2021 Fuel Economy, am I lower than expected?

[idratherplaytennis]

Hey guys. Hoping I can get some advice here. Just got my 2021 PW on the 4th, and I’m about 190 miles into it sitting at just under a quarter tank left, standard 33g tank. Driven mostly city stop and go except for the trip back from the dealer twice and out to it once, roughly a total of 60 miles so about 114 miles since they topped it off after my test drive when it was around 16 miles.
My question is if it’s normally going to be this low or if it gets better after a break-in period that I’m unaware of. I don’t have any other gas truck knowledge to compare with because I traded in a 10 year old 1-ton Chevy diesel which was bigger and heavier in every possible sense. I used to be able to shoot around stop and go in that and get an easy 10 mpg without thinking and I’ve been actively trying to not goose the Power Wagon and burn fuel.
I definitely would have thought twice had I known the economy was this low (especially considering it’s 10 years newer than my old truck); just wondering if it has to do with my driving style, my particular streets that are shorter stop and go, or if I should wait a bit longer and see about it getting better. I know the dealer put premium in but I plan to run 87 since the manual says it’s okay; especially since I’m in West LA where gas is crazy expensive, upper $4’s/gal.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated; I sort of feel quite depressed seeing these numbers. Honestly if I could drive the same way as the diesel and hit at least 10-11 city, I’d be totally happy. It’s not terrible when I’m able to hit eco mode on highways, but I don’t do as much highway driving and it’s super congested here during normal work hours with this as a daily driver.

 

[LateToTheParty]

Since you aren't even through a full tank yet, it is difficult to measure what you're truly getting for MPG. The numbers on the EVIC in my experience aren't reliable (though my 2020 is a slight bit closer than my previous two Rams.

If you drive around in what I refer to as Cali-style (floor it between every stoplight and race to be first at the next light), I'm guessing you'll never see over 10 mpg. If you can handle a bit gentler of an acceleration curve, I don't see why you wouldn't see that 10-11.

 

[el_barto]

A few things...
1) (unfortunately) it’s a 31gal tank not 33.
2) it’s brand new, mileage seems to improve on these trucks once they are broken with a few thousand miles. you haven’t even put a full tank thru yet
3) your 3500 was probably not much heavier than the power wagon, and diesels typically get better mileage than similar sized gas engines.

 

[idratherplaytennis]

I guess I was just expecting it to be a bit better (than my diesel- I knew slightly better mileage but I thought it was mostly under highway conditions). I’m not actually sure what the weight difference was from the diesel; just knew the diesel had heavier parts and extra stuff like 5 gallons of def and almost 2’ on the bed.
I actively try not to floor it but admittedly; with the lower rpms of the diesel that was also a lot easier to manage. I’ve been driving mostly diesel trucks since I began driving 20 years ago so I imagine I hopefully can manage that a bit better.
I do realize it may be better if I avoid the short side streets since they’re full of stop signs almost 2-300’ apart and it doesn’t lend to ever dropping into Eco. Apart from the really poor experience with mileage I’m loving the truck. It’s just a hit to the wallet when diesel around me is cheaper than even regular fuel. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Epsilon Plus]

5 gal of DEF (~42lbs) and a couple feet of bed is nothing to a diesel. Diesel fuel has much more energy per gallon than gasoline. Since they are compression fire, they sip fuel at idle comparatively. Your PW is 7,000+lbs, has 4.10 gears, and a relatively large displacement 6.4L small block that by this age is considered "old tech". Gas HD RAMs are among the worst MPG vehicles on the road. They make up for it by being the most capable gas pickup truck on the market. It's the McLaren of trucks. The LS-6 Chevelle SS of trucks. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon of trucks. The Ford HD Tremor tries, but nothing compares to it in pure capability.

Remember God's balance in life. Everything has a yin and a yang. You can climb Mt. Everest with that truck and tow a travel trailer across the US with confidence, but it isn't going to be cheap. It is the "pay to play" of gas trucks.

 

[Iowa Wagon]

City driving will plummet MPG! My truck takes a big hit driving in city traffic. Also, high speeds on the highway (75 MPH+) as the front of these trucks are as aerodynamic as a barn door.

That being said, I regularly see 16s on the dash. I’ve had a hand calculated best of 16.9… this is all on 37s.

 

[pdavey]

Did you buy the PW for gas mileage? Both of my Power Wagons have never seen a gas station they don't want to visit.

As others have said these trucks aren't areodyamic. The more accessories you put on them the worse the mileage is.

I saw improvement with the 37s over 35s but if I see 13-14 on the highway I am happy.

12 in the city I am estatic

9-10 while towing the Airstream is normal.

You buy a PW to go off-road. When off-road you don't care about mileage if you cary a spare gas can

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

[Iowagon]

I typically get 12.5 in town..I've hit 14mpg on all highway driving before.

 

[@JC]

2020 PW with 35x12.50r17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers, the best I've ever seen was a 280ish round trip on a 60 mph highway (cruise set at 65), hand calculated at 14.1mpg. I usually get around 11-12 on the interstate, cruise set at 90, RPMs sit right on 2500 and it'll kick down to 7th with a gradual incline.

 

[tuckjack]

I have a 2021 PW as well, just over 1,000 miles now. Was seeing around 12mpg on my first 200 miles. Hit roughly 14.5-15mpg for the round trip from Boulder area to Telluride. It was 700 miles round trip, 64,000 ft of cumulative ascent (and the same in descent), 11,000 ft max elevation and just under 5,000 feet for min, and a mixture of highway and backroads. Trip computer said a little over 15, but my hand calcs showed a little less.

Just providing as a reference. I'm anticipating an improvement over time, but that may just be dreaming and it won't be a big improvement.

 

[idratherplaytennis]

5 gal of DEF (~42lbs) and a couple feet of bed is nothing to a diesel. Diesel fuel has much more energy per gallon than gasoline. Since they are compression fire, they sip fuel at idle comparatively. Your PW is 7,000+lbs, has 4.10 gears, and a relatively large displacement 6.4L small block that by this age is considered "old tech". Gas HD RAMs are among the worst MPG vehicles on the road. They make up for it by being the most capable gas pickup truck on the market. It's the McLaren of trucks. The LS-6 Chevelle SS of trucks. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon of trucks. The Ford HD Tremor tries, but nothing compares to it in pure capability.

Remember God's balance in life. Everything has a yin and a yang. You can climb Mt. Everest with that truck and tow a travel trailer across the US with confidence, but it isn't going to be cheap. It is the "pay to play" of gas trucks.

Thanks. I appreciate the lesson and I appreciate your description as the McLaren of trucks and other comparisons. As long as it can somewhat tow (I know tow ratings are lower for this than the normal 3/4 tons) the camper my Uncle will eventually be getting and storing at my place, that's more than enough for me. I do love the sound, and it is fun, so once I forget about my wallet and drive it enjoyably, I will definitely be quick to smile each time I get in.


Man. So many replies, trying to just reply here instead of numerous posts, I appreciate all the support. Let's see if I can figure out this quote thing..

Did you buy the PW for gas mileage? Both of my Power Wagons have never seen a gas station they don't want to visit.

As others have said these trucks aren't areodyamic. The more accessories you put on them the worse the mileage is.

I saw improvement with the 37s over 35s but if I see 13-14 on the highway I am happy.

12 in the city I am estatic

9-10 while towing the Airstream is normal.

You buy a PW to go off-road. When off-road you don't care about mileage if you cary a spare gas can

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

Definitely did NOT buy it for mileage, however I was just 'head in the clouds' hoping it would be at least equal to the diesel. That said, I am still enjoying this. I actually purchased it just because I do a LOT of shorter trips back and forth and I was starting to have issues (co$tly i$$ues) with the diesel because it wasn't getting a chance to do it's regenerative exhaust cleaning maintenance which is supposed to occur under normal driving conditions. They didn't count on my normal being short 1-3 mile trips on and off in a city full of gridlocked traffic but it served me amazing for 10 years. I wanted something more off-road capable, easier to deal with clearance over the ground and what-not, yet still able to do some towing if need be. The 1-ton was way more than I ever needed, and the drop from a long bed to standard was just to really aid in parking difficulties. SO many times, I just needed that extra 20" of space I'm now saving with the PW over the amount of times I needed to fill the entire 8' bed.

2020 PW with 35x12.50r17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers, the best I've ever seen was a 280ish round trip on a 60 mph highway (cruise set at 65), hand calculated at 14.1mpg. I usually get around 11-12 on the interstate, cruise set at 90, RPMs sit right on 2500 and it'll kick down to 7th with a gradual incline.

Glad to know about Nitto's. I'm about 90% positive those are what I had on my Silverado for the last two sets when I sold it- I'm definitely interested in upping the tire size to at least 35's. I've noticed a lot of reviews talking about how it can take 35's and 37's, with 37's having slight rub on... sway bars? or something like that. This is probably off topic since I was asking about mileage but if anyone could point out some reading resources on if the 35's have been tested to not rub, I'd appreciate it. Going to take awhile getting used to everything with the 32 or 33's whatever it came stock with, but I'll eventually want to upgrade. I saw a great video highlighting some benefits of adding Carli suspension parts but this is quite a ways away. Still seems strange they'd slap something under 35's on the off-roader but I have a bit of limited knowledge as to their reasoning.


Thank you, everyone for your input. I appreciate the fact that there is a break-in period, and that my mileage obviously may vary per my exact road conditions etc and it is putting me a bit more at ease. At my worst.. it's just a great way to throw the bird at my home state of California for some of their other more egregiously petty restrictions in other areas of my life (like forcing low VOC paint on my repair work when the higher, superior VOC stuff dries harder and lasts longer.. but I digress). If I'm going to be brokish, I might as well have fun doing it.

 

[el_barto]

35s fit no problem with stock suspension and you can (barely) fit a full size 35” spare under the bed. 37s may have some rubbing and a 37” spare will absolutely not fit under the bed. Plenty of post about this though so I’ll keep it at that.

 

[MtnRider]

You don't buy a Power Wagon for MPG or range that's for sure. It's an awesome offroad truck but a Horrible daily driver (my opinion based on my experience). I traded mine after 11 months and went back to a diesel. As much as I liked the truck, stopping at the gas station multiple times a week was getting old and frustrating. If I could have kept it as a weekend "fun" truck I would have but it just didn't work for me driving it daily.


.

 

[gimmie11s]

City driving will plummet MPG! My truck takes a big hit driving in city traffic. Also, high speeds on the highway (75 MPH+) as the front of these trucks are as aerodynamic as a barn door.

That being said, I regularly see 16s on the dash. I’ve had a hand calculated best of 16.9… this is all on 37s.

View attachment 19076

Impressive! Let's see that trip meter after 300+ miles.

OP just enjoy the truck. Like mentioned by a few others, 13-14 on the hwy is realistic for a truck of that size/specs. It's a sweet truck, she just isnt going to be very fuel efficient.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Check my build thread about 35s and what I did to make the spare fit easier.

I've looked at my MPG but really havent given it much thought. Maybe because I'm coming from a F250 with the big V10 with 4.30 gears and 33s.. Talk about a gas hog. I'm at least doing better than what that truck did.

 

[GeneralClortho]

35s
11-12 in town
14-15 highway

 

[idratherplaytennis]

I'm only on my second tank for now.. but I definitely plan to ride it out for the time being. Even if it's low- it's not the end of the world. Just gotta account for it. I have stopped taking side streets as much so that I have longer stretches to hit into Eco mode more often to prolong the mileage, however I definitely need to look into the tricks on what triggers Eco. Sometimes it pops on right after I hit a decent short stretch, other times I go 2-3x that length without it popping on, on level ground at a constant speed. A bit finicky but yeah. At the same time- still enjoying a lot about the truck. Need to alter some stuff for my work purposes for sure however- like getting a washable drivers seat cover for the days I'm working under houses and stuff. The vented seat holes just want to trap stuff way easy, that along with a steering wheel cover and a good rubber mat for the bed since my knees hate the spray coated textured ridges back there.

It does sound like my mileage may improve a bit after break in but honestly, even if it doesn't, I could live with it for long enough. My whole mentality going into this truck was to get away from the diesel that would suffer with my short driving trips and become expensive repairs when warranty would fall off, and to have a fun gasser before whatever my next truck is; possibly electric depending on how they do in the next 5-10 years. So far, fun truck. With 35's? I can foresee much more fun.

 

[el_barto]

I stopped bothering to look at the MPG since I know it’s not good, and it doesn’t really matter. But I just looked, my truck has just under 20,000 miles on it and the indicator shows 13.0mpg over the last 10,000 miles(when the trip meter last reset). Certainly not “good”, but reasonable for 7500lb truck on 35s doing mixed driving.

 

[idratherplaytennis]

I stopped bothering to look at the MPG since I know it’s not good, and it doesn’t really matter. But I just looked, my truck has just under 20,000 miles on it and the indicator shows 13.0mpg over the last 10,000 miles(when the trip meter last reset). Certainly not “good”, but reasonable for 7500lb truck on 35s doing mixed driving.

Hey, by my accounts, the more I think about it, the less I remember the last time I reset my Chevy’s average mpg, so for all I know it could have been 10,000+ combined landing in the 10 range. 13 sounds good, at the very least fair to me.

It’s not that far fetched now that I think about it. So for all I know; I could actually be posting better mpg without realizing it. I kind of just accepted I would pay 1-2 tanks a month with it and those were larger tanks using up to 30gal before I started to worry (with about 6 in reserve). This truck may appear to visit more but it has a smaller tank too. Just sucks that I’m paying Cali taxes because around me, diesel was and still is ALWAYS cheaper than 87 octane. I’m gonna give it awhile before I worry again. I probably won’t worry anymore though.

 

[Ludicrous_Speed]

As noted by others, diesels shine when it comes to MPG, pretty much all diesels do. That and it’s torque helping spin up bigger tires are a reason why so many go with a diesel Tremor Ford or a diesel Wrangler. What they don’t talk about is the expensive oil changes and all that DEF that rather ruins any frugalness you get from the MPG.
I just got a 75A about a month ago, and put about 1000 city miles on it before taking a 3 week road trip with it. Am at about 6000 miles now. First couple hundred miles was about 10mpg city. After around 500 I was getting 11.5. Important note, highway mpg is HIGHLY variable depending on speed. 70 mph will easily net me 16mpg, but going 85 will knock that down to 14. This is all on stock tires. I haven’t decided on 35s or 37s yet, and figured I would put all the road trip mileage on the stockers.