Silverado 3.0 Diesel vs 5.3 Gas

[rdsmith55]

I am sure eventually someone might search and find this thread about the 3.0 liter Duramax Diesel. I found the following YouTube link that walks you through the engine layout. I thought it was helpful so here it is for those people who might consider this in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_0F-O1J-w

Rob

[That Minnesota guy]

I looked at a Duramax today in the Silverado. Found it interesting that it didn't have a Allison tranny.

This is what I found interesting with the 3500 Duramax. On the sticker they listed a upcharge of nearly $10,000 for the diesel. Makes me wonder what the engine thats in the truck before the engine upcharge.

[rdsmith55]

MN Guy - If I recall the 6.6 Gas is standard it the 3500HD series. I am strictly looking at the 1500 series. Also the Allison Transmission is standard on all upgrades, except I believe the 2WD. However, I would have to check that again. My Uncle runs them in his logging business and I am always amazed at how those guys get 25mpg in a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

Rob

[That Minnesota guy]

I get 23-24 mpg not towing with my 3/4 ton Cummins. Unless I can find the right used truck I'll go Ram Cummins on the next one also.

[320bull]

I find some of these MPG claims hard to believe.
Towing a 2 axle enclosed trailer with a 2019 dodge Cummins from Mi to Co last fall we struggled to get much better than 10. We could get close to 12 if we went 65 but anything more and it slipped fast.
Towing my Warrior 208 with 1500 chevy 5.3 with somewhat oversize tires at 75 It gets 10. Unloaded average for the 50k thats on the truck is 18.

I have had 2 diesels then 2 half ton gassers now and for my needs im staying in the half ton gas trucks. I do a fair amount of towing the 208 across the state and it does fine. I did put 10 ply tires on it and some air bags and ground here is mostly flat so take that into consideration.

[tate05]

I’m on my second Cummins Ram since 2003. Current one is a 2012 with 140,000 miles. My mpg numbers are in line with Minnesota.

2 trucks in 18 years.

I’ll stick with the diesel until they come out with an electric truck that will get me to Canada with only one overnight to charge.


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[Husker525]

Originally Posted by tate05

I’m on my second Cummins Ram since 2003. Current one is a 2012 with 140,000 miles. My mpg numbers are in line with Minnesota.

2 trucks in 18 years.

I’ll stick with the diesel until they come out with an electric truck that will get me to Canada with only one overnight to charge.


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There are currently 5 new companies making EV's to be released from 2021 through 2023. 3 of those are offering trucks. Ranges are from 250 miles to 700 miles on a charge. One of the companies will be using Ford components and have a zero degree turning radius, or pivots on its axis much like a tracked vehicle. 4 of these companies are American companies. This is not including the Big 3 Domestic brands. What they say, and what we actually get will be the real issue.
Stay tuned............

[RMBin303]

Originally Posted by 320bull

I find some of these MPG claims hard to believe.
Towing a 2 axle enclosed trailer with a 2019 dodge Cummins from Mi to Co last fall we struggled to get much better than 10. We could get close to 12 if we went 65 but anything more and it slipped fast.
Towing my Warrior 208 with 1500 chevy 5.3 with somewhat oversize tires at 75 It gets 10. Unloaded average for the 50k thats on the truck is 18.

I have had 2 diesels then 2 half ton gassers now and for my needs im staying in the half ton gas trucks. I do a fair amount of towing the 208 across the state and it does fine. I did put 10 ply tires on it and some air bags and ground here is mostly flat so take that into consideration.

I'm not sure why, but it is unusual for people to share realistic numbers of MPG on any of the truck threads. Either they go by the computer and it is WAY off, or they simply fib.

Look at a resource like Fuelly.com if you want to get a more realistic average MPG. It's going to be at least 20% below what these quotes are.

As far as for Cummins specifically, I also have a 2012 (which was maybe the WORST year for MPG as it was the last year before DEF). Mine is a CC LB DRW 3500 with a 60 gallon auxiliary fuel tank - a BIG truck. The best it has EVER gotten is about 17 MPG (although I have one tank that showed 24, but I am sure I somehow miscalculated that one). I hand calculate and track with an app EVERY tank. Truck is almost always towing something, and I usually drive around 80 MPH on the highway. The trucks LIFETIME MPG is 10.69. That is tracking over 90,000 miles.

Averaging 22-23 MPG in any heavy duty diesel truck, deleted or not, is........suspicious.

[Wallimg]

i had a 2000 ram 2500 3.73 gears with cummins, best ever with the wind behind 18mpg, towing boats around 12, I got rid of that in 2015 with 330,000, got a 1500 hemi ram, empty to maine and back got 19, towing boat 10, just got rid of that with 100,000, got a 2021 silverado 1500 with 3.0 duramax , ive only got 1500 miles on it but hand figured getting 26.4, those are real truth numbers. I do say i like the way the 3.0 drives, i towed the new warrior only about 40 miles so far but it seems to tow well, plus it has more torque and horsepower than the old cummins. i added air bags and will add a higher ply tire when the stock ones are junk.

[That Minnesota guy]

Anybody that wants to hop in the truck get a hold of me. To refresh it's a 2014 Dodge 2500 4x4 with a Cummins motor. In the winter it will get 23-24 mpg not towing. This is on the computer readout. We will be traveling 70-73 mph on the freeway.

I'm leaving from Northern Minnesota down to Arkansas and then over towards Vegas. We can check it end to end.

I understand the computer might not be totally accurate, but even if it's not it's far better then a gas truck.