Pissed about mileage

[05ram]

A few weeks and a few tanks ago I bought a used 05 ram from a dealer.  I didnt really need the utility of a truck, but I do some work around the house a few times a year that require the use of a truck.  Well I was out looking for a vehicle to replace my 92 olds and I come across this truck.  It's an 05 deep blue with 35s and a hemi.  The thing looks like it would eat any other vehicle for lunch.  Other than reliability my main concern was mileage.  Well the salesman tells me that these trucks get 20 mpg (which is only a few mpg worse than my olds was getting) so I pulled the trigger.  Three weeks later and a few tanks of gas later I hand calculate that I'm getting 11 mpg.  That's rediculous.  No vehicle these days should be getting that bad of mileage.

[gman]

I've been prey to the salesman bullcrap once before as well.  Those 35" tires are probably what's killing your mileage.  I would look into smaller tires.

[squat]

Without modifying your vehicle there are a few things that you can do to improve your mileage.  Trucks are one of the most useful vehicles we have these days, and poor mileage comes with them, but you don't always have to put up with it.

[raman noodles]

Gman is right, the only people I see getting good mileage with 35s are the guys running around in diesels.  Your aerodynamics are killed by the added height not to mention your truck must accelerate like a dog unless you have the 4.56 gears.

[dodger098]

Be light on the peddles and make sure you have your tires inflated.

[hemiram]

You can mod the vehicle and for a couple thousand have significant gains in mileage.  Also, as everyone else points out, those 35s are hurting your mileage.  They look great, but you gotta weigh the cost of gas vs how much you like having those tires.

[95concord]

drop a v6 in it.

[diesel game]

drop a v6 in it.

A straight 6 would give him good mileage with those 35s   A V6 would just run like a dog in a 5500 lb truck.

[05ram]

So outside of spending more $$ and being light on the throttle there's not much I can do to improve the mileage.  Thanks for the serious replies.  I tried to bring it back to the dealer saying the salesman lied to me but they just said that their results probably wouldn't translate to mine since they drive the vehicle differently.  I don't think they ever test drove it for mileage.  I can see that excuse working for 1-3 mpg difference but not 10.  Guess I'm stuck with a money pit for now...

[squat]

Was it a dodge dealer that you bought yer truck from?  If so you can write a letter to chrylser with your story.  If they give the dealer any guff about this the dealer might budge, dealers are protective of their 5 star rating.  Sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with the truck.  I'd bet that you can get a lot of money for selling those 35s and you could get into some 33s or 31s for almost no extra cash.  That would help your mileage.

[dodger098]

That mileage isn't bad for in town driving especially with 35s on it.  Do you put a lot of miles on it and are concerned about the cost of gas or are you more pissed about being lied to by the sneaky salesman?

Either way let this be a learning experience for you, look at squats post about buying your vehicle. http://moparregister.com/forums/index.php?topic=6.0

Most of what he says is doing research and being prepared.  The more you know about the vehicle you want to buy the better off you'll be when it comes time to talk to the salesman.  Quite often readers of forums like this go into the sale knowing more about the vehicle than the salesman does.

[markedman]

I noticed that squat has a new post about getting better mileage in the big vehicles.  You should look at that.

[05ram]

I've looked at that.  It seems my only way out is to take a loss on the trade.  I think I'm gonna have to keep it for now.  dodger, I drive around 40 miles a day for my work so cost of gas is an issue but I'm also just really pissed about being lied to.  I've bought vehicles before and haven't had any issues with the salesman lieing to me.

[hemiram]

Either way I hope you at least enjoy driving your new rig.  These are the best looking trucks on the road right now.  Good luck with your truck and let us know how yer doing.

[05ram]

Oh I love driving this thing.  It rides great for a truck and has lots of power when I hit the gas.  I guess I was just more upset about being duped, that usually doesn't happen to me.  I think I'll start looking into some of the cheaper mods for HP and see if I can trade in these 35" tires on something smaller.