Gas Mileage When Towing

Wind and hills obviously make a huge difference. I wasn’t expecting much on our first big tow into the edge of the Rockies (from sea level to about 4500’), so I was happy it wasn’t worse. Towed the load without issue. Now I’ll just want to play with my hitch setup a bit to see what the smoothest options are.

 

My in-laws have a red 19ERD. They love it. You can see it here behind my MicroLite.

 

Nice thread! That’s right lady’s and gentleman keep burning that fuel! Love it!
I get about 10-9ish on 34s
Trailer is 25feet 4300 dry probably 51-5200ish when loaded.

 

I think you’re in the ballpark with mpg. I get around 9+/- pulling my 29’ 5060 dry weight camper. I only pulled it on flat to small hills. Nothing steep yet. I got 295/70-18 Dick Cepek EXP tires. I think they’re like a 34 1/2” tire. And a 3 1/2” lift. I played with S4, S5, tow-haul mod. I get between 8.0-10.0. Nothing really consistent. Like mentioned, wind plays a role in it.

 

My 2018 platinum crewmax would get 10-12 mpg, while on the highway. As soon as I started climbing the pass towing a 7300 pound trailer, I quit calculating it and just stopped at every gas station to fill up.

 

From sea level to 5k, moving at interstate and highway speeds the whole way, I averaged 9.573mpg and refueling every 134.88miles on average over 1,215 miles towing...

Trailer weight is 3,900 lbs empty, truck is 3,404 lbs totaling ~7,300 lbs. My truck weighs in at 6,860lbs with me in it but I had my x2 kids and wife and it was loaded to the gills for a 2 week road trip...so assume another 7,500lbs...overall, I'm satisfied and surprised!

 

Using I10 east or west or I45 or even state highway in Texas the average speed is 80 mph. In fact many roads have 75 mph speed limits. You guys pulling 60 and 65 mph do you just like getting flipped off by everyone blowing by you? Get a 3/4 or 1 ton. Someone going to run into you!!

 

Drive in the right hand lane like you are supposed to and no one cares. It’s the idiots that do 10-15 under the limit in the fast lane that piss us off.

 

There was NO issues towing... I'm boosted, which makes that possible. I blew past others and all diesels towing as well. No flip offs, only thumbs up.

 

I average 6.5-7 mpg while towing a Jayco 264bh, around 5500-6k lbs loaded. It is 31-32 feet long (hitch to bumper). I averag around 12mpg for daily driving.

I am on 37s, regeared to 529s, 46 gallon LRA tank, rock sliders, full size spare, front bumper, pro eagle jack, misc tools, bed cover, full sound deadening if the cab and doors. Long winded way to say my truck is heavy.

When I was on 295/70/18s and geared to 529s, I averaged around 8mpg towing and 13.5mpg for daily driving

 

I’ve never had a problem, 62-65 mph pulling my camper. Staying in the right lane so everyone can go around me!
A 3/4 or 1 ton truck isn’t going to make me drive faster, its a safety issue! Ever seen a blowout on a travel trailer or fifth wheel? It will shred everything above the wheel well if you don’t stop quickly and if the blowout is under a slide it can really be messy!

 

I had my 1st blow out on my travel trailer this year doing around 65. Not fun changing it along the highway. It tore stuff up underneath. I did find a squirrel nest inside my spare tire cover. Fortunately there was no squirrel in it.

 

There's no good way to do that type of ownership! I'm glad you got it done and didn't get any worse off damage!

 

As long as you and your family are ok that’s the important thing, you can always get the trailer fixed. BTW, heck of a way to find a squirrel nest lol.

 

I did fix it. The tape I got at the RV center was really sticky. The guy said make sure you know where you want it before you apply it. Because that’s where it’ll stay. He was right. Had to put new insulation in and pieces of wood and also straighten out the frame bracket a little.

 

Towed 26' boat/trailer combo across Mt- about 7500lbs and a full pickup bed of gear and got between 9-10. I agree 60-65 mph range is about the best on fuel and if a tire goes you might get it to stop without a major problem. Boat is wider than truck and hardtop not very aerodynamic. It actually did better than I thought. My rig has front deer bumper, 2.5 lift and 10 ply wild peaks. I worry a little about no transmission cooler and how durable the transmission actually is.

 

I got between 8-9mpg with 27ft 5500lbs travel trailer. 14 SR5 crew max.

 

Up over the mountains (Parleys Canyon) and back.

 

We did pretty well on the last trip. I found that S5 at about 70-72mph to work well for the flats keeping the TC locked and actually pulled some grades holding the RPM right at / above 2k.

For my setup, it seems keeping it above 2k rpm is key for holding the gear and keeping the TC locked. The truck pulls grades better in S5 at 72mph than 65mph, if it unlocks in S5, I bump it down to S4 and let it lock back up. I'm on 295/70/18 Toyo AT3s.

Scale ticket for this trip came in at 14,220lbs total, averaged 10.5 mpg on the computer with a bit over 800 miles.

 

I did spend lots of time on mpg for pulling my trailer. Major factors to me after spending much efforts are i) the appeared flat fwy can be not flat, ii) air density really affects mpg, and iii) the wind, even mild that I don't sense will definitely affect. Lastly, spending roughly $20 more today (about 250 miles), I can drive (trying to follow) behind the diesel dually pulling the 5th. To save $20, I am talking about safety to my wife while every vehicle passing me on the fwy (and I do feel good).