I currently drive a 2012 1500, quad cab, 6.5 box, 4x4 with the HEMI and it's just a gas hog so i'm looking at different options.

I drive roughly 40 to 45k miles a year, mostly hwy(about 85% hwy and 15% stop and go). I carry about 400lbs of gear in the box and pull a trailer almost daily that weighs about 3000lbs (single axle snowmobile trailer with a polaris side by side on it). In the cold Canadian winter that i live in, the truck idles almost all day when i'm not driving somewhere....and yes i am aware that it does explain a lot of my gas consumption. Due to the high mileage, my company limits me to a maximum of 156250 miles (250000km's) before they stop paying me. I also pull a 32' (half tonne friendly) camper in the summer but that is usually for short distances.

I was looking at getting the eco-diesel but my salesmen doesn't really recommend it due to the frequent idling of the truck. He recommends to go with the 5.7 HEMI and the 8 speed transmission but i don't really know anything about it. I am also open to going with a 2500 with the big HEMI because i heard they are better on fuel mileage than the small HEMI but again, i don't know much about that engine either. I'm just not ready to spend the extra cash to go with a full size diesel.

Looking for some good advice/feedback.

Thanks in advance.

 

I would tend to disagree, the diesel should be able to handle idle much better than a gas motor. As far as the EcoDiesel goes, I would wait until they iron out all the kinks they have been having with that motor before I bought one.

 

Yeah ecodiesels are having a lot of sensor issues. You might just have to accept that with what you do, your gonna have a gas hog no matter what. If you didn't have to pull anything then you would be in a different boat. I had an 08 f150 with a V6 that I had a cold air intake and custom performance tune written for it and at 55mph I was getting 24mpgs average(rolling hills, 55mph, and 8 starts from a stop). I got 26.3 at my best on this route and even in my 14 hemi ram I did the same thing and got 25.5 with a 6spd auto and cold air intake. I will say that my f150 got better mileage pulling more weight than my sister in law's father got in his 10 hemi QC ram pulling his harley in an enclosed trailer. He got 14 and I got 16.

 

With what you described you're gonna be guzzling gas no matter what. Maybe best thing to look at is gas mileage numbers on the bigger gas engines so you might get better numbers from using less of the vehicles' capability. So 3000lb trailer and 7000lb tow capacity vs 3000lb trailer with 15000lb capacity.... if you get the ecoboost f150 it can haul 11000 lbs if you get the towing gears and everything but they are still having issues with that engine. The 6.4 hemi last I knew got horrible mileage even in the srt8 cars. I know someone with an 09 srt8 charger that said she can only get 14 mpgs at best even trying to baby it. I would honestly say that either an Ecoboost f150 or 5.7 ram would be your best bet. The ecoboost is getting narrowed down to being moisture effecting something. Or wait for the new titan. Look up a "titan XD" but they aren't out yet. Basically nissan is closing the gap between people who need diesel engine torque with a truck that's in between a 1500 and 2500 truck. The diesel engine so far is rated 310hp and 555lb-ft. That's way better than the ecodiesel at 240 and 420.

 

Perhaps re-think your habit of idling all day. What good does that serve? My 2010 Hemi starts fine at -25*F in MN winters and doesn't take THAT long to heat up. And that's without plugging it in.

If you need towing capacity there really isn't anything that is going to have great MPG. A diesel will get better MPG while towing but obviously the fuel costs a lot more these days.

One other thing that would help your MPG is to get rid of the trailer. If you could load that ATV in the truck bed you'd save quite a bit. I've gotten noticeably better MPG with my snowmobile in the truck bed instead of being towed on a lightweight 2-place covered sled trailer. The wind resistance is a big factor with the trailer... moreso than the actual weight. Maybe if you bought a truck with a full-size bed you could fit your tools and the ATV back there?

Rob

 

That's better than my advice lol. Some engines sound funny in cold temps. My 08 f150 would make a big whine from the power steering pulley for a few seconds at anything below 10F and sounded funny where I was afraid to get on it even halfway until it warmed up a bit. it heated up slower than my girlfriend's 06 4.7 ram but I was thinking her 8 cylinders in hers compared to 6 in mine...my hemi now heats up in half the time as my girlfriend's. You would definitely save gas by not keeping it running. My girlfriend and I used to work together and every day for an hour on lunch we would eat lunch in her truck. When it was cold she would have it run the whole hour and it sucked down her gas mileage. Even just sitting 15mins in my f150 dropped it 3 mpgs after resetting it before my 30 mile trip.

 

I have personal issues with the ecoDiesel , non so far mech. The mileage on the truck is sick, I have a 4x4 and I just made a run from New Orleans to Atlanta, with 400lbs in back, and doing 75-80 everywhere I could, it got 26.7 miles per gallon by calculator. That right there is a good reason. Not everyone is having issues with the truck, if they did there would be a mass outcry about it. That is not the case. Truck rides great for a 4x4 and the mileage is killer. My latest complaint is the 42.00 plus tax oil filter cartridge that should cost less than a regular filter, crooks.