Is it a dream?? Fuel efficient pickup..

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

Hey folks,
Prolly a fairy tale but is there a pickup that is 4wd and will pull a max 2 ton trailer and still get 18-20 mpg city (or at least combined) with a gasoline engine? You can get diesel powered Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, etc here that does that but are real pricey. Cheaper to buy in the States and ship one over. Any ideas?

Dave

buickanddeere · Sep 10, 2009

One gallon of gasoline carries 115,000btu of energy, that's a hard fact.
A gasser engine puts give or take a few % of 1/3 of the gasoline's energy to the crankshaft.
So that one gallon of gasoline is going to make 15HP over the span of an hour.
Ideal steady state pie in the sky ideal fuel consumption at 50mph steady state for 20mpg would be 2.5 gallons per hr.Which would be using 37.5 flywheel HP average over that hour.
I don't see how one can push a pickup and trailer through air drag at 50mph. Tire/rolling/drivetrain friction plus dragging 4.5 tons of truck/trailer/people/fuel uphill. While burning off that same energy with the brakes going down the other side of the hill. Lets add losses for starting stopping for traffic too etc.

Despite what some other on this site and elsewhere may think & say. You can't cheat the laws of physics.
Automotive engineers do very well to wring the mileage out of vehicles. They must be frustrated when the "lah lah land " idealistic types without a clue in physics. When these lobby groups and equally clueless government officials want the impossible.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

Can't tell if you're trying to dazzle me with brilliants or baffle me with bullsh!t.... thanks anyway though.

Dave

John A · Sep 10, 2009

Dave, Was @ a Ford Dealership yesterday, There is an opition when sorting through the F150 material.
An F150 w/ a 4.6 V8 (3 valve) version with 6 speed auto with 3.73 rear gears should get in the 21 mpg range, 2 wheeler. The 4x4 should get in the 18 ballpark.
For me the reason was 6 real gears and a real working rear gear opition.
There isn't much short of some of the older early 90s Dodge Diesels that will get 20 mpg + , most of the time in most applications
Food for thought !!!!!!!!!!!
Later,
John A.

John A · Sep 10, 2009

Dave, Was @ a Ford Dealership yesterday, There is an opition when sorting through the F150 material.
An F150 w/ a 4.6 V8 (3 valve) version with 6 speed auto with 3.73 rear gears should get in the 21 mpg range, 2 wheeler. The 4x4 should get in the 18 ballpark.
For me the reason was 6 real gears and a real working rear gear opition.
There isn't much short of some of the older early 90s Dodge Diesels that will get 20 mpg + , most of the time in most applications
Food for thought !!!!!!!!!!!
Later,
John A.

ericlb · Sep 10, 2009

i dont think so on a gasser the closeset i ever personaly owned was a '94 ford f 150 4x4 with the good 300 inline 6 cylinder and 5 speed it got 15 in town and 21 on the hiway unloaded, it would pull 4,000 lbs ok, but it would frequently get easily passed and outpulled by the diesels, i got a '94 dodge diesel on dealer closeout jan of 95 2wd,i still have it, uloaded on the road it still gets 28 mpg city around 21, loaded with 10,000 lbs of trailer it gets 17 hiway and 13 city, given the price of the truck, the fact that in 230,000 miles i have had to replace the starter, water pump umm thats it, there is no better deal anywhere at least for me

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

So, if you were shopping today for a 2002 or newer w/ 4wd + tow package, what would you look for (make, model, drivetrain)?? What would you expect to pay for it? That'll give me a starting point for shopping.

Dave

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

My 95 CUMMINS dodge gets 18-22 mpg , over the last 300thousand miles , valve Covers and injectors/fuel pump have never been touched !it has Positive traction rearend that will sqeak the tires on pavement when turning , Lotsa Folks when they see this truck come Out of feilsds with wagons and trailer in Tow think it is 4 WHEEL DRIVE .However I have got stuck in the mud when that heavy CUMMINS settled its front wheels in the fertile Loam . o
nly problem was I cracked rear axle when hit a hole heavily loaded .. coulda happened to any ones truck ...

MN Bob · Sep 10, 2009

Guess I dont know where this theriatical thesis is going but just like a bumble bee some things happen.. lol.
That said I have a Silverado diesel (3/4 ton) and pull hay wagons, equipment, 5th wheel etc a lot more than I drive it "no load", and the lifetime average on the computer (built in) is 18.4. I check the milage once in a while and the computer is always within a tenth or two.
Most loads would be over 2 ton and 5 to 7 often.
Just my two cents.. Bob

ChrisLSD · Sep 10, 2009

something to ponder -

I bought a Jeep Liberty - will tow 5700 pounds

I get almost 20 mpg driving without a trailer and not using AC - I am light footed and don"t drive fast though - this is the automatic - all years are the same as far as I know -

plus it is a real 4wd - has 2wd, part time 4wd, full time 4wd, and full time 4wd low range - plus mine has posi - I am pleased so far -

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

(quoted from post at 05:32:54 09/10/09) something to ponder -

I bought a Jeep Liberty - will tow 5700 pounds

I get almost 20 mpg driving without a trailer and not using AC - I am light footed and don"t drive fast though - this is the automatic - all years are the same as far as I know -

plus it is a real 4wd - has 2wd, part time 4wd, full time 4wd, and full time 4wd low range - plus mine has posi - I am pleased so far -

That's #1 choice if we buy a vehicle here. Only thing that will nnalert that is finding a pickup in the States.

Dave

ericlb · Sep 10, 2009

well if i was forced to buy a newer truck i would still go with the cummins dodge based on what i see from friends of mine who between them own all of the big 3, the dodge seems to spend the least time in the dealers shop, the one with the ford is ok now but over the last 2 years he got to be on a first name basis with the service writer at the ford dealer, computer problems, the chevy guy seems to be some what better mechanicly but the body seems to be falling apart after 50 thousand miles, trim pieces loose ect, personaly i dont want a newer truck, i feel they cost way too much and the overall reliability and quality is not there anymore, your experience may be different

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

Wife's got it in her head that she won't drive anything older than 5 years. Try talking a German woman out of a notion........ I had a 91 F250 that fit everything other than the MPG (wasn't real far off) that could have looked like new for about 2k and had less that 40k miles on it. Finally sold it because I wasn't driving it enough to justify insurance and plates.... Available at a reasonable price locally is Ford escapes and Jeep liberty's, may end up in that direction... My dream vehicle would be a pre 1980 F250 4x4 (F150 maybe) w/ 300 6.
Dave

Kris Golden · Sep 10, 2009

its not a dream unless you think you can buy something that will do that without modification. Back in the 1930s people were modifying Henry Fords V8 and getting over 300 miles per gallon. Lucky for us consumers, the oil companies bought patent rights so they could "further develop" this technology and that was the last of that

Nancy Howell · Sep 10, 2009

Ditto on the above. Our 95 Dodge 3500 Cummins diesel, 5sp manual, 410 gearing, 4x4, closing in on 300,000, gets between 17 - 20 mpg, will pull anything, just not fast. Has been one of the most trouble free vehicles we've ever owned.

Doesn't look like much. 14 yrs of hot Tx sun has cracked the dash in numerous places and paint job is shot. Still runs good and will tow like there's no tomorrow.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

Nancy , If ya 'ever get tired of that truck and wanna sell it let me know ,, Sara and i will come get it and visit My folks at dallas /Ft worth area .. My truck is the BEST VEHICLE I ever Owned / And I have owned some Goood ONES!/and a few bad ones ... Think My truck has a 350 or 373 rear axle ratio , and a 5 speed .The batteries lasted for 6years .. Nice club cab that I just painted this Spring ,.. Brakes need replacing onfront every 40 k miles , Ball joints have been changed twice , And The guy tells me I should plan to do it again sometime ,,Terribl;e Blind spot with Mirrors and door posts ,SO ,YA' gotta be careful doing those 3rd gear kountry stops........

Nancy Howell · Sep 10, 2009

With the purchase of the Ford, the Dodge is now a designated farm truck and doesn't see a lot of use, but its certainly a keeper.

We're in Dallas during the week at our "payin" jobs. Let us know next time you get down this way.

CaseChev · Sep 10, 2009

Kris Golden......Elvis is still alive.....Bush and Cheney planned 9/11........Oswald wasn't even in Dallas the day of the shotting.......there are flying saucers stored in secret government vaults in New Mexico.......

PeterE · Sep 10, 2009

A patent in the United States is only good for 20 years. A patent filed in the 1930s would have expired a long time ago. Even one from the 1960s would be long expired.

Plus, a patent is a public filing. You can go to the web site and look up all the drawings and descriptions. If there is a 300 MPG carburetor on there just download the plans, start making them, and retire early.
US Patent Office Search

greenbeanman in Kansas · Sep 10, 2009

Nope, not a pipe dream at all and is available at the link below. Max towing capacity 6100.
Buy it now.

buickanddeere · Sep 10, 2009

You said diesel. It's a few percent more btu efficient plus diesel carries many more btu's per gallon.
Wagon speeds don't offer substantial wind drag. You are coasting up to corners too.

Chris in SK · Sep 10, 2009

Yes, it's a dream. Wake up and go and buy a new diesel Tacoma or Ranger....it's only money.

Lee in Iowa · Sep 10, 2009

93 Chevy light 3/4 305 auto pulled 6x16 stock trailer with 6 cows in it easily. Would still get 19.5 empty going 60. 2000 model with 6 litre gets 14 empty if you"re lucky now thats progress.

buickanddeere · Sep 10, 2009

Kris.
How are extracting 7,500,000 btus of energy from one gallon of gasoline which contains 115,000btu's?
That's no different than saying you invented a super pump that can extract 20 gallons of from a one gallon gasoline tank.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

urban legend

jd b puller · Sep 10, 2009

(quoted from post at 07:17:39 09/10/09) One gallon of gasoline carries 115,000btu of energy, that's a hard fact.

Despite what some other on this site and elsewhere may think & say. You can't cheat the laws of physics.

B&D, don't let those pesky laws of physics get in the way. Obviously, you just need one of those "energy machines" that was on here a few months ago.

200cs · Sep 11, 2009

Here is an idea that has not been explored:

buy a late model truck and add a supercharger. I have a friend with a 2005 Chevrolet 4 door, 4x4, 5.3 liter and a Magneson Supercharger. The truck makes over 600 horsepower. He gets in the low 20's unloaded and in the middle teens loaded. He does not pull much at all and designed the truck for a good driving street truck. The mileage is about the numbers I get with my 2006 Dodge 4 door 4x4 CTD.

I once had an Acura Integra that I built a turbocharger kit for and the increases were incredible. Stock, the car made about 190 horsepower. After adding the T3/T4 hybrid turbo and all of the associated parts and a year of tuning with a program I downloaded for free from the net, I got the car around 400 horsepower and increased the mileage by a few points. The car would run like normal with no boost but, would take out Corvettes when boosted. It was a lot of fun.....

Any type of boost either turbo or supercharger will add much more air than the engine can suck in and therefore increase its power potential. If you drive it right and not like a teenager with dads truck out on Saturday night, you can have power and economy.

By the way, this is the reason I purchased a Dodge with a CTD. Turbo charged Diesel It is the best choice right out of the box for power and economy.

buickanddeere · Sep 11, 2009

You buddy was several beers too many when quoting the Whipple screw compressor 5.3. Even with intercooling they barely make 400HP.
http://www.magnacharger.com/highres/Dyno/dyno001.jpg

Is it a dream?? Fuel efficient pickup..

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