New Truck help.

[croaker stroker]

Pulling my 5000# travel trailer....Running 160 Mille up to Lake Cachuma and back....Heavy traffic through LA And up and down grades to the lake. It got 16.5 average mpg.

Unlike any other truck that I have owned, the cruise control works while going up and down the grades. The eight speed transmission keeps the RPM's at 2000.

The brakes work very good. On both the truck (4 wheel disc) and trailer (two axle 15" wheels with discs). I had a few chances to test them out going through LA.

So many Jackass drivers on the Fwy through LA.!!

So far, I am very happy with this little truck.

[wedocq]

Croaker,
I gave that truck a long hard look. It was pretty sweet! And seemed to have plenty of power. I think something like that is going to be my retirement truck. I have had my 7.3 Powerstroke for about 12 years now, and it has 250k+, and isn't showing any signs of quitting soon. But I sure did like that truck!
-Shawn

PS, Eastsidedrift's F150 with the ecoboost is pretty sweet too. It gets great mileage, and towed my boat incredibly well. By the time I am ready to buy, we should have some numbers on reliability for both motors!

[croaker stroker]

Wedocq,

I am doubtful of the longevity. Seems like forcing the same horsepower and torque that I got from a motor over twice the size is asking a lot. 

Then again.....my 1993 6.5 factory turbocharged Detroit Diesel engine outlasted the truck. 

My wife sure does like it. She has her own "Climate Control". 

CS

[blindmonkey]

I was looking at new trucks and am amazed at the prices, at least here in Canada. Eco diesels are $65k or so, Eco boosts high 50s and Duramax up to $80k. At those prices  there is no hope of saving enough in fuel to cover depreciation and capital costs. That said, I sure would like a new truck maybe I should start a crowd funding web site to assist me 

[croaker stroker]

My buddy bought a 3/4 ton Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel four or five years ago.....Still worth close to what he paid for it.

Five years from now, those $80,000 trucks could be $100,000. 

[DevMah]

I have a 2015 Ram 1500 Eco diesel SLT, My towing weight is close to 4250lbs (boat, engine's, fuel, trailer).

This truck rocks.. I have no issues pulling my boat and trailer up hills... dose not even notice it is pulling...

I usually get around 850-900 km's on a full tank my towing numbers are just slightly lower. Fuel prices in Canada are much more than the USA.

Gas is $0.99 per liter and Diesel is $0.93 per liter.

FYI only paid $50K for my truck new.
Tight Lines

Dev

[blindmonkey]

Good point Croaker who knows where prices will be, I would never have predicted how quickly house prices have increased. Dev,  that was a good deal, I have seen used ones in the mid 50s.

[Tj805]

I never understood why newer trucks get worse mileage.
Don't get me wrong 16.5 towing is great.
But my 1997 Cummins gets 22-23 hwy
I can get 20 towing my boat all day long.
I've gotten 18 mpg towing my buddies 23 ft cobo all over.
Must be all the new technology and stuff.

[GregE]

I've been waiting to read about the new Cummins in the Nissan.

5.0 double turbo rated at 12,300 towing-  wow.

http://cumminsengines.com/nissan-titan

[wedocq]

I never understood why newer trucks get worse mileage.
Don't get me wrong 16.5 towing is great.
But my 1997 Cummins gets 22-23 hwy
I can get 20 towing my boat all day long.
I've gotten 18 mpg towing my buddies 23 ft cobo all over.
Must be all the new technology and stuff.

Tougher emissions standards have choked these diesel motors out, causing less fuel mileage. If you were to take it to a shop and have the emissions illegally removed (trust me, there's a ton of shops that do it), the fuel mileage jumps up drastically!
-Shawn

[Flying Arima]

  and the emissions on these new diesels have caused more problems with longevity in my opinion. I always ask myself yes the new diesels burn cleaner but the fuel mileage has drastically been impacted so which is better I dunno 

[croaker stroker]

Wow! Devmah is right. This truck rocks!

After pulling our new, bigger, 30' trailer to Yellowstone, across to Lassen, then back home....I am amazed at the performance!!

No problems pulling ANY grade. 15 consistent mpg pulling the trailer.

Average 29 mpg without the trailer!! (Speed limit 45 to 55 mph)

[Markshoreline]

Croaker that is remarkable mileage, great choice on the truck!

[Hunter]

Wow... That 29 MPG is frigg'n awesome!!!!    Our 2015  2500hd Duramax Chevy does pretty good, but not that good.   The good part is 18,000lbs towing,  3,500lb payload and 765lbs of TQ.   We have an overall average of 18mpg with just over 25K on the truck in the first year.   When not towing, it seems to get around 19 or 20.

[Markshoreline]

Hunter nice truck but the dash needs a few more gauges!   :hoboy:

[Threeweight]

I am always skeptical of the trip computers on vehicles.  I use a mileage tracking app on my phone called Fuelio.  You tell it what your odometer reads when you fill up the first time, then thereafter every time you fill up you tell it your odometer+how much fuel the truck took, and you get a very very accurate number.

My Duramax's computer claims I can get as much as 25 mpg unloaded.... Fuelio says my best ever tank of fuel averaged around 21.5.  My rig is a 2006, so it lacks the emissions stuff of the newer trucks (and has about 200 less pound feet of torque.)

[Hunter]

Yep... I think that the 2006 Duramax is the probably the sweet spot of all the rigs....as long as your a Chevy person, which I am.  Also 2007 was the transition year so the 2007 Classic Duramax is really the last of that great era of Chevy.   No DEF and no boatload  of EPA crap.    But still.... Croakers truck is an awesome option with those MPG figures and towing abilities.

We figure to keep our 2015 Duramax unmolested until the 5 year or 100K powertrain warranty expires,  which will be about 4 years with the miles I pile on... then I probably strip it and chip it.     

[croaker stroker]

I am always skeptical of the trip computers on vehicles.

Me too. To keep our dash computer honest, we wrote the mileage we got on the fuel receipt each time we filled up. The dash computer was right on.

[Peddler]

My hand-calculated mileage is never quite as good as the on-board computer in my 2015 DuraMax.  The 2006 and the 2011 I had were both spot-on however. 

[croaker stroker]

http://www.oildepot.ca/5w-40-motor-oil-now-suggested-all-ecodiesel-engines/


For other EcoDiesel owners.....Check your new Diesel owners Manuel supplement. The specified oil has changed on mine.....from 5w30 to 5w40.

What oil are you using. ??  I just switched to Rotella T6, 5w40... Oil and filter around $100.

[Threeweight]

The synthetic Rotella 5w40 is a very, very good oil and a screaming deal price wise. 

On newer diesels, there was an effort to swap to 30 wt oils to improve fuel economy and protect catalytic converters.  Some engines took to it better than others.  On the VW's, the oil pump design meant a 30 weight drained down from the top of the engine where the cam/valve train is, and the lack of zinc film meant nasty friction on cold starts.  Lots of 2005 and newer 1.9 and 2.0 Jetta's ruined cams with less than 100k on the motors running VW spec 5w30.  Many smart mechanics recommended going back to the older 5w40 spec.  I've run Rotella religiously in my wife's car, and the last time my mechanic put a scope in it the cam was still in beautiful shape.

The only reason I don't run it in the big Duramax is cost... with 2.5 gallon oil changes, and generally less than 10k miles a year on my tow rig, I like to use inexpensive Delo or Delvac and just change it every 6 months, regardless of mileage.  The Rotella snythetic can go 10-15k in Duramaxes, but I can't bring myself to leave oil in the engine that long.

I really wish Chrysler would offer that 3.0 you have in the Jeep Wrangler 4 doors!

[croaker stroker]

O'Reillys has T6 on sale for $21.99, then you get a $5.00/gal. rebate. (Up to 4 gal.)

The VM Motori also takes 2.5 gallons. T6 is available at Walmart in 2.5 gal jugs ($53.18)

The dealerships want $200+ for an oil and filter change.

Looks like your wish is coming true...

http://www.trucktrend.com/news/1503-we-hear-2017-jeep-wrangler-to-get-ecodiesel-v-6-8-speed-trans/

[Threeweight]

Nice!  My wife will be demanding one for her next vehicle!

[croaker stroker]

Just think of the mileage she'll get in that little Jeep !