Best MPG in a truck / Ecoboost sucks.

MXOldtimer

Active member
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
118
Reaction score
44
Location
Lake Isle AB
Got 4 of the little hair driers in the family, my brother and I get 12 empty month average in summer, 13 winter. Hook the big enclosed up and 22 it is. The grandchildren both get 15 in the summer and winter. Hmmmmm. Nice fuel economy but that's not the big reason the old guys have them. Smooth, comfy, quiet, no hunting for the right gear (unlike certain GM's and Dodge) is the big attraction for me. Had a Dodge 16 valve, nice motor, great fuel economy, noisy and you could throw a cat out of the cab without ruffling it's fur when I sold it at 350,000. ISL Cummins in the motorhome, great power, 100,000, don't miss it now that we're back to nice quiet gas job.

Sucks getting old.
 

Cdnfireman

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
2,726
Reaction score
9,529
Location
Alberta
Your math fails to take into account that, come time to sell, the diesel is worth approx $7k more on the used market, so it only has to make up $3k over its ownership time.

Only if you sell at a relatively low km. The gasser will drop quicker then stabilize. The diesel will hold its value better till about 150k then drop off too. Try selling a diesel above 250k. Nobody wants them. The dealers send them straight to auction, and most private buyers won't risk the $10k in possible repairs to the diesel. At 250k all trucks need the same attention to the rest of the truck regardless of power plant.
When big fleets do cost evaluations they're looking purely at the bottom line. There's no brand loyalty, they break it down to cost per km or cost per year.
Theres lots of hidden costs with a diesel. Eg: more front end and tire wear.
A good friend works for one of the big operators in mcmurray. We had a discussion similar to this and he showed me a cost analysis for the light vehicle fleet. Ford and GM were within a few cents of each other in costs per km, with GM having a small advantage in the half tons, and Ford having a greater advantage in 3/4 tons and up. Dodge was grossly out of line in comparison to the tune of about 20% on average, even higher with the diesels.
Diesels in Ford and GM were about 10% higher than a comperable gas truck.
Understandably, they were moving towards replacing diesels with gas, and were not buying any more dodges.
 

kovs

Active VIP Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
836
Reaction score
1,147
Location
Rosetown, sask
We haven't even talked about the math involved with the higher cost of maintaining a diesel. Oil filters,fuel filters, Def etc etc. Then if you have a mechanical issue with a diesel it's going to cost big time in comparison to a gas engine. Injectors on a 6.0l will run you $5-6k. There are tons of cost analysis studies on the net like the one I posted. Most take into consideration resale value.

Would not drive a new vehicle off the lot without the extra warranty. Doesn't matter brand, they are built cheap to only last 5 years. Most of the new gas jobs take 8L of specific oil so that's a wash compared to the diesel. $1/1000kms for def- pretty big expense there. Fuel filter is only extra maintenance item every 15-20k (depends on source of fuel I guess too.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

busted2x

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Messages
517
Reaction score
862
Location
AB

Cdnfireman

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
2,726
Reaction score
9,529
Location
Alberta
Would not drive a new vehicle off the lot without the extra warranty. Doesn't matter brand, they are built cheap to only last 5 years. Most of the new gas jobs take 8L of specific oil so that's a wash compared to the diesel. $1/1000kms for def- pretty big expense there. Fuel filter is only extra maintenance item every 15-20k (depends on source of fuel I guess too.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

only the dodges are 5 year trucks. Always have been. The cost for an oilchange in a modern diesel is at least double that of the gassers, maybe even close to triple. 7-8 litres of regular oil ((specific oil???)versus 12-15. $7 for an oil filter compared to $20-30. Air filters $15 versus 60-80. Fuel filters never versus 40-60 every 10-15k.
Fuel 5-10 cents/liter more for diesel, DEF, more tire wear, front end wear, fuel conditioner in winter, more idle time/fuel use to warm up in cold weather.
I like the new diesel pickups. Lots of power and sweet to drive and pull with. But there's no way you can say that they're less money to operate. The argument can be made that a high mileage driver or heavy use/towing owner will use less fuel for the same service, but the numbers don't lie. The break even for the average owner is way way down the road let alone coming out ahead.
Most of us drive them because we want to, not because it's cheaper.
 

fnDan

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
1,444
Reaction score
1,439
Location
Foothills
I bought the ecoboost thinking even if I get the same fuel economy as my previous half ton but can tow the same trailer and maintain highway speeds without hitting 5,000 rpm, I'll be a happy guy.
Better economy and better towing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

rightsideup

Active VIP Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
3,036
Reaction score
2,849
Location
bc
In 2012 I bought a Eco boost and was very surprised. Cruise set at 110-120 from home to Edmonton I was getting 7L/100. I was very happy with the truck and still considering another one.
I have 2011 crewcab 6.5 box and a 2015 same configuration and achieved some where inbetween the above post and the orginal posters poor millage and would get 10.8 to 11.2 but at 100 km if you put your foot down a little harder it when down considerably. I also had a 2014 5.0 and it would get 12.2 at 100km but did not drop off as bad as the eco's if you were at 120/140
 

j335

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
1,874
Reaction score
1,821
Location
AB
Only if you sell at a relatively low km. The gasser will drop quicker then stabilize. The diesel will hold its value better till about 150k then drop off too. Try selling a diesel above 250k. Nobody wants them. The dealers send them straight to auction, and most private buyers won't risk the $10k in possible repairs to the diesel. At 250k all trucks need the same attention to the rest of the truck regardless of power plant.
When big fleets do cost evaluations they're looking purely at the bottom line. There's no brand loyalty, they break it down to cost per km or cost per year.
Theres lots of hidden costs with a diesel. Eg: more front end and tire wear.
A good friend works for one of the big operators in mcmurray. We had a discussion similar to this and he showed me a cost analysis for the light vehicle fleet. Ford and GM were within a few cents of each other in costs per km, with GM having a small advantage in the half tons, and Ford having a greater advantage in 3/4 tons and up. Dodge was grossly out of line in comparison to the tune of about 20% on average, even higher with the diesels.
Diesels in Ford and GM were about 10% higher than a comperable gas truck.
Understandably, they were moving towards replacing diesels with gas, and were not buying any more dodges.

Sold my dmax just under 150k and got premium pricing that's for sure, so I believe you and based off n my research my goal was to sell prior to 160k.

What's the best time to sell a half ton? Thinking low 100k's
 

acesup800

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
1,472
Reaction score
2,693
Location
BC
only the dodges are 5 year trucks. Always have been. The cost for an oilchange in a modern diesel is at least double that of the gassers, maybe even close to triple. 7-8 litres of regular oil ((specific oil???)versus 12-15. $7 for an oil filter compared to $20-30. Air filters $15 versus 60-80. Fuel filters never versus 40-60 every 10-15k.
Fuel 5-10 cents/liter more for diesel, DEF, more tire wear, front end wear, fuel conditioner in winter, more idle time/fuel use to warm up in cold weather.
I like the new diesel pickups. Lots of power and sweet to drive and pull with. But there's no way you can say that they're less money to operate. The argument can be made that a high mileage driver or heavy use/towing owner will use less fuel for the same service, but the numbers don't lie. The break even for the average owner is way way down the road let alone coming out ahead.
Most of us drive them because we want to, not because it's cheaper.

Not gonna disagree with you entirely, but you are slightly high on the estimates. My duramax takes 10L of regular oil, oil filters are $22, air filter is $25, fuel filter is $55 but only every 36,000km. And you don't pay for maintenance service until 60,000km anyway, other than DEF. In BC, diesel prices are 10 cents cheaper than gas. But yes, everything else is more money.
 
Last edited:

Cdnfireman

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
2,726
Reaction score
9,529
Location
Alberta
Sold my dmax just under 150k and got premium pricing that's for sure, so I believe you and based off n my research my goal was to sell prior to 160k.

What's the best time to sell a half ton? Thinking low 100k's

Half tons are like cars. The first year is the biggest hit then after that it's based on mileage and condition. There's a psychological barrier at 100k, so after that it drops some, but surprisingly half tons past about 180k they depreciate relatively slowly.
 

chemmod

Active VIP Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
215
Reaction score
251
Location
The Crazy Cold North
2015 F-150 3.5L ecoboost 3.55 rear end. 13.9L/100km life time average (idling towing, the whole works.) average tank with a mix of city and highway gets 12.5-13.5. Best was highway in one day with stops for coffee in and coffee out, got 1267km to 117L ~9.4L/100km cruising at 110km/hr and I've done it 4 times with similar results a every time. Worst was pulling my 28 ft holiday trailer, gets about 19L/100km cruising at 100km/hr. the 125L tank is awesome too, I hate stoping for fuel all the time.

the way you drive make all the difference, easy acceleration, litttle use of the brakes when stopping and staying at 110km/hr or less makes a huge difference.

personally I looked at the cost per km between the ecoboost and the ecodiesel and I figured the ecoboost was a better fit and deal for me. So far so happy with 55,000km in 15 months, I would buy another, plus the truck drives great and looks awesome!!
 

kovs

Active VIP Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
836
Reaction score
1,147
Location
Rosetown, sask
Not gonna disagree with you entirely, but you are slightly high on the estimates. My duramax takes 10L of regular oil, oil filters are $22, air filter is $25, fuel filter is $55 but only every 36,000km. And you don't pay for maintenance service until 60,000km anyway, other than DEF. In BC, diesel prices are 10 cents cheaper than gas. But yes, everything else is more money.


I thought it was 10L that it took- I haven't changed it myself yet as I got 4 free services when I bought. I did notice it was just shell rotella 15-40 they were pumping in. If the air filter is dirty in my dmax it would be dirty in my gas, tires are a wash imho as I ran 10ply on the gas for the weight I hauled.
But for short running around town/city. It's hard to beat a gas truck no doubt.
I had a max tow 6.2 gm it was good but no comparison to the dmax for towing and how it handles the load.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

timmus

Active member
Joined
Apr 25, 2011
Messages
105
Reaction score
57
Location
Prince George
Not gonna disagree with you entirely, but you are slightly high on the estimates. My duramax takes 10L of regular oil, oil filters are $22, air filter is $25, fuel filter is $55 but only every 36,000km. And you don't pay for maintenance service until 60,000km anyway, other than DEF. In BC, diesel prices are 10 cents cheaper than gas. But yes, everything else is more money.

Haven't seen diesel cheaper in years gas 95.9 diesel 103.9 today
 
Top Bottom