I'm about to take the plunge and buy a bigger truck. I am looking at the 3/4 tons Ford, Dodge and GM's. What are you driving? How do you like it and most of all what kind of fuel mileage are you getting?

I'm really interested in 08 duramax's

If you're worried about fuel mileage, you should probably avoid 3/4 ton diesel trucks but the 2wd 5.9L Dodge cummins gets the best economy I've seen.

Yeah, i never understood how fuel mileage and 3/4 ton diesel came to be put in the same sentence. You buy a 3/4 ton truck for towing heavy loads, not for the fuel mileage.

But then again, no one should look at fuel mileage being a factor in trucks. I dont consider a vehicle to get good fuel mileage unless its in the 28-35 mpg range. Because in reality, are you really going to see the difference in a chevy that gets 12 mpg vs. a ford that gets 15 mpg?.... Nope. You would have to really do the math to find a difference, but its not like that much of a difference is going to make your wallet lighter or heavier.

Also, i wouldnt want to pick the truck im going to drive based on fuel economy since all of them are going to have bad mpg numbers anyways. Buy the truck you like the best. Buy the one that is the most comfortable or the one that has the best extras. Buy the one that has the best payload or best towing capacity, or the one that feels the best driving. Those are way more important factors than trying to split hairs on the already bad fuel mileage numbers of a 3/4 ton truck.

Just this weekend sold my 97 GMC 3500 (gas 5.7) and bought a 07 GMC 3500 diesel. I can already tell I m going to like it a LOT better for towing my travel trailer (which I did today). 5 mpg towing with the gas, not sure what yet with the diesel since I haven't burned a whole tank yet but most are getting 12 mpg towing with a Duramax. Even if you aren't supposed to worry about gas mileage with a truck, doubling your mpg and having power to spare is a good thing.

I learne a lot about the Duramaxs while shopping (if you have any questions).

My uncle has a 2004 1-ton dually 2wd 6speed manual dodge that gets 19-20 back and forth to work. My old half ton gas got 16-18 back and forth to work... why on earth would you buy the half ton gas? From pulling or milleage standpoint? I know the truck cost more, but it will last longer and in days past would have saved you gas money.

He has a '98 3/4 ton that will get 23 hwy and 16-17 pulling the boat.

I know you hate diesels with a passion, and people who like them but before the emmisions took over they were sweet!

To the OP I would be looking for a pre-6.7 cummins for milleage. Second would be the D-max... wouldnt even look at a ford unless I was looking for a truck old enough to get the 7.3.

matt

Every diesel truck will get great mileage with a little bit of work to take off all the epa emissions garbage. My buddies 6.0 gets better mileage then my 7.3 and i get about 20-21 towing my legend.

I have a 2008 Dodge 6.7L Cummins 4wd 3/4 ton Mega Cab. Its sitting on 89K miles and getting 17.5 mpg, which is the best its ever done. When it gets 100K and off warranty I'll be interested to see what it gets with a chip. I love the truck and don't ever see owning anything but a Cummins.

My uncle used to tell me he got 15-16 pulling his 32' 5th wheel and I never believed him... so i rode with him and sure enough the tank got 15-16 mpg, however it was pulling the 5th wheel to his lake lot and driving back home empty that averaged 15-16. Burn a hole tank with the legend back there and see if it gets 20... my bets are not!

For all you guys out there saying that diesel does not good mileage you need to consider the truck first. I used to pull a bass cat and got nothing less the 16 mpg I have 5.9L cummins 4x4 but I will say that it has a chip cold air intake and exhaust.
My cousin has the new ford diesel and it gets terrible mileage.

If you can afford it I would buy a duramax I have heard nothing but good things about them.

Look on the road and pay attention there is more cummins out there pulling trailers then any other truck ........ There is a reason for that

Red, i dont hate diesels, lol. They are great for what they are built for. However, when someone gets on here and asks about mileage with a diesel, you know they are looking to buy one for other reasons (fad factor) besides constantly towing heavy loads which is what they are built for. Yes the cummins of the past got good mileage, i know this and have had buddies that had them, but those times of diesel being cheaper per gallon than gas is over, way over. And they dont make the 5.9 any more. I live just south of fort worth and diesel is almost always .60 cents more per gallon than gas. I talk to my brother in law every weekend and he constantly gripes about the mileage of his 6.7L cummins. He doesnt have a liometer, he hand calculates his and averages 13 mpg. People who choose to buy a 3/4 ton or 1 ton diesel with the sole intent of spending less in diesel than a gas half ton are going about it way wrong. I compared it to a gas half ton because over half of the people out there that buy one for saving in fuel cost can do what ever they do under the capability of a 1/2 ton truck. My point is that if i needed a diesel because of towing requirements, i wouldnt be worried about fuel economy, because if i need the extra towing capability, i need it reguardless of what the fuel cost and efficiency will be.

The poster wanted advise, so i gave it to him. You dont want a 3/4 ton diesel if your idea of having one is based off of fuel efficiency.

In my opinion the weight of what you are towing should be the primary reason to buy a diesel. As CWCW stated this differential is most likely here to stay. Diesel is currently selling at a 40� premium to gas. At this differential you would need to get 2 mpg more to break even on the fuel expense. Add the up front cost of the diesel and it would go quite a bit higher. The last time I calculated it it would take about 200,000 miles to pay back. That was quite a while ago and I have no idea what it is now.

If my Duramax wasn't paid for I would be going back to a gas engine. I get around the same mileage as the Z71's I used to drive. I sure like my big 3/4ton diesel for pulling.

Exactly my point. And for those who need to tow 10k or more, they arent worried about fuel economy because it doesnt matter, if they have to tow that amount, they got to tow it regardless of what its going to cost them at the pump.

I got bored one day and actually calculated how much more fuel economy you would have to get out of a diesel to make up for the extra in fuel cost and upfront cost of the vehicle. I cant remember the numbers but it was a big jump to come out even and you would have to keep the truck somewhere around 20 years. I based it off of annual mileage rating of 25k miles per year i think but cant remember the fuel mileage you would have to obtain with the diesel for it to make sense. I just know there is no realatively new diesel on the market that could get the mpg that i came up with.

If you like the thought and power of having one, then by all means, go get one cause the pulling power is awesome. But, the thought of mind that you will save money having one over a gasoline engine is ignorant.

I have 4 Fords, 99 and 08 Super duty, v10 gas, 4x4, manual transmissions. The 99 has about 190,000 miles and has been trouble free other than routine parts like brakes, ball joints, etc. The 08 has 35,000 miles, almost new. Both these trucks were purchased to pull trailers from 10-16,000 lbs. They work great and I would buy them again if they still built them. Have a 95 F350, crew cab, 7.3 diesel with a flatbed and about 200,000 miles. I replaced the auto transmission with a custom built and it is great for long hauls and serious pulling. Also have an 08 F150 Super crew with 5.4, Lariat package, 45,000 miles. It is just a driver, rarely pulls anything. I don't know what kind of mileage the big trucks get, as a previous poster stated, we bought them for work, not mpg. The F150 gets 16 around town and about 19 to 20 on long hauls over the freeway. We also have 2 L8000 trucks. I have had excellent results with Ford, but that is also all I have run for over 25 years.