Fuel mileage

[Harrydavidson]

We where in the market to buy a class A diesel pusher within the next 6 mos. But with the new leadership in DC I’m afraid of the fuel cost going nuts. Therefore we have been thinking about buying a new DIESEL1 ton DRW pickup and going the 5th Wh route.
Curious as to what’s the typical fuel mileage pulling a 5er with a diesel pickup.
PS. Anyone have experience on towing a tag V 5er with the same vehicle and comparing mileage?

[azdryheat]

Around 9 for my Duramax.

[Durb]

My 2004 Dodge Ram 1 ton dually averages 11.2 MPG round trip on almost every trip we take. This is pulling a 10k fifth wheel and always involves grades. I need to contact MarkTwain to find out what his secret is.

[jdc1]

So, there you go. Mileage will be similar in either a diesel pusher or truck/5th wheel combo. You'll need that secondary vehicle behind that diesel pusher to get around town. That's more insurance and maintenance cost, of course. A 35 foot fifth wheel will have the same space as a 40 foot diesel pusher. A truck and 5th wheel will cost less than that diesel pusher. You can drive the truck to work when you are not camping. You can drive that toad to work too. Maybe the car you already own is towable? Who knows?

[EgorKC]

2012 F350 1 ton 6.7 diesel. We avg. between 10 and 11 gal pulling about 12M. We tend to go west for the mountains about 70% of the time. It is only used for trips so our mileage per year is only around 7000. With that I go through 5 gallons of DEF a year so that is not a large added expense. I have fuel filters changed annually. I prefer the diesel over gas primarily because of the engine exhaust brake assist.
Greg

[Michelle_S]

Pulling 19.5K average 10, some times a little less, some time a little better.
'18 Duramax Crew Cab Dually. Got just about the same with previous '11 Duramax Dually with same trailer.

[rhagfo]

valhalla360 wrote:
We got around 12.8mpg long term with a 1992 7.3 diesel pulling a 9k 5er.

More recently with a 2008 V10 gas pulling an 11.5k 5er was getting 7-8mpg.

Oil changes are about the same frequency regardless of fuel type and yes diesel oil changes are substantially more. We typically pay under $30 for the V10. If you do a diesel, it's rare to get under $100. But really unless you are putting on 40-50,000 miles per year, it's not the oil changes that drive up the cost of a diesel truck.

Well only true for Ford diesels, they used high pressure engine oil to pop the injectors which is hard on the oil, and requires more frequent changes.
Cummins doesn't do that and even with our old 5.9, we easily went 10,000 miles on a change verified with lab testing, could have gone 12,500 miles, but 10,000 was about what we put on in a year.

[ferndaleflyer]

I get a hair over 9mpg with my class A diesel towing about 4000lbs, car on trailer. Back when fuel was out of sight I paid over $600 to fill up in NM. Loved the $2.20 diesel awhile back.

[MarkTwain]

My 2004 Dodge diesel 1 ton gets 13 to 14mpg towing a 18K 5th wheel trailer. Up hills , down hills or level ground.:) I also have added a 60 gal. diesel auxiliary fuel tank.

[ACZL]

My '17 F350 w/4.10 gears, 6sp tranny, equates to: 12-15/16 empty city/hi-way. Towing rig in sig nets 8.5-9 or so @ 55-70 mph. Truck weighs 9300, RV 16,000. IMO, both Ram and GM get better mpg's, But this luxury is just like snowmobiling/boating, gotta pay to play!

[MitchF150]

I'd have to say that if RV'ing is your thing, but you are concerned about MPG's on said rig... Well... RV'ing might not be for you..

I remember the $4+/gallon days back a few years ago.. Yeah, it hurt the wallet... But I still did it because I wanted to camp in my RV at the time and I was getting at best 10 mpg..

That's about the best figure you can go with on mpg's for any type of RV.. Gas, diesel, whatever you have ain't gonna get 20 mpg moving a big A RV down the road..

For those that claim over that, good for you! It just ain't what we all see, so good for you. Keep on keeping on... Oh, who is the so called "President" (past or present) does not control the world... No matter who it is.. 🙂

Good luck! Mitch

[valhalla360]

We got around 12.8mpg long term with a 1992 7.3 diesel pulling a 9k 5er.

More recently with a 2008 V10 gas pulling an 11.5k 5er was getting 7-8mpg.

Oil changes are about the same frequency regardless of fuel type and yes diesel oil changes are substantially more. We typically pay under $30 for the V10. If you do a diesel, it's rare to get under $100. But really unless you are putting on 40-50,000 miles per year, it's not the oil changes that drive up the cost of a diesel truck.

[Retired_JSO]

Diesel pusher will require a tow vehicle too. I tow a 2018 Cardinal luxury at 18,000 lbs with a 2018 DRW F350 diesel, 4:30 rear and 9.5-10 mpg @65-67 mph. Mileage and RV don’t mix in this hobby.

[rav]

Our truck, 6.7 diesel, gets 8 to 10 pulling about 16k.

[Lwiddis]

RVing and “good” gas/diesel mileage don’t belong in the same paragraph. If you don’t move often, it won’t matter. I only get 13 mpg with my 1500, 5200 pounds of trailer and very light foot.

[Harrydavidson]

My question wasn’t about gas V diesel. It’s fuel mileage