3500 dually Mpg sucks! how to improve
#31
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Castaic CA Winnemucca NV
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Yes Ramrod you are correct when towing 10,000 miles and he can pay for it. After reading his question it sounds like it will take him quite some time to tow 10,000 and the payback numbers change when you go from 15 which he is getting now to 17. It's late and my figures I'm sure are wrong but it would take him about 30k to pay for a box getting 2mph more.
We're not talking about you we're talking about him maybe he wants his warranty then again maybe not.
We're not talking about you we're talking about him maybe he wants his warranty then again maybe not.
#32
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#33
a gear vendor is worthless for towing because they say right in the owners manual NOT to tow in 6th gear with the over drive on or damage to the transmission will occur. my 06 dually quadcab 4x4 six speed with 373 gears gets 13.75 towing 15000lbs with a 2000lb cab over camper and gets right on 20mpg bobtail with no camper, hand calculated. this is no BS. you need to get rid of your 410 gears first of all. even with the 373's it still feels a bit to low but they will be way better than what you have. installing 373's in your truck would be like adding a 7th gear. 60mph is the sweet spot for towing with my truck and I use the cruise control as much as I can to help with mileage. big tires with off road tread will hurt mileage as will lifts or even leveling kits. tire pressure is also important. I run my fronts at 70 and my rears a 65. never run tires at max rated pressure because the air pressure will increase as the tires warm up from driving and are way more prone to explode. we blew 4 michelins out on a cross country trip before we figured out what was doing it. overinflation! checked them hot and they had 90 in them! I also reduce engine friction by adding a pint of 2 stroke oil to every fillup. this is great for the fuel system and actually quiets the motor down some as well. a napa gold air filter flows 300 cubic feet of air per minute than the factory units do and may help some . they keep dirt out way better than a crappy k&n. I tried for 2 years to find ways to get my mileage to increase. no tsb does a dam thing. all they do is mess up your ovehead mpg readout. 342 gears are just to tall in my opinion if you tow HEAVY. 355's would have been nice but 342's are a bit steep unless you want to tow at 75 all the time. good luck to you, hope some of these ideas help you.
#34
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Northern Virginia
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Last time I pulled my trailer I got about 11mpg empty and 9-10 loaded out at 10,000gvw. Not too bad considering I was driving 65-70mph. My 03 consistantly got 13-14mpg towing the same trailer. Somebody kick me for getting rid of it............
#35
i use my truck as a hotshot rig.i pull a 40' big tex trailer that weighs 10k empty .my gvw is 36k and i have exceded that a few times. anyway i average 10.5 mpg at 70 mph. that is with 3.73 gears.
#36
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Location: Cheyenne WY
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I have made 2 trips from WY to WA with a 28' stock trailer one way empty and the other way cramed full of house hold goods. I averaged on the round trip 14 mpg. Going to and from work here in WY I get just over 17.
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