torturebori

I just purchased this van initial tank did the math and got 12.4 MPG

Any one getting anything better than this on a similar van? If so how are you doing it? K&N filter? good idea? plugs? what are your tricks?

This is a cargo van with two racks in the back and some tools in it.


Thanks

canucklehead

I had a 2002 express 3/4 ton passenger. It had the 350 vortec, and the 3.73 gears. I got 13 in town, and maybe a bit over 15 on the hwy.....my best ever test was at 16 mpg rolling along the hwy in Alberta....less mountains....lol.
As it got older, the mpg went down a bit to just under 13 in town, and low 15 to high 14 hwy.
Watch the Kand N filter. The oil used to clean it can foul the MAP sensor.
Best to just keep it tunes, and have decent tires at the right pressure.....
I am getting 14.6 in town on my 2013 awd 1/2 ton passenger now.....and around 17 on the hwy.....

SchnauzerKing

This is exactly why I hunted and hunted for a diesel. My 2012 passenger van has been running around 19 MPG. I have a 2007 G3500 cut-away dually. It has a 10' walk in service body. It weighs 11,000 pounds with all the crap I carry. I flirt with 14 mpg in the summer. Winter time it drops to 11-12 mpg. Depends on how much I let it idle. I love those big vans but dang they work a gas engine to death. I seen an unbelievable 2000 GMC (I think, maybe Chevy) on eBay awhile back. Had like 60K miles on it. It was a 3500 passenger. The owner had the bench seats removed and had custom made captains in place. Just used to pull their camper. 454 with 4.11 gears. On a good day the guy told me he would get 8 mpg. DIdn't madder if the camper was being pulled or not. Yikes! I decided it would be worth the extra up front cash to have a van that gets around 20 mpg.

isaac

torturebori

SchnauzerKing

You make a great point. I think I would have gone this route if my situation was a little better. As just beginning my business, I had to start somewhere. My van is a upgrade from working out of( brace your self) Audi Allroad, lol I know, but a man had to do what he had to do. Im not in the position to make a huge purchase yet. Basically I sold the Audi and got the Van for the same price. With the maintenance on the Audi, the premium gas I had to use, I am on top right now with the van.

I will give her a nice tune up and change filters and such. See where that gets me. Im not a pusher on the pedal, but I know she's a big girl but it is what I need.

canucklehead

I looked at a diesel express passenger and the price was huge. I always say compare the cost of the diesel option to the fuel savings over the time you will own the van.....say 15 years. I bet you will not pay it off.

SchnauzerKing

Canucklehead,

When we first made the switch to diesel service vans, it took 60,000 miles to break even. That was taking in the cost of the diesel option, the cost of fuel vs. gas, and the projected millage. We did a ton of research. The shop took the bait and it has been no looking back. That was back in 1999. I was putting about 25-30K miles a year on my van. It was the right move. Oil changes back then were still every 3K miles on the gas units. We went to 7.5K with the diesels. Maintenance was not an issue outside of two batteries compared to the single in the gas pushers. We switched about half of our fleet to diesel. Used pickups and vans that rarely leave the city limits we kept gas. All of us who travel all over the state we remain oil burners. I put around 265,000 miles on that 2000 E350. It is still used by our shop at one of the military bases that we work at. It ain't pretty put she still chugs along. It stays there hoping the weekend guys runs over it with a tank.

My work truck has 202,900 miles on it. It is a duramax. So far an idler pulley is the only major problem. Had to replace two sensors on the transmission.

Tonight I filled the work truck with fuel. It was 15 cents over regular unleaded. I think in '99 fuel was about 30 cents less than unleaded. So I would say it would take much more that 60,000 miles to break even. No matter. The benefits are still better for us road warriors.

My personal van I will not put enough miles on it to work the same angle we used to sell the diesel move to the shop. Still, I enjoy 19 miles per gallon over my last personal vehicle that averaged 14. Plus righteous power to move me, the queen, the two schnauzers, and what ever else I want to stuff in it and strap to it. I could not really justify any new vehicle for my personal use. So a 4 year diesel took 20 thousand off the sticker and I love it.

isaac

canucklehead

That is all awesome info. Others will find it useful for sure. I as you can tell I am not a huge diesel lover, but I do admit they run forever and provide great power and economy when tuned right....

My dad got a duramax in his 2007 dually because he could not get the big gas engine anymore, and after a few years and of course just out of warranty, the exhaust started to get into the coolant.....was gonna be a huge repair bill. Luckily he was able to trade that truck in for a newer one. He only got 9 mpg on that new truck for a long time until after the break in, now gets similar economy that you have said. Took a long time and some big bumps to slowly convert him....
I am not a fan of how GM de tunes the diesel in the vans and we dont get the same HD tranny options the pickup trucks do.....seems the vans do more of the hauling IMO these days.....

SchnauzerKing

Yikes man! Sorry your dad had issues. My work truck is a 2007 G3500 dually cut away. I found it in Pennsylvania with 97,000 miles on it. I wanted to try something new. I told the boss I wanted a service body rather than a standard van. My knees are no longer enjoy crawling around the back of the truck looking for things. So, like the switch to diesels, we tried one. New like my current truck would have set us back 60 thousand compared to 35 grand or so for a plain 1 ton van. We now have 5 of them in various brands and configurations. I think I paid around $27,000 for mine.

The current owner of the shop is a Ford guy. The two guys that owned the shop before him same thing. They too were very wary of the diesels. All went well until the 6.0 liter Ford diesels hit. We have one that really has not been much of an issue while the others you cannot throw enough money at. We then purchased a Ford with the 6.4 liter diesel. No real mechanical problems but damn son, never got over 12 mpg. Hook a trailer to it and boom!, your enjoying 8 mpg. So, I presented my used work truck to the boss with the duramax. We now have I think three of them. And the GM 6.0 liter gas vans/trucks that just make deliveries or just travel from the shop across town and back again has been proving a lot more reliable than our current Ford lineup. The guy who keeps track of the vehicle expenses is a die-hard Dodge man and can squeeze dimes into dollars. None of the bosses will even consider a Dodge (or Ram I guess) so he has no dog in the fight. The numbers are what they are.

John, the guy who owns our shop just ordered himself a new Reynolds Ford F250. He likes the gas engines. And he does not mind the poor fuel economy and questionable reliability due to the fact that he has the Platinum American Express Card and Candy, the service writer at the local Ford shop is leave your wife hot. Not sure how she gets those skits that tight but........uh, back to the issue here. His dad retired from Ford so he gets the family price. Owns it for 6 months then sells them to the shop. He had tons of issues with the Sync system among other things with his current F250.


Bottom line is anything man made will break. Anything treated right will last longer. Our 'assigned' vehicles tend to last much longer with less issues than our motor pool vehicles that have a different driver everyday. Those trucks can do amazing feats.

I think the issue with the vans and the tranny's are that the Allison won't fit between the rails and the body. More room in the pick ups I guess. Just what I heard. Could be wrong. I choose my GM van manly because I'm a life long Chevy guy (although I wanted a GMC van) and the 2012 model year as well as others I found were the most American vehicle made. My van is 80% American. Then the Ford F150 is about 75%.

Hope this helps.

isaac

tsbrewers

I have the '06 3500 with the 6.0L engine. I average about 13-14 mpg. Mine is not the heavy duty style with the full floater rear end or anything like that. Just a basic cargo van, that is loaded to the gills with tools typically.