Tow Rig Questions and Opinion

[Wickedcummins]

I should be very very close seems I work on 1,000 of these a year and involded in alot of the factory programing and Tons of aftermarket programming

[Timmy!]

Weird that 70% get 12-20mpg cruising yet you guys claim that you can get 20.5 towing. Is that on a full tank or just for a few miles? What kind of speed are we talking? 55 mph?
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/3r...ising-mpg.html

I got like 30 mpg in my truck yesterday but I was driving downhill on I-70 from 9,000'...

[Wickedcummins]

Yah read them sigs there all got crap done to them. The probablem with 90% of diesel owners is they have no idea what there doing. I see smokey diesels all the time witch is a huge waste of fuel. Need the right timing and Pulse width and duration of the injection cycle to achieve good power and MPG. Stock trucks that are running as they should from the factory get about 20.5 thats by hand math. The overhead takes alot of differnet things in when it factors the MPH and its always about 2-4mpg off in either direction.

Most the trucks you see getting bad mileage either are run with durty air filters or an internal fuel leak not allowing the truck to see its full potential fuel pressure. 03-04 23k and 05-07 26.5. The worst killer of MPG on the Dodge is the stock convertor that has way to much stall for a diesel. Get a convertor in there that has good fluid cupling and multiplcation and you will see huge gains. I can increase MPG by 3pmg with just a convertor. Get a controller and 4mpg. standalone TCU and 6mph and thats just messing with the tranny. Clean the engine programing up and get some more air flow in and out and alot more gains!

[Wickedcummins]

Weird that 70% get 12-20mpg cruising yet you guys claim that you can get 20.5 towing. Is that on a full tank or just for a few miles? What kind of speed are we talking? 55 mph?
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/3r...ising-mpg.html

I got like 30 mpg in my truck yesterday but I was driving downhill on I-70 from 9,000'...

These are number I get from customers ECU logs that I know all they do is tow. One hauls campers from florida to cali. One delievers the New york times from i70 to a little past grand junction every night. And many others the ecu matchs within 1 mpg of most there math.

[Wickedcummins]

I just drove a 05 duramax to az and back and it only got 15.5. When we looked at it found it to have leaky injectors and other maint not done. Sent it to utah and back and it for 19.3mph. Maint is huge on a diesel and they will run even when there just about completly dead!

[IDBoating]

Weird that 70% get 12-20mpg cruising yet you guys claim that you can get 20.5 towing. Is that on a full tank or just for a few miles? What kind of speed are we talking? 55 mph?

As I said above, I literally JUST got back from a round trip to Fernie BC. Highway the entire distance with speed limits 60-70 MPH and 100-110 KPH in Canada, with the occasional slowdown when passing through a small town.

Tripmeter says I drove a total of just over 500 miles. I filled up my 34 gallon tank the night before I left, haven't filled it since, and the gauge shows ~1/3rd tank still remaining. Just using those very rough numbers, we get (500 miles / 23 gallons =) 21.74 MPG. I'm rounding in the conservative direction on all values (i.e. it was actually >500 miles but I can't remember exactly how many right now, etc.). The vast majority of the driving was at the higher speeds (70 MPH/110 KPH) and my mileage drops quickly above 60 MPH.

This is a real-world test that I just finished 24 hours ago. Doesn't get any more real than that.

Edit: I should add that I have my studded snow tires installed right now. They definitely have higher rolling resistance than my summer tires. The latter would increase my summer mileage as compared to winter.

[Wickedcummins]

I agree my customers have said the same thing anything over 65 MPG drops a ton! That has alot to do with the stock lockup being horriable. Get a good convertor in there with a Copilot and watch the major gains.

[IDBoating]

I agree my customers have said the same thing anything over 65 MPG drops a ton! That has alot to do with the stock lockup being horriable. Get a good convertor in there with a Copilot and watch the major gains.

Forgive my ignorance, but are you talking about the torque converter in an automatic transmission? I have the Mercedes-Benz G65 manual, which Daimler-Chrysler started using after the New Venture NV5600 stopped production. You can tell which one is installed by the placement of reverse in the shift pattern; the older NV5600 has reverse up and to the right, while the newer G56 has it down and to the left.

[Wickedcummins]

Yah in a AUTO. Yah the NV5600 is a cast case the G56 is a aluminum case and a bit stronger. I know anything you need to know about Dodge/Jeep been factory trained for over 7 years

[Timmy!]

You guys have amazing trucks and are definitely in a much smaller group of people than most getting that mileage. When most people buy a 2500 Crew Cab Short Box 4x4 automatic (most popular model), they are going to get < 20 mpg and not 24 like you 2 are and certainly not 20mpg towing! I read through some more of the cummins forum and most of the posts I see are people towing stuff anywhere from 8mpg to 12~13.

[IDBoating]

I read through some more of the cummins forum and most of the posts I see are people towing stuff anywhere from 8mpg to 12~13.

When they say "towing" they're probably towing huge trailers that aren't very aerodynamic. Those giant travel trailers really degrade the mileage. A boat is far more aerodynamic, and my boats are the largest things I've towed so far so I can't tell you what happens with my truck with larger loads. I do have a utility trailer, ATV's, etc. but the 6000# Tige is the heaviest trailer load so far. Throw one of those 15-20K travel trailers back there and I'm certain things would degrade a LOT more.

[Timmy!]

I didn't see too many 15k lb trailers mentioned. I'm sure the 6-speed manual helps out quite a bit for the mileage but not everyone wants to shift their pickup.

[Wickedcummins]

You have to keep in mind unlike this forum car forums and the cummins forum are full of people who know it all. Most those trucks suffer from edge chips and other hack boxs only killing there mpg. Its sad to see how many trucks get jacked up

[IDBoating]

Just checked with a local friend of mine who also has a 5.9L Cummins truck (couple of years older than mine). He's seeing 21-22MPG currently with winter fuel and conditions. The somewhat lower numbers are probably explained by the fact that his truck is a long bed dually, so heavier and more rolling resistance.

[Timmy!]

2wd/4wd? Manual/auto? 22mpg in a dually is ridiculous.