Sorry, I wasn't very clear.......

Every 200lbs added to the weight of the vehicle lowers the mpg by 1 mpg.

I don't necessarily agree with this either, but numerous articles have brought this figure up. They basically stated not to carry any more than is necessary.

 

heybeermantx I am sure there are articles that back up your thesis, but I think they are on the exaggerated curve.

More like a quarter to half an MPG per 200 lbs, and that is on a light vehicle that exaggerates the curve.

Also, that would only manifest itself in around town driving. Based on that, towing a 3000 lb camp trailer would result in 1 mpg...

Still good advice to not carry anything that you don't need.
I have to remember to 'lighten ship' every so often.



gpaje my feeling is you probably drive like a Southern California driver. (One eye on the radar detector, the other on the brake lights ten cars up, and moving as fast as possible).

I average 80 over that stretch of 15 when I'm coming back from Alpine sometimes. Of course I am blocking traffic and have to stay in the slower lanes...

Also I notice a lot of hills in your highway driving. Well, when you live at sea level, anyway you go, you go up. Or underwater...

Kidding aside, with your heavy rig, loaded, no tonneau, things catching the wind (bikes on the roof used to knock 4-8 mpg off my Mercedes) big engine, etc. I don't think your mileage is really out of line.

Yeah a 5 speed auto would be really nice. My dream mod to my truck would be 4.10 gears and 5 speed auto. Sweet.

have a great one,
Chris

 

Ok my question is when does everyone normally fill up.

1/2 tank or less?

This last tank I filled up at 1/2 maybe just under but close enough and my mileage that I am tracking jumped up to 14.9. I am going to track it for awhile and see if it makes a difference.

The reason is I noticed I get more miles on the first 1/2 tank then the bottom half? Odd wouldn't the truck be lighter and use less?

 

05 150 KR, that's a great question. People should ask more questions like that. That's the kind of question that makes our country great. I salute you.
Next question, please?


Sorry, my political gene just kicked in.

Two schools of thought on how low to run the tank.

For running it lower you have weight loss, which would add up on these trucks. It also saves gas in 'running' to the station at least one extra time a week. Less chance of spillage, more time to find a better price.

Against. Lose all the savings the first time you run out of gas. On some vehicles that are not perfectly sealed you get moister condensing on the side of the almost empty tank and draining down into the gas. Slosh factor, sometimes it can affect you in a corner. Not a big deal on these heavy trucks.
Gas prices may rise while you wait to fill it.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.
Chris

 

ChrisAdams:
I agree that the figure sounds exagerated, and I also agree that it is possibly refering to passenger cars and such.

05 150 KR:
I usually fill up at 1/4 tank left. I do this so that I get the benefit of running with less wieght in the tank for a few miles, but still have the time to "shop" for a low price. For example, I go to school 20 miles away from my home in another town 3 days a week, and gas is cheaper there right now. But then there are times that a gas station 15 miles the other direction from my house near where I work is cheaper. A quarter tank lets me see both and still be "passing by" and fill up then.

 

I have to agree. If this was true when I hau l my 18' trailer with my off road truck (about 6000lbs) and a bed full of tools and parts I would pull - MPG then.

I drove 226.5 MPG today from when I filled up. Filled it when I got home and mix I got 15.53 mpg.

Kind of crappy considering 90% of that driving was at 70 on open blacktop.

 

You described me perfectly

BTW - I've noticed my BMW's fuel economy has dropped after the roof rack / aero fairing setup, but it's still cheaper to run than my F150, even though I'm paying for $2.85 91 octane

 

I hated running premium in the old BMW. and if you don't it runs like ish. I guess its the price you pay for German Engineering, even though my bumper fell off, and when you drive it feels like its shaking apart.

 

I believe it's inversed, that the speedometer shows a higher than true speed while the odometer is spot on. It's common on many cars for the speedometer to read a little high.
MarkCh

 

I assure you that my OD was/is low from the speedo and not "spot on"! I've checked it several times on a 10mile stretch of road that has signs posted just for this sort of thing. Also against my GPS on a number of calculated occasions and it is quite accurate on the open road as long as you're moving.

Since my speedo is now dialed in spot on to GPS readings after my last gear changes, next I need to do more accurate tests on the OD again. Though it still appears to be roughly its 6-8% low/inversed as it was before.

I was quite surprised when I first discovered how off the OD was!