Hope it gets better than this!

DaveBen

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Diesel engines take a long time for break in. I would say 7,000 to 10,000. Don't worry about the break in. Get a few thousand miles in her before you tow anything heavy. And watch your gauges.

Dave
 

Broondog

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Well, I don't tow anything heavy - very seldom anyway, like a chipper. But I do haul heavy - that's what I bought it for so I hope it came ready to work and not expect a 7000 mile road trip to break in first!
 

thelastcion

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I can tell you that I have almost 25k miles on my truck and still only see 11.5 - 12 mpg. That's the same milage that I've gotten since day one when hauling empty and that with the cruise set at 65.

When I pull a 16' enclosed work trailer with minimal inside, I get about 10.5 @ 65 and if I go up to 70, I get about 8.

If I'm hauling my 38' enclosed work trailer with heavy load (trailer and load is about 25k+), I get about 8 @ 65 or 6 @ 70.

Bottom line is I don't see an improvement coming anytime soon unless it's through the purchase of an intake, tuner and cat dpf.

I drive almost 1k miles a week sometimes and I spend over 300 in fuel. I could run a Spartan 150 or 210 tune, get an extra 4-6 mpg out of the truck, that works out to 130-190 more miles out of a single tank, the savings I'll have can go into an interest earning saving account for when the truck does finally break down.

Bottom line is, if you are driving an F450 daily it's going to cost you. It's just a matter of how much now and how much later...
 

DaveBen

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Lets face it guys; the F450 isn't a mileage king! If you want great mileage, get a smaller vehicle and tow a lighter trailer. Weight and frontal area are the two most important mileage killers.

Dave :)
 

Broondog

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Well, I am getting used to paying more for fuel I guess. Getting 8.4 MPG now instead of 8.2. Big whoop. The mileage sucks but I love the truck and it does everything I wanted it to do. I sold the old '96 F350 cab and chassis finally and drove it a few times to make sure it was still running and despite the drop in fuel economy, would not reverse my decision for anything!
 

DaveBen

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Your mileage will climb up as you get more miles on your truck. 15,000 miles or more before you see your final mileage, due to break in.

Dave
 

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