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F-350 true mpg??

8K views 29 replies 24 participants last post by  Cklovstad5 
#1 ·
Wanted to see what everyone was getting for mileage with the 350's. Looking at long wheelbase srw and drw. What kind of loads and gearing? I know they are not made for MPG's but I'll save all the money I can. Coming from a 450 with 4.88's anything is better.
 
#2 ·
2011 f350 stock excab long bed srw. hand calculated. highway 18.5, around home 16, pulling enclosed 2 place snowmobile trailer (some highway and some around the mountain) around 12.
 
#4 · (Edited)
sorry, forgot the gearing. 3.55. the truck has 36,000 miles on it, so I'm assuming any differences for a break in period would be past.
 
#6 ·
F350 3.55s 20" wheels. CC LB.
I hand calculate every tank and plot.
No load...short 7 mile commutes...summer is ~15.6mpg. Winter (with warm ups) is about ~14mpg. Summer - road trip - full bed and cab - 19.2 to 20.5 mpg depending on topography.
Towing 14,000# - 11 mpg (tractor on lowboy trailer bumper pull).
 
#8 ·
I have an F250 but it will be the same as the SRW F350's. Prior to level kit and MT's.. Here's a pretty good estimate of what mpg's I'd get at what speeds. 3.55's.

80mph - 16
70mph - 18
60mph - 19
50mph - 20

Towing my 15-16k lb 42' Toy Hauler... 7-8 mpg at 70... I tow rarely (maybe 3 times a year for 500-1000 miles total so far on my 2013) but I think in the future I'll slow it down to 60 mph for safety reasons and to hopefully squeeze some more miles out of my 26 gallon tank.

Mixed interstate, town, decent on the foot pedal, around 15-16 mpg... I have 28,000 miles and hand calculate every tank and my display has never been more than 1mpg off of what the hand calculation is.

With the level kit and heavy MT tires I lost 1-2 mpg depending on the speed.
 
#10 ·
I have a 2013 F350 CC LWB 4X4. I have never seen 17 or above it no matter how fast or slow I drive. Had it in Stealership to get their opinion and all they did was drive it 19.4 miles out the road and averaged 16.5 mpg at 60 mph and called it good. Bunch of BS those mechanics get away with. Long story short, mine is getting no where near what the other guys are getting, hence my trip to the stealership. I usually average 12-13mpg running 67-75 mph. More pedal, worse it gets. Towing 9.6 with dual axle tongue pull with Polaris ranger.
 
#11 ·
Mine is a pretty much stock truck. F-350 CC LWB SRW with 3.55s and the OEM Michelin 20s and currently at 102,000 miles

I get 18-18.5 mpg on extended hiway drives at 80 mph
I get 20-22 mpg on extended hiway drives at 65 mph
I get 14-15 around town
I get 11-12 for most towing.
 
#22 ·
Really I have no real issues towing it. Power is solid and breaking is fine. The only "real" issue is the load weight and the single rear wheels. I have airbags so it doesn't squat which is good.

That gas mileage is also typically at around 70ish as well. I think the next time I tow I'm going to drop the speed down to 60 or so mostly for safety and mpg reasons and see if that helps. Just being that it's really pushing my truck to it's limits, it's the best idea I think.

To be honest, it really depends how often you will be towing the trailer and how loaded it will be. I live full time in my 3912, however I only move it a couple times a year. I travel for work and do construction projects, and they last anywhere from 4 months to a year+. To me, it was not worth the reduced mileage of the drw, added width, and longer bed, when I am only towing 2-3x a year max. If I was going to be using it on long weekend getaways, or towing on a more regular basis, I would definitely say a DRW is the only way to go, simply for the added strength in the rear tires.
 
#13 ·
I've had 3 SRW CC with 3.55 and averaged 16.5 mpg with each of them with a 50/50 mix of city and highway driving. I recently lifted my 2013 and installed 35's and it dropped to 14 mpg.
 
#16 ·
I have a 2011 f350 drw and I'm deleted now and only have driven with winter fuel but I'm seeing 16.5 mpg on back roads and hilly country and it's always into a strong wind lately and when I'm towing I'm usually averaging around 12.4 mpg and that's at 22,650# lbs combined weight with an enclosed trailer. I have found that if I keep it around 60 mph I seem to get the best mileage . Last tank I had a mix of pulling and driving empty and average was 16.2 mpg . I have 3:73 gears and am happy with this mileage on winter fuel and last couple weeks she hasn't shut off all that much. This week is getting warmer so I'll let ya know what I get this week as well. Before I was deleted I didn't see over 14.5 mpg empty and over 10 mpg pulling . These are hand calculated numbers too my display at times has shown 21 mpg but I have never been one to trust the display . I also run a 50/50 blend in my fuel for winter


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#18 ·
My 2011 f250 KR cc 4x4 3.55 20 in Michelin tires all stock 29,800 miles always about 600lb in bed with topper. After 29,800 mi mostly 80% pulling 6000 lb boat on long trips, my overall average was 14.6 mpg. Never had any problems and was a perfect truck. Traded for same 2014 in Oct.
 
#20 · (Edited)
2013 350 CCLB SRW with 3.31s. Just about done running the first tank through it, so far lie-o-meters telling me 12mpg. Ill have to hand calculate when I fill up but I suspect the truck meter to be pretty acurate, its not like the old style where it guesses, these new trucks monitor how much fuels consumed as well as distance so its basically hand calculating it itself. Im thinking my mileage should go up a bit after breakin.
 
#21 ·
19-20mpg hwy 11-12mpg hwy w/ 11500# 5'r. I don't get how some claim averages of 12-15mpg there must be something seriously wrong with their build. 12mpg with a large load imo is very good! 12mpg empty seems impossible
 
#26 ·
Pudder, I must be one of those guys. I have only had my truck since the end of December. Best i've seen was 13.2 for a VERY short time. I am averaging 10.3 mpg! Not sure what to do about the poor mileage. It is running winter fuel in very cold temps so I will wait and see what it does in summer. I feel it should do better than this. I was hoping for 15 mpg empty on the highway. Haven't even come close! Oh and my truck has 3:55's.
 
#24 ·
I just traded my '13 F250 6.7 for a '14 F350 DRW. The 250 had 3.55's and the doollie has 3.73's. The doollie is definately a 4-5 mileage loss running at the same rpm. I average between city/highway at 14 in the drw and about 18 with the 250. I deal with hills and winter blend so I expect an increase when the summer blend takes over.
 
#28 ·
Have any of you checked you're actual speed with a GPS unit as compared to the in-dash speedo? What I found was a consistent 2 MPH difference with my truck. 70 MPH was actually 68 MPH and yes this will make your MPG seem better than it really is, both as the gauge says and if you hand calculate. :dunno:
 
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