E350 MPG?

[andrewbrown_89]

Hi, I am currently looking at an older e350 to use as a road trip vehicle..I want the 7.3L because in know in trucks they get great fuel mileage..also reliability..My GF has a 03 Passat and it gets 28 mpg but its really small...So I figured I could buy a big van and get a diesel and get maybe 23? and we could take that and sleep in that the whole time and save money with hotels...I have been finding vans with about 170,000 miles for around 3000 bucks..and they are in decent condition...I am just scared that I will end up getting -20 mpg and that would sort of defeat the purpose because I have my own truck and my parents got an 09 150..I like the idea of being able to carry everything inside and sleep wherever with a gun..so what should I look for and what about MPG's we are goin on alot of trips and can use this all the time...we wont have much packed in it..just clothes two mountain bikes..and like an air mattress and stuff like that...nothing super heavy...so at 65mph what should I see on the highway?

Thanks

[R Stiefel]

Can't give you an answer about the 7.3, but my E350 with the 6.0 is averaging about 15 mpg on the highway. A word to the wise: Be sure to check the gun laws in each state before you attempt sleeping wherever with a gun in your van. You might find yourself sleeping in a jail cell rather than your van.

[andrewbrown_89]

are you kidding? 16mpg high way...for just a cargo van? its just like a sheet metal tube compared to a truck

[R Stiefel]

The vans aren't the most aerodynamic vehicles made. Mine happens to have the Quigley conversion which lowers real mileage by roughly 2 mpg. It also sports 4.10 gears.

[dieselcrawler]

gearing is gonna make a diffrence.... if you get 3.73's, and lightly loaded like you state, you might see higher... but I doubt you'd top 18-20 MPG, most likely around 16-18 at best. Get a tuner like DP or TW with an econo tune, that and a light foot could be good for 2-3 MPG.

My work van gets about 10 MPG. But it's 11K lbs all the time, lots of stop and go, and 4.10 gears. And it's still a slug. I get about 12-14 out of the truck. Same gears, 9K lbs.

[High Mileage Jim]

Andrew,

The very best you could do is about 22mpg, that's with a light load, a light foot and full synthetics, oil, trans and rear. I've tried it. At 15 qts, that gets pretty expensive and the offset is not worth the cost to me. I consistantly average 19.8 on my 2003, 7.3. That includes being loaded with 600 to 2500 lbs of freight in all terrains.

Hope that helps,
Jim

[andrewbrown_89]

yeah well I found an e150 for real cheap and 140000 miles so ill probably go with that..I can get about 20 highway going 65 and light on the pedal and drafting and my truck weighs more than a van

[R Stiefel]

on the E150 will get pretty good gas mileage. Not a lot of weight difference between the E350, 6775 lbs + the additional weight of the 4x4 conversion, and the F250 4x4 at 7085 lbs. I would bet my E350 weighs close to 7500 lbs with the Quigley conversion.

[nintyfiveE350]

I've got a 95 e350 with about 250k on it and it weighs in at about 8500# with tools and all. I'm seeing about 12-13 mpg. When the truck was brand new the best I ever saw was about 16 mpg. Hope this helps!

[nintyfiveE350]

I've got a 95 E350 that weighs in at about 8500-9000 pounds on average with 250k miles. Right now I'm averaging about 12-13mpg. The truck is bone stock. The best I ever got when the truck was brand new was 16mpg. Both of these averages were a combination of highway/city, but mostly highway. Hope this helps!