I've been thinking about that poor fuel economy you reported to me when you
were in Nashville the other day, Steve, and I couldn't think of anything to
account for that kind of drop-off. I'm glad you figured it out.

The poorest fuel economy results from wasted trips -- regardless of the
miles-per-gallon rating of the vehicle. Not planning well and taking a
longer route (e.g., Rhinelander to St. Louis by way of Chicago), and taking
many short trips during the day instead of combining them sucks up a lot of
gasoline.

And, when it comes to fuel consumption, speed kills. One day I drove my
Dodge Ram from Nashville to Knoxville in my truck at the 70 m.p.h. limit,
and my mileage was about 18 miles per gallon. I woke up early (about 2:30
A.M.) on the day I was to return and decided to get back home in time for
church. Since I-40 had very little traffic at that time, I decided to drive
home at 55 m.p.h., keeping a close watch on my rear-view mirror and picking
up the pace when it would be safer to do so. I think I got around 24 miles
per gallon on that trip -- a 25% margin. The 15 m.p.h. difference between 70
m.p.h. and your regular highway speed of 85 has a much greater negative
impact, I'm sure.

All that to say, drive what gets the job done and what you enjoy, but drive
wisely and save fuel.

Joe
------------
"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in
message ...
Recently, I picked up a 2006 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 pickup. I decided
that this truck wouldn't be a diesel, for several reasons.

I was apalled at the milage that showed on the computer display on the
dashboard. The "best" I ever got was 11.4 mpg, and while towing my boat,
the milage dropped to 8.9!!! The local Chevy dealer said that nothing
showed up wrong on the computer diagnostics and had no idea why the milage
should be so rotten.

Well, I thought "Oh well, I like the truck, and maybe once the motor gets
broke in, it'll get better."

Sunday, Inky and I were traveling to Nashville, and we burned 3 tanks of
fuel going down, 3 going back. This was roughly the same fuel consumption
that I noticed with my diesel when towing a boat for the same distance.
Then, while traveling through construction zones, occasionally there would
be a radar sign that showed my speed as being faster than the speedometer in
the truck was reading!

That got me to thinking and when I got home, I looked again at the tire
size. P285 75R/16. I thought that was a bit large, and that 265 size tires
were stock. I ordered a HyperTech Power Programmer, changed the tire size
to what was actually on the truck, changed the rev limiter and the shift
firmness. I just got back from a 30 minute cruise on the highway and guess
what? My milage computer now tells me that I'm getting 15.5 mph! And it
only drops to 14.4 when traveling at 70 mph.

I'm relieved and just wanted to remind everyone out there that has changed
your tire size. Your truck really isn't getting as bad of milage as you're
thinking! And while everyone knows that changing the tire size affects the
speedometer reading, it also changes the odometer as well as several other
things.

I was about ready to take the truck back, although I didn't want to. I like
this truck, I just couldn't deal with the thought of single digit gas
milage!
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com