Year: 2011
Model: 1500 4X4 Sport Quad Cab
Engine: 5.7 Hemi
Highway percent: 60
City Percent: 40
Location: NW Washington State
Octane: 87
Hand or Computer: Computer
Miles on truck: 2500
MPG: 17.1
Mods: All Stock

Mileage for me wasn't the big deal when buying Ram #3, it was all about comfort. My first 1500 was a 2006 Big Horn; the ride was a little hard and the interior was a less than I wanted but it was a great truck. #2 was a 2010 Big Horn; MUCH better ride and amenities. When the dealer asked if I wanted a better truck with lower payments how could I refuse! #3 is a 2011 1500 Sport with all the toys I wanted AND a better interior and ride. We have a winner!

 

Almost forgot to post this as an update to my earlier post. I took a trip from Spokane, Wa to Portland, Or to Seattle, Wa over labor day weekend. I left on Friday to Portland to pick up a hood for a project car. Then I went to Seattle to a friends. The entire trip on Friday had me up to 20.4 mpg (computer) and 19.8 (hand). I made the entire trip on one tank of gas. I filled up after getting to Seattle. I drove around a bit with a friend that I was there to visit, as well as my step brother. I drove from Seattle to Spokane on Monday and ended up with the same stats when I got back to Spokane. I had dropped down to 19.4 while doing my driving around in Seattle and Snohomish.

Lately, here locally, I've been using my cruise a lot and trying to coast to stop signs and, down any hills I can get away with it on. I've been tyring to keep my cruise on for any corners I can to keep a constant speed...and not at all because its more fun that way! Doing all of that has gotten me no lower then 18.5 mpg (hand) since during my normal driving area. I get killed near the city because of construction though and usually end up going down to 16.5. Luckily I don't go through the construction or, into the city that much. Most of my driving involves straight backroads with only a few stops. I also drive on an Air Force base here and there, which is only 30 mph.

Before I roped in the lead foot, I was getting no higher then 16.5. Which is still higher then my old truck, a '05 Chevy Colorado 3.5L inline 5.

 

09 ram 1500 hemi crew cab big horn 4x4 mufflex muffler drop in K&N

Overall average 17.5 to 18.5mg driving with 75% highway 25% city in some mountainous east TN. I can achieve 20mpg on 400 mile trip from east TN to western OH. On 50 mile trip on 55mhp highway some small hills can routinely achieve 21 or plus in summer. once achieved a record 24.7mpg on that trip. Recently added bilstein 5100 in front 2.1" setting tho has dropped from initial about 2.75" total raise to 2.5", hopefully settles more to actual due concerns of cv problems. Bilsteins in rear and 1" lift top gun customz coil puck, currently 1.25" raise. Both done 3 days ago along with factory size 275/60R20 Mickey Thompson STZ tires. love tires big blocky tread look and seem great traction, much more truck look than stock crappy HPs that cupped bad. bilsteins seem to ride a little stiffer but more stable than stock. lowered the tire pressure from 43psi to 38psi today and helped soom to make it softer ride. Havent noticed any big difference in mpg change with 55mph highway drive. Maybe .5 mpg drop if anything but too soon to tell for sure. Overall my hand calculations have shown everything from 1.5mpg less than ECU to 1mpg better, and a lot seems to depend on the place that I get gas from, it's kind of a crapshoot, sometimes I think the 89 octane is better and sometimes I recieve the same from 87 octane.

 

I just picked up my 2011 Bighorn 2500 with the Cummins yesterday in Ontario, OR. Just short of a 400 mile drive home on 2-lane windy roads up Hwy 95 thru Idaho, and then on Hwy 12 up and over the pass into Montana. Dealer told me to "drive it like I stole it".

So I did. Very little traffic in my way, so I could stomp on it a lot.

Averaged 17.6 mpg varying speed anywhere from 35 to 75 mph. Handled well on the corners I might add.

 

I've taken several (freeway) trips and cal'd mpg by gas purchased/miles driven and the actual is always ~10%-12% less than the EVIC report for the trip.

I see a LOT of people reporting their mpg from "computer" which I assume is the EVIC - is it only my EVIC that is so far off????

Is there anyway to adjust the EVIC mpg figure? It would be nice to have an accurate calculation of Distance to Empty for instance

 

Year: 2011
Model: 1500 4X4 SLT Quad Cab
Engine: 5.7 Hemi
Highway percent: 60
City Percent: 40
Location: Montana
Octane: 88
Hand or Computer: Hand
Miles on truck: 500
MPG: 13.5
Mods: 2"leveling kit, 295 70 17 Nitto Trail Grapplers, Tonneau cover

Pretty poor mileage. Hope it improves.

 

Year: 2009
Model: 1500 4X4 ST Quad Cab
Engine: 4.7
Highway percent: 60
City Percent: 40
Location: Louisiana
Octane: 87
Hand or Computer: Hand
Miles on truck: 65,000
MPG: 16 to 18 per tank/20 to 22 on highway.
Mods: none

I am satisfied with my mileage. I track it at every refill and i am getting the above results. Naturally it goes a little up and down depending on my driving style, and i am finding my engine likes certain brands of fuel over others. My highway driving is done on flat roads and interstates. My last calc was done after 35 miles of interstate @ 70mph and then 19 miles of state highway @60mph. I only stopped and accelerated back up to speed one time during this span. I calculated my efficiency to be a hair over 22mpg. the air temp was in the 70's

 

2010 Ram 1500 Quad Big Horn 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 545RFE, 3.92 LSD, 20 inch wheels, factory dual exhaust, 42,487 miles. I have a light foot (gernerally) and log fuel consumption and compute mileage the old fashioned way:

• Current average fuel economy since new is 17.78 MPG
• The EVIC computer has indicated less MPG than actual in 64 times
• The EVIC has indicated more MPG than actual 69 times
• The EVIC has indicated within .005 MPG of actual only 18 times
• Largest deviation was 1.6 MPG
• Highest single tank MPG was 24.439 (actual)
• Lowest single tank MPG was 8.889 (actual) (towing 9100 lbs)
• Number of tanks over 20 MPG = 65
• Number of tanks under 16 MPG = 17
• Winter variation = 1.6 MPG (negative)

Based on results from other Ram 1500 owners I've talked to I believe for my driving style the 3.92 axle ratio is a benefit since most of my driving is either rural, local, or cross town with about a 15-30% stop and go and road speeds under 60 MPH. The highway speed that seems to steadily return 22-23 MPG empty is 62-63 MPH. At 70 MPH and above gas milege drops precipitously, to 16 MPG. My weekly around town mileage varies between 17 and 20 MPG in summer, 16-18 in winter. Those running the 3.55 gears uniformly report lower around town mileage.


I can't complain. This truck is faster than stock Chevy/GMCs with the 5.3 motors, as well as F150s with the 5.4 and will out pull both on hills. Tundras and Titans are just slightly faster, but owners that I've talked to are not getting anywhere near the fuel mileage I'm getting.


Regards,
Dusty

 

Just thought I would stir the sh** pot here a little bit. I haven't been on here in a while but here it goes. I still have my 04 SXT RC 2wd 4.7 w/17's. It's got 105K miles on it now and my son drives it. It's been a great truck about all I've had to do to it besides regular maintenance is replace the radiator at about 75k and the fuel pump was replaced under warrenty about a year after I got it. .
In october of 09 I bought a Ford F150 STX SC 2wd with the 4.6 2 valve motor and 4 spd.
auto. It has the optional decor pkg. with 18" wheels and tires. I drove a 2010 Doge 1500
crew cab 2wd with the newer (since 08) 4.7, and to be honest, the Dodge was better
equipped, (for the money) looked better, and rode better, than the Ford.
Now, the Ford is heavier (super cab vs reg. cab) so my 04 Ram feels/is quicker and it
handles better, but the ride will kill you (short w/b reg. cab). I bought the Ford for two
reasons re-sale value, and I honestly believe the Ford is screwed together better. The
kicker is the ford consistantly gets 16.5 to 17.5 mpg around town depending on the weather and if I have to run the air or not. And at just about 1/3 hwy driving I can get over 18 mpg. This is all hand calculated.
So, despite the fact that the Ford is heavier, and has one less forward gear it gets 3 to 4
mpg better than my Dodge and feels like it has more torque/is more satisfying to drive.
I rarely got more than 14.5 mpg out of the Dodge no matter how I drove. One time when it was brand new I drove it to Oklahoma from Sachse Tx. in the fall, no air, all hwy being verry conservitive and got 20.1 mpg. Thats the only time I ever got better than 14/15 mpg.

 

Rambob,
Of course this thread is about the 4th generation Ram and I think comparisons to older generations, whether Dodge, Ford, or anything else, are inaccurate. It's interesting that the April edition of Consumer Reports Best Cars for 2005 lists the fuel consumption of the then 2004 F150 at 14 MPG average for both the 4.6 and 5.4 engines. In my experience a large portion of Ford truck owners have complained about gas mileage as well. My daughter's fiancee says his 2005 F150 with a 5.4 only breaks 18 MPG on highway trips and normally is in the 13-15 MPG range.

Since the same standard EPA test is conducted on each vehicle and the Dodge Ram has been within 1 MPG of each of their competitors over the years, I find it much more likely that the variations of reported fuel consumption by individuals are the result of driver behavior and/or driving conditions. Of course, this does not exclude the possibility of vehicle condition. My son also complained about the poor gas mileage on his 2003 Ram 5.7 (no MDS), but after finding a lazy O2 sensor, the gas mileage climbed from 13-14 MPG to 16-17.

There's also the issue of honesty. There's one particular brand of full-size truck owner who I think has taken the claim of "superior" gas mileage to tremendous heights. When pressed about some claims regarding high gas mileage reports, I've found that often times people are reflecting a number they once saw on their vehicle's computer. If I do a reset of the Ram's EVIC and coast dowhill, I'll see economy numbers like 45+ MPG, but that doesn't mean I can do that all day. In two cases (one was a "22 MPG around town") we've had the chance for a direct, on the road comparison (mine versus their's on the same drive) and both found a way to avoid sharing their gas slips!

Despite all the boasting you'll hear on the web, I suspect a good portion of these claims are the result of brand love (or hatred).

Regards,
Dusty