silverjim

I just barely filled my tank again, as the price of diesel appears to be on its way up here. I get the same mpg as I have for years - 19-20mpg solo. I haven't towed our trailer since last fall, but when we towed last year the fuel mileage was 10-12mpg, same as always. The trailer is a 26' fifth wheel and weighs around 11,000. The truck isn't hard starting at all.

Thanks to both of you guys for the prompt reply. My new lift pump does give a pressure of 15psi at idle, and 11-14psi at speed. Yes, my fuel pump is the one that came with our truck. I would admire to replace the whole fuel system now to give me peace of mind, as we do have places to go and our little fifth wheel to haul around. Insufficient funds dictate another course, however. It sounds like our fuel pump likely won't last much longer. That's the answer I was expecting, but I thought I'd check to make sure. Not driving the truck is not an option, so I guess I'll deal with the fuel pump when it goes. Appreciate the time you guys took to answer.

After reading a lot of advice on this and other forums, I decided that I needed to buy a fuel pressure gauge. Going on recommendations I’ve received, I ordered an inexpensive Westach gauge. When it arrived, I had a local garage install it. After they finished, I got in to drive the truck back home, a distance of 25 miles. About 7 miles out, the gauge went to zero. I pulled off, shut the engine off, and thought about it a bit. I started the engine back up and the gauge went back to around 11psi idle. It worked all the way home. The next day, when I started it up, the gauge was zero and stayed there. I called up the garage, and they said to bring it in Friday. I called up Geno’s Garage and they said to have the mechanic check all the wiring. OK, I said, and headed off to a town about 50 miles north for some necessary grocery shopping. The gauge read zero all the way up and back, but the engine felt like it normally did. Geno’s Garage got back to me and said that the lift pump itself might be bad. I didn’t think the truck would run without the lift pump running. I took the truck into the garage on Friday. The first thing they did was to put a mechanical fuel pressure gauge to check. Damn, the lift pump wasn’t working at all, so I had to have them replace it with just the standard one. Small town. The garage didn’t know if the lift pump not working would have damaged the fuel pump or not. The diesel fuel tank was from full to 3/4 up and back. I’m content to drive along the winding two lane road around 55mph or so, going through two small towns on the way. I probably drove a distance of 170 miles with the fuel pressure gauge reading zero. Is there a way to test the fuel pump to ascertain if it was damaged or not? I realize that going without the lift pump certainly wasn’t good for it, but our normal camping is often in rather remote areas, far from cell phone towers or anything else. Are there any thoughts out there to estimate the chances that the fuel pump was damaged? Thanks for any and all answers.

Evening. I'm convinced, through extensive perusal of this and a few other forums, that I need a fuel pressure gauge. I do a fair bit of hauling of an 11,000 pound 26' fifth-wheel at speeds of 50-55mph out here in the mountains of the West. I'd appreciate the recommendation of a fuel pressure gauge. Thanks.

Thanks, M20M. I spent a bit of time studying the lid of my PDC, which has that legend (or one real close to it) on it, and now have a much better idea of just what all is there. I did notice that every place that is marked "Spare" is empty. Oh, those sly dogs at Dodge.

The mechanic blinked at me, said "Oh", and went back to working on a small car. Folks in the little RV park that I'm staying in have all said they take their vehicles to someone else. Well, I was worried about not being able to make it 25 miles just powering all the pickup stuff from batteries. Sometimes it's better to spend a bit more money and get the problem fixed right the first time.

Alas, I wimped out and had the truck towed 25 miles to the nearest reliable repair facility. $150 for the tow, $40 for the diagnosis and fuse. Yep, it was the 140-amp alternator fuse, just as Mopar1973Man had suggested. I checked all around the alternator and in the cab for the alternator fuse, not knowing that it was hidden behind an unmarked plastic top in the engine compartment. Yes, I know my way around computers and networks. Yes, my knowledge of repairing vehicles is extremely limited. I might learn slowly, but I do learn. Thanks to all who replied.

Evening, all.My batteries aren't getting charged up. I had a local garage (the only garage in town) change the alternator, as they'd indicated it was bad. No, the batteries are still not getting charged. They replaced a wire from the alternator, as they said the connector was fried and corroded. When I started the Dodge up, I noted that the ammeter was just barely above the 12 amp mark (left white hash mark). I pointed that out and they said it would rise, that 12 amps was within spec. I drove around town a bit (small town) and saw that the ammeter wasn't rising at all. I took it back to the garage and they said it might be the batteries. They're fairly new (1 year old) Les Schwab batteries, their X-treme top of the line.Well, I'm willing to admit they might be fried due to having to be charged up 5-6 times. I'm taking it back to the garage Monday for one more shot at getting it fixed. I'm having suspicions about the overall competence of the folks at the garage. My main question, however, is this..How far can one drive on fully charged batteries and essentially no functioning alternator? There's a highly recommended repair facility 25 miles away.

Thanks for that information. It looks like I'll be acquiring something like an Airdog or Raptor in the near future. I will have to hunt around for someplace that sells and installs those critters, as I am somewhat inept at such matters.By the way, I used to work for the Wallowa-Whitman NF, and would go to Riggins now and then to fix their computer(s). Nice country, but a little warm in the summer for my tastes.

I was unsure about that capability in the Scangauge. I saw there was an optional gauge entry, but I have little knowledge of the sensors in the Dodge. Thanks for that information.

It seems like my Scangauge will monitor the fuel pressure if there's an appropriate sensor somewheres. I have no idea if there is. Thanks for the advice, guesswho512. I'll keep it in mind.silverjim

Afternoon.I'm a full-time Rver, and tow a 26' fifth wheel about 25% of the time. I only have 140,000 miles on my Dodge, and since I'm retired I'd like for it to last another 10-15 years. It's a 1999 Dodge 2500 4x4 5spd 24 valve.My truck weighs 7700 pounds empty, and my fifth wheel weighs around 11,000. I have a Scangauge II, and also a EGT and boost gauge. I drive around 55mph towing and 60mph solo, and get around 10-11mpg towing, 20mpg solo. Oh, and my axle ration is 3.53 and everything in the truck is original equipment except for the Scangauge, EGT, and boost gauge.Now, for the question. I see a lot of discussion about things like lift pump failures and VP44 failures, which are IMHO inordinately expensive. We have the bad habit of boondocking (dry camping) in rather remote areas, so I'd not want to break way out there. Would it be in my best interests to contemplate purchasing and installing either or both a lift pump or VP44 fuel pump? I see discussion about good lift pumps 'saving' VP44s. In that case, perhaps it would be good to purchase a heavy duty lift pump and have it installed before bad things happen? If I did that, would that curb the chances somewhat of the fuel pump dying?Thanks for any and all answers.Silverjim