I’m a truck guy. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve certainly noticed that my last 3 vehicles have been 1/2-ton pickup trucks. One of the biggest gripes for buyers new to truck is fuel economy. And yes, before you email me, I get it that nobody should buy a pickup truck expecting Prius levels of efficiency, but this is still the trend I see. Nerd alert: this post will get into some deeper details of truck stuff, but I’ll do my best to keep your eyes from glossing over. Heck, you may even learn something, and that’s always a good thing.
A good portion of first-time truck buyers unfortunately spend too much time listening to dealership employees and not enough doing their due diligence. (ie, Internet research) Checking out Fuelly.com would be a quick way to see that things are not as they seem. Sure, the ads all tout “best in class fuel economy” and make you think that your shiny new do-everything, go-everywhere truck is going to sip gas. Spoiler alert: it won’t. The fact is, there’s a loophole in the way that fuel economy is calculated for display on the Monroney (window sticker) on each new vehicle sold. Add in that the EPA only tests 10-15% of new vehicle models each year – leaving the rest up to the manufacturers – and you’ve really got a fox guarding the henhouse situation.
In the case of full-size trucks, there are usually only a couple of factors taken into account: engine and drivetrain (4×2 versus 4×4). That negates the very big differences of the rest of the variables: rear axle ratio, cab/bed configuration, trim level, and those heavy options (leather seats, infotainment, panoramic sunroof, etc.).
The biggest cause of the delta between what’s on the sticker and what you should actually expect, is the rear axle ratio (RAR). A numerically higher number means shorter gearing, which means better towing capability and off-the-line acceleration, but also higher RPMs at speed, which means lower fuel economy. Most manufacturers test their trucks with the lowest numerical number, thus garnering better numbers in the test.
The next biggest difference is the trim level and options. Higher trim levels and more options obviously equals more weight. This also plays into payload capacity, but it more directly affects an owner’s wallet at the pump. Again, manufacturers use the EPA loophole to test the lightest configuration (ie, lowest trim level, no options) they can. But they still usually only test one trim level and bed/cab configuration, even though there can be upwards of 1,500lbs in weight between a base-model truck and one kitted out with all the luxury accouterments.
So for any truck maker, they usually run an in-house test on a base-model, regular cab (2 doors), 6.5′ or 8′ bed, both in 4×2 and 4×4 for each engine option. In the case of a 2019 Ford F-150, that’s 6 engine options for each 4×2 and 4×4, so 12 total trucks. Meanwhile, there are 7 trim levels I can think of, just off the top of my head. Out of those 7 trim levels, many have 2-3 cab and 2-3 bed lengths available, so the possibilities are myriad. It starts getting complicated quickly, but you can also see how this will play out in the real world.
Lastly, there’s the outliers – the off-road models. Ford has its Raptor, RAM has the Rebel, and Chevy/GMC have the Silverado Trail Boss and Sierra AT4. All of the aforementioned trucks feature off-road-ready suspensions (usually making for a taller truck than their brethren), taller tires (all-terrain, and more importantly, heavier), and shorter (numerically taller) gearing. This really wreaks havoc with the fuel economy tests. In recent years, GM has rated its Sierra AT4 separately from the rest, as has Ford with its Raptor. Meanwhile, RAM rates the Rebel the same way it would any other truck. No wonder TFL Truck had such wildly different real world tests versus what was on the window sticker of their 2019 RAM Rebel.
So how does this affect you, the average consumer? It can be overly simplified to this: Take the combined fuel economy (in the case of my 2019 RAM 1500 Limited, it’s 17/19/22 City/Combined/Highway), and subtract 1 MPG for each of the following: 1 for higher trim level, 1 for being loaded with options, 1 for shorter gearing. In the case of my personal truck, that ticks all 3 boxes, and instead of 19 combined, I should expect 16. That also means my City mileage should be closer to 14, and highway closer to 19. These numbers actually fall into my own experience so far.
One factor I haven’t mentioned is geographic area. Those who live and use their trucks in rural environments are going to typically achieve higher fuel economy than those who are either on 70+MPH highways or urban areas, where stop-and-go traffic means lots of idling. On the RAM forums, for instance, there are people with similar trucks to mine who get 3 or more MPG better than I do. Those same people dismiss the auto stop/start system on the new RAMs for being frivolous and useless, whereas I see it as a boon because I idle – or at least, I would – a lot more than they do. The reason that trucks suffer more in more urban areas than sedans or crossovers? Weight. Lots of it. Whereas your typical sedan weighs 3,000 to 4,000 lbs, full-size trucks start at over 4,000. And quickly climb. My RAM 1500 weighs close to 5,800. My 2015 F-150 weighed closer to 5,400. It takes a lot of oomph to get that much weight up to speed. You can fight physics all you want, but at the end of the day, those are laws you just aren’t breaking.
So what can be done to ensure that what you see on your Monroney is what you’ll actually get at the pump? Not much, without changes at the EPA or automakers, neither of which is probably willing to put in the extra work to test a vastly more extensive set of vehicles each year. I do believe that to be truthful to its customers, truck makers need to do this, and fast. Gas prices aren’t returning to their 1990s level of $1/gallon any time soon, and fuel economy is a big deal to anyone not provided with a gas card by their boss, no matter the type of vehicle. Buyers like me need one vehicle to do all jobs – hauling, towing, commuting, road trips – and despite the high price tag, it would be nice to know what we’re getting ourselves into.
I figure someone will ask, and the reason this post hasn’t even mentioned sedans and SUVs until this point is because their configurations typically aren’t as diverse as trucks, with only one or two RARs, 2-3 engines, and one body style to contend with. Thus, those numbers more accurately reflect what drivers should expect in reality.
At the end of the day, a buyer can only use the ratings on the window sticker as a comparison between competing trucks, not as an actual indicator of what they should expect. If a Ford, RAM, and Chevy all say 17/19/22 City/Combined/Highway, and they’re all equipped similarly, then similar MPGs should be experienced. That’s not saying you’re going to achieve those numbers – your mileage may vary.
-John Suit