2021 Fuel Economy, am I lower than expected?

[DYNADAVE]

why are we comparing apples to oranges here(gas-diesel)???
If fuel mileage makes or breaks you,you probably can't afford a new truck.

 

[Eatonpcat]

why are we comparing apples to oranges here(gas-diesel)???
If fuel mileage makes or breaks you,you probably can't afford a new truck.

Damnnn...Relax Brother!

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

If you are complaining about gas mileage on a 6.4 L ram, you must have never owned a 5.7 L tundra

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Wifes 04 chevy with the 5.3 LS, 4.10 gears, ran 35s for about 6 years, 37's for the rest of the time. Has 140K miles and a average of 15 MPG. Never reset the MPG since new. Mix of 400 mile road trips and short 5 mile city trips.

 

[farmingdalesfinest]

If you are complaining about gas mileage on a 6.4 L ram, you must have never owned a 5.7 L tundra

How bad is the Tundra mileage? My brother has one and he said it was thirsty but I never asked.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

How bad is the Tundra mileage? My brother has one and he said it was thirsty but I never asked.

We have had 5 of them and they all got 11-12 mpg not one of them ever had a trailer hooked to it.

 

[farmingdalesfinest]

We have had 5 of them and they all got 11-12 mpg not one of them ever had a trailer hooked to it.

That’s even worse than I expected. Is this highway or combined?

I remember a friend had a 1500 Ram and he said he got 9 local. I was worried about buying mine. I average about 16-17 local and 21+ highway. Combined about 18.5.

This is so much better than I expected I am somewhat hesitant to go from a 1500-2500 but I came from a Yukon XL that averaged 14.5 local and never more than 17-18 highway. That sounds similar to the 2500 unless you overload it in overlanding stuff.

 

[@JC]

I came from a Yukon XL that averaged 14.5 local and never more than 17-18 highway. That sounds similar to the 2500 unless you overload it in overlanding stuff.

That's stripped down Hemi Tradesman with 3.73 gears numbers or any HD Diesel. Just go into it knowing a fully optioned PW with 35s isn't going to touch those numbers and you'll be at peace.

 

[farmingdalesfinest]

That's stripped down Hemi Tradesman with 3.73 gears numbers or any HD Diesel. Just go into it knowing a fully optioned PW with 35s isn't going to touch those numbers and you'll be at peace.

With 35’s would it be better than what was mentioned above for the Tundra?


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[@JC]

With 35’s would it be better than what was mentioned above for the Tundra?


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It's not going to be worse but not a lot better and adding a hundred pounds of unsprung weight to the corners doesn't help. I posted my results earlier in the thread, but I will say this, it's not so much how you drive (though a lot of in town start/stops also doesn't help) but basically your average speed that matters the most. These trucks hit an aerodynamic brick wall around 65 (or earlier depending on the headwind) and MPGs drop steadily the further above that you go.

All that said, I really couldn't care less, it's a great truck that's satisfying to drive and looks awesome especially with the proper size tire that it should have shipped from the factory with.

 

[jadmt]

I have a 2020 PW with 35’s and go fast camper. I am on an extended road trip and getting 15mpg traveling interstate speed limits from Montana to minnesota. My speedometer and tripometer are spot on according to a garmin gps. Setbtirecsize with pro cal snap

 

[idratherplaytennis]

I didn't really expect this to take off so drastically but I really appreciate the input. The more I drive this, the more I learn and enjoy it. I just drove out to my sister's in Riverside yesterday, roughly a 60 mile drive, roughly took about an hour to hour-30 including traffic. I opted not to reset my average mpg for the test and just watch the "general" auto-calculating ticker which for most of the ride, up and down hills, flats, in and out of traffic, mostly read out a solid 15-20 mpg, mostly around 17 both in and out of eco- So I know the mileage is on par to my older diesel. I fully expect that it would be drastically worse towing a trailer like I intend to do now and then once or twice a year eventually- but unweighted on most trips like I generally would use it for 90% of the time I'm getting more satisfied. Before the trip I was getting a consistent 7.2 mpg in my city but I've realized that to everyone- "city driving" is highly relative to your city. If I were in a more rural city like my sister's house, which has all the full on conveniences my city has, just with less density, longer streets, more of a "truck county" so-to-speak, I would easily hit 10-12 average city only no problem. I was hitting eco constantly out there getting better than that. But my city is LITTERED with red lights and stop signs, and cops very happy to pull you over for rolling stops. I've just come to realize I need to work on my driving habits and develop new routes for to and from work places since I'm constantly back and forth working on rentals and supply trips and such. On the upside, my average over the extra 120ish miles rose from 7.2 to 10.2 by the time I got home.

The other thing I've come to realize, and I am not sure if this is due to the break-in period or not, is that warming my truck up in the morning, remote starting or whatever- for about 5 or more minutes, drastically changes how quick it starts using Eco mode. It is NOT cold here in Los Angeles by ANY means, it's been in the 70's-80's for the better part of the last two weeks and maybe barely as low as 60's at night, but still apparently cool enough that it doesn't matter to the engine. When I remote started the other day, went around properly adjusting the tire pressures since I noticed a strange wear pattern on one tire (almost like the alignment was a bit off despite it being brand new), the remote start ran long enough that it shut off (I assume about 10 minutes which was what my Chevy did). On the short 1 mile drive to my parents right after, I hit Eco almost instantly, whereas normally it wouldn't hit once on that short trip until I'd been driving elsewhere later in the day. I ran the remote start the next day for only a couple minutes and Eco hit but only about halfway through, leading me to thinking I need to let it warm up maybe 5 minutes. I realize a LOT of people from my research dislike the mds/eco stuff, the periodic vibrations etc, but I'm good with it. I actually don't always feel it many times, but I do know it's there. If I lived almost anywhere else, this probably wouldn't even be as big an issue but California loves their gas taxes so I'm basically stuck with $4+/gal in general. I used to fill my Chevy 2x a month, sometimes 3 depending on driving habits, roughly $100 each time, and I filled this 8 days after it's last fill up for $100 each time. That said- I do believe with the stop and go, the diesel probably was more efficient. But if I alter my personal traffic patterns, there's a good chance with Eco/mds that I could be at or better. It's just a learning curve for me that I wasn't expecting jumping to gas from diesel. The only gas experience I'd had was driving little cars that are obviously going to be more efficient. I'm good with it, but it was just a surprise- and it's only because of the amount of stops I usually make and how my city is arranged. It's not a downtown area but it's basically the worst-case scenario, it would seem.

We have had 5 of them and they all got 11-12 mpg not one of them ever had a trailer hooked to it.

Thanks for this info about Tundras.. While at my sister's yesterday I was talking to my nephew who's saving for his first vehicle and he was looking into Tundra's or Tacoma's for the price range. I was honestly shocked when I looked up what the Tundra listed mileage on their site was for 2021's. Seemed way worse than all of the posted half-tons from Ford, GM and Dodge, but I do know if he get's a Toyota, it would probably be pretty reliable. Despite living in a truck-county, the gas prices out there are only marginally better than where I am, in fact the main station near him had the exact same price as where I lived for 87. Often diesel is actually more expensive out there as well. I'll be able to relay that while the Tundra could be good, he might want to really consider the Tacoma instead, especially since he'd be a first time buyer and get a pretty high financing rate, I'd imagine.

 

[AnthonyD1978]

Normal MPG for the power wagon is anywhere from 1mpg to 40mpg. If you're in that range you're fine.

 

[Iowagon]

Averaged 16.5 mpg, all highway, from Indiana to Georgia today. Almost got up to 17 mph but then hit the mountains.

 

[Ludicrous_Speed]

After having just finished my 8000 mile road trip, i can say that the "aero brick wall" as someone referenced makes a huge difference. If you want "decent" mpg, you really need to keep it 70 or under. Going 80 or 85 in this thing, especially with a head wind, will kill your mpg. Traveling in hilly country at those sustained speeds makes it even worse. I wouldn't consider it bad (I was getting 13.5 to 14 in WV going 80 up a lot of hills) but you can do much better. When i would travel 70 on flat land, i would routinely get 16 or even better.

The one caveat to this is that it's very dependent on where you live as well. 80 at 7000 ft. is a totally different proposition than 80 at close to sea level.

 

[BighornHDRam]

If you are complaining about gas mileage on a 6.4 L ram, you must have never owned a 5.7 L tundra

I owned a 2012 Tundra TRDPro and I can confirm you will get 12 mpg all day long no matter what you do. I found turning off the traction control would net a little better mpg thou.

 

[Ramajama]

I would regularly get 10 mpg while towing 7000+ pounds. I’d never get 10 mpg in city driving no matter how hard I drove it. You should be getting a reasonable 13-16 mpg. So this is an anomaly that will probably resolve. If not, then I’m not sure what to tell you.

 

[DYNADAVE]

Normal MPG for the power wagon is anywhere from 1mpg to 40mpg. If you're in that range you're fine.

best response yet!!

 

[jetlag]

I have a new 2021 3500 Cummins HD long cab. I traded in a 2020 1500 Hemi 5.7L. The hemi would do around 22MPG on the highway. I typically drive 7MPH above posted limit, and on a typical trip with 55, 60, 65 and 70MPH limits. We live in the country but drive to town daily, and I never saw much more than 17MPG. The new Ram, doing the same country/town circuit daily is showing 19.5MPG, and we are just into its second 50Gal fuel tank, so I am vary pleased. Before that, my little king of the road was a 2015 1500 Eco- Diesel. It managed the same local circuit getting over 22MPG and 28-29 on a trip. My bride has a 2015 Grand Cherokee with the same Eco-Diesel engine and she gets pretty much what my Eco-Diesel truck, and she has a lead foot!!

 

[jadmt]

I just returned from a western Montana to South eastern Minn trip going thru Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming and worse gas milage was thru Minnesota which is pancake flat. Best was in Montana which is hilliest and highest speeds overall. Minnesota seems to really push ethanol in the gas.....Man I am glad I live in Western Montana....