30K on the truck after the 2500 mile trip my life time average not including this trip for city and highway mileage was 16.7 mpg with a max of 23mpg+ all highway no winds cruise set a 70 i think the speed really killed my mileage we were really gettin after it

 

i took a trip to durango from los angeles and back 2400 miles round trip. i saved all fuel receipts. totaled mileage divided by how many gallons used on trip and i got 14.5 average. trailer in sig weighs 10000#. kept speed with big trucks. didnt want too much attention going out of state. while in cali 62mph. got into arizona speeds got up to 70 but not higher than that.

Colorado is a beautiful state. if it wasn't for family being 4 miles each direction, i'd be neighbors in durango area...

 

This thread makes me feel much better. Towing a 37' 5th wheel that weighs around 11,500 returns between 11 and 13 mpg depending on road, wind, etc. With all the people telling me they got 16 - 17, and one claiming 21 mpg towing, I was starting to wonder just what was wrong with my pickup. Sounds like I'm right in the hunt.

 

I just got back from a trip from central Ohio to Northern Mich and back. About 750-800 miles or so. I was pulling the trailer in my sig at around 11,000lb and averaged 12.6. I was pretty happy with that as those folks in MI tend to drive fast and I was usually running 70-75 just to maintain a reasonable general traffic speed (not wanting to tick people off). Oh, and the truck pulled great!

 

Truck in Sig, towing 04 Cougar 28.5 with super slide, weight scaled at 19,400 combined, full load of fuel, water, me, wife, 2 big kids, one little one, and a 90 lbs dog (yes it was cramped). Running 62-65 mph highway from Tacoma to Roseburg, Or and back averaged 14.7. Towing over to the coast and back (more curves, hills, and stop & go) average 12.2-12.9.

Aerodynamics on the '93 body sytle turn to dookie at 62 mph. Kept long term records on my old '85 dualie with 318, auto, and 4.10's got 13.1 hwy running empty, 9.4 towing 9,200 lbs 5th at 62 mph. Dropped to 11.4 empty and 8.1 towing at 70 mph. That truck was scienced out for a gasser.

 

I just did a bullet round trip from Albany OR to Millton Freewater OR about 325 miles 1 way. Mostly flat along the Columbia river. A beautiful not much wind day. I got 21.5mpg running empty @ 70mphish with a Smarty JR set on #1. I picked up a 2880# small stock trailer and ran it back home 65mph and got 13.5mpg. It had a pretty square and flat front end. It is speed and the shape of the thing that kills the milage. My EGT was 625 running empty at 70 and 900 pulling the trailer at 65. It is like pulling 2 flat sheets of plywood flat at 65, a constant drag!