v6 gas mileage

[67TexasC-10]

Right now my daily driver is my 67 lwb c-10 with a mild performance 350 getting about 10 mpg. There are a few problems with this...
1) 70 mile roundtrip 5-6 days a week=400+ in gas a month
2) Truck requires lots of maintenance and while I enjoy driving it and hear that cam things like cruise and ac can be nice sometimes
3) Tow trucks and break downs are no fun
4) I have no money to put into the truck parts because it is all put into its tank...

I have been looking at getting something newer and have looked at colorados and s-10s but they are just so small so I am wondering how is the 99 to 06 1500 v-6 gas mileage stock and can it be improved and what if anything should I know about these trucks?

thanks in advance

[Pyrotechnic]

I remember browsing the lots around the 2004 or so and the V6 trucks were actually geting 1 MPG LESS than 4.8/5.3 equipped trucks. Reason is the 4.3 is a good motor but it's older technology. It's mainly for people who want to save some cash that don't need a V8 than it is for gas mileage and efficiency. Still a good motor though if you are on a budget.

[greasemonkey]

My Silverado 4.3 gets a solid 17-18 around town, 22+ highway. I was actually getting close to 24 mpg across Kansas last year because it was so flat. It's a great daily driver, and like pyrotechnic said, I got it for really cheap as everyone is looking for the 8 cylinder trucks to hop up.