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Hey guys and gals, maybe I'm dreaming. I'm thinking about upgrading my beater truck and getting rid of the old Outback, too. It would be cool to have one daily driver to maintain and insure (plus the motorcycle).

I want to buy a 2010 or newer used pickup: mid- or full-size, 4 doors & back seat, 4WD, auto, and decent power (V8 or big 6 to tow a boat locally sometimes – I live on a hill).

Here's the dreaming part…
I certainly don't expect Subaru type gas mileage, but I might as well just keep my 1993 V8 pickup if I can't do much better than 10-12 mpg highway (that's without the boat, I expect dismal when I'm towing).

Just hoping to gather some useful info here. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate some honest feedback on what sort of mpg you're getting in your 4WD, 4-door rigs if you can be specific (brand, engine, city/hwy, actual mpg). Warnings about lemons help too! Thanks in advance.
 
Are you leaning towards gas or diesel? Does it make a difference?

How big (heavy) do you plan on towing?
 
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After owning my first diesel truck I will have a hard time ever going back to gas.

I have a 2004 Chevy 1 ton, 4x4, 4 door, long box dually with manual 6 speed. On the hwy I average 19.5 mpg. Towing my 14k, 24' flat bed trailer with 6000-8000lbs loads I get 15-16 mpg depending on where I am hauling. With my 30' enclosed trailer which is about 6000 most of the time I pull it I drop down to 13.5-14 mpg.

The power is amazing even compared to a Chevy 454 or Ford 460, I have hauled with both. Any time my brother wants to use my trailer(s) he wants to use my truck even though he has a 3/4 ton Ford with 460. I got 6.5 mpg last time I hauled my 30' trailer with it, which is why I bought the Chevy.
 
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Hey guys and gals, maybe I'm dreaming. I'm thinking about upgrading my beater truck and getting rid of the old Outback, too. It would be cool to have one daily driver to maintain and insure (plus the motorcycle).

I want to buy a 2010 or newer used pickup: mid- or full-size, 4 doors & back seat, 4WD, auto, and decent power (V8 or big 6 to tow a boat locally sometimes – I live on a hill).

Here's the dreaming part…
I certainly don't expect Subaru type gas mileage, but I might as well just keep my 1993 V8 pickup if I can't do much better than 10-12 mpg highway (that's without the boat, I expect dismal when I'm towing).

Just hoping to gather some useful info here. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate some honest feedback on what sort of mpg you're getting in your 4WD, 4-door rigs if you can be specific (brand, engine, city/hwy, actual mpg). Warnings about lemons help too! Thanks in advance.

I think if you really want better mileage you're going to have to go with something almost new. I have two friends that are brothers and they both have 2013 F-150's. They are both equipped the same, yet one has the 6 cylinder Eco-boost and the other has the 5L V-8. They both get around 20-22 when driving responsibly on the highway and 14-17 in town driving. The brother with the ecoboost really has to work to keep his foot out of it, not because the power isn't there, but because it's fun to drive. Towing they both fall on their faces, with milage in the 11-13 range. Going elk hunting this year, the brother with the ecoboost got 8. Joe Link has a 2013 or 14 Dodge 1500 with an Eco-diesel and I think I remember him telling me he got 27 with it on the highway. I only spoke with him a few minutes while at our club's International truck and Scout show.

My 2000 Volvo averages 27.5 and I'd love to replace it with a Pickup or SUV. I miss driving my Scout everywhere, but I just can't justify the extra fuel expense. I am excited to see Nissan coming out with a diesel for 2016, but the price is going to be a killer for me.
 
In my experience, a big v6 gets no better MPG than a v8 but is much less power. Forget the v6.

I currently have both: 2012 4Runner, Limited (it's awd, I believe with a switch to put it into low 4wd). It get's between 14 and 21 mpg - city/hwy. My 2001 tahoe gets 13-19 city/hwy. The Tahoe is way bigger, carries one more passenger and can pull my boat over the pass no problem. The 4runner struggles to do so and gets worse mpg than the Tahoe as it's so tasked.

Spouse had a 2006 CR-V and I don't think it could tow empty beer cans after getting married but it was AWD and did get 24-26 mpg. She now has a 328i and it gets 28-30 hwy :eek: and so much more fun to drive, but I digress...

The 4runner and tahoe while towing on hwy get city mileage but the v6 4runner struggles waaaayyy more than the torquey v8.

Don't ask about the motor home and it's 7.4 liter gas guzzler. I think oil prices are dropping because I began tent camping again last fall instead of driving that pig... :p
 
I have a 2012 F150 with the 5.0 and it does pretty much like DS said above. I also have a boat (19 foot on a double axle) and it tows it no problem through the hills. But I am also one who is not soft on the gas pedal:rolleyes: I down graded from a diesel but it does work for me.

Good luck on he search!
 
I have a 2011 Ford F350 Super Duty with Ford's 6.7L diesel. It is the 4 door and extended bed (8' bed). I pull an 8000 RV Trailer when camping. With the cruise set it doesn't even shift gears when pulling some hills - the turbo spools up, but it will hold 6th gear 99% of the time.

Unloaded on the freeway, cruise set at 73(ish) I can get 21 from Vancouver to just south of Olympia. In Oregon, at 63(ish) I have gotten 22.3 from Vancouver to Cottage Grove.

Around town, average driving, about 14-15.

Plenty of room in the back seating. My father-in-law is 6' 2", around 250, and his knees or head come no where close to hitting the roof or the back of the front seats. When we camp, we fold up the back seat and our 2 labs have a nice huge area to ride in. Without the dogs, 6 of us can fit/ride comfortably.

I would suggest that if you are looking at diesel's, take into consideration that my year Ford was the first year that they required DEF. I don't know when the other manufacturers started making their vehicles require it. Another fluid to add.....

Before I bought my rig I asked people how they liked their rig. One question I would always ask was "if it were ever in an accident, and the insurance company totaled it, would you replace it with the same?"

Good luck!
 
Rumor has it that Toyota is going to put a Cummins diesel in the Tundra next year, that would be worth waiting for.

Toyota will be using HINO diesel engines, since HINO is a Toyota subsidiary.

Nissan is getting the CUMMINS diesel engines. They are going have them in both the Titan and Frontier. I am seriously considering the Frontier diesel when it comes out.


I currently have a 2012 Nissan Frontier 4WD, 4 Door, with 4.0 Liter V6. If I keep my foot out of it, I get 21 mpg on the hwy in summer and about 19-20 in the winter. It has a 5500 lb tow rating, and when I tow my tent trailer the mpg drops to around 17, but the trailer only weighs around 1500 lb.

As a note of comparison of my 2012 Frontier with a 2012 Toyota Tacoma:

Horsepower: Nissan 261, Toyota 237
Mileage: Nissan 20 hwy/15 city, Toyota 21 hwy/ 16 city
Engine: Both have 4.0 liter v6
Tow rating: Nissan 5500 lb, Toyota 5000 lb
Cost (in 2012) Toyota was on average $5ooo more on comparably equipped models.

I hope this helps.
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The world is full of Kings and Queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It's Heaven and Hell.............
 
My '80s K25 with a 454, SM465/NP205, 3.73 gears and 35x12.50s pulls 12mpg loaded heavy and pulling trailer or 15mpg unloaded...and it will flat embarrass 98% of new gasser pickups.
 
I have a 2011 Chev Silverado that I bought new 4 years ago on the 20th. I have never reset the MPG average and it currently reads 17.2 average. I have 48000 miles on the truck and pulled my motorcycle around in an enclosed trailer that is not a V nose so it's like pulling a flat WALL in back of me. 10K of the miles was pulling that trailer on my retirement trip and it has also seen Sturgis (another 2500 round trip). I will admit that when I pulled this thing the faster I went the worse the mileage was and god forbid if I was driving into a headwind....
Zero quality issues and I see them all the time new for $8500 off sticker (what I got). Mine is fully loaded including blue tooth and out the door it was 26K new. Love my chevy's!!!:cool::cool:
 
I've had 3 tundras. They ar nice, and mileage sucks. Any pickup mileage sucks. Fords Eco BS is just that, BS. They overstated there facts.
Now a tundra with diesel is cool. But it will cost about 60k loaded. Or more.
Best bet is to buy used, and save there, and then spend the money on fuel.
 
Toyota will be using HINO diesel engines, since HINO is a Toyota subsidiary.

Nissan is getting the CUMMINS diesel engines. They are going have them in both the Titan and Frontier. I am seriously considering the Frontier diesel when it comes out.


I currently have a 2012 Nissan Frontier 4WD, 4 Door, with 4.0 Liter V6. If I keep my foot out of it, I get 21 mpg on the hwy in summer and about 19-20 in the winter. It has a 5500 lb tow rating, and when I tow my tent trailer the mpg drops to around 17, but the trailer only weighs around 1500 lb.

As a note of comparison of my 2012 Frontier with a 2012 Toyota Tacoma:

Horsepower: Nissan 261, Toyota 237
Mileage: Nissan 20 hwy/15 city, Toyota 21 hwy/ 16 city
Engine: Both have 4.0 liter v6
Tow rating: Nissan 5500 lb, Toyota 5000 lb
Cost (in 2012) Toyota was on average $5ooo more on comparably equipped models.

I hope this helps.
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The world is full of Kings and Queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It's Heaven and Hell.............

Here's what the wide wonderful world of the internet is saying:
"Come 2016, the option list for the next-gen Tundra will include a Cummins 5.0-liter turbo diesel. That oil-burner is predicted to be rated at 300+ horsepower and, in true diesel form, more than 500 lb-ft of torque. This should make Nissan product planners sit up and mumble "rats," as this appears to be the same engine being developed for the redesigned Titan, which debuts next year.
Toyota had been creating a similar diesel V-8, likely with its truck subsidiary, Hino, but scrapped the plan during the world economic meltdown a half decade ago. It's suggested that if the Cummins diesel-powered Tundra proves popular, the Toyota/Hino program could get a restart." Gary
 
We have a 2011 F150 4 door 4x4 with the 5.0l V8 and 6 speed auto. Our around town mileage is 16-17 and it's better if it includes more freeway. When on the freeway empty and using cruise, it will get 20-21. We towed a heavy trailer (6200 lbs on the tires) to North Powder and back this year for elk hunting and averaged 10.5, including passing everything going up Cabbage Hill east of Pendleton (I wanted to see what it would do).
That's awesome compared to my old 4x4 which would have been lucky to average 7 or 8 and wouldn't have been nearly as roomy or comfortable. Plus it's hard for the old truck to get 11-12 for the same trip if it's empty.
 
It's funny how caught up with the Cummins name everyone is, The new stuff is going to be overcomplicated junk with so much high tech BS to keep our Gubberment happy it will be just as bad if not worse than all the other diesels of late.
They will wear the badge proud, Marketed to death, sell like crazy for insane prices and be broke and dead when the real good old 5.9 Cummins is still going strong and hauling them to the wrecking yard.
 
It's funny how caught up with the Cummins name everyone is, The new stuff is going to be overcomplicated junk with so much high tech BS to keep our Gubberment happy it will be just as bad if not worse than all the other diesels of late.
They will wear the badge proud, Marketed to death, sell like crazy for insane prices and be broke and dead when the real good old 5.9 Cummins is still going strong and hauling them to the wrecking yard.
So you'd rather Cummins didn't innovate and go out of business? They can't produce the old 5.9 anymore so they've had to innovate. Time will tell weather its detrimental to their longevity. Frankly I don't see why it would be, everything that makes a diesel a strong and long lasting engine is still there.
 

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