Diesel Mileage?

[Wumba]

I'm looking for a new TV due to an upcoming TT upgrade. The TV will be used and probably around an 06-08 Chevy 2500 or Dodge 2500 with 5.9. I'm not buying new because the TV will be solely a TV. We will probably put less than 2k mile a year on it. This being said, what would be an acceptable mileage for a used diesel for those years? As always...Thanks!

[702Cummins]

My last TV was a 2005 dodge 4x4 with the 5.9. Empty I was getting around 16.5 to 17 mpgs. Towed to Myrtle Beach a couple of times going down I would get around 13.5, coming home would drop to around 12 but was coming back into the mountains. Hope this helps you out.

[Wumba]

Sorry...I should have been a little more clear. By mileage I mean on the odometer not mpg.

[sreddy]

Wumba with the years you are looking at be wary of low mileage trucks that may have high hours or lots of short run usage - both cases could leave turbos in poor condition. For the years you are looking at I would think the average should be 80 - 100k miles - IMHO a diesel truck with 200k of highway miles and proper maintenance will be a better buy than 1 with 30k that sat a lot or was used for short runs.
Just my 2 cents
sr

[buckeyefan]

Wumba - can you give more details about the Travel Trailer?
I just downgraded from an F250 6.4L to a 2011 EcoBoost. My travel trailer is 8500lbs loaded, 35' long and I only pull it 2-3 times a year in with trips over 250 miles.
That's about half what you plan on doing.... It is a capable TV for the short miles and distance you plan on pulling. A diesel may be overkill and the sitting for long periods can hurt diesels as well.

[Coops1]

When you find on you may also want to find out if the truck has seen a tuner or not, a dealer should be able to tell you this I would think.

[Wumba]

Originally Posted by buckeyefan

Wumba - can you give more details about the Travel Trailer?
I just downgraded from an F250 6.4L to a 2011 EcoBoost. My travel trailer is 8500lbs loaded, 35' long and I only pull it 2-3 times a year in with trips over 250 miles.
That's about half what you plan on doing.... It is a capable TV for the short miles and distance you plan on pulling. A diesel may be overkill and the sitting for long periods can hurt diesels as well.

The TT will be a out the same size as yours. We make weekend trips every week. We really don't have to travel far as we are about an hour from the Smokies. My main concern is hill and mts. The model we are looking at is a Flagstaff 30wfkss.

[wayne anthony]

My wife's brother-in-law bought a Chev 3500 (2004 I think) that had 235,000 miles. It was used to haul boats from Atlanta to Florida (or vise-versa). Wayne

[transamz9]

I would say 60-150,000 would be just fine. I have an '05 Cummins and it is only used for towing and weekend driving. I have a company truck that I drive during the week and my wife drives an '11 Jeep GC Limited Hemi and on the weekends we drive the Dodge every where we go. Easy on fuel and I love driving it, way better than the Jeep.

[Don and Elaine]

The 2005 Dodge ram has a Cummings 5.9 liter engine, in 2007 or 08, they went to a more powerful and fuel efficent Cummings 6.7 liter engine. I bought a 2008 (used) in 2009. It had 4,000 miles and is primarily used for towing. I have put about 10,000 miles on it in 2 years and have had no problems. I get approx. 24 MPG Hwy. solo, 16-18 around town and 13 towing. This engine is very quite compared to the Chevy Duramax or Ford power stroke. I did hours of research before getting the Ram and have not regretted my decision. Good Luck!