# What are some of the best unrefueled ranges out there?



## FrankW

What are some of the best unrefueled ranges out there for *less than 10 year old *stock SUVs?

I know the Infiniti FX35 SUV which I had my eye on, has a 23.8 gallon fuel tank + decent milage for an SUV w/ reliable powertrain, but I know little or nothing about other platforms.

Any pointers?


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## VoorTrekker

Isuzu Rodeo 2000 gets about 28 mph and has 900 lbs. carrying capacity.


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## bigg777

I'd take a look at the Ford Escape Hybrid.


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## LincTex

The newer Ford F-150's with the EcoBoost V6 are getting around 25 MPG. Pretty impressive... But I don't think they offer in in the Expedition?

A diesel Powerstroke Expedition will do better than that, up to 27-28 MPG.


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## gnome

The stats you see on the windows do not tell the whole story, for example when I have been looking at new trucks lately for my business, most of the time we are pulling around 3000 pounds, I found that the smaller trucks gas mileage drops quickly when you started adding weight. At the 3000 pounds the 8 cylinder truck had better mileage then the the 6 negating the the economy of the smaller engine. However if all I did was drive around town I would have gotten the smaller engine as it would tow what I was looking for at the time.


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## GrinnanBarrett

The big sticking point is less than ten years old. If you take Toyota as an example after 2003 they went to you know where. In 2003 they peaked according to most Toyota people. We still have our 2002 and 2003 but the newer models all were shot to hell in no time at all.


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## LincTex

gnome said:


> ...I found that the smaller trucks gas mileage drops quickly when you started adding weight. At the 3000 pounds the 8 cylinder truck had better mileage then the the 6 negating the the economy of the smaller engine.


I have also found this to be true.

My '93 Ford Ranger had a 2.3 liter/5 speed (very common) that got 25 MPG empty. Most of the time, I was hauling something or pulling a trailer, and only got 16-17 MPG.

I swapped in a 5.0 liter V8 from a '96 Explorer with a Tremec 5 speed. best mileage I ever got was 25 MPG pulling an empty 16" flatbed (~1100 lbs?) from Dallas to OK City. That was weird.
It's pretty old now, so most of the time I'm 20-21 Hwy and 17-18 city.


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## LincTex

GrinnanBarrett said:


> The big sticking point is less than ten years old. If you take Toyota as an example after 2003 they went to you know where.


I really wish Toyota would bring back the '79-'94 pickups. They have a huge following, for a VERY good reason.


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## Viking

LincTex said:


> I really wish Toyota would bring back the '79-'94 pickups. They have a huge following, for a VERY good reason.


A friend that died recently owned a 1991 that his son now has and I have been seriously concidering buying it from his son. My friend used to haul a bass boat with the truck and always got pretty good mpg even with it having an automatic tranny. Anyway, even though I have a 89' F250 SC 4X4 diesel and a few other vehicles I think I'd still like to own his old truck, they really are some of the best made trucks ever sold.


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## cowboyhermit

The best mileage/range is a _____ diesel. At least 9 times out of 10. Does MUCH better on the aforementioned towing/lugging drop in economy as well.

The new rangers have been tested getting over 1000miles on a 80L(about 20gallon) tank, in a crew cab they are one of the most versatile vehicles around imho. Oh, wait, we are talking about N.America, super efficient little diesel trucks are not for us 

There are some suvs like the jeep grand cherokee that offer a diesel, and range is something like up to 750miles. Suvs are not my thing though.

The new f-150s with aluminum bodies are getting great mileage, and with a small diesel it would be even better. A lot of companies _look_ like they are going to be bringing in more little diesels, if they can somehow manage to cope with our bureaucracy.


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## LincTex

cowboyhermit said:


> A lot of companies _look_ like they are going to be bringing in more little diesels, if they can somehow manage to cope with our bureaucracy.


YOUR bureaucracy?!?!?! How could Canada possibly be more "anti-diesel" than the USA's god-awful EPA?

This is the land of DEF fluid, particle filter regeneration, high-temp exhaust gas recirculation, etc. etc. etc. not just on pickups and big trucks, but on tractors and combines, too!

I'm amazed that diesel engines makers have been able to build what they have that still runs OK! Albeit, if you strip the EPA crap off the engines and just use what technology we have now, we would have some VERY fuel efficient diesels running around.


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## cowboyhermit

LincTex said:


> YOUR bureaucracy?!?!?! How could Canada possibly be more "anti-diesel" than the USA's god-awful EPA?
> 
> This is the land of DEF fluid, particle filter regeneration, high-temp exhaust gas recirculation, etc. etc. etc. not just on pickups and big trucks, but on tractors and combines, too!
> 
> I'm amazed that diesel engines makers have been able to build what they have that still runs OK! Albeit, if you strip the EPA crap off the engines and just use what technology we have now, we would have some VERY fuel efficient diesels running around.


Yup, DEF really irks me. It isn't really Canada's regs, at least in terms of efficiency/pollution. The problem is that even though the gov does their own testing and arbitrary rule making, if it isn't being sold in the U.S the chances of it coming to Canada are slim to none. The industries are just too integrated for the most part.


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## pmkrv12

It is not a truck but did have great mileage, my 2014 VW Passat TDI, Easily 36-39 mpg, highway closer to 47mpg. Great car had to sell it when my company got me a car.

PMK


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## william6697

*range*

My old full sized durango with the hemi had a good range with a stock tank. downside.. that was freeway cruising. it fell out to 22mpg on a 26.3? gallon tank.. it was awhile on the freeway. in town or slow crawling it was terrible. i currently drive a manual wrangler, and it goes from 12.4 (4low) to 21.3 (660 miles average, E85 on freeway). on a 16.8 gal tank.


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## william6697

TDI's dont count!  the are a little complex but a beast on mileage :lalala:


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## william6697

mike_dippert said:


> You must be a champion hyper-miler. I didn't think it was possible to average 20+ in a Wrangler. 2012+, two door, base model?


2012, 2 door, approx 800lbs of mods added to it (under armor, front and rear bumpers, 35" tires, not regeared yet). Its the manual that does it. granted thats on the freeway @60 or less, once you hit 65 it drops to 18 ish, and then noses dives at 70, 75. I did 4 trips in it of 660 miles each.. first run was at 75mph into a stiff wind for 300 of them , 14.9 mpg, other trips were between 60-65 no major winds, and was talking dirty to her trying to go to 22mpg on all 3.


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## Woody

I'm glad Hypermiling was mentioned! With some minor adjustments between the gas pedal and the steering wheel, you can easily increase MPG. They can range from minor to major, depending on your frame of mind. And NO. Tailgating a truck is NOT a technique!! But.. If you watch big trucks in the rain, staying back 5 lines on the highway will still gain you some benefit from wind resistance. If your truck gets 20 MPG and you can squeeze another 5 MPG out of it, that is a 25% increase in mileage. It adds up.

Check out Cleanmpg.com, right side, scroll down to "How to beat the EPA.." They list beginner to advanced techniques. I have been doing it since 2008 and it soon becomes just the way you drive.


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## ratfink

My 1997 diesel k2500 4x4 suburban gets 20mpg on the highway and with the 40 gallon tank I can go about 800 miles with out filling up.


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## FrankW

Good stuff!

Thanks fellas, I am narrowing things down.

Sadly I live in the city and so for me fullsize SUVs or PUs are out.
There are 3 mid size pickups that fit the bill the Nissan Frontier, the Toyota Tacoma and the new Chevrolet Colorado.

Sadly the only one that has good unrefuelled range is the colorado and its expensive w/ no discounts so its outta my price range.

The tacoma and the Froentier are essentially identical vehicles in power, equipment (tranny cooler, lockable diffs ground cleanrance etc etc) but dont meet my ranger requirement.

The cheapest if the Frontier which is an incredible value and I like Nissans anyway... maybe I find a place to add a aux fuel tank for me for that vehicle??

A Diesel powered Frontier is supposed ot come out in a year or two but thats too far out for me.

Still looking


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## Viking

I have looked at this thread when it first started and didn't think about adding anything because most of our vehicles didn't fit in the "Best unrefueled ranges". But then I remember that of all of the vehicle we own, our 33' Holiday Rambler, with Cummins diesel and Allison six speed can do the best for unrefueled range. If we travel on fairly flat ground with no head winds, 1,170 miles, that's 13 mpg with a 90 gallon fuel tank. Actually the 13 mpg we got was for a trip on the way home from a family reunion in Kansas and we didn't get that mpg until I refuel in Ely, Navada on highway 50 and refueled again in Medford, Or., so that's covers a few mountain pass climbs in the process. I fugure it's not too shabby considering the GVW was slightly over 20,000 lbs. towing a 2,000+ lb. Samurai.


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## pengyou

I don't know if this is too late...if you don't mind starting from scratch I have heard of people putting a 4BT into a medium to full size pickup and getting 28+ on the freeway.


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## VoorTrekker

What is a 4BT? Did they put it into a 1/4 ton, 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton?
(Ford 150, Ford 250, GMC 1500, GMC 2500)


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## NaeKid

pengyou said:


> I don't know if this is too late...if you don't mind starting from scratch I have heard of people putting a 4BT into a medium to full size pickup and getting 28+ on the freeway.


A friend of mine has just finished putting a 4BT (Cummins) into his Jeep YJ - first drive on the road was last weekend. Stock axles with 4.10 gears (it was a 4-banger) and 35" tires means that he now takes off from the light in 3rd gear.

Next mod is the Dana60 and Sterling 10.5", 3.73 gears and 38" tires ...


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## Tirediron

NaeKid said:


> A friend of mine has just finished putting a 4BT (Cummins) into his Jeep YJ - first drive on the road was last weekend. Stock axles with 4.10 gears (it was a 4-banger) and 35" tires means that he now takes off from the light in 3rd gear.
> 
> Next mod is the Dana60 and Sterling 10.5", 3.73 gears and 38" tires ...


that is a lot of axle for the tire size, but he won't be breaking much.


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## LincTex

I have a Cummins 4BT-3.9L in my 1978 F-250 4WD (Dana 44 front)

3.55 gears, 285/85R-16 tires, No Overdrive (NP435 trans).... 26-27 MPG if I keep it under 60 MPH on the freeway. Mileage drops FAST the faster you go.

My fuel capacity is listed elsewhere....


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