Can an Old Truck Get Good Fuel Economy? I Drive My 1994 Ram Cummins On A Road Trip To Find Out!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2024
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In this video we talk RAM cummins, and specifically we find out if this 1994 Dodge Ram Cummins can actually be a fuel efficient truck!
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15mpg on 35's, small trailer, doin 75mph thats pretty good, definitely nothing to complain about
man, i can barely get 16 in my 5.2 4x2 with stock tires on the highway!!
Old mechanic I know bought one of our old 12v Cummins one tons, welded a super light bed for it, and rarely exceeds maybe 55 or 60. Dude gets like 30mpg
My grandfather averages 28-30 with his 01 24v 2500 4x4 with an nv4500
My 97 2500 12v auto 4x4 on 33's gets about 24mpg on the highway @ 55-63MPH. Any faster mpg drops fast. It's surprising TFL was able to get 15mpg towing at 75mph.
Always liked the look of these trucks.
Me too bro.
I’ve always seen them as ugly af
it was one of the first if not the first second generation truck to be made departing from the old box style of body and they did a pretty good job
"... something my girlfriend will enjoy." Right! That statement reminds me of an old riddle : Q - "Why don't men live in cardboard boxes?" A - "Because women will not have sex there."
In one of the shots, it may have been an optical illusion, but with the trailer hooked up your truck appeared to be sitting lower in the rear end than the front end. That would make sense since you have leveled the truck sitting empty. That is not going to be good for wind resistance either, you need to put on airbags so that you can re-level the truck.
Another awesome video.
Love Kase and his classic Cummins power content.
Kase is easily one of the best, well spoken video personalities TFL had to offer.
Keep up the great work Kase.
I've got a bone stock 1999 5.9 Dodge/Cummins with a shell and 285 tires- I get 19.5 going 70 all day long (3:55 gears)
I got a 4X4 doing 65mph getting 19…
I drove my dad’s ‘97 Cummins 12v 4x4 long bed from Grand Junction, Colorado to Albuquerque, NM and averaged 22 mpg going 65-70. I love that truck and will buy it when my dad is ready. Oh, it’s 2023 and it only has 140,000 miles still stock. I have many plans for it.
I own a 97 Dodge 2500 4x4 12 valve. It has a S&B cold air intake, Banks Twin Ram intake manifold, after market high low exhaust manifold, and a 4-inch straight pipe. I get approximately 25 mpg with regular driving.
what gear ratio. nobody is mentioning these.
I’m wondering the same thing
Buddy needs a GearVendors Overdrive
I think if you'd kept out of the turbo. Closer to high 60s low 70s instead of high 70s you could've pulled closer to 18mpg. Once that turbo spools up at higher rpms my fuel economy drops.
But to me I usually prefer to loose a few mpgs and arrive an hour or 2 earlier on long trips.
Yes that rig could do 18 MPG if running well and not too many miles and note driven crazy, averaging 55 MPH (for the trailer drag mostly) .. no problem. The MPG does not seem to drop with weight, even up hills, strangely enough. The 12 valve cummins is goddamn amazing. Proves how messed up the world is since we are not all driving with something that good under the hood. Running on recycled and bio fuels. 4BT even better for smaller vehicles. The noise issues could be dealt with. The Europeans have way more diesels than the US. Oh well, the USA is pretty messed up in so many ways now. No more great and efficient diesel engines is just one of 10000 examples. You have to go back almost 30 years to find a really good diesel engine in this country. THAT is goddamn pathetic.
You are definitely getting there Kase!! Huge improvement from your beginnings. Well done.
The truck looks amazing with a perfect stance matched up to tires that are about perfect in size with proper wheels, not 24s with spacers to make it look like a dinky toy on rubber bands!!! Haha. The camping set up looks decent as well!! If you are not using the roof of the topper one or 2 of the flexible solar panels (100 - 140 watts per panel) and a 100 - 200 ah Lithium battery and a 3,000 watt inverter and you might as well be on grid vs off!! A bit expensive, but it’s going to last for at least 10 years without any need to improve on it (unless you started out with one panel and 1x100 ah battery. This would only be adequate.)
Sorry, a bit of a detour there!! The gps may be set, as one observer said, with as the crow flies, being the distance vs actual ground covered. Regardless, 15 mpg is ok, expensive over the long run, but still ok. You have not invested $60,000+ in a new, depreciating truck. You will get your money back, or more depending on when and the market tastes at the time. I still really like your truck!
Keep up the good work & I hope you and Alex had a great time on the trip!!
at least he's not doing the Carolina dump with under glow in 24"s while playing right said Fred I'm too sexy
Make the truck homey not homely. She’ll like that better.
Honest truck reviews bloopers included!
HAha, I also caught that.
My 24V 2500 got 21 mpg. Fully loaded box with 1500 lbs, 17 MPG
I have an 09 long bed 4 door 4x4 lifted on 35’s with the 6.7 Cummins in it. The truck and motor have 304k on it. It’s deleted and towing my 22’ bass boat I get about 18 mpg. Unloaded and on the highway I get between 24-28 depending on how I drive it.
You should do a 10k towing test with a 1997 f250 HD with the small block 351w. I’m lucky getting 7mpg on flat ground towing my skid steer. But it’s all good when I hear that old iron block wind up tight. Like a haymaker in a bar fight, it’s awfully simple, but it just works.
!998.5 24 Valve, bought new. Used to get about 22mpg when newer but I replace pump with higher performance type and lost about 3 mpg, it sure does perform though. Used to haul 3 horse living quarters trailer mostly which puts it in the 15-16 mpg range depending on speed. The normal upkeep; about all I can complain about is the cracked dash...whose idea was it to put plastic dashes in vehicles?
Ya..iam convinced to keep my first gen. The lowest ive gotten is 20.
Kase, u make me proud keeping that fuel door that clean. Great attention to detail, my man!
I'll watch all videos that Kase is in.
"Turbo sounds like it's in the ashtray" I felt that. I drive a 1st gen with a 3rd gen turbo.
Case I have a 97 taco reg cab 4x4 with a shell, pretty much the same as your sleep setup. Love that diesel but its just loud lol
love that trtuck
Good video I’m a little surprised that’s your mpg My 99 Ram 1500 4x4? With the 5.9 gas is getting all of that, my best before they started Adding alcohol to the gas was 20.4 and now around 17.5 to 18. And with my car trailer with car around 14-15 mpg. That’s freeway ! I know your thinking, because my buddy has a identical truck and can’t get the same as me. I do know this I have told him to keep in the power band no overdrive till about 65 if i fall below that ! mpg tanks Maybe i lucked out on my gas pot But Been looking at getting a newer truck and going cummins for even better mileage but maybe not
Have lots of experience with a stock 24v 5.9. 35" tires, 5speed manual, 4 inch straight pipe. 18-18.5 mpg on road trips every time
Love seeing this cummins !!!
5% different on Odometer is 16mpg. Being a 2nd gen owner myself, that sounds much closer to what it should be, but a head wind can make a huge change to mpg.
Yea and terrain. South Dakota js a flat state. Pennsylvania is a hill laden state so MPGs will differ vastly
I have an 02 cummins with a nv5600. 355 gear ratio if i keep the egts under 800 degrees going 70mph i can squeak 26mpg out of it. I also have a 2006 cummins crew cab long box Automatic on 35s with 355 gears. I can squeeze 23mpg out of it as well. Best fuel economy i found is 355 gears and keep the rpms between 1800 and 2000. And drive with your big toe. Just barley hit the pedal.
Kase is the Tom Cruise of TFL
The mpg difference driving a trailer at 55 mph - 75 mph is big .... throw in a head wind ..... even bigger difference in mpg drop. I bet the truck would get 20 mpg at 50 mph !
Best vehicle across all the TFL channels. Need more Kase too.
Let me know when you want to do a powerstroke 7.3 99~03 MPG challenge.
Mine is terrible. 13-14. On 35s. I’m about to do a turbo rebuild and bigger exhaust so hopefully it’ll help
Peter Dragon I'm getting high 20's on stock w/ tune (highway). I recently did a 75 mile trip and calculated 31.25 MPG. The truck is an F250 extended cab Lariat 4x4 with 82,000 miles. A real gem.
@@acbrunko wow! I don’t even think I could get that going downhill lol. Is yours an automatic or stick? I’ll be getting the hydra tuner for it too but not til next year
@@acbrunko that’s odd. I had a 99 F250 w/7.3 Powerstroke and I got 13-16 mpg depending on driving conditions. Even the new efficient diesels only get 20 mpg unloaded flat highway. Btw I couldn’t care less about mpg but heavy duty diesels don’t get over 20 my guy
@@acbrunko calling bs unless you were driving down hill the whole time or coasting/drafting behind a semi and even then.
I'd be happy to get 15 MPG on 35's in my Z71. I get 17 mpg going 70 in the middle of nowhere Nebraska or Iowa unloaded. That's on 265/75/16 tires with 4.10 gears and not pulling a trailer. When I towed my boat cross country I got around 13 mpg avg.
Half ton with a bigger inclosed trailer please.
If you think the turbo wine on a 5.9 is bad, the 6.0l Ford's sound like a jet engine taking off at idle
I wonder if your gps distance is “as the crow flies” straight line distance. Your actual would be greater and therefore higher fuel economy.
My 2002 4x4 24v would regularly get 21-22mpg.
Believe me or not, I have owned 22. 94 - 98 12 valves in my life I would like to say I have owned more single cab, five speed, 12 valves than anyone.. The absolute best mileage I ever got on flat Texas ground with no wind was 23 1/2 mpg with a 1994 single cab five speed 2WD. 3.54 gears nv4500 transmission. Stock rims and tires. The trucks love the 2000 RPM range at 70 mph go faster than that economy goes out the tailpipe. I still today on a 1994. 4wd I will always own a 12 valve…
Love. That Ram...
4:19 truckception
add some big time air dam skirting that will definitely help
Wasn't a turbocharged ashtray a factory option on this model year?
You know I'm not a big truck guy but I really like your truck Kase it looks great
I have not found all GPS to be accurate. Some do not calculate the distance going up and down hills. They don't alwyas accurately measure corners they might update every 5 seconds and square off curvier roads
on the highway write mile marker number/odo miles. at 100 mi repeat. do several times to be sure. hand calculate percantage of error and every tank multiply odo by that number . true mpg.
I really love the truck! I could live with the noise. Looks great, and capable.
With my 12v 35 psi in canada maritime i am doing 9L/100
With 35 tirer 4"lift
Ha, I live in the black hills, better hope you’ve got something for AC. Been 80-90 degrees for weeks
So what kinda truck was Alex driving? You said you would have to stop when Alex needed fuel, which was only 152 miles later. Your total trip was 267 miles. What truck can't go 267 miles on a tank of fuel? I am sure I missed something there, just curious.
He was driving a ram rebel.
What gears does he have? 4.10 or 3.55? I was getting that with mine with 4.10, I think 3.55 might give you 2/4 mpg better.
More than MPG, hitting 75mph with 4.10 with a 12v and 5spd, that engine is SCREAMING at you haha
Not something I like to do to mine.
Hmmm, 4:10 isn't too bad on 35's.
I have 4:10's with 33's on my in line 6 Jeep wrangler and is close to factory settings.
My 5.9 12v 5sp has 3:54 gears and taching 1900 @60mph.
Running 60 mine gets an average of 18mpg but about 300smiles per gallon🤣
Yeah im currently looking for a 12v. 15mpg isn't bad considering the circumstances
My 0 one 3/4 ton 5-speed, no trailer on a 350ml trip, got 25.3 miles per gallon with 350 thousand miles on the truck
Phones aren't a true substitute for a actual GPS. They are a great accompaniment to one though.
15mpg isnt bad when you are driving a badass second gen
I don't have a diesel or a pickup, I head north often in my 04 Grand Cherokee with a 4.7 HO, in other words a gas hog with maybe 14 on the highway towing my m/c trailer with 2 bikes at 75 mph. That was on 33's with 3.73 gears checked with math. I now can hit around 18, 17.5 with some changes, the most effective being keeping the Jeep level or even slightly ass high, that alone got me around 2 mpg. And though not applicable to a diesel I got some good results modifying the fuel system to try to keep the fuel cooler as well. But mainly it's aerodynamics improvements that will get the best gains at first it seems.
6.2 V8 Raptor, I get 12.5-13 mpg around town and about the same if I'm doing 75-80 on the highway. But I can get 17-18 if I can do a steady 45-55 on local roads without many lights or stop signs. On a recent trip similar to the one in this video, Chicago to TN with a 6x14 V-nose and 2 bikes inside, I got surprisingly good mileage--close to 16mpg, even with a pair of 37s. That included a fair amount of mountains, but I was able to keep a steady speed for very long stretches and had I set the cruise control right at the speed limit. Although economy at 70mph was noticeably worse than at 60 or 65.
Would love to see mpgs at 60ish mph. 15mpg at 75mph is good.
Lookin forward to seeing that camping setup Case!
I love your truck to man! We had one similar to it it was a 1997 dodge ram 2500 5.9 magnum great truck 4x4 short bed club cab and it used to tow 10,000 pounds on a regular basis and did it great and towing a bigger ski boat it's like it wasn't there! I think 2nd gen dodge trucks are the best, but ares sadly got totaled but saved my mom's life so that's good. But love the channel keep up thw great work!
I noticed that you have a South Bend Clutch sticker on your topper. Which kit did you decide to go with and why that particular kit?
Great stuff!!! 2nd gens are light weight with more than enough power. I've seen 22.8 mpg with my 98.5 24v, 5spd, basic mods.
I was surprised to see the mph on new trucks that are deleted with fuel economy tunes. They still push the 400hp and IF driven easy get great mpg for a giant, heavy vehicle.
Great video.
It’s easy to get good mpg (gas or diesel) if you don’t give a flying crap about tailpipe emissions. Same reason gas cars from the 80s could get 50+mpg.
Love ‘em 6bt’s
Red Wing Iron Rangers! 👍🏾
I'd guess a tuned, modified, lifted p-pump cummins ram is the wrong choice when looking for good MPG in an old truck...
Not necessarily
Towing a 16k 3 axle trailer = 7mpg. 02 dually cummins
Try driving a first gen, the turbo sounds like it’s in the passenger seat. I have ear pro for long drives in my first gen
Great video guys
your camp setup is amazing!
Cruisin’ down the highway in my 9-4
Your girlfriend is never going to "enjoy it" back there other than when you are playing hide the pickle.
As a man who lives in the Kingdom of Coca-Cola, that vintage cooler is worth a lot of money.
I saw a vintage Orange Crush cooler at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Arkansas a few months ago.
Those Coca Cola coolers are available online. I saw one on the floor at TJMaxx for $200.
1:57 "When that all happens" Chin up, kid. You'll get a girlfriend soon! lol
I got the impression he's talking about a girlfriend he has already.
@@anthonyc1883 You’re correct by his language use
I think he meant when all his camper changes are finished.
What did the other truck on the trip have on the Odometer??!
First thing in the video when I saw that green fuel pump I cringed, then remember down in the states green means diesel? Any other Canadians get unnverved seeing Americans put green in diesels ?
Some gas stations have yellow for their diesel pumps, it can be quite confusing early on in diesel ownership and long hauls in the early hours.
Did you do a version of this with Alex's truck?
disculpa buen dia los neumaticos q trae la dodge ram q numero son de q dimensiones gracias
I thought someone on TFL did the mpg with and without topper, and it showed little or no diff???? Was that on a diff channel?
This was filmed before we found out it doesnt do much
@@kasevr
Whew! Thought my old brain was having a misfire moment😝
throw some vegetable oil in the tank
Am I the only one that thinks leveled trucks look dumb when they tow anything? Boat in water.
What wheels are these?
1995 Dodge Cummins 5 speed 2WD 400,000 miles 22MPG.
diesel usually does better than gas.
I get that kind of gas mileage on my 5.4 Triton 2 valve all day long and it's a lot quieter
I get maybe 5 mpg when i tow a 10k skid steer with my 1997 f250 with the 351 small block screaming along. We like what we like. And some of us have a little more love towards the older trucks.
@Jack K My 5.4 is a V8
Your 4.2 is a V6
You are comparing apples to oranges
Just drive a dually = no mpg lo.
I came here for mpg instead got a 3 minute intro Jesus Christ get to the video
Man, you guys have cheap diesel there! In east EU 5,80$/gal
Probably around 15/20mpg
Just in case, if you was wondering lol
Let's spray chemical fire smoke everywhere we go great idea.
Don’t diesel engines have a long term high maintenance cost?
Depends. The old Cummins are generally cheaper. ease of maintenance.
Benjamin Eadie how old do you got to go?
I'm speaking of the 5.9. Don't know much about 6.7 2007 to current.
The old 12v is so cheap to maintain. The newer diesel are far different. Injector cost is like 5x as much as the older mechanical injectors.
Old diesel sure; Cummins, IDI. Old gasser; 5.8L for example with a 3spd, less than 10 empty. Going 70 with a trailer....no.
Valeu ✌️🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷
Case, you are so old school, loved the classic Coke cooler. Love the Cummins diesel, not so hyped on the 3.0 eco diesel (is that derived form Mercedes)
Eco diesel comes from moto Venturi? It’s an Italian maker. May have the name wrong.
@@ryanmartinage close, I have a factory 2.8 powered diesel Jeep Liberty CRD made by the same maker. Ol gal is a beast and someone I know has one with 340k on it. The 3.0 is nowhere close to the reliability of the 2.8.
@@tuckersautter1832 Id agree with that. The 2.8 is a proven platform. Shame they went with a weird offering that caused nothing but problems to the point of it now being phased out.
@@ryanmartinage fr
And you 5,000 feet above sea level
14mi/gal is not that bad? Americans are out of their freaking minds!!!!
European vehicles towing trailers don’t get any better than that. Now yes, using something like that as a daily commuter is idiotic (and many Americans do it) but let’s compare apples to apples if you want your insult to be valid.
I like the moose sticker!!
Kinda boring video but Kase is a good enough presenter that it was watchable.
This is so idiotic. Its a diesel. Of coarse its going to do well