For the past 3 weekends in a roll I have driven my 04 Lariat Screw w/3:55 gears from north Dallas, TX to Norman, OK to watch the Sooners as they march to the BCS Championship. Each trip has been virtually identical. Fill the tank Friday evening, drive to Norman, drive around Friday night, drive Saturday in game day traffic (lots of idle time), head back home on Sunday, fill up in Ardmore OK so as to get some unreformulated gas, and top off tank once home. Same gas stations, same pumps, tank filled to the brim each time. Loading has been the same each trip - 3 adults with luggage, estimate weight 600 to 700 pounds. No bed cover, tires aired to 35psi, A/C used as necessary (probably 60% of the time). As luck and weather conditions would have it, on each trip I have hit heads winds of 10 to 20 mph in both directions on each trip. Once on I35 I have driven between 70 and 78 depending on traffic. At the completion of the 3rd trip the truck had clocked 2100 miles of which approximately 1300 came from the 3 trips.

Overall average mileage for the 3 trips: 17.9 (Computer recorder 16.6)
Best trip segment mileage of the 3 trips: 19.6
Worse segment mileage of the 3 trips: 16.8

My ‘00 5.4 Scab with same gears and bed cover never did better than 17.5 mpg and that was achieved in winter w/o the AC running.

Would like to see 20 but, it is a truck - a heavy truck.

Screwdriver

 

I am also pleased with the 5.4's fuel efficiency. I have yet to achieve sub-19MPG in my rural town and highways (general speed, 55MPH on most roads around here... then 30 on back streets, 75 on highway).

WHich is nice considering with my 2002 Ranger supercab 4x4 with the 4.0 I never got above like 18.8

 

My MPG is going south. It started out in the low 16's until it reached approx. 2000 miles , and now is around 15.7, at 3000 mile mark. Lariat Screw 4x2 3.73 ls. Combination of hiway and town driving and no speeding.

 

I could only be so lucky.....

11.9 - 12.0mpg with 75-90% city driving.

 

I have a few trips to make this holiday season and if I get 18 mpg I will be happy. I only expect arround 16 or 17 though. do you have 2wd or 4 wd Screwdriver?

 

4x4 supercab 3.73 mostly highway driving...I'm getting around 14 mpg with 5000 miles on the truck. I thought it would be better. I haven't been any where near 18-19 mpg under any driving conditions.

 

I have an FX4 w/ 3.73 gears and about 3000 miles. The best I have gotten around town is 13. The best I've gotten w/ all highway driving is 9, but I should mention I was pulling a 24' enclosed trailer with 4 ATVs in it.

 

wow you might have gotten better gas milage if you put the truck on the trailer and used the atv's to pull it

 

You might be correct. If you think 9 is bad, I was only getting 6 on the first part of my trip. I was bucking a really strong head wind though. Enclosed trailers are great when the wind is behind you, but when you are going right into the wind you will hate them.

 

I hope I don't get that bad of gas milage when I tow my boat. I probably won't know till next spring.

 

i get 14-16 mpg depending on how much city driving i do. i do mostly freeway, but in LA traffic can turn freeway driving into city driving real quick. i have 3000 miles on mine. i'll be driving up to San Francisco for turkey day next week, so we'll see what kind of mileage I get on a long trip staying at 70mph most of the way.

 

Jasonkola:

My truck is 2WD.

Screwdriver