I have been wondering about fuel mileage lately. I bought a 2011 chevy with 5.3 a couple years ago based on the thought that I would be willing to give up power to gain MPG's. Now I am wondering how that worked as I hear all the time about people in their Toyotas fords and dodges bragging on 20 mpg's or better.

I drive 19 miles one way to work every day half in 55mph stop lights and the other half is a mix of open hwy with occasional traffic and then stop lights down town. I get 18 mpg like clockwork with an occasional 19 on this mix driving. I have never burned a tank of nothing but hwy.

This weekend me, my wife, and parents commuted from San Antonio to Choke canyon every day to fish with the boat(19-foot fiberglass center console). The first tank got 12.1 mpg driving 60-65 and that included idling with the a/c on in the parking lot from 7-10:30 waiting out rain. The second tank was just normal driving with the 4 of us and the boat and I kept it between 60 and 65 and I got 15.3 mpg. How does this compare to other? It would kinda wiz me off to see I gave up the power and didn't gain any mpg's. Also these were full tanks with the boat, not just one trip and the rest empty driving and I hand calculated the fuel numbers.

My 5.3L Silverado typically gets 14-15 hauling around my 17-foot fiberglass boat. I think 15 with a 19-foot center console is very good towing mileage.

Well I've learned one thing over the years, most people are prone to lie about their mpg's!

Here's mine both being diesels and are city with a mix of some interstate.

2005 2500 5.9ltr 2wd Dodge 15.5 mpg's
2012 F350 6.7ltr 4wd Ford 14.6mpg's

So here's what I have finally figured out, Boerne must be the most suck azz town to drive in/around because I get the worst mileage of anybody on any of the forums.

Or I'm one of the few honest ones???

Thats about on par for a newer 5.3... my dad had a 2001 silverado 5.3 that got 20hwy 15 pulling 18ft glass boat. His 2010 5.3 gmc wont get over 18 on the hwy. He wasnt happy about that. My 6.0 gets 16 hwy and 13 pulling same boat. All numbers are honest and all trucks are 2wd.

2006 2wd Ford Expd. 5.4 with heavy duty trailer tow package. 12.3 in the city,wife driving 9.8 miles round trip to work,ecm has her pattern down so it shifts and engine rpms stay the same. Up to 15.5 on the high way with the foot out of it and a good back wind.

2002 Dodge 2500 2wd,6 speed,3.55 rear end, h.o.cummins, longbed .in the city around 12. If I drive it at 70 and good weather with the tailgate down I can get about 600 miles to 35 gallon tank of diesel. The way I have my engine peaked and tuned by me, its for highway milage,the city milage sucks if I have to drive in it allot.

I think most truck guys lie about their mileage, or they don't hand calculate the numbers.

my 6.0 gas 2001 2500HD GMC kills me on gas mileage...on the road at 70-75 I get almost 15...around town I get about 13...towing is another matter...towing my 18 foot bass boat I get 11 but when I tow my travel trailer, I get between 6 and 8 depending on how fast I drive...that 4-10 rear end doesn't help things much..

Most people do fib on the mileage, or read the lie o meter.

2006 dodge 2500 megacab 4x4.

EFI live tune, 35 inch tires I am getting 14.7 mixed city traffic/highway.

Before I moved I had about a 10 mile longer commute of mostly hi-way and I got a hair over 20 a few times with 19 being the norm.

I will also say I don't drive like 90% of people out there do, if I did I would get worse mpg's.

You're getting pretty good mileage. I can get 18 on the highway and average 15 and change in town. With my boat on the back if I really baby it I can see 14 but typically high 13's right now. When the truck was stock it did about 2 mpg highway and 1 mpg everywhere else. Lifted on 35's kinda put a damper on it but not by much.

I will say though with a chevy/gm you're giving up a lot of pulling power over Dodge/Toyota and finally Ford has caught up as well. Chevy have built a great small block but it has no tq at all which is the only thing that steered me away from them when I bought this truck. I came out of a gutless 5.4 ford after having a Duramax for a tow vehicle and although I didn't want to go back to another diesel, I didn't want another truck that groaned every time I hooked the boat up. Dodge and Toyota got their gas motors right and Dodge got the fuel mileage right. I'm happy with mine but if you're happy with how yours pulls, I'd keep it because you're not going to do a lot better on mileage with a newer one.

Toyota has great power. I drove one for a week just to try out. It reminded me of an old muscle car - step on the gas and watch the gauge move.

Very true, they are stout trucks. Dodge matches them in power though with a lot better mileage. Granted if I lean on it I can drink gas with them best of them but if I drive with some sense I can blow the 'yota out of the water.

My Dodge (diesel) still gets over 20 mpg unloaded and about 17 pulling a 2500 pound boat trailer after 180 thousand miles. Throw in the cost penalty for buying diesel and it still stacks up close to the better trucks in fuel mileage with pulling power that is as much as anyone needs.

I'm driving to Kentucky Lake this evening to drop off a lower unit and watch the drag races (boat) at the Land between the Lakes area. I think I'm taking the VW and with a 700 mile drive I hope to just stop for fuel one time when I do the turn around. A 1400 mile trip and will hopefully use less than 30 gallons of fuel.

Then Monday morning I'm driving to deliver an outboard to El Dorado Arkansas which is a 600 mile round trip. I'lll be doing that in my Dodge and hopefully I won't have to fill up. My last trip averaged 22 mpg and went 776 miles on the first tank (34.4 gallons).

My mother in law is on her 2nd TDI Jetta. Great mileage for sure.