Pickup truck fuel efficiency help

[.45Cole]

So I got a new job that includes a ~ 45mile one way drive 2x a day on a roughly flat land two way highway I'll probably be cruising at 55mph. This place does get snow, but I really need a road warrior that can double as hauling tools or camping stuff (limit to ~100lbs) to a larger city for pleasure. I would like something that I can fix, so >2000 and something cheaper (think deer and ice variables). I was thinking 2x4 Ranger, older toyota ect.
What kind of gas mileage do you guys get out of these?
As it stands, the best I figure is a 2x4 84-89 ranger x cab manual with a v6 for about 21something mpg. If I could find something like that at 26mpg I'd go to the bank.

[oneokie]

'98 Nissan Frontier, 2.4, auto, ac, jump seats, topper, 24-25 mpg. However, the '98's have instrument cluster issues, no replacement available, $200 to have it repaired if it goes out.

[runfiverun]

21?
I get that from my 09 dodge 1500 4 door with the 4.7, and can better it in the 06 Tahoe with the 5.3.
my old 2wd Datsun p.u. gave me 17 no matter what [it rode only 2] but so did my 98 1/2 ton 4 wd chevy 3 door with the 5.7 [and it rode 5 easily]
I'd look around pretty hard, and decide if a little more comfort and stability, plus towing/carrying capacity is worth
2-3 mpg or not.

[Harter66]

My Dad had and 86' Ranger with 2.8 and 5 speed AC and cruise that got 25-27,the a 96' 3.0 auto ,cruise, AC that got 26-29 in its groove, which was at 72-75 .

I have a 99 5 speed 4x4,AC, step bed that does 22-26.

A note 94' up the change from the square body to the round body that little valance /air dam/hard lip under the front bumper makes as much as 7 mpg on some trucks and the Explorers . Both of Dad's went way over 200k miles .
my Explorer went 236,ooo and dropped reverse in the auto. It was more to fix it than the trucks worth (it had other damage, it was in 3 accidents on Donner pass 1 night in the snow,2 while parked.) My Ranger is at 175,ooo and still strong I had to do the track lok rear end and spider gears and it needs a clutch pretty soon.

[bear67]

My wife drives a '10 Dodge half ton crew cab and averages 21+ on the road and 18 town. It has been a good dependable truck with close to 100k now. Two years ago we drove 3900 miles in western mountains, Canada and back at 20.1 average. This is a highway truck as I have 3/4 and one ton diesels for trailers and loads. My son in law drives a Toyoto Tacoma and gets about 19 on the road. Guess there are tradeoffs to any selection.

[richhodg66]

'98 Nissan Frontier, 2.4, auto, ac, jump seats, topper, 24-25 mpg. However, the '98's have instrument cluster issues, no replacement available, $200 to have it repaired if it goes out.

I've had several Nissan trucks, last one before this one was an '87 with the same extended cab and 2.4 Liter engine, got pretty much 24MPG, loaded or empty, fast or slow, conditions didn't seem to matter much. Darn thing was the most reliable and useful vehicle I ever owned, hauled many deer out of the woods (it was a 2WD, by the way). Replaced it with a Frontier about ten years ago, mainly because my boys had outgrown the inward facing jump seats, which to move up to the four doors, required the V6. Mileage isn't very good, 18MPG is about the best it'll do. It has been a good truck though. The little '87 had 225K miles on it when I gave it to a friend who drove it several years more. This current one has 214K now and still runs well, though it does need a few things.

If I get another Frontier (likely) it'll be one like oneokie describes.

[shoot-n-lead]

My Dad had and 86' Ranger with 2.8 and 5 speed AC and cruise that got 25-27,the a 96' 3.0 auto ,cruise, AC that got 26-29 in its groove, which was at 72-75 .


I had both of these trucks and they never came NEAR that mileage. Good trucks, but the mileage was not close to what you said your's did...21mpg hwy was the best they did for their lifetime.

[Chev. William]

2006 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4.7L V8 3speed plus Overdrive Automatic and part time FWD on LT265/70R17 tires (Night Rider package trim) gives 18-19 MPG going up hill from about 850 ft to about 3000 ft over a 43 mile one way trip with four persons an no cargo at 55-60MPH.
Same trip hauling a 12 ft cargo van trailer with four people and loaded bed and trailer (moving a friend) gave 11-12MPG at 55MPH on auto throttle.

Around town on freeways at about 60-65 and light gets about 14-15MPG in Los Angeles Traffic.

Truck currently has about 70,000 actual miles on it since new and about 30,000 miles sin I bought it used in 2009.

I and my Late Wife enjoyed it for her monthly trips from Los Angeles to Lancaster CA adn around town for her work as a Tax Preparer.
I still use it for 'comfort and leasure' trips and use a 1986 Dodge Ram 50 with four Speed and 2.6L 4I with AC for my work truck. loaded it gets me 19-21MPG form about 55 to about 70MPH adn has 196,000 miles on it now. I work in the Movie Industry as a Production Electrician and Generator Operator so have a bed
full of tools and 'odments' most of the time, this truck has about a 2000 lb payload as presently configured.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[Adk Mike]

I drive a lot 30,000 plus a year. I've had 10 Ford Rangers. Great trucks. I had to give them up. I bought a chevy Impala . Cheap car used ,good milage , And a fat man ride . Big trunk toss a deer right back there.
With a tow hitch and a 4&8 trailer . I have money in my pocket and can go get what I need with my trailer. Less and less trucks are daily drivers because of the cost today.

[starmac]

I had an 89 2 wheel drive ranger that I put 150,000 trouble free miles on.
It was a good pickup and did what I bought it for, that said you couldn't give me another one if I had to drive it much. Terrible on ice doesn't really describe it, for less than 5 miles a gallon you can drive a 3/5 ton 4x4 and do anything you want with it.

[freebullet]

You might look at an old Subaru wagon. Awd, descent cargo area, & 30+ hwy mpg is tough to beat. If your willing to drive a manual they are quite capable on nasty roads. They are easier to work on than a fwd car of mini truck imo.

A 91 legacy wagon will hold 3 medium sized deer in the back. Bet they didn't put that on the sales brochure. Rolled over 300,000 miles b4 I junked it.

[waksupi]

I have an '88 Ranger, 4 cylinder, 5 speed. If I keep my foot out of it, I can average around 30 on the highway, around 25 for city/highway mileage

[quilbilly]

My 2010 Ranger 2x4 extended cab 4 cyl. has always gotten over 30 mpg and last week on a longer highway business run carrying 300# of merchandise still averaged 31.5 mpg even though the truck has almost 120K miles. I am still cranky that Ford quit making those trucks in 2011. None of the newer trucks even come close which effects the bottom line of my little business.

[Harter66]

I had both of these trucks and they never came NEAR that mileage. Good trucks, but the mileage was not close to what you said your's did...21mpg hwy was the best they did for their lifetime.

It's a little different out west , kick it up to speed set the cruise and go a while.
I just ran through it if I go west I'll kick the cruise off about 6 times to get to Bishop or Sacramento, south the 6th kick is in Vegas (325 miles from the front door),east the 6th kick off might get me to Colorado depending on fuel 582 miles to SLC) , for a couple more I can make Richfield UT. So gas mileage Wille run a little higher avoid that 85 octane . That'll knock mine down to 16 in a tank.

[bob208]

I have a 83 chevy full size. 305 v8 with overdrive . I get 21-22 on the open road. no computers or electrics to go bad.

[Handloader109]

Yep, old 89 4cylinder Ranger Automatic 365,000 miles on it when I traded off, only thing I replaced on it was tires, battery and belts. I drove 65 miles one way for 16 yrs, and it was best thing I had during that time. Averaged 28-30 MPG at a steady 60mph. Wish Ford still made it!

[wlc]

I had a Masda PU 4X4 extra cab (identical to a Ford Ranger) I absolutely hated that truck. Too small and the mileage stunk. Traded it in on a, at that time, new '06 Dodge Mega-cab 3/4 ton with the Cummins diesel motor in it. I have over 130K on it now and other than routine maint, and new universals in the front end and rear drive shaft have never had a wrench turned on it. I get an honest 20mpg with it, and most of my driving is short distance and would be considered "city driving". I would love to drive it somewhere where I could stretch it out and set the cruise at about 70-75mph for a full tank of fuel to see what it would get. Around here there isn't much in the way of fourlane highways. It does everything I ask of it. It is quite long though. About 20 inches longer than a suburban.

[MarkP]

A friend had a 1984 or 85 Ford Ranger 5 spd with a 4 cylinder diesel I believe it was an Isuzu engine, it would get over 40 when it was newer. It seemed like it would take 20 seconds to get up to 55 mph.

Another friend had a VW rabbit diesel PU it would get close to 50, but if you ever got in a wreck you would be in trouble.

The full size Chevy C/K's 1988 to 1999 5 spd with the 4.3 L V-6 were decent on the hwy they are usually pretty inexpensive. Also 83 to 87 Chevy's with a 6.2 L diesel will get in the low to mid 20's on the hwy. (1/2 t 2 wd)

[Mk42gunner]

So I got a new job that includes a ~ 45mile one way drive 2x a day on a roughly flat land two way highway I'll probably be cruising at 55mph. This place does get snow, but I really need a road warrior that can double as hauling tools or camping stuff (limit to ~100lbs) to a larger city for pleasure. I would like something that I can fix, so >2000 and something cheaper (think deer and ice variables). I was thinking 2x4 Ranger, older toyota ect.
What kind of gas mileage do you guys get out of these?
As it stands, the best I figure is a 2x4 84-89 ranger x cab manual with a v6 for about 21something mpg. If I could find something like that at 26mpg I'd go to the bank.
I bought two Rangers brand new. #1 1988 long bed 2.9 5 sp with 3.42 gears. It got about 20 in and around San Diego, with about 22 on the interstate on long trips. #2 was a 91 Supercab 4.0 5 sp with 3.08 gears driving it the same as the 88 it got 2 mpg better. I put 180 thousand on it then gave it to a friend. The last time I drove it, it had 195K and still got 22 mpg around Fallon, NV.

After I retired, I bought an 88 with the four cylinder 5sp with 3.73 gears to drive to college. It got 22-23 on two lane blacktops at 55, on four lanes at 70 it got 19.

My current Ranger, an 88 4x4 2.9 5sp with 4.10's gets 17. (How come I keep buying 88's?)

It really depends on the engine and gear ratio as to what the Rangers get.

Somewhere in there I had a 91 Explorer, 18 was the best it ever got. I also had a 92 Ranger that was the twin of my 91 that only got 19, the previous owner had put dual exhaust on it when he had to put a clutch in instead of just lowering the Y-pipe.

I never had one of the SOHC 4 liters, but I did test drive one. I liked it but figured I wouldn't be able to keep tires on it if my daughter ever got behind the wheel.

Older Toyota's seemed to run forever, no idea of mileage though.

Another idea is a Jeep Cherokee, if you can keep the front end stable. I had a 93 with a 4.0 HO 5sp that got 22-23 on the highway. The only reason I don't still have it is that it had uncontrollable wheel bounce on the front end. New shocks lasted about a week until they were leaking damping fluid.

My current daily driver is an 06 F150 4.2 V-6 automatic two wheel drive. Short trips ~7 miles to Mom's in town to check on her and it gets 14-16. get it on a trip similar to yours at 55 for awhile and it gets 20 mpg , and is more comfortable than any of the Rangers. It is the peppiest V-6 I have ever had in a truck, and it still has cast iron heads so you don't have to worry so much about spark plugs breaking or blowing out. Oh yeah, it has 192K on it right now, and I think it is good for another 200K.

I keep the junky little 4x4 Ranger for winter snowy roads.

Good Luck,

Robert

[MaryB]

2001 Ford F150 extended cab power everything 5.4l Triton V8 and I get 20mpg if I keep my foot off the gas. But it is fun to drive and will smoke the tires super easy.... so my mileage is often worse!

[.45Cole]

I actually kinda like the subaru thing. Might have to do that. Everyone up here hits deer, and sliding off the road is common, so 2K is probably my high end just because 80K of use and a dead deer sticking out of the hood is a fitting memorial.

You guys will love this, my puller for going over the mountains and hauling trailers is a jeep liberty. WITH a 2.8L turbo diesel that usually does 28+ mpg pulling 2K pounds of trailer up Eisenhower pass at 55mph.[smilie=w:160 horse and 295ft-lbs stock out of a 4 banger. Why the h*ll can't Ford dump a diesel into the ranger?

Everyone seems to get ~21 or ~27 mpg out of the 2x4 4banger rangers. I really would like a ranger, but only if I'm getting 25+

[35remington]

The problem I had with the 4.2 V6 in a Ford fullsize is that it has to downshift to do everything when other than very lightly loaded.....as in no load at all, with no hills at all.

The real key to mileage isn't to "set the cruise to 70-75 mph and see what it will get." The key is to set the cruise to 55 to not over 60 and see what it will get. For most of the pickups for most of the time I've driven them, the loss in mileage approximated the 1 mpg vicinity for each 5 mph over 55. If you like to look at the scenery, this works out well.

If you're in a hurry and you want to get good mileage.....don't drive a truck. Especially don't drive a truck fast. I can take some of the same little 2.4 liter 4 cylinders mentioned here, put them in a car, and realize around a 21 mpg increase in mileage if I drive them 55-60 over that obtained in a small pickup. Aerodynamics at high speed will getcha.

For low revving torque and mileage you're not gonna beat a diesel. Torque peak is right at the working rpm. I would buy a motor like that in the current Jeep CJ in preference to the current V6.

[1989toddm]

21?
I get that from my 09 dodge 1500 4 door with the 4.7, and can better it in the 06 Tahoe with the 5.3.
my old 2wd Datsun p.u. gave me 17 no matter what [it rode only 2] but so did my 98 1/2 ton 4 wd chevy 3 door with the 5.7 [and it rode 5 easily]
I'd look around pretty hard, and decide if a little more comfort and stability, plus towing/carrying capacity is worth
2-3 mpg or not.

Not to hijack, but how do you get 21+ in a SUV 5.3? We just bought a Yukon XL with the 5.3, and I'm all about keeping the mpg up there.

[MaryB]

I got better mileage cruising 65mph going to Minneapolis last month than I get going 55 around here.

[Lloyd Smale]

the power company i worked for bought 2x4 4.0 rangers and 4.3 s10s for meter trucks. They both were nothing to write home about for gas. niether would get much better then 15mpg mixed hwy and town and about 20 on the road steady. The company eventually went to small v8 full sized short box fords and chevs. They were actually better on gas and could haul more and tow more if needed during a storm. Even a fullsized ford or chev 4x4 will pull 22mpg highway and the little 2x4 pickups dont beat that by much if any. I have a couple buddys that drove 4x4 4.0 rangers and they allways complained about the crappy gas milage.
I had both of these trucks and they never came NEAR that mileage. Good trucks, but the mileage was not close to what you said your's did...21mpg hwy was the best they did for their lifetime.

[CastingFool]

I have a 96 Silverado, 2wd, with the 5.7L engine, shortbed, auto. Started driving it early 2000, drove 75 mls roundtrip 5 & 6 days/wk, to work. All highway miles, w/cruise on at 65, I got a steady 19 mpg, almost like clockwork. this truck has pwr brakes, steering, windows, seat, and a/c (a/c was a must for me) For a full power V8, I thought this was very good. My prior truck was a 90 GMC, with the 5 speed tranny, 4.3L V6, and it didn't do much better, 21mpg, but it was way underpowered. Had to downshift on a long incline. The 5.7L put out 225 hp. Never needed that much hp, but it was available. I did have to be careful in the winter, or rainy weather when the tires would get close to the end of their life. To get good gas mileage, you need to keep your tires inflated at a proper psi, and use the cruise control. I just rolled over 280k miles on it, but it gets driven only occasionally. with that many miles, I get about 17 mpg. no big deal. I only fill up about once a month, while before, I was filling up every 4 days.

[MrWolf]

Guess you don't want to look at my 96 Dodge Ram, 4x4 heavy duty 2500 with a V10. I get 9.5 mpg average. :oops: Don't drive her much anymore.

[Desertbuck]

I know some of you are going to call BS of what I'm about to say but I am getting 22 to 25 mpg out of my 06 Dodge 3500 duly 4x4 quad cab if I stay at 60 to 55 mph with an overdrive. At that speed the motor is only turning about 1500 rpms just enough for the turbo to windup. I couldn't believe it myself but I looked at the numbers several times. When I first went to go visit my folks for the first time in my new truck I toped its 30 gallon tank off and proceeded to drive 198mi on exactly a quarter of a tank thats 7.5 to 8 gal of diesel fuel. That's wonderful fuel mileage for a full size 1 ton heavy duty pickup in my book!
So my vote is you should go pick up a good Cummins turbo. Yes diesel is more expensive but the power they offer when you need it is there, and the big old motor is right at home just chugging along sipping its fuel when you don't need the power. Case in point it's cheaper gallon per gallon to drive than a gaser of the same size by a long shot.
But stay away from the 07 and newer, they have completely ruined the Cummins motors efficiency by choking it up with all of the emissions poop and as far as I understand its not the same motor anymore.

[Goatwhiskers]

An old gentleman once gave me some good advice: if you have to worry about how much fuel it burns, you can't afford the darn truck to begin with. GW

[Harter66]

The thing is that you don't just roll it on and see what you get . You have to play with them some and find that sweet spot . I had an 04 Expedition that would go to 24 at 47-9 mph do 15-6 mpg from 52-69 and between 75 and 78 would roll back up to 19.5. But again I am surrounded by open highways with 70 and 75 mph speed limits. The current Expedition that hauls our camp around does 11 towing . 14 at the true 55 ,12 at true 60 and ....... at 62 on the speedo against the odometer does 15.7-16.5 and corrected 18.3 mpg .

The 99' extra cab 4x4 3.0 5 speed has 3.73 gears on 15x7 wheels swinging 235-75 -15s at 27-28 inches shows 75 on the speedo and about 2650 on the tach and even sans the air dam do dad does 24 summer and 19-21 winter because of the Ca BS fuel additives we are forced to use .

[dakotashooter2]

Stay away from the 3.9 (6 cyl) Dakotas. One would think you they would get decent mileage but they don't. Actually my "95" will still get around 21-22 (24 with my 12 boat inverted on the box) on the hwy but my "03" is lucky to push 15. Both have almost the same mileage on them. Most of the guys I know with the 8cyl are getting around 18.

[jcwit]

An old gentleman once gave me some good advice: if you have to worry about how much fuel it burns, you can't afford the darn truck to begin with. GW

I'm always concerned with the MPG that I get, and I'm fairly sure I can afford what I buy. Haven't had a car/truck payment since I bought my new 1972 Corvette for cash. However today I seldom buy new.

Yes cash is king.

My current vehicles get an average of 35 MPG.

[starmac]

Mine gets 35 too, unless I crank them.

[Goatwhiskers]

Used to own an '82 Chev 3/4, 454 4bbl, standard, 4.11 gears. Darn thing got 10mpg on the highway, uphill, downhill, whatever. Think it got that at idle. GW

[freebullet]

A Subaru will serve you well. The 91 I mentioned I picked up when I was out in Colorado springs. Second owner car in reasonable shape Fer 1300$ cash. It needed the little grill shell and rear struts. I drove it for 7 years. It was a great car and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another for the right money. On concrete it was as capable and less likely to slide than my suburban. I wasn't nice to that car at all. I beat it quite hard for those 7 years.

It got 29-30mpg @ 60mph and 32-33 mpg @75-80 mph. I only changed the oil 3 times in 7 years. It took a serious whooping and kept going. It still ran and drove when I junked it. The manual tranny gives true awd. The automatics are good but not quite as capable.

[TXGunNut]

If I want fuel mileage my 97 F150 4X4 (17mpg) stays under the carport. My 2010 Mercury Grand Geezermobile gets over 26 on road trips and 24.5 on my 80 mile daily commute. Comfortable, fast and not not likely to wear out anytime soon.

[.45Cole]

Well the main reason I want something older is the price (cash) and if I do wind up sliding or eventually hitting a deer, I can truly walk away without getting upset. I hate to do the subaru thing being it's a wagon, but hey; I can piss off some people with some of the liberal factory obummer stickers and then take it out p dog wacking.

[james nicholson]

My 94 Ranger, 4.0 4x4 auto gets 15 mpg city and 21 highway, But the 2 main things men lie about are group size and gas mileage.

[dagger dog]

Have had 3 mini trucks all 2WD, I currently drive an AWD '03 Honda Element 2.4 21Mpg, all stated as combined MPG.

1 new 84 Mazda carb', auto. 2.0 liter, 21 MPG falling off a cliff with a stiff tail wind !
1 new 92 Toyota injected, 2.4 liter 5spd, 24MPG """ """ """""" """"""""""""""""""""""
1 used 93 Toyota injected 2.4 liter 5spd, 24MPG Ditto X2

The newest engine management systems have better control over timing, injection, valve timing, that will allow a 2.7 liter engine get the same range mileage with a heavier truck and auto transmission, with quite a bit better performance, that allows you to merge onto a super slab highway without the use of a steam catapult.

If you add 4WD, fat tires ,high COG, that raises the truck body so the under carriage is exposed to the wind stream, the MPG goes out the door.

Add a V6, you get the same as the over weighted 4 banger.

IMO about all you are going to get with the small body PU's is 21-24 MPG combined.

[starmac]

Several things come to mind. I never bought a vehicle thinking it was inevitable I was going to wreck it ever, this is just not in my line of thinking period. I wouldn't buy an old anything intending to drive 90 miles a day, thinking I won't lose much when I wreck it, that is what insurance is for. If I was taking on a job 45 miles away in country where it snows and planned on being a dependable employee, I would have the best for conditions vehicle I could afford.
If I for some reason thought I would be eventually wrecking it, no way would I start off in a coffin, to save a buck.
Where I drive to make a living, the saying is when you wreck, not a question of IF, but I still start off every trip with the intention of keeping it in the road and shiny side up. I may crash and burn tomorrow, but so far it has worked. lol

[FLHTC]

I have a 4WD, 4 door Silverado with a 5.3 Vortec and it's rated at 18 highway but I get 20 plus per gallon. I tore the air dam off in a snow drift too.

[georgerkahn]

I have a 2009 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 w/ 6cyl engine and automatic transmission. Just made a 434 mile each-way trip and measured 20.3 miles per gallon going; and 20.5 miles per gallon coming back. Roughly Thruway driving where I stayed with traffic moving (according to GPS) at 72 mph; with other half through Adirondack Mountains at 30 - 55 mph. We do get much ice/snow here, and in 4x4 driving in snow I get as little as 13mpg -- but, once plowed it goes up to around 17.
BEST!
georgerkahn

[MaryB]

I commuted 60 mile round trip for many years(20+). In all conditions and the only time I ever had a problem was when I purposely hit the ditch to avoid a semi trailer in the face as a trucker jackknifed on the ice. After he slid by I got out, dug snow out from under and backed out and went on my way. They closed the road that day and the highway cop on the edge of town told me I was the last one on the road for the day. Anyone else would be getting a fine if caught. That was driving a beat up rusted out GMC Jimmy that had full lockers in 4 wheel low. Winter 96/97 here was one of the worst I have ever lived through and that wreck got me back and forth to work if the roads were open.

So don't plan on wrecking, I never did. Clipped a few deer but they were all bounces off the side and front corners. My main concern was always reliable get me there and back and not strand me in -20 temps. Never cared what it looked like. The Jimmy I bought from my deer hunting group, we had used it as a field truck but we lost our hunting lease and nobody else wanted it. Had a newly rebuilt engine, trans, and transfer case. I drove it for 5 years and over 100k miles before the engine needed help again.

[.45Cole]

I guess people are a little unfamiliar with the idea of planning an accident. This part of CO, as much of western CO goes, the roads follow creeks/rivers which are all in canyons. Boulders, deer, and all sorts of other junk is always on the road and everyone hits it. My brother is a deputy and he went 1.5 yrs IIRC without hitting a deer in his patrol vehicle, at which time he was official (rite of passage) and had the record of being one of the longest streak rookies. I have great vehicles for the job, but I would rather wreck a whoopty and buy another (parts vehicle!!!)

I'm pretty good with vehicles (Ford owner here[smilie=s:) and as long as the innards of the tranny, engine, and diff work I can do the rest.