fuel mileage

[polardoo]

Hey out there I just used my new used 2000 F250 PS to tow my Top cap 2 place snow trailer and was very disappointed with the fuel mileage. The overhead said 10.9 mpg and judjing from the nearly empty tank I would say its pretty accurate. I bought this truck cause everyone seems to love them but the power was disappointing and my old Hemi 1/2 ton would get better mileage than that. I set the cruise at 68 and went slower than that this morning when it was slick. Ive had it to the local diesel only shop and they gave it a clean bill of health. Its all stock at this time. Any ideas? Ron

[RadarRider]

Originally Posted by polardoo

Hey out there I just used my new used 2000 F250 PS to tow my Top cap 2 place snow trailer and was very disappointed with the fuel mileage. The overhead said 10.9 mpg and judjing from the nearly empty tank I would say its pretty accurate. I bought this truck cause everyone seems to love them but the power was disappointing and my old Hemi 1/2 ton would get better mileage than that. I set the cruise at 68 and went slower than that this morning when it was slick. Ive had it to the local diesel only shop and they gave it a clean bill of health. Its all stock at this time. Any ideas? Ron

Your truck being 100% stock might be part of the problem. I've found with just a few mods, my rig went from 14mpg to 18mpg(on long trips; almost 19!). Check into some of the basic mods like exhaust, intake, & a chip, & I garuntee you'll see an improvement. You could also look into basic tranny mods like a torque converter, shift kit, etc. Just my

[dmd]

Snow = cold... Diesels like it warm to get good milage..

68 is a good speed for milage. If the overhead said 10 then you may ave had a head
wind or going up hill too... What was the road like? Flat or hilly? What does
the trailer weigh?

Also... You need to judge by a tank or more of fuel... Wait for summer and non-winter
fuel to get the best milage. Winter fuel has a lot less energy. Also, no way a gasser
can get the milage towing of a diesel.

Local diesel shop may not have a clue what to look for too... Are all the tabs on
the air filter box, intake tubes clean, turbo blades look good? How about the
fuel filter?

Stock 2000 needs -
- in-tank mixer valve mod
- pre-pump mod
Just to start running right...

[RanchStroke]

I have a 2000 also and have not heard of these mods,
- in-tank mixer valve mod
- pre-pump mod
Could you explain or send me a link? Thanks

[countryraised]

Did you have OD on or off, on that size trailer you should not need to turn OD off, that will make a difference.

[naed]

I pulled my 14' long 6.5' tall enclosed trailer last week with 2 cruiser motoercycles and misc stuff in it and got 14.4 mpg. It's all stock except a superchip in the tow setting and 34 inch tires. Had it in OD. No problems at all for power.

[mas360]

What does the chip do to the engine/transmission to provide best fuel mileage when it is set in tow mode?

[NCHornet]

We have a lot of different discussions going on in this thread so let's try and stick with the OP's issue first.
Sir, as already said, you didn't say what the size, shape or weight of this unit was that you were towing. In all fairness if it is a big brick like my TT and your overhead is accurate ( you need to hand calc all mileage) 10.9 isn't that bad. But for some reason I am thinking your unit is much smaller than I have in mind as you said your 1/2 ton would pull it and get better mileage. So you need to give us more info to go on. Letting a 7.3 breather and exhale is one of the best mods you can do. Replace the intake with one that is better flowing and get rid of the stock muffler as that is where the restriction lies, not so much in the size of the plumbing, unless you are over 400 HP the 3.5" plumbing is perfectly fine. This isn't the "popular" thing to do but it is honest. You can either straight pipe it of use a Walker BTM straight shot muffler.

I have a 2000 also and have not heard of these mods,
- in-tank mixer valve mod
- pre-pump mod
Could you explain or send me a link? Thanks

He is talking about the "in tank" mods or also called "hutch mod"

What does the chip do to the engine/transmission to provide best fuel mileage when it is set in tow mode?

Everything, most of which will change shift points. There are so many variables a "custom tuner" changes to make a true "custom tune" I couldn't begin to list them all. But the way mine tows my 9500lb TT in tow mode and stock is night and day!!

[Mikey's250]

Get you an intake , exhaust and chip and it will be a huge difference. The winter fuel really does suck and will knock you down 2-3 mpg atleast

And I got to call you on the hemi getting better cause my granddad cant get over 12unloaded. He is 75 yrs old so its not cause he's drag racing from redlight to redlight haha

[mas360]

Originally Posted by NCHornet

Everything, most of which will change shift points. There are so many variables a "custom tuner" changes to make a true "custom tune" I couldn't begin to list them all. But the way mine tows my 9500lb TT in tow mode and stock is night and day!!

Does the "custom tune" delay transmission shift when it is set in tow mode?

If it does, would it be the same as starting from stop (with TT in tow) with transmission set in 2 instead of D and manually shift it to D when speed reaches 25 mph ?

I am trying to understand the mechanism of "custom tunes" in attaining fuel efficiency endeavor. I tow a 5,000 lbs TT and get no better than 10 mph with a 2 WD F250 Powerstroke on flat terrain at cruising speed 60 mph.