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Sled Deck Mileage

Y

yamahaboy701

Well-known member
Looking at buying a sled deck but have a few ?s. I have seen a lots of sled deck vs trailer discussions but not much on sled decks and long hauls. What is the mileage sled deck owners are getting vs normal unloaded driving? Also does anybody use there sled decks on long trips (7 hours +)?
 
I do see a little better mileage than I did with my two place open trailer. I use 4 wheel drive less because of the weight on my rear axle (I needed 4 wheel more with an empty bed pulling a trailer). You can get your truck into tigher spots.

The worst part of a sled deck is putting up the ramp (and taking it down) by myself. My deck is tough by yourself. I'm suprised how well my 2500 HD drives with two sleds in it. I was afraid it would roll in turns or sag but it does great.
 
i have a 2006 dodge 2500 and put on over 5000 miles this winter with 2 sleds on my deck. driving at 70mph the best i got was 15mpg. i have firestone airbags to keep it more stable. it handles very well and is not a problem on long trips as some of our trips were 750 miles one way. i like not having to maintain and licence a trailer.
 
Those sleds grab a lot of air. I've got a lifted 03 Cummins and while the mileage is better than my 3 place enclosed, it's not great by any means. If I kept my foot out of it, I'd pick up a couple mpg but at 70-75, I get around 13...but there will always be that guy with the diesel that gets 25 mpg no matter what the circumstances...
 
ive got an 07 dodge and with 2 sleds on the deck i burn 110 litters in 850 km that are mostly through the mountains and keep around 130 kmph . my enclosed trailer got around 500 km to a tank . with a sled deck little things like drive throughs become an option again. just be careful when picking a deck . i just broke my outer wings on my marathon deck off roading up to the snow . If you re going off roading lots get a solid non retractable deck :face-icon-small-dis
 
We drove from Bozeman, MT to the Hillclimbs in Jackson the other weekend with my buddies sled deck and his truck which is an 07 2500 cummins. We got 22 miles to the gallon with one sled on the sled deck. However we were going the speed limit which was between 55 (thru the park) and 65 everywhere else because there were so many cops on the roads at the time. I'm sure if we would have been pushing 70-75 we would have seen a drop in milage.
 
You will get better mileage than pulling most trailers but not enough to buy you dinner at the end of the day. It's nice to get a few more miles out of your tank, but that is really a small reason to go with the sled deck. There are several other reasons.
 
i get on average about 1-3mpg better with my deck than pulling a 2 place open trailer. and the toy up decks are easy to load and unload by yourself with their ramp system. their also the best priced decks on the market. check them out at Toy Up Industries
 
Mileage isn't going to be a deciding factor. Just seeing if it was a big advantage over a trailer and also how much it effect mileage on trucks.

Anybody see any more wear and tear on their truck with a sled deck?
 
I've been using sled decks for years. I've hav'nt had anymore wear issue's over the years compared to pulling a trailer. It is always easier to pack a load then to pull one. I've got a 2000 F350, handles to big yammies no problem (powerstroke) as for mileage well that all depends on your foot right. If in a hurry forget about mileage, take your time wear a seat belt and sip on a (pop), Get good fuel milage, I think if you sat down and made a pro and con list on both your pro list would be much long on a deck versus a trailer. As for decks look real hard at them, really sit down and think what you want. I myself built my own, dove tail hinges so it is up out of the way when loading fuel and bags, and is inside the box when tailgate is closed. Built a 10 foot aluiminum ramp that fold last 2 feet so it is inside aswell when tailgate closed. On the bottom of the deck between the legs I built a sliding ramp I guess you can call it. Pulls out about half way, makes it real easy to load and unload **** from under the deck with out crawling in there. Finally I secured my deck through the box floor to the truck frame, noway in hell that deck is going to move or come off in a sticky situation. As for a trailer well kiss your sleds good buy in a sticky situation.
 
I have a 7 foot Marathon Deck: www.marathondecks.com

Truck: 2007 GMC CrewCab ShortBed 4x4 w/Air bags sitting on 275/65/20 Tires and 20x10 wheels. Edge Evo Chip, 4" exhaust(turbo back)/intake (for MPG measurement purposes its important to know the size of the truck, tires, chips, etc...)

15,000 miles on the truck since november, all with the deck on.

Deck is hands down easier than 2 place trailer. The ramp is super light. So much easier to turn, get into gas stations, drive through, park, etc.
The deck does grab more wind, but i still see better mileage with the deck than with a 2 place.

55-65mph: 2 sleds: 15-16 mpg 1 sled: 20 mpg
65-72mph: 2 sleds: 13-15 mpg 1 sled: 19 mpg
72-78mph: 2 sleds: 13 mpg 1 sled: 18 mpg
78-85mph: 2 sleds: 11-12 mpg 1 sled: 17 mpg

One section of a trip I was had the cruise set at 85mph and was running into a 45+mph headwind. with the airbags no sway issue, but i got 9mpg on that tank and destroyed 2 covers...

I will never go back to an open trailer again. The only think i dont like about the decks is climbing onto the deck to fuel them up. This can be eliminated by using gas cans stored under the deck.
 
Just got back from a 600+KM trip with two sleds, mileage wise was around 15mpg going around 70-75mph. Have to say after doing the same trip with a two place a couple months eariler there is no way i'm ever going back to a two place, only got around 11-12mpg with the trailer going like 65-70mpg. and also being able to easily go the extra couple KM up the trail with the deck is a super plus.
 
i have a half ton chevy that had a flatbed on it, so a little less wind drag, but with 2 sleds I got maybe -1/2mpg over empty just with the weight, and this is on pretty hilly terrain, so it definately shows the extra drag. with the 2 place and the same sleds right now I get -4/5 vs empty. these are on a lifted older truck that isnt geared to tow, so the extra drag REALLY kills it. but the flatbed worked infinately better. If I could do it over I would still be rocking the flatbed setup.
 
I have a 99 chev half ton with two leaves added into the rear springs on each side to help counter the weight issue. My deck is a silver lake deck with the beaver tail design. On a 350 mile trip this year i averaged 13.2 with two sleds on the deck and a sled in the middle of a open two place trailer. Last year on the same trip without the deck and three sleds on the same open two place trailer "loaded crosswise on the trailer" we did 11mpg. The speeds were averaging 60 to 70 so not great millage but better then running with just the trailer. Truck does fine not an overwhelming amount of power but good enough.
 
Well, got a new truck.. 00 f250... I put bags under it as it makes it a LOT more stable with the deck on, it wasnt bad without, but higher speed cornering it liked to rock back and forth, and I also like to load the crap out of stuff inthe bed, so it helped out and makes it ride a lot nicer with the weight int he back..

I only notice maybe -1mpg if that with the sled deck on.. I actually think it improves my milage sometimes as I dont drive like an idiot as the truck is all topheavy.
 
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