4 Cylinder Truck for Gas Mileage

The Garage Vehicle Setups
1

Hi Everyone,

I have been toying with the idea of selling my 6 cylinder Toyota Tacoma, and getting a 4 cylinder, 2.4L manual transmission Tacoma for the better gas mileage. For those of you who have 4 cylinder trucks, would I still get good gas mileage with all the weight in the bed of my truck? Right now I have:

  1. 160 pound pressure washer
  2. 2 hose reels & hose
  3. DI tank from Culligan (150 lbs?)
  4. leaf blower
  5. ladder rack (200 lbs?)
  6. 1 24’ aluminum extension ladder
  7. 1 19’ Little Giant ladder
  8. other assorted window and gutter cleaning tools & equipment

I figure I have about 800 - 1,000 pounds of extra weight on the truck.

Do any of you have 4 cylinder trucks with similar amount of weight from equipment? What kind of gas mileage will your 4 cyilinder truck get with the weight? I get 15-16 mpg with my 6 cylinder Tacoma right now.

Thanks for any responses!

Brian Anderson
Master’s Window Cleaning
Sacramento, CA

2

I’m still using my Saturn SL 2.0 liter with 199087 miles on it. (going on 5 years now). God!..I love my job!
1 30’ Unger pole
1 19’ Gorilla ladder
5 Gals of distilled water
6 squeegees
Assortment of rags and other misc. stuff.

3

It will end up costing you more. The 4 cylinder will have to work harder then the 6.

4

not worth the trade off in the long run

5

I switched from a 2000 2.7 liter 4cyl 4wd Tacoma to a 2004 3.4 liter V6 4wd Tacoma and only lost less than 1MPG. I also carry much less weight than you.
To me the miniscule loss in MPG was more than worth the gain in power and acceleration. With the weight you carry you may actually lose MPG.

6

+1 You’re probably much better off sticking with what you’ve got. 16 mpg is what my girlfriend gets in her v6 4runner, probably the same engine. and its not noticeably better in efficiency than the 4cyl version she had previously. There’s a HUGE difference in power though.

I must say though that sounds so low compared to how tiny those trucks are, I get 14mpg in my full size Chevy 3500 van…its even the extended wheelbase. Seems like the smaller trucks should get way better mileage than they do.

7

Go bigger. Get a V8 Tundra! :slight_smile:

I get 17 around town, been known to get 23 on the highway…

I get 13-14 pulling the enclosed trailer…

8

Smart car all the way!..Every time I see on of those, I expect to see a bunch of clowns pile out of it.

9

For carrying…well, anything… those would probably be useless. But I’ve been considering buying one to wrap and be a daily driver and an estimate vehicle. Even though I’d be tossing away my manlyhood they’re so ugly I bet they get all kinds of attention.

I wonder what sort of mileage they really get though… anyone have one and not afraid to admit it :D?

[… unintentionally hijacked your thread.]

10

Mid-thirties I hear.

11

Don’t do it!..First house you roll up on, they’ll take your lunch money!

12

I got a 4 cyl. ford ranger…and I HATE it! My truck is horrible! I hit an acorn on the road and my head hits the roof! As for the mileage, its about 16 mpg I guess. But when I am pulling my trailer its a whole lot less, not to mention the strain on the tranny.

I can’t wait to get a mans truck and ditch this little boys truck. I really want a Tundra. Those trucks are beautiful. I may get a Silverado tho. Waiting until the end of the year and who’s got the best incentives.

13

I hauled my old WFP about 500 miles and got about 18 mpg where I usually got 20 mpg. I have a 4 cyl Dakota.

I previously had a 4 cyl ford ranger which I got 23 mpg in. I got 20 mpg when carrying the WFP.

It’s hard to tell when it’s economical to make the switch, but I chose not to get a Tacoma 4 cyl when shopping around for a new one because they’re practically a full size truck anymore, and you won’t get very good gas mileage with it.

I do think that 15-16 is pretty bad mileage and if you’re dead set on getting a new vehicle anyways, you should switch to 4 cyl.

14

We like 4cylinders trucks.
That’s how we role.

15

dodge 3500 diesel is what I have… 22-24 mpg running veggie oil I get for next to nothing. I can still pull 16- 18 mpg with a 10k + trailer.

16

A 4 banger is only economical for route type work or smaller jobs that don’t require you to haul around a lot of equipment. 4 cyl work sooo much harder to pull the same weight, I doubt there is any savings, maybe even loss. We run a Ford Ranger for smaller jobs, or estimates. Then we have an E250 van for our main jobs. Stick with the V6 or run two buggies for maximum efficiency but not much of cost savings.

17

I might be the clown driving.

18

My advice - stay with the 6 cylinder or upgrade to the Tundra (just pay cash. no payments).

19

I would burn that 4 cylinder in 6 months

i went from a v8 dodge truck to a v6 dodge truck and it sucked badly…carrying all my equipment it was working hard…tranny had to shift all the time, had no power to pass, and gas mileage well…my v8 got 14 my v6 got 14…

so after 4 months I went back to a v8 (hemi) quad cab, gas mileage 15 in town, 16 to 17 on highway… tons of power even loaded down…

I carry , one helper, 2 ladders, pwasher, 2 di tanks, leaf blower, wfp, and probably another 100lbs in various other crap…

20

i agree with Eric…