# are 20mpg fullsize truck for real?



## Jerry-rigged (May 21, 2004)

Howdy all-
for about a year now, all the big three have been advertizing that their V8, full size trucks get 20mpg+ hwy.

For those of ya'll that have bought an F150, Chevy/GMC, or Dodge Ram this year, what kind of gas milage are you getting? Also how go you figure you milage, from the truck's computer, or trip odomiter & pencil and paper?

Thanks
Jerry


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## txrowdy (Nov 7, 2008)

I think the 20mpg for a gas truck engine is a tough mark to hit except under perfect operating conditions (ie. unloaded and around 55 to 60 mph with little stop/go). From my experience the trucks computer average fuel economy is always going to be higher than what you calculate by hand. I am sure there are many reasons but one for sure is the fact of fuel evaporation. I have never reset my mpg since i bought my truck which helps to give me a better (longer) average. 

I am sure someone with a new 1/2 ton will have a better opinion. 

Taylor


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## fisher__man (Jan 13, 2006)

I have a 07 Ford f-150 super crew with the 5.4L in it and on my last trip to Missouri I averaged 19mpg but I was doing at least 70-75 the whole time with a bed full of hunting equipment. Every day driving I get about 17MPG. I think with a newer one 20 is possible as long as you keep it under 70.


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## igo320 (May 17, 2005)

My Chevy 2500 6.0 liter gets 16 hwy and 13.5 city.
Buddies 1/2 ton Tundra 5.7 liter gets about 18 hwy if he is not driving...friggin lead foot tail chaser, scares the crapola outa me.


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## cclayton01 (Jun 6, 2005)

My mom had a 2001 Chevy Extended cab stepside 2wd with the 4.8litre V8 and she seen 21mpg out of a few tanks. It averaged about 17-19mpg.


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## NaClH2O (May 25, 2004)

When my 2002 GMC Sierra with a 4.8L V8 was new, I got 19 mpg overall. I did a lot of highway driving, but I bet it would be 20 mpg if it was strictly highway. But as you know, you can almost never get a full tank of all highway miles unless you're doing a lot of driving in the middle of nowhere with nothing to slow you down.


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## deebo (May 22, 2004)

i have an 07 GMC 4X4. most of the time its around 16 for city driving. Summertime highway trip, about 18.5 hwy only and keeping it right at 70 (I dont speed). There are rare exceptions though. one time last fall, headed from CS to rockport, i got just over 23. that was with A/C off, and a tail wind, driving at night (65mph). it stayed on 4 cyl for a lot of the trip on hwy 59/77. so yes, you can get 20 or better even with 4X4, but its a perfect conditions type of thing.


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

fisher__man said:


> I have a 07 Ford f-150 super crew with the 5.4L in it and on my last trip to Missouri I averaged 19mpg but I was doing at least 70-75 the whole time with a bed full of hunting equipment.


 Really??? I have the exact same truck, year, motor and I don't get anywhere near that good. I even have a K&N and flowmaster classic 40 which in theory should help. If I drove 70-75 on the hwy, I would never see over 17.8mpg. I can get up to 18.5 if I drive slower but I don't drive too slow. I do have 33x12.5 tires so maybe that is what is killing my MPG???


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## D-fish (May 7, 2009)

i have a 2009 king ranch 4x4 crew with the 5.4 liter. i have gotten 19+ on a few longer trips while keeping it around 70, but overall I am getting +-16, which includes many Houston miles, so i don't think its too bad. my old KR 4x4, 2005 avg was 13.5 over time, so the new ones in my opinion are definately better on fuel. Transmission being 6 spd vs 4 spd makes a big diff, and it also rides a heck of alot better. 

The trucks they advertise as 21 are usually smaller engines (6cyl in the ford i think) and smaller V8s....


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## rockyraider (Feb 1, 2006)

We took our '06 Z71 4x4 Burb with a 5.3l to the coast this summer. I was pretty amazed that it hand calculated 17mpg on the way back with three adults and four kids in it and loaded down with clothes, food, etc... This was also in August so it was HOT and the A/C was cranked. I would guess it would easily get 18mpg on a nice flat road without the A/C, especially if traveling light. Thats pretty good in my opinion for a heavy tank like that. I'm guessing it gets around 13-15mpg in town though. Good thing my wife only drives about 3-5mi to work every day.

I drove my 2000 5.9 Cummins 4x4 with 193k on it to San Saba a few weeks ago. Very hilly and some stop and go driving along the way. Hand calculated 18mpg and its bone stock with an auto tranny. Not too bad in my opinion. I'm guessing it would hit 20mpg pretty easy with an economy tuner in it.


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## gedavis2 (Oct 17, 2006)

I get 18mpg on highway doing 70-75mph with a 01 F250 CC 7.3 tuner,exhaust and intake mods. I'm sure I could get 20 if I slowed down(Not!). I always use paper and pencil to calculate.

GED


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## Red3Fish (Jun 4, 2004)

*Not a V 8...but...*

But my old fishing truck, 4.2 V6 F 150 Reg cab, gets 20/21 on the highway, and 18/19 city....hand calculated. When I pull my low profile alum boat, it doesn't even know it is back there!~ LOL

Later
R3F


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## Galveston Yankee (May 24, 2004)

SV_DuckBuster said:


> Really??? I have the exact same truck, year, motor and I don't get anywhere near that good. I even have a K&N and flowmaster classic 40 which in theory should help. If I drove 70-75 on the hwy, I would never see over 17.8mpg. I can get up to 18.5 if I drive slower but I don't drive too slow. I do have 33x12.5 tires so maybe that is what is killing my MPG???


Did you have your odometer settings changed because of the tire size difference? Fords have a 31.5" tire, generally, when manufactured. A 33" tire will change your mileage readings by about 4%, which in turn will affect your gas mileage calculations.

I have 33" tires on my 02 F-150 supercrew 4X4. I am lucky to be getting 14 highway and average 13 or so per tank. Except when towing, then I am lucky to get 9 or 10.

It also makes a big difference if you are putting gas with ethynol in the tank. You're likely to lose 20% of the EPA estimated gas mileage if you are burning ethynol.


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## danduhman (Jan 19, 2007)

I just changed jobs recently and was required to go to Mobile alabama to get my new truck a 2009 ford f-150 V8 I drove it back to houston and it still had a little less than 1/4 tank the computer showed it was gettin 21 mpg


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## yack (Jun 2, 2009)

SV_DuckBuster said:


> Really??? I have the exact same truck, year, motor and I don't get anywhere near that good. I even have a K&N and flowmaster classic 40 which in theory should help. If I drove 70-75 on the hwy, I would never see over 17.8mpg. I can get up to 18.5 if I drive slower but I don't drive too slow. I do have 33x12.5 tires so maybe that is what is killing my MPG???


 if the tires are larger than stock and you have not reprogrammed the computer, you could be getting better mileage than you think. the larger tires will show less miles on you odometer than you have actually travelled. and if you are going by the truck computer, it is calibrated for a certain size tire. is your speedometer off at all? you can check it with a gps.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

My 2008 Dodge Hemi Ext cab 2wd will get 19.5 IF I drive at 64 mph. At 65, the computer that cuts off half the cylinders goes back to 8 cylinder mode and at 70, I only get 17-18mpg. This is calculated, and not the computer readout. However, my computer readout is within a couple of tenths of actual mpg as long as I remember to reset it each time I fill up.


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

My 5.7 f250 ford suks, 10 mpg no matter what. My 6.0 HD 1500 chevy gets 18 not pulling hwy and 15 pulling hwy. city,, it all depends if I'm late or not so it doesn't count.lol. A good bud had a new chevy 1500 flex fuel 6 speed or wthe and he get 20 mpg hwy easy. Not sure what my dads new 2010 HD 2500 6.0 chevy get yet,, he picked it up last friday! all gas motors.....


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## Arlon (Feb 8, 2005)

SV_DuckBuster said:


> Really??? I have the exact same truck, year, motor and I don't get anywhere near that good. I even have a K&N and flowmaster classic 40 which in theory should help. If I drove 70-75 on the hwy, I would never see over 17.8mpg. I can get up to 18.5 if I drive slower but I don't drive too slow. I do have 33x12.5 tires so maybe that is what is killing my MPG???


Driving style will make more difference than the truck. 
I have no problems hitting 23-25mpg with my old corvette. When my son drives he's lucky to get 12-15mpg. That's the same exact car. Hmm, wonder why that happens.

Mileage at MY house is definately proportional to the drivers age..


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

Galveston Yankee said:


> Did you have your odometer settings changed because of the tire size difference? Fords have a 31.5" tire, generally, when manufactured. A 33" tire will change your mileage readings by about 4%, which in turn will affect your gas mileage calculations.
> 
> I have 33" tires on my 02 F-150 supercrew 4X4. I am lucky to be getting 14 highway and average 13 or so per tank. Except when towing, then I am lucky to get 9 or 10.
> 
> It also makes a big difference if you are putting gas with ethynol in the tank. You're likely to lose 20% of the EPA estimated gas mileage if you are burning ethynol.





yack said:


> if the tires are larger than stock and you have not reprogrammed the computer, you could be getting better mileage than you think. the larger tires will show less miles on you odometer than you have actually travelled. and if you are going by the truck computer, it is calibrated for a certain size tire. is your speedometer off at all? you can check it with a gps.


My speedo was calibrated at time of larger tire install and it's accurate per gps. 
Now the point regarding ethynol is interesting. Can you really loose 20% of mpg due to using fuel with ehtynol?


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

Arlon said:


> Driving style will make more difference than the truck.
> I have no problems hitting 23-25mpg with my old corvette. When my son drives he's lucky to get 12-15mpg. That's the same exact car. Hmm, wonder why that happens.
> 
> Mileage at MY house is definately proportional to the drivers age..


Another excellent point! I am still pretty young at heart and although a safe driver, my 5 yr old son and I do like to hear that exhaust roar! lol I bet this is my #1 loss leader when it comes to poor mpg.


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## atcfisherman (Oct 5, 2006)

I have a 2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 crew cab 4wd with the 6.0 liter gas and it gets 13 around town and 15-16 on the highway. But, that is going about 60-65 MPH on the highway.


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## Lav20 (Mar 22, 2005)

*23.3 - Hemi*

I started a trip in Conroe and drove very light just to see how high I could get the MPG computer to register. I arrived League City and it read 23.3. This was 60 mph, not much braking and plenty of gliding and the wind was at my back.

Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi 08


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## frankt667 (Dec 7, 2009)

*16.3 Avg. MPG*

2008 Chevy 1500 2WD V8

I average 16.5 and drive about 5-7 mph above speed limit. Reset it for a long trip and got closer to 18 but again I drive 65-75 on highway.


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## rotti (May 12, 2006)

Always ****** me off when I see Chevy/Dodge/Ford post 20/21mpg on the window. My current truck is a 2008 Silverado Crew Cab. My consistent avg is 15.5 which is combo of toll road (70mph) and some city driving. On a 100% highway trip....I typically get about 16.5-17mpg.


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## gds (May 22, 2004)

I have a 2008 Chevy 1500 CC, Vortex Max with the 6.0 engine, I hand figure my mileage and if I set my cruise at 70 on a long trip I can get 18, if I drive 80 to 85 like I usually do I get about 17. I run synthetic oil and have a catback exhaust system and cannot tell that they made any differance.


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## fishnstringer (Oct 20, 2006)

*Although not a "full size" truck in many minds,*

my 2005 1/2 ton Chevrolet Suburban gets 22 mpg with ac on, loaded, and driving 70 mph. However, my wife's 2007 GMC Yukon under better conditions, except less weight, and with the V8 engine that fluctuates in active cylinders from 4 to 8, only gets 17+or -at best. We expected greater mileage with the new engine in the GMC, but not the case.


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## younggun55 (Jun 18, 2009)

I can get mid 19's hand calced with my 08 F-250 6.4 powerstroke....on a 8" lift and 38X15.50X20 toyos, just a few things under the truck fell off on a bumpy road


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## Jerry-rigged (May 21, 2004)

fishnstringer said:


> my 2005 1/2 ton Chevrolet Suburban gets 22 mpg with ac on, loaded, and driving 70 mph. However, my wife's 2007 GMC Yukon under better conditions, except less weight, and with the V8 engine that fluctuates in active cylinders from 4 to 8, only gets 17+or -at best. We expected greater mileage with the new engine in the GMC, but not the case.


As a Ford guy, I always get a little ****** when I hear how good the milage is on a Surburban...  They've been that way for years, I wish F&S cu get their truck milage as good...


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## jbaca15 (Sep 14, 2009)

Get a Duramax, it will cure what ales you. 18 to 22 HWY and City combined on a 4X4.


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## JoshuaLO (Jul 11, 2007)

My 2005 GMC Duramax gets 20+ on the highway. And it has a 6 inch lift and 35 inch tires.....I thought that was pretty good.


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## Durtjunkee (Mar 23, 2007)

Dodge/Cummins/2wd/Std. tranny is the only combo that i know will consistently break the 20mpg mark when used in every day, mixed, driving conditions.

My 02' 4x4 gets 17-18 and it reads 125k on the meter.


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## michaelbaranowski (May 24, 2004)

Also if people are getting better than 20mpg are you using real gasoline or is the ethonal mix. Cause I now my mileage is alot better if I can find real gas.


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## Triad_Marine (Aug 31, 2009)

We have an 08 Silverado 1/2 ton V-8 TX edition and it does about 23 on the highway when we go to Oklahoma to visit.... in town if we are coating at a constant speed it cuts from 8 cylinders to 4 and we find the milage to be pretty good my b/f drives from league city to la porte all week plus our extra outings and fills up only on mondays and most of the time he still has a 1/4 of a tank....much better than our 06 4x4 silverado with the V-8


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## Triad_Marine (Aug 31, 2009)

michaelbaranowski said:


> Also if people are getting better than 20mpg are you using real gasoline or is the ethonal mix. Cause I now my mileage is alot better if I can find real gas.


We did do better when we went to Arkansas last summer on the tanks with no ethenol about 25 mpg on the interstate at posted 70 mph


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