Lets hear about those 3.7L's
04-08-2014, 10:44 PM
#471
Real Trucks Have 2 Doors
Ok, so I just returned from a trip to help a friend move from Milan Mi to Nashville Tn.
Trailer was loaded with His Yanmar 1300d loader tractor, tiller, back blade, finish mower, 3 engine stands, 4 jack stands, 2 shop fans, 6 ballast weights, Trail 70 type mini bike, box of chains, shop vice, bandsaw, 3 five gallon buckets full of nuts and bolts, 5th wheel hitch set-up, 2 small tool boxes, Wheel horse snowplow, weedeater, plastic Barbie car, and other misc. items.
The truck did a good job. I used the tow-haul mode for the trip. Average MPG came in at 14.8 for the loaded trip down there. It stayed in 6th gear for most of the trip except for steep hills south of Cincinnati where it would down shift to 5th and a couple times down to 4th.
I really liked the way the truck would down shift to hold the speed when going down the 5% grade so I did not have to use the brakes at all.
All in all it was a good trip, but a lot of work.
Total miles 1258
Total hours behind wheel driving 23.5
Total hours sleeping in truck (Not Recommended) 5.5
At least I got to go to Antique Archaeology and see where the Marathon Motor Car was built!
Trailer was loaded with His Yanmar 1300d loader tractor, tiller, back blade, finish mower, 3 engine stands, 4 jack stands, 2 shop fans, 6 ballast weights, Trail 70 type mini bike, box of chains, shop vice, bandsaw, 3 five gallon buckets full of nuts and bolts, 5th wheel hitch set-up, 2 small tool boxes, Wheel horse snowplow, weedeater, plastic Barbie car, and other misc. items.
The truck did a good job. I used the tow-haul mode for the trip. Average MPG came in at 14.8 for the loaded trip down there. It stayed in 6th gear for most of the trip except for steep hills south of Cincinnati where it would down shift to 5th and a couple times down to 4th.
I really liked the way the truck would down shift to hold the speed when going down the 5% grade so I did not have to use the brakes at all.
All in all it was a good trip, but a lot of work.
Total miles 1258
Total hours behind wheel driving 23.5
Total hours sleeping in truck (Not Recommended) 5.5
At least I got to go to Antique Archaeology and see where the Marathon Motor Car was built!
The following users liked this post:
kd7irm (04-08-2014)
04-08-2014, 10:49 PM
#472
For what its worth, I consistently get 18 mpg city, 22 mpg highway. Loads of power for a regular configuration 4X2 pickup.
Too bad its being discontinued. Its the end of an era. A very short era.
P.S. mpg figures are hand-measured, and consistently higher than the read out. I have a light foot.
Too bad its being discontinued. Its the end of an era. A very short era.
P.S. mpg figures are hand-measured, and consistently higher than the read out. I have a light foot.
04-08-2014, 11:04 PM
#473
LONE STAR
Thats a good review of your trip. Antique Archaeology sounds like a cool place to visit.
Ok, so I just returned from a trip to help a friend move from Milan Mi to Nashville Tn.
Trailer was loaded with His Yanmar 1300d loader tractor, tiller, back blade, finish mower, 3 engine stands, 4 jack stands, 2 shop fans, 6 ballast weights, Trail 70 type mini bike, box of chains, shop vice, bandsaw, 3 five gallon buckets full of nuts and bolts, 5th wheel hitch set-up, 2 small tool boxes, Wheel horse snowplow, weedeater, plastic Barbie car, and other misc. items.
The truck did a good job. I used the tow-haul mode for the trip. Average MPG came in at 14.8 for the loaded trip down there. It stayed in 6th gear for most of the trip except for steep hills south of Cincinnati where it would down shift to 5th and a couple times down to 4th.
I really liked the way the truck would down shift to hold the speed when going down the 5% grade so I did not have to use the brakes at all.
All in all it was a good trip, but a lot of work.
Total miles 1258
Total hours behind wheel driving 23.5
Total hours sleeping in truck (Not Recommended) 5.5
At least I got to go to Antique Archaeology and see where the Marathon Motor Car was built!
Trailer was loaded with His Yanmar 1300d loader tractor, tiller, back blade, finish mower, 3 engine stands, 4 jack stands, 2 shop fans, 6 ballast weights, Trail 70 type mini bike, box of chains, shop vice, bandsaw, 3 five gallon buckets full of nuts and bolts, 5th wheel hitch set-up, 2 small tool boxes, Wheel horse snowplow, weedeater, plastic Barbie car, and other misc. items.
The truck did a good job. I used the tow-haul mode for the trip. Average MPG came in at 14.8 for the loaded trip down there. It stayed in 6th gear for most of the trip except for steep hills south of Cincinnati where it would down shift to 5th and a couple times down to 4th.
I really liked the way the truck would down shift to hold the speed when going down the 5% grade so I did not have to use the brakes at all.
All in all it was a good trip, but a lot of work.
Total miles 1258
Total hours behind wheel driving 23.5
Total hours sleeping in truck (Not Recommended) 5.5
At least I got to go to Antique Archaeology and see where the Marathon Motor Car was built!
04-10-2014, 09:48 PM
#474
3.7L has been the most excellent work horse. LOL.
04-11-2014, 07:46 PM
#475
After hearing all of this comparison between the 5.0 and the 3.7, it makes me wish I would have bought the 5.0. Granted, at the time when I purchased my truck, I did not have the money for a 5.0 if I wanted a brand new truck. My other justification was that the 3.7 would get better mpg for my uses (mainly highway driving and no towing).
It will be a few more years before I sell my truck but when the time comes I'll shell out the extra cash to get a v8.
It will be a few more years before I sell my truck but when the time comes I'll shell out the extra cash to get a v8.
My 5.0 still had a good bit of iron when I checked the oil analysis at 17k. With a light foot and tune, I have been getting 21 MPG mixed with 89 octane mpt tune. Use good synthetic oil.
04-11-2014, 09:19 PM
#476
Yeah, not trying to troll but I really can't see any advantages to the 3.7L over the 5.0L other than upfront cost. It money is tight it might be better to get a slightly used 5.0L to offset the cost. In regards to 2wd, the 5.0 with taller gears (20-22 mpg) easily does as good as a 3.7L with shorter gears. The 5.0 will still have more pulling power. As far as the 4x4 goes, it seems the 3.7L does a bit WORSE even with all things equal. My 5.0 still had a good bit of iron when I checked the oil analysis at 17k. With a light foot and tune, I have been getting 21 MPG mixed with 89 octane mpt tune. Use good synthetic oil.
The following 2 users liked this post by Snowflake:
nihilus (04-12-2014),
RaceReadyRed (04-11-2014)
04-11-2014, 10:15 PM
#477
Real Trucks Have 2 Doors
Yeah, not trying to troll but I really can't see any advantages to the 3.7L over the 5.0L other than upfront cost. It money is tight it might be better to get a slightly used 5.0L to offset the cost. In regards to 2wd, the 5.0 with taller gears (20-22 mpg) easily does as good as a 3.7L with shorter gears. The 5.0 will still have more pulling power. As far as the 4x4 goes, it seems the 3.7L does a bit WORSE even with all things equal.
My 5.0 still had a good bit of iron when I checked the oil analysis at 17k. With a light foot and tune, I have been getting 21 MPG mixed with 89 octane mpt tune. Use good synthetic oil.
My 5.0 still had a good bit of iron when I checked the oil analysis at 17k. With a light foot and tune, I have been getting 21 MPG mixed with 89 octane mpt tune. Use good synthetic oil.
04-11-2014, 10:18 PM
#478
Senior Member
Seems unnecessary. What's the reason behind this?
One advantage I found out after talking with my neighbor is short distance MPG's. We both have a 4 mile drive to work with 5 stop signs. After a week of just driving to work and home this winter we compared our fuel useage. His 5.0 came in at 14.5 MPG and my 3.7 at 17.5 MPG. We both let our trucks warm up for 10 minutes before we take off. Now I will say that His truck is a 4x4 super cab short box and I have a 2x4 regular cab short box. I have 3.73LS and do not know what his is.
04-11-2014, 10:35 PM
#479
04-12-2014, 07:18 AM
#480
Senior Member