All of us want to get the most out of every tank of diesel fuel.
Dreading the experience you have at the pump is normal, and you're not alone.
Although, there is not much you can do about diesel prices, you can make the diesel that you buy go further.
Diesel fuel has been considered a powerful and less expensive alternative to gasoline, but those days are gone.
It's still more powerful, but not less expensive.
But who wants to give up the power of a diesel? Your just can't duplicate the whine of the turbo, the deep rumble of the exhaust, and the untouched power to tow.
So you continue to fill the tank.
However, you don't have to dread the day you fill the tank.
There are various methods for improving your diesel's fuel mileage.
Begin with the basics:

• Inflate your tires to the recommended PSI.
  
• Underinflated tires create unnecessary friction and drag.
  That makes your engine work harder and reduces your miles per gallon.
  
• Install a clean airfilter
• A dirty filter makes your engine work harder.
  
• Change your oil and/or upgrade to fully or semi synthetic motor oil
• If you take care of your vehicle anyway, you probably won't see any difference.
  However, if you're one to put off an oil change for longer than normal, it can make a noticeable difference.
  
• Remove unnecessary weight
• If you don't need it, take it out.
  Plan better and avoid hauling all of the tools in that were in your garage everywhere you go.
  That takes a load off of the engine.
  
• Adjust your driving style
• Drive less aggressively.
  Most vehicles find their optimal miles per gallon at about 50 to 65 miles per hour.
  Accelerate slower, brake more gradually.
  (It's not fun, but it helps the MPGs).
  
• Use the air-conditioning less
• The AC unit puts drag on the engine making it work harder.
  
• Doing those things is a great place to start.
  But then what? Once your truck is running the way it was when it was new, you'll need to move on to some modifications.
  Consider the next phase:
• Rather than just a clean paper air filter, Install a high flow air filter, or a cold air intake system.
  
• To balance the intake system, install a high-flow exhaust system.
  The principle here is, "easy in, easy out" Eliminating restrictive airflow allows the engine to rev quicker and reduces load on the engine.
  A nice byproduct of this is increase horsepower as well.
  
• Utilize a high quality diesel performance chip, diesel module, diesel tuner, or diesel programmer.
  Different from bolt on parts, diesel chips make the largest difference mainly because they are the only mod that actually adjust air/fuel ratios to optimize mileage.
  The ECU is programmed to pump a certain amount of fuel into the engine.
  Unless that is adjusted, you can only go so far with the previous techniques mentioned earlier.
  
• In general, keep up on the regular maintenance of your vehicle.
  

Before beginning all of this, it's good to take an accurate measurement of your miles per gallon.
Then begin taking care of all of the basics listed above.
Then take another measurement of your MPGs.
Once the basics are complete, and then begin with phase 2.
As you perform maintenance and mods are installed, measure your miles per gallon with each change.
With some time and effort, you'll have a very efficient running diesel that costs much less to drive.
Not to mention, an efficient, properly running engine is much more reliable and will last much longer.