Hi Folks - I just purchased a 2006 F150 Crew Lariat, 5.4 with 65K miles on it about a month ago. Had to go about 70 miles to get it and during that time was getting about 12.7MPG on the highway, now that I'm doing my daily commute mostly I'm getting about 12.4MPG. From a quick search it seems as though that is below average. I do not have a tonneau cover and figure that might boost by 10% or so but do you folks have any other suggestions as to what I could look into to improve the mileage, or am I wrong and this is typical?

Thanks for any help!

 

Plugs
Fuel Filter
Air Filter
Tires Air

Clean the throttle body

 

There are almost too many variables that can change MPG.

The biggest ones I can think of are:
Driver - how you drive makes a huge difference
Speed - Highway at 60, interstate at 80, or start and go traffic in town are all totally different
Weight - don't carry more than you need, hundreds of pounds of tools and gear will lessen MPG at all speeds.
Gas - quality of gas can affect MPG

I love Tonneau covers, have them on every truck I get. But I don't think they help MPG, matter of fact I would argue the added weight (minimal) and the loss of the truck bed "air bubble" add up to a very slight loss rather than any gain.

I can usually eek out more MPG than most, on my 2010 Raptor with the 5.4 I easily got 18+ on the highway at 60.

 

What about those wheels. Aftermarket rims or larger tires?
Just for perspective. I have a 6.5' bed, Supercrew, 5.4, 4x4 with slightly larger than stock nittos and can get 17-18 on the highway and 14-15 in city

 

Thanks for the replies! I'm sure there are a lot of factors, was just looking for a start for things I can go through since I don't know the history of the truck..

Yea, my commute is much more stop and go traffic, nothing faster than 30-40 mph.. I am not really an aggressive driver, but I am coming from an Escape so possibly I could help it a bit with driving habits..

I'll probably start with plugs, filters, and cleaning the throttle body.

As far as tires I think the wheels are stock, picture is Here in my intro thread. They are looking a bit old and will need to be replaced eventually, trying to hold off for a bit though, lot of tread left.

 

Start with the basics.
Air filter, fresh oil, fuel filter, clean MAF, clean throttle body, spark plugs.
If it's bad city traffic...I can get as low as 11-12. Most of the time my city driving is ok, not a whole lot of stop and go. Just to play with it, maybe reset your MPG and take it on a nice, easy drive. See what happens.

 

WTF 14-15 city? HOW? I'm getting 12.2 at best. I'm running 33" tires tho. I keep my rpms at or below 2,000 RPMs too.

 

Like I said, my city driving is different than most lol.
It's not a whole lot of stop and go and I keep around 40MPH. If traffic is nasty then yeah, it'll tank. Also....tune helps my MPG a lot. Took a trip to SC a little while back and the truck was pushing 19MPG.
My tires are slightly larger than stock. First of the year I'm going bigger....I'm sure MPG will adjust accordingly...lol

 

That's impressive at 19 mpg. Guess we gotta keep in mind it's a truck lol, it'll drink gas no matter what. Go big or go home with the tires, they'll look great!

 

To be clear folks, I never expected anything approaching 19 mpg. I had seen posts of folks saying that 15 or so is normal, so I thought it might be worth the question.

Thanks!!