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3k miles and still can't get over 23 mpg

John Jensen

Well-Known Member
Mar 22, 2016
945
486
Truck Year
2016
I'm at 3500 miles. Here's lastest trip report:

2016 Ram Big Horn, Crew Cab, 4x4, 3.55 Axle, Ecodiesel

Tripped San Diego to La Pine Oregon to hunt elk and trout fish. MPG rates are disappointing but acceptable. I have done some things that could effect MPG. They are: (1) Installed Leer shell, (2) raised front end 2 1/4" and (3) installed more aggressive Hercules AT2, 275-60x20 tires.

Two adults and approx 500 lbs of gear and supplies in bed. Route is all 65 & 70 mph freeway and 65 mph 2 lane highway.

70-80 mph, 941 miles, 21.1 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 22.2 mpg). Three 300+ mile sections.
65 mph, 301 miles, 25.8 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 26.9 mpg)
70 mph, 319 miles, 23,8 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 24.5 mpg)
70 mph, 311 miles, 23,8 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 24.5 mpg). Including 2+ hours of stop & go thru Los Angeles, etc.
Total 1874 miles, 22.6 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 24.7 mpg).

It all tells me that 70 mph and under this truck will get decent mileage in any kind of traffic. Over 70 mph and it's only going to get 21 mpg regardless. Lesson learned, drive the speed limits and be more efficient and relaxed.

My local driving is 17.0 avg mpg (15.8 low to 17.9 high mpg). While disappointed I cannot complain because 95% of these runs are 8-12 mile trips, not enough to even get the truck up to operating temps.

The hunting/fishing trip was fun but uneventful. Saw herd of 15-20 elk day before opener and none thereafter. It rained 24/7 every day but the last, so no fishing. Saw many healthy deer, bald eagles and salmon spawning - had a great time with two brothers.
 
Last edited:

GearHead

Active Member
Sep 13, 2016
380
133
Truck Year
2014
Update, I have noticed the best mileage on the long runs, 3hrs, my best mileage on trip from Skiatook OK to Plano TX. I noted a 1 mpg loss with my new tires, have not compared tire weight or rolling resistance numbers. I have noted lower mileage at speeds above 75mph. For me I am quite satisfied, for the time being, with 25mpg average for me and 24mpg average for my wife driving the truck. A fellow FF has a 2016 ED W/O air ride and he has recorded no better than 24mph average. Both trucks are 4X4.
 

jmon3y610

New Member
Nov 6, 2016
12
3
Truck Year
2016
got a 16 Laramie crew 4x4. just about 9k on it now. on average i get 21-22. about 40 miles highway a day and 5 rural (but lots of hills). i do notice around 80 my mpg drops.keep it at 60 (which i cant do) id prbably get closer to a 24 AVERAGE. i live in rural PA so even the highways have slight hills.

--w/ around 8,000 lb trailer (enoclosed 20ft, 4 motorcycles , 4 guys and all our gear) we went from PA to Nashivile to Pigeon Forge and back. Granted we took Rt 81 which is alot of hills compared to I-95.....still AVERAGED 13.5 for the trip

-- driving empty strictly highway to MD from PA and back, just on that trip (trip A) my AVERAGE was like 26 or 27. but i sat in traffic for about an hour stop an go.

DEF was never filled yet still got 1/4 tank.

Honeslty thought id get better as an average id be happy with 23-24 avg. considering i do drive mostly highway. but hopefully it wil improve once i hit 15k on the truck
 

jmon3y610

New Member
Nov 6, 2016
12
3
Truck Year
2016
I'm at 3500 miles. Here's lastest trip report:

2016 Ram Big Horn, Crew Cab, 4x4, 3.55 Axle, Ecodiesel

Tripped San Diego to La Pine Oregon to hunt elk and trout fish. MPG rates are disappointing but acceptable. I have done some things that could effect MPG. They are: (1) Installed Leer shell, (2) raised front end 2 1/4" and (3) installed more aggressive Hercules AT2, 275-60x20 tires.

Two adults and approx 500 lbs of gear and supplies in bed. Route is all 65 & 70 mph freeway and 65 mph 2 lane highway.

70-80 mph, 941 miles, 21.1 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 22.2 mpg). Three 300+ mile sections.
65 mph, 301 miles, 25.8 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 26.9 mpg)
70 mph, 319 miles, 23,8 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 24.5 mpg)
70 mph, 311 miles, 23,8 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 24.5 mpg). Including 2+ hours of stop & go thru Los Angeles, etc.
Total 1874 miles, 22.6 mpg (Hand calculated. Truck showed 24.7 mpg).

It all tells me that 70 mph and under this truck will get decent mileage in any kind of traffic. Over 70 mph and it's only going to get 21 mpg regardless. Lesson learned, drive the speed limits and be more efficient and relaxed.

My local driving is 17.0 avg mpg (15.8 low to 17.9 high mpg). While disappointed I cannot complain because 95% of these runs are 8-12 mile trips, not enough to even get the truck up to operating temps.

The hunting/fishing trip was fun but uneventful. Saw herd of 15-20 elk day before opener and none thereafter. It rained 24/7 every day but the last, so no fishing. Saw many healthy deer, bald eagles and salmon spawning - had a great time with two brothers.

Glad you enjoyed your trip. this doesnt make me feel as bad about pulling 8,000lb trailer up an down hills and average 13.5 with average speed of around 70. you should notice an increase once your get to around 5k miles, i know i did, then a little bit one your at about 7500. unless my driving habits changed. haha i also occasionaly put my foot in it, the dealer said you wont hurt it and the truck are programmed that way till the engine breaks itself in.
 

Ofishl1

Member
Oct 10, 2015
93
28
Truck Year
2017
2015 Laramie 4x4 3.55 with 3 inch lift on top of 285 BFG k02s
..avg city 22.5 best driving casual...no complaints
 

issanni

Member
Sep 26, 2016
50
16
Truck Year
2015
And why are you complaining? 24mpg combined is great. I average 16mpg for actual city driving and I'm not complaining. when I had a Ram 3500 QCSB Cummins I got 15mpg average city, post a ton of mods.
Take the truck a long trip with no city driving and see what you get. The best I have gotten is 26mpg for a quick run of about double run of of 180 miles but included getting stuck in highway traffic and mother of the roads I drove were back roads so you are doing great in my book.

I wasn't complaining......just providing info.
 

issanni

Member
Sep 26, 2016
50
16
Truck Year
2015
My observations on MPG in my ED. The trucks MPG is seriously affected by winds (cross-winds and headwinds), as much as 2-3mpg or more. My truck is a 2015 ED 4x4 Lonestar with the 3.55 gear. I've logged 38 fillups, 734 total gallons of fuel, fuel cost $1571.32, and at 15922 miles on my last fill up. Overall average includes city, hwy, and towing is 22.3mpg calculated. Best hwy tank, long haul and filled up right after getting off the highway calculated was 25.5mpg and gauge was indicating 28.2mpg. My towing mpg with a roughly 6k lb loaded cargo trailer was 10.9-14.4, 10.9mpg was around town and 14.4mpg was hwy towing. I'm consistantly around 22-24mpg commuting which is probably 50/50 hwy and city driving. I've found that setting my cruise at 72-73mph seems to net the best fuel economy for my truck when unloaded and not towing.

I suspect that everyone quoting these high mpg numbers 28mpg or more are going simply off the gauge and the gauge isn't right. I fill 90% of the time at the same station and use the exact same method to fill up so I get the most accuracy. My calculated numbers are generally 2 or more mpg less than the gauge reads.
 
Dec 14, 2015
92
42
Truck Year
2015
So I have a new 2016 big horn Ed I love this truck !! I do mostly city driving but I also take her on the highway but I have yet to see the great 29-33 I see everyone posting on here ....am I doing something wrong to be able to get that average? I know my baby has it in her I just need to figure out how to get it out of her

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
I get 22 average with local driving, on flat open roads I have seen 29.
 

HarleyRob

New Member
Sep 15, 2016
26
10
Truck Year
2016
I have a 2016 2wd, 355 gears. I have averaged 23.6 mpg over the last 6,200 miles driving city and highway. Highway speeds 80 /85. Running 80 on a flat road 28. I sure am happy so far.
 

Reimaster

New Member
Dec 26, 2016
17
11
Truck Year
2016
So I have a new 2016 big horn Ed I love this truck !! I do mostly city driving but I also take her on the highway but I have yet to see the great 29-33 I see everyone posting on here ....am I doing something wrong to be able to get that average? I know my baby has it in her I just need to figure out how to get it out of her

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
We have a 2016 Ram Limited, Eco-diesel 4X4, crew cab with the tow package and 3.92 gears in the rear end. It's got about 10,000 milers on it now.. I usually drive in city traffic between 30 and 35 miles and hour due to all the traffic lights here in Van Nuys, California. We average about 18 to 20 mpg. If I'm real careful, I can sometimes stretch that to 22 mpg. On a round trip to Bakersfield (195.6 miles), we averaged 28.2 mpg. I think to trick to higher mileage on highway trips, is to fill up just before you get on the highway. I tank up at a Costco in Woodland Hill, Ca., the freeway is about half a mile away, my mileage when I get home is usually around 27-30 mpg for the short trip home. However, with mostly city driving after that, it quickly drops to 18 to 20.
 

Buggy-Bumpers

Member
Feb 21, 2016
36
15
Truck Year
2016
I can't complain getting about 16-17mpg for city driving and seen as much as 24.2 mpg on a short trip(33 miles). I think the key is getting thru the gears quickly and letting it get settled in. On the highway I set the cruise at 60 and let it go. Even though the highway has a lot of rolling hills that cause it down shift she seems to like it better and just keeps upping the MPG's. I guess I'll have to really take it out on trip and see what it can really do.
 

DRMAC

New Member
Oct 10, 2016
10
3
Truck Year
2016
So I have a new 2016 big horn Ed I love this truck !! I do mostly city driving but I also take her on the highway but I have yet to see the great 29-33 I see everyone posting on here ....am I doing something wrong to be able to get that average? I know my baby has it in her I just need to figure out how to get it out of her

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
Hi, I'm not replying to rub salt into the wound so to speak, however if what I do to accomplishes 29+ highway miles per mile and 24+ city can help maybe the wound will heal so to speak. What I enjoy doing is leaving the "fuel display" on while I'm driving and watch the green meter peg because I coast when I can , by lightly applying the gas pedal. Then another thing I do is drive using the 2wheel setting when there is dry pavement, and when the pavement is wet I run in 4wheelAuto. Additionally I run went a higher wheel tire pressure.(41psi)
 

Mic Tod

New Member
Jun 6, 2017
20
8
Truck Year
2015
I've been filtering thru these posts to see if my mileage is similar to others. I bought my '15 eco about 10 days ago and so far, Ive put about 375 miles on it - mostly highway but a good amount of rough, windy mountainous road (<30 mph speeds) and some city (maybe 20%). Right now, I am sitting on 27.6 mpg cumulative and I am very pleased. My engine has just over 50K (a lot for having been sold early in 2015). It looks like I can expect almost 30 on the highway. This weekend I see what it will do towing 4000 lbs.
 

BoostN

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Jul 27, 2013
4,317
1,137
Truck Year
Not Listed
I've been filtering thru these posts to see if my mileage is similar to others. I bought my '15 eco about 10 days ago and so far, Ive put about 375 miles on it - mostly highway but a good amount of rough, windy mountainous road (<30 mph speeds) and some city (maybe 20%). Right now, I am sitting on 27.6 mpg cumulative and I am very pleased. My engine has just over 50K (a lot for having been sold early in 2015). It looks like I can expect almost 30 on the highway. This weekend I see what it will do towing 4000 lbs.

Yep, good numbers! Report back how it does with a little weight behind it.
 

Brady

Well-Known Member
Jun 7, 2015
1,051
424
Truck Year
2015
Also be advised that the true mpg number is going to be different then your digital readouts. Hand calc'd is the only fairly accurate method, miles divided by gallons used.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

Mic Tod

New Member
Jun 6, 2017
20
8
Truck Year
2015
Also be advised that the true mpg number is going to be different then your digital readouts. Hand calc'd is the only fairly accurate method, miles divided by gallons used.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
That's what I was expecting, but when I filled the tank after the first 175 miles, the digital gauge read 28.3 and the calculator (using the actual number of miles divided by 175) yielded 28.1. The last 200+ miles contained the mountainous portions I mentioned above which were paved but very rough and pot-holed, plus some city driving which brought the overall economy down to the 27.6. Soon, I will be towing my trailer to the Medford area and the miles will be all highway and freeway. I'll average 55 on the highway and 65 on the Interstate (state limits). I'm hoping for 15+ mpg on the roughly 325 mile round-trip.
 

HarleyRob

New Member
Sep 15, 2016
26
10
Truck Year
2016
I have a 16 Laramie 2wd / 355. I now have 21 K on her. Just drove from Texas to Ca, Az, NM, Co and home. From flat roads to Big mountains and passes running 80-85 at times I have averaged 23-24. Was not towing anything. This truck ran wonderful and the ride is great.
 

issanni

Member
Sep 26, 2016
50
16
Truck Year
2015
I found this today....2015 4x4 ratings

Fuel Economy Est-Combined
22, 19 MPG 17.0 min 22.0 max
EPA Fuel Economy Est - City
19, 16 MPG 15.0 min 19.0 max
EPA Fuel Economy Est - Hwy
27, 23 MPG 21.0 min 27.0 max
 
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