An 03 or early 04 will get you the best MPG from a stock Truck... :thumbsup:

 

And yes, I believe the 04.5 up all were HO's.

 

03-04 305hp 04.5-07 325hp 07.5+ 350hp

 

I agree with the info above, My 03 got between 21 and 22 on the highway at about 70mph when i had 285's on but now it gets about 19 with the 315's. I get around 16mpg around town either way, My truck just has the edge juice w/ attitude but i presume you could expect similar results from a stock truck. Just beware of the injectors on the 03- 04 trucks. Do a little looking around on this site and many people have had problems with injectors causing a no start or cold start issue. If you want an 03-04 truck make sure you put some good filters on it first and get rid of the stock liftpump on the canister if its still there. Here is a link to a thread that talks about adding a 2 micron filter. http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/3rd-gen-powertrain/74928-installing-additional-fuel-filters-gdp-w-cat-2-micron-fuel-water-sep.html

just my .02

Goodluck

Jordan

 

on the truck in my sig, stock with a predator I have gotten up to 23-24 on the hwy
as listed in the sig i have gotten 21.xx on the hwy but average about 18.5 or so mixed highway and town

 

as listed in the sig without the predator i now get about 14 around town

 

04.5-1st half of 07 is 325hp and 610 lbs torque

 

Nope, 04.5 was 600, 05 up was 610.

All these MPG threads are funny. Not this thread in particular but...
All sorts of variations of trucks, modded v stock, 2x4 v 4x4, Stick v auto, etc.
Some folks have the mods listed, some don't, some people mention what mods they have(if they are not listed), some don't, some people using the over head, some hand calculate. It's enough to make you go crazy!
If you(meaning everyone on here) want to compare mileage you should start threads geared towards a particular truck setup, eg: stock with an auto, stock with a stick, modified with an auto, etc. Lift kits and bigger tires affect mileage too and should be considered. All these differences affect mileage. You can't just group every ones truck into one example.
A person new to this site cannot make an informed decision with all the discrepancies that get posted unless they are already familiar with the trucks...in which case they wouldn't be asking the question in the first place.
I have a real hard time believing any truck from 04.5 up getting anywhere near 25mpg unless it falling off a cliff! Especially an auto...

 

b4 i did anything to my truck (03 2500) i was getting around 25mpg on hwy and about 17city, now about 18-20mpg hwy and 16-17 city.

 

I own a 04.5 and tried different things to Improve the mpg but never got past 16-17 worse when I'm pulling something, my buddy has a 03 with big sticks,twin turbos,water meth and a few more mods and getting 21-23 mpg if he dosen't put his foot in It and that makes me sick, don't touch an 04.5 up the Injectors suck, the clutch sucks unless you have an auto but at least your doing your homework JMO...

 

yes i do believe in doing my homework I have been saving for this for a long long time I even sold off a few older vehicles (I had way to many anyways). I have been driving the wheels off the good ole 7.3 in my sig at 305k and counting, and am dying for a new truck this year.

This is alot of money for a guy like me and i just want to make sure i get the one i want so i can drive this one for another 10 years like i did the last one...

The early commonrail 305hp sounds like the one for me, and they seem to bee quite a bit cheaper than the 04.5 & up.

If all the later 5.9's are HO how do I tell the differnce in person in the early SO & the early HO?? And is there any difference mechanically, or is it just tuning from the factory??

thanks again this is very helpful for me I have always been a ford guy and i dont know jack about theese trucks. But what i do know is that i want a late model truck and I dont want to worry about 6.0L problems. I have seen alot of other guys on this site that made the switch and seem to bee loving the CUMMINS!!!

 

I have an 05 six speed and i get 20 around town all day long and its stock minus the muf.I have had 4 7.3s and 3 5.9s you will love the cummins either one you choose and as far as the clutch lol they all suck stock

 

Well best I've seen with my 04.5 has been around 16 mpg. I have a feeling it may get a bit better with warmer weather, not idling as much or warming up, but I doubt it will be all that great. I was originally hoping for 18 to 20, but that is a long shot. Maybe an Air Dog II 165 will help a bit?

 

mine is a 250 hp SO 2003
there is a tag that you can see from the drivers side of the engine with the rated
HP stamped right on it.

my 03 gets great mileage !
75 miles an hour all day and 20 mpg
pulling a light load gets basically the same.
wind will knock the c, outta the mileage though.

 

all stock and i get 19.5 to 21 (depending on how heavy my right foot is on interstate) on my 05

and yes the 03 04 S.O. motors do get better fuel mileage (from what i hear)

keep it under 2,000 rpms on interstate and you will be ok above 70 on interstate mileage suck!!! :thumbsup:

 

Been getting 22-25 mpg keepin it around 70 out of my 05. Back it down to 55-60 and it's more in the range of 25-29.

Mpg is all in how you drive it. Light foot/trucker footing get great mileage but take willpower to do if ya are naturally a lead foot.

 

how in the he** are you getting that mileage? i baby the shi* out of mine and can't get that... r u going off the lie-o-meter or are these hand calculated???

 

what yall think about this one?? alot of miles but looks nice...

2005 Dodge Ram 2500 SLT 4X4 QUAD CAB CUMMINS WE TRADE CALL NOW!!

 

I dont know where you are from, but that seems like a fair price for a truck around ohio, especially for a 2005.

Peoples opinions will differ depending on geographical location and how good of a deal they got on their truck. I bought mine from Texas and dont regret it at all. I bought mine with about 175,000 miles and still going strong. Just do your research and expect to fix the "little things" on a 6-8 year old truck. Good luck :thumbsup:

 

That's a lot of miles. I picked up an '03 SO last summer for about the same price but with only 79K on the clock.

I get about 18-20 mixed driving.

 

you can do better with less miles. what part of the country are you from, maybe someone local knows of a better deal

 

I am just a little south of Atlanta, GA. That one is a little below average price from what i have been finding...

Still looking though hoping to find a 305 hp one. I didnt know that there was a badge right on the motor like someone here mentioned that will make my search easier if i find a pre 04.5...

 

Early 03 SO here, all stock other than cat delete and leveling spacers-2wd auto. I normally average 19-21 hand calculated with a good mix of hwy and city driving. However, I drive very easy and normally dont go over 65 mph.

 

dont forget that people think the overhead lie-o-meter works. i see 24 so that means subtract 4-6 mpg. dont expect more than 18 mixed driving and 20 highway. ive hand calculated every tank for the last 12,000 miles and havent seen better than 18.5 mixed in summer, 16.5 mixed in winter, and 20 on the highway. I only have an intake and exhaust. by highway i mean cruise control at 62mph. any faster and you are just sitting above 6 psi of boost so you are wasting fuel. get a boost gauge and if you go above 10psi that means you are getting crap for mileage.

 

My info in sig. Mpg highs and lows don't matter much. It's the average mpg that counts (and that's where the driver to driver variations come in).

In general, 2003-04 is best for mpg. I'd search hard for a 305/555. Not the later engines. Low miles, stock, no tuners or gooseneck/fifth wheel. Man trans and 2WD.

 

Well I know im definetly not disappointed with my 03. I love this Truck!! :thumbsup:

 

Someone linked me to this handy graph a while back from a TDR article on FE.

 

My 03 gets 14 mpg in the winter and 17 average in the summer. I never plug it in and I live in Alberta where we have lOng cold winters. How much worse would my mpg be with a 6" lift and 37s. Right now I have 315 and a level
Kit

 

Alot worse.....get a tuner. :thumbsup: