Towing Gas Mileage

wayhipcat

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I only tow occasionally. I volunteer to tow the Boy Scout Trailer for our local District. I've towed it around the immediate area, and not noticed the gas mileage before. Last weekend I drove 130 miles round trip. Stiff side wind. Got 12.5 mpg in hilly conditions. Does this sound par for the course with what others have experienced. Trailer has a curb weight of 3,000lbs, with a load weight of about 1,000lbs.
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t4thfavor

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I get 10-13.5 with my travel trailer. It's 31' long and weighs about 6300# (roughly). I'm in Michigan where it's mostly flat, but I did drive to Traverse City once which is sort of hilly.
 

RangerFitz

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For me it really depends on the overall topography of the trip. Towing our small camper and equipment from Texas to Colorado we are generally going uphill and I get about 12-13 mpg. On the return trip we are going downhill and I get about 19-20 mpg. So call it 15.5 on average.

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Mustang2Ranger

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I only tow occasionally. I volunteer to tow the Boy Scout Trailer for our local District. I've towed it around the immediate area, and not noticed the gas mileage before. Last weekend I drove 130 miles round trip. Stiff side wind. Got 12.5 mpg in hilly conditions. Does this sound par for the course with what others have experienced. Trailer has a curb weight of 3,000lbs, with a load weight of about 1,000lbs.
I tow a similar weight trailer - about 3700 lbs loaded

I get 14-17 mpg at around 62mph

Try using tow haul mode and locking it out of 9th and 10th gears
 
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CB750F

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I bought this truck to tow a smallish TT, 3,000lbs, is what I'm looking for.
Since I bought my truck, Dec/20 , I've been doing 18mpg, 13l/100km.
So far, not impressed. I've been looking on this forum & it seems many
get much better even in the northern states. At the moment, I'm not
too happy with the mpg. I hope summer gas will be better.
I'll have to keep in mind the frontal shape/area of the TT.
That PHEV is starting to look interesting.
 

t4thfavor

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I bought this truck to tow a smallish TT, 3,000lbs, is what I'm looking for.
Since I bought my truck, Dec/20 , I've been doing 18mpg, 13l/100km.
So far, not impressed. I've been looking on this forum & it seems many
get much better even in the northern states. At the moment, I'm not
too happy with the mpg. I hope summer gas will be better.
I'll have to keep in mind the frontal shape/area of the TT.
That PHEV is starting to look interesting.
Is that with the trailer attached? If so, that’s amazing. If no, then you have a heavy foot or something is wrong.
 

raytwntrvlr

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Just finished a run to Phoenix from Kansas City and got 10.9 mpg. Very strong headwinds for much of the drive. Our travel trailer is a 20 foot Winnebago weighing 3500 pounds.
 

CB750F

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Is that with the trailer attached? If so, that’s amazing. If no, then you have a heavy foot or something is wrong.
@t4thfavor

WOW! I'm one yr late here, sorry...
No trailer, so yea, 18mpg.... Just brought it to dealer & asked them about it & they told
me garbage, 'everyone is different bla, bla, bla...' No, I don't have a lead foot. My wife
drives it mostly & she's no speed demon. A yr later, still 18mpg, I did get 23 on a tank
on a trip. Her commute is 5 mins to highway, 15 mins on highway & 5 mins to
destination. I would expect 21mpg.
Just pulled a small U-haul open trailer & got 16mpg.
& best.... dealer said if no engine light, then no problem.
I'm so impressed. /sarc
 
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Short highway trips do not return the best MPG, especially during commuting hours when speeds vary. Doesnt sound like a truck issue to me either.

FWIW I get 24mpg highway, 18 in town, and 10-14mpg towing my TT. Which is 8ft wide, 22ft long and 5000#
 

notsolinear

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I only tow occasionally. I volunteer to tow the Boy Scout Trailer for our local District. I've towed it around the immediate area, and not noticed the gas mileage before. Last weekend I drove 130 miles round trip. Stiff side wind. Got 12.5 mpg in hilly conditions. Does this sound par for the course with what others have experienced. Trailer has a curb weight of 3,000lbs, with a load weight of about 1,000lbs.
You didn’t mention your speed: That always has a big effect but even more so with a trailer due to generally larger frontal area. The best and worst I’ve seen in flat Midwest is between ~17.5 and maybe down to 12-13mpg, with a median closer to 15.5. I don’t go faster than 65 on the interstate but I’ve also noticed that MPG jumps way up on stretches with a speed limit of like 50-55. Anecdotally I’ve read here about some dramatic drops just from 65 to 70 mph.
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