Fuel Economy 3.21 vs 3.92

[Willwork4truck]

Great report, sure shows what wind does. Imagine wind and towing a big frontal area trailer... better have a couple spare gas cans with you!
My brother with an 8.1 Chevy DRW 3500 4x2 routinely got 6-8 towing heavy (17K fiver) but once in western Kansas got as low as 3 mpg in a stiff headwind..he almost ran out of gas!

 

[jdmartin]

Agree with you on this one. If mileage is that big of a concern don't buy a full size truck.

My thought as well. I've never checked the fuel economy on this truck and I probably never will. It's a big truck and as long as it's getting 14 or more I'm pretty happy.

 

[iamtheav8r]

The difference in annual fuel costs between 24 and 21 mpg at current prices and 15K miles a year is 60 cents a day.

 

[rumatt]

The difference in annual fuel costs between 24 and 21 mpg at current prices and 15K miles a year is 60 cents a day.

My math says 69 cents per day.

But seriously, yeah... every time I do the math on the cost of a moderate change in fuel efficiency, I'm surprised. It's not nearly as much as I would expect.

 

[jdmartin]

The difference in annual fuel costs between 24 and 21 mpg at current prices and 15K miles a year is 60 cents a day.

Which is why I don't bother checking I put about 7k miles on the truck per year. If I got 20 MPG, that would be 350 gallons. If I got 15 MPG that would be 467 gallons. That's a huge jump in MPG, yet we're talking about $200-250 per year in that 5 MPG range. If I can't find 20 bucks a month to not have to worry myself to death about fuel economy I really need a different vehicle. I remember back in 05-07 when gas prices jumped way up there and all the guys on the Titan forum were dumping their trucks - many of them at a loss - and buying Corollas and stuff like that. I tried showing them on spreadsheets that it made zero sense to take a loss on the vehicle just to get better gas mileage, since it would take a boatload of driving to make up the loss, but you just couldn't speak math to some of these guys. There were guys looking at taking $5-10k hits to buy cheaper vehicles to save $1k in gas per year, and that's when gas was $4.

Like everything, half of life is just showing up with the right tool for the right job. If you drive 30k miles a year by yourself on paved highways and don't haul anything more than a cooler you probably got the wrong tool for the job, unless you just have money to burn in which case have at it

 

[dave-o]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

 

[Willwork4truck]

"If you drive 30k miles a year by yourself on paved highways and don't haul anything more than a cooler you probably got the wrong tool for the job, unless you just have money to burn in which case have at it "
In our case it was my wife who wanted the RAM (as opposed to what I thought was a more "sensible" vehicle like a JGC or Honda Pilot or even a Kia Telluride) and we fit that description only 1/3rd the annual mileage! First new "car" she has ever gotten to pick out in 34 years so...

 

[iamtheav8r]

"If you drive 30k miles a year by yourself on paved highways and don't haul anything more than a cooler you probably got the wrong tool for the job, unless you just have money to burn in which case have at it "
In our case it was my wife who wanted the RAM (as opposed to what I thought was a more "sensible" vehicle like a JGC or Honda Pilot or even a Kia Telluride) and we fit that description only 1/3rd the annual mileage! First new "car" she has ever gotten to pick out in 34 years so...

I don't need or want anyone telling me what I *should* drive. I'll drive what I want and unless someone else is paying for it, they can stfu!