Gas mileage

rizzo · 02-26-2005, 11:45 PM

Not enough posts around here.

I just towed my father-in-laws Chevy on a tri-axle trailer from Calgary to Edmonton at the recommended 80 kph. I only got 14.1 mpg!!! I guess it isn't bad considering I was pulling about 6500 lbs but I really hoped for better. Especially at 80 kph. I wonder what I'l get towing our 6000lb travel trailer with a couple dirt bikes in the back of the truck.

What kind of gas mileage are you guys getting in the city/highway/pulling/empty/whatever? There has been discussions about this already but I'd like to compare Canadian gallons. I calculate mine by total kms travelled divided by liters consumed and then multiply by 2.82 to get Cdn MPG.

hunter · 02-27-2005, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rizzo

Not enough posts around here.

I just towed my father-in-laws Chevy on a tri-axle trailer from Calgary to Edmonton at the recommended 80 kph. I only got 14.1 mpg!!! I guess it isn't bad considering I was pulling about 6500 lbs but I really hoped for better. Especially at 80 kph. I wonder what I'l get towing our 6000lb travel trailer with a couple dirt bikes in the back of the truck.

What kind of gas mileage are you guys getting in the city/highway/pulling/empty/whatever? There has been discussions about this already but I'd like to compare Canadian gallons. I calculate mine by total kms travelled divided by liters consumed and then multiply by 2.82 to get Cdn MPG.

I calculate my MPG a little different - I take the total number of kilometers travelled and convert to miles (1 km = .6214 miles) and then I take the total number of litres to fill and convert that to Imperial gallons (1 litre = .22 Imperial gallons). I then take the miles and divide by the Imperial gallons.
My Titan has only 5,800 kms and so far the best mileage that I've gotten is 20.8 MPG - highway (215 miles between Dauphin, MB and Winnipeg, MB travelling at about 106 kph). When I use your method, I only get 19.91 MPG.
How did you come up with the 2.82 ???

Otherwise driving around town and in winter, I'm only getting about 13 MPG (I can't keep my foot from hitting that gas pedal a little harder every once in a while).
I also have a travel trailer which weighs around 6,000 lbs, I haven't towed it with the Titan yet and so I'm anxiously waiting for May when I'll beginning towing it with the Titan. My first long trip towing will be to Banff and Jasper this June (that should give the Titan a good workout).

DrewBert · 02-27-2005, 04:35 PM

good mileage boys, best i've got was 15 mpg, that was at 120 km/h, the only time i've driven far enough at a consistant speed, other than to calgary @ too fast, and got 12.6 mpg

rizzo · 02-27-2005, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hunter

I calculate my MPG a little different - I take the total number of kilometers travelled and convert to miles (1 km = .6214 miles) and then I take the total number of litres to fill and convert that to Imperial gallons (1 litre = .22 Imperial gallons). I then take the miles and divide by the Imperial gallons.
My Titan has only 5,800 kms and so far the best mileage that I've gotten is 20.8 MPG - highway (215 miles between Dauphin, MB and Winnipeg, MB travelling at about 106 kph). When I use your method, I only get 19.91 MPG.
How did you come up with the 2.82 ???

Otherwise driving around town and in winter, I'm only getting about 13 MPG (I can't keep my foot from hitting that gas pedal a little harder every once in a while).
I also have a travel trailer which weighs around 6,000 lbs, I haven't towed it with the Titan yet and so I'm anxiously waiting for May when I'll beginning towing it with the Titan. My first long trip towing will be to Banff and Jasper this June (that should give the Titan a good workout).

I divide kms travelled by liters used to get kms per liter. I then multiply that number by 2.82 to get mpg. If I'm wrong, then I've been consistently wrong for many many years. At least I can compare the gas mileage from all my last trucks to this one. This truck, thus far, is worse than all my last late model 3/4 tons, one tons and one half ton. I have been blaming my poor(ish) gas mileage on the new motor breaking in but I haven't seen too much improvement over the past 3,000 kms. Did I mention that the 14 MPG was travelling at 80 kph? Yikes.

Hunter, are you planning to take the 93A? North to Jasper or South from Jasper? The climbs are pretty wicked heading North and the Titan will get a workout and a half. The highway has amazing views of glaciers and rivers/fall and lots of nice places to stop and have lunch etc. I recommend staying at Whistler's Campground just S of Jasper. They don't take reservations so you have to get there pretty early in the a.m. to get a fully serviced spot.

We head there a few times every year. We leave Edmonton after work on Fri and stay just W of Hinton. Then get up early and head into Jasper and wait for our spot. We really enjoy it. This year we're taking the Titan and 24 ft TT to Alaska for 3 weeks.

Good gas mileage or not, I really enjoy this truck.

rizzo · 02-27-2005, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrewBert

good mileage boys, best i've got was 15 mpg, that was at 120 km/h, the only time i've driven far enough at a consistant speed, other than to calgary @ too fast, and got 12.6 mpg

Hey Drew, I'm originally from Saskatchewan. We had a farm just outside of the Rosetown area but also had a house in Regina. 15 mph isn't too bad at 120kph. I could just hear all the big diesel owners etc passing me on the highway while I was doing 80 kph. They were probably saying how the little Japanese truck can't keep up to traffic while pulling a trailer. Now that I'm all broken in...lookout!!!!

tccart · 02-27-2005, 07:56 PM

Using km's divided by liters multiplied by 2.82 works great. I get the same number if I do it long hand and convert km's to miles, and liters to Imperial gallons and divide from there.

Either way, I will be getting the same or better mileage than what my '94 Chev truck gives me now. I'm looking forward to being able to head to the mountains with our travel trailer. I've never trusted my tranny enough to pull the trailer anywhere but the prairies. We have heard great things about Mount Kidd RV park in Kananaskis, and hope to check it out this summer.

rizzo · 02-27-2005, 08:15 PM

tccart, have you bought a Titan yet? Make sure you break the truck in as specified in the manual and I think you'll have a great truck. I broke mine in for trailering by pulling @ 3,000 lbs for 500kms or so. Then I pulled about 6,500 lbs for about 300 kms. I didn't do this intentionally but it just happened to be how my loads worked out.

Also make sure your diff is full of fluid. Mine was only half full of fluid when I dumped it in favor of Amsoil 75w90 Severe Service at 800 kms.

Oh ya, Mount Kidd...it's a great place. Lots of things to do and a great spot to camp. From what I remember, it has some really nice tenting spots (I have my favorite spot written down somewhere), but the trailer spots are quite wide open. Boulton Creek is a more secluded spot to camp but doesn't offer any services that I remember except a dump station and water fill up. If your wife is anything like mine, you'll need full services to keep her happy.

Book early to secure your spot. If you're like me, you'll have fun no matter where you go. I'm always happy to leave the city behind. Especially when the city is Edmonton

tccart · 02-27-2005, 08:37 PM

I haven't bought a Titan yet. Hopefully this spring, after I get my tax refund. Got my eye on an '05 SE CC 4x4. There's not very much dealer inventory in Edmonton right now, so I'm not in a hurry. I think I'd prefer to deal directly with the dealership who has the one I want on the lot, vs. bringing one in from elsewhere. I guess it doesn't really matter, though. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around spending almost $50k for a truck. From reading posts on this site, it sounds like the Titan is worth it.

hunter · 02-28-2005, 06:34 PM

rizzo - I've camped a few times at Whistler's (beautiful spot). I would be heading south from Jasper on my way to Banff and perhaps eventually to Waterton.
It's interesting reading all the threads regarding rear differential fluids and levels. Before I moved from Winnipeg to Dauphin, I had the dealership check the fluid level and everything was fine. Is it really necessary to change differential fluid ??? I never did in my 1999 Chevy Silverado 1500 LS 2-wheel drive and I used it to tow the same 6,000 lb TT around the Prairies as well as the Rockies with no problems.
Is this going to be your first trip to Alaska ??? I made that trip quite a few years ago camping out in the back of our customized van. We travelled as far as Fairbanks. The Alaska Highway is a beautiful drive - the time that we went it was quite twisting but they've been staightening it out more and more. Make sure you spend time in Whitehorse and especially Dawson City (you have to visit Diamond Gerties). If you're going best time is in June - less traffic and when you get to places like Dawson City you have almost 22 hours of daylight - quite amazing when you're not used to it.

rizzo · 03-01-2005, 06:06 PM

tccart - the Titan is definitely worth it. I have yet to pull my TT with it but it pulls my loaded auto hauler just fine. It's alot of money but you are getting more truck than the 'big 3' can give you for about the same price. Before this, I had a new fully loaded diesel so the purchase price on the Titan didn't seem so bad. Hopefully the depreciation would be as horrific on the Nissan as it was on the Ford.

hunter - the trip from Jasper to Banff is MUCH less stressful than the other way around.

I don't think it is absolutely necessary to change the diff fluid but the synthetic blends protect MUCH better than the mineral based gear oil that is in your truck's rear end right now. Supposedly Nissan is recommending 75w140 for all their trucks right now. It just seems a little thick for our Cdn winters. Of course, that's what I ran in my old F-150 with no problems or reduced gas mileage in 185,000 kms.
This will be our first trip to Alaska and we're really looking forward to it. We're taking 3 weeks so we're aren't in a rush. We're going in mid July(ish). I REALLY need a vacation. July can't come soon enough for me!!!

hunter · 03-02-2005, 06:14 PM

rizzo - when you go on your trip to Alaska, make sure you let me what you thought of the Yukon and Alaska - especially the condition of the Alaska Highway.

When I retire in the summer of 2006, my plan is to travel the Dempster Highway to the mouth of the MacKenzie River at the Arctic Ocean

rizzo · 03-02-2005, 09:58 PM

hunter - that trip sounds awesome!!! I've heard alot about the Dempster and can't wait to drive it myself. You must be counting down the days.

We haven't even started planning the trip yet but hope to get started asap. The stories my dad tells me about the condition of the highway are a little scary but I know it is in ALOT better shape now than in 1950 something when he was on it. I guess they used to have Caterpillars parked in certain muddy areas to help people out WHEN they get stuck. Not IF, but WHEN. It's much more civilized now-a-days.

hunter · 03-03-2005, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rizzo

hunter - that trip sounds awesome!!! I've heard alot about the Dempster and can't wait to drive it myself. You must be counting down the days.

We haven't even started planning the trip yet but hope to get started asap. The stories my dad tells me about the condition of the highway are a little scary but I know it is in ALOT better shape now than in 1950 something when he was on it. I guess they used to have Caterpillars parked in certain muddy areas to help people out WHEN they get stuck. Not IF, but WHEN. It's much more civilized now-a-days.

You won't have to worry about getting stuck on the highway now - it has become to civilized - better to handle big motor homes and trailers of all sizes

rizzo · 03-04-2005, 11:56 PM

I'm so excited to leave for Alaska, I can hardly stand it. I just recieved my Tekonsha Prodigy (my second one) from RVWholesalers.com (got killed on the brokerage fees) and am anxiously awaiting the fog lights from Mossy Performance (can't wait to see what the brokerage fees on are this one). Other than that, I have to decide which box liner to go with and I'm set. It will either be Line-X or ArmourThane.

Any suggestions from those who have already been to Alaska are welcome. This is a very slow forum but the more action we have from fellow Cdn (or others) Titan owners the better.