autogatto

Hi to you all. I found at a local dealership an 01 Ram Diesel 2wd speed manual with 19000 original miles in pristine conditions and I'm thinking about getting it.
Can anybody tell me what might be an average mileage per gallon on this rig? I would use this truck mostly for highway driving and occasionaly to tow a trailer with a jeep on it.
Is there any mod not too extreme to make it perform better in terms of a better fuel consumption? I don't need super power, I would just like it to be as fuel efficient as possible.
Thanks to anybody that will want to give me hints.

Alex

Tate

My dually would be around 18-20 on average in summer. You could be up to 25mpg if you're real lucky, depending if its a reg cab or quad cab. Get a timing box or programmer like an Edge EZ, Quad XZT+, Smarty, etc. Increasing the timing usually helps boost up mileage a bit.

autogatto

Thank Tate.
Yes it is a regular cab and actually my choice is between the truck that I mentioned in my opening message or a dually still 2wd with a regular cab with about 80000. I would really like to get the dually but I don't really need to haul anything that would justify the heavy duty truck. Still you never know if this might be needed in the future.
I run across a person a few weeks ago that told me that his 2500 4wd ext cab long bed with a chip and a much better exaust system (he's running 5" pipes through the bed) jumped from an average of 18 to almost 27 with a substantial increase of power as well. Are these feasible figures or probably he was a bit exaggerated?
As I said I'm not really looking into gaining a tremendous amount of horses especially because I don't need them just make the engine run as better as possible.
Thanks

johnh

i have been getting around 17 winter without propane and 19+ with propane....it will no doubt go up as soon as we start using summer fuel . and i don't have the dual wheels , that's a big factor (about 2 mpg)

D2 Cat

If you don't need a 1 ton why buy something with more parts to maintain? Have you priced tires lately, for example? And 27 MPG is more then likely a "claim" not a "fact"!

Midnite

27 mpg seems a little high, but there are definitely things you can do to increase the milage:

Replace the restrictive stock muffler with anything of a straight-through design
A timing box as mentioned earlier, like the Edge EZ or others
Stage 1 EDM injectors like the Mach 1 injectors from Formula 1 (this'll be a little more expensive)

Those would probably get you an honest 2 mpg more than stock. Also, if the truck has 215-85/R16 tires, going to the taller 235-85/R16 tires will help a little.

Mike

nkennedy

I have an 01.5, and get an honest 18.x with everyday driveing. I get around 11.x pulling a high profile 11.7K LBs fifth wheel. I agree with the other poster. If you don't need a dually don't buy one.

Dinner

With my Cab and Chassis 3500 (with added weight for winter driving) I can get around 20mpg (both city and highway).

Back when I only had my XZT+, 5" Exhaust, BHAF and Valve Body. I calculated out to be around 24mpg highway with winter blend.

Hopefully with my DDP 3's, new manifold and turbo, I can get a little better.

johnh

altitude also makes a difference in mileage....when i go to the coast of ca i get a lot better.
my average driving altitude is over 4000 feet.
i live at 7200 feet

Tate

If you like the dually, get the dually. I've always been partial to them, and thats why I have one. I don't need one for towing or anything. Its tough to say if the duals are actually hurting mileage, as it gets about the same as my 12v, which is an SRW (albeit a 4x4).

I'd be all over a 2wd reg cab dually if I had a need for another truck.

cstroup

I had gotten 26 mpg a few times on my 99 2wd dually with a manual and 400,000 miles

It has no over head so I always hand calculate every tank I was in Rifle Co. and headed north and west towards Manila UT a lot of 55mph driving and down hills.

On average I could head to Denver with a load of non ferrous material some times 5,000 lbs or more in the bed going 75 with the cruise and A/C running and get 17 -18 mpg in that truck

I hope this helps

sheriffav8r

Saw a guy driving down the road the other day in a newer 3500 dually. He had the inner wheels removed. Asked him at a stoplight if he got better fuel mileage and if the truck handled the same. He said yes and yes.....

dozer12216

Dually is PIA for most people. Hard to park, wide, gonna get fenders damaged, shake you to death around town, but nothing better for pulling on highway.

kstinson

My 00' 3500 4x4 does 14-15 winter City, 15-16 summer City. I can average anywhere from 17-21 mpg highway but this is highly dependent on speed. Highest hand calc i have gotten was 22mpg going 55mph. These are all unloaded figures and my overhead can vary wildly from what i hand calc at times. Depending on the load, i can see 10-16mpg highway going 55mph. Vehicle speed, aerodynamics, and the condition of the trailer seem to put a lot more strain on the motor than the overall weight.

gandalf1g

Dittos for my 01 DRW 4X4 6SPD