Hey guys. Looking to see what everyone is averaging MPG wise with their diesel’s. I built and ordered a 2026 F-350 Longbed Lariat with the ultimate package. It just came in a couple days ago.
What are you guys averaging city and highway?
I plan on adding a Carli lift and 38’s here in a couple months however until then I’m really wanting to know what to expect range wise now before doing so. Thanks gents.
This is a semi long post bear with me!
Long time lurker, first time poster. Wanted to share what I’ve been doing because I wish I had found something like this when I started. This is a detailed post but I think it’ll help people in similar situations maybe and also if any professionals here see something in my post that I got wrong or have done incorrectly and also if my projections of where my score should land is unrealistic.
Background
I went away for 22 months then came home from a federal stint in late 2024. My credit was actually around 650 when I got out because my partner had been proactively building and maintaining my credit while I was away secured cards, authorized user accounts, things like that. Really grateful for that.
But after I got home I went through about five months of unemployment while getting back on my feet. During that time I fell behind on my truck loan, a personal loan, and a credit card. (My credit union financed a $70k truck and a $20k personal loan for me). By the time I got stable employment (I was self employed prior to going in and when I got out things got off to a slow start) my score had dropped to 547. Two charge-offs, high utilization, and some late payments that hurt badly.
Once I got settled into a stable job I decided to attack everything systematically.
The biggest issue I’m told was child support reporting. Keep in mind I have 4 late payments each between my credit card, truck loan and personal loan all that hit 90day lates back in December of 2025 but all current since then.
I have two child support accounts reporting through my county:
Account 1: Had a monthly obligation that was administratively suspended when I went to federal prison. The child support agency sent me a letter signed by their own Director confirming the suspension. When I got out nobody told me payments were reinstating. The first Income Withholding Order sent to my actual employer showed $0 current child support. The obligation wasn’t formally reinstated until an Amended IWO about a year after my release. Yet the credit bureaus show a 180-day delinquency on an obligation their own documents confirm wasn’t active during that period.
Account 2: A judge signed a court order setting my child support to $0 per month commencing January 2021, continuing until further order of the court. There is literally no monthly payment ordered. Ever. Yet this account shows a 180-day delinquency. The credit report itself shows $0 scheduled payment every single month while simultaneously showing 180 days past due. That’s an internal contradiction on the face of the report itself. You cannot be late on $0.
Since I started working in July/August of 2025, child support sent an order to my work for the monthly payment which is now why it shows current since. They just pull from my paychecks. It’s kinda a needless mess prior to then.
What I did about it
I built a complete dispute package using the agency’s own documents against them:
\-The Director’s signed letter confirming the suspension
\-The actual court order signed by the judge showing $0
\-Four Income Withholding Orders showing $0 current support
\-An Amended IWO showing exactly when the obligation was reinstated and I sent certified mail dispute letters to all three bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion citing specific FCRA violations:
15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b) — failure to follow reasonable procedures to assure accuracy
15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a) — failure to conduct reasonable investigation upon dispute
15 U.S.C. § 1681n — willful noncompliance and statutory damages
I also sent a demand letter directly to the child support agency citing their liability as a data furnisher under § 1681s-2(a)(1)(A) and § 1681s-2(b).
The key thing I learned: Most people only dispute with the bureaus. The bureaus send an automated verification request to the furnisher who rubber stamps it and sends it back without any human ever reviewing it. The cycle never breaks. Going directly after the data furnisher simultaneously and filing a CFPB complaint is what breaks that cycle hopefully if they don’t comply with accurate reporting.
Other things I did simultaneously…
Paid off two charge-offs that were on my report ($618 dollars on a card that had a $300 limit and $68.00 old unpaid bank fee that was linked to an old company I owned)
Paid my recently closed credit card from nearly $1,900 down to $0 last week before the monthly reporting date. Hoping this should drop my utilization dramatically to $0 as I now have no cards practically. (Hopefully)
Got removed as an authorized user from a charged-off account that was showing over 100% utilization on one of my bureau reports also.
Maintained perfect on-time payments for 6 months on my active loans. I currently have only 1 credit card with a $200 limit and $0 balance, forgot about that one but it’s in good standing.
Where I started vs where I expect to be…
Today: 547 score, over 100% utilization, two paid charge-offs, paid off credit card, currently still 2 180-day delinquencies on two accounts I hope get fixed. I certified mailed in disputes to all 3 credit bureaus with exact documentation.
Expected in about 30 days: Score update reflecting $0 utilization on the card and possibly fixing of child support reporting.
If child support disputes succeed: Potentially 650-680+ according to Claude ai and ChatGPT 🤷🏽♂️
Key lessons learned
Still to come..
CFPB complaint once bureau responses arrive in about 30-45 days if the reporting agency and bureaus don’t fix their updates.
Goodwill letter to my credit union asking them to remove late payments once I hit 9 months of consecutive on-time payments.
I know a lot of my dragged down score is my recent late payments 6 months ago however I’m really hoping that by getting the child support reporting corrected and my utilization now to $0 and charge offs paid my score jumps up considerably. Thoughts? And any help or if I missed something is appreciated!