2021 PowerBoost and Towing... Terrible MPG while towing

[Wild Pig]

Hi, I'm new to the forum, but just wanted to share a tip someone gave me last week, in case it helps someone else. I'd been lurking on the form, trying to find answers to my crappy mileage while towing (2021 F-150 PowerBoost Platinum), and finally have something to add to the discussion.

Apparently, the "Trailer Sway Control" feature on the F-150 counteracts sway by selectively applying the brakes individually. For example, maybe the passenger rear for a millisecond, then the front driver's side for a millisecond to counteract detected sway of the trailer.

According to the guy who told me this, if your trailer already has a sway control bar (or a weight-distributing hitch with anti-sway design), the F-150's sway control winds up essentially fighting with the anti-sway bar, causing a ton of unnecessary (though very brief) braking.

His explanation makes perfect sense, so on our trip back from Savannah, Georgia (to central NC) I turned off the F-150's Trailer Sway Control (under the "Towing" section on the screen). I got 11.2mpg on the drive back up, whereas I had averaged 8.6 on the drive down TO Georgia.

That's a huge difference!! I didn't change anything else about driving style, etc, so I'm hoping that makes a permanent increase. I can live with 11 or so while towing, given that I *have* been getting around 24 when not towing!

Hope this helps someone else!

Thanks,

Craig

I gave this a try this week on a 350 mile round trip towing a 22' Grand Design trailer across Central PA. I am using the Blue Ox Sway Pro WD hitch.

Outbound leg, I had the truck sway control off and I got 9.8 MPG. Noticed a very slight bit of sway when around the big trucks, just enough to notice.

Inbound leg with the truck sway control on, I got 10.0 MPG.

I'm very new to using a WD hitch, but I've towed about 600 miles in the last month and haven't noticed the stuck sway control fighting the WD hitch. But then, those Andersons are configured differently. I do remember reading their warning about disabling sway control when I was researching the purchaes.

Sponsored

 

[Gros Ventre]

When you go onto the turbos, fuel consumption goes way up. In order to prevent cylinder detonation, the air to fuel mixture is enrichened. This is the price of using turbos. So gentle the gas pedal in order to keep off the turbos. But then when you're towing... Keep in mind, if you look into towing capability that there is a frontal area limit on the tow... that's because not only is there a gross weight limit, there is a limit on what you can drag through the air. I've noticed that my Powerboost does not like a headwind... When going into a thunderstorm outflow at maybe 60 with a light load... I've been on the turbos & dashboard mpg drops to like 16-18 mpg... Hm-m-m...

 

[hussar1683]

I had this epiphany. I paid basically $60k for my truck. $20k for my camper. Probably $5k outfitting it all the way I like...

If I pay an extra $40 for a 200 mile round trip I really don't care. I would rather have the 570 lb-ft towing and use the fuel. I'll make it up in the city driving later lol.

I've owned sport compacts, sedans, import and domestic. Been a member to so many forums. NONE talk about fuel economy more than pickup truck forums! I don't get why truck owners always discuss fuel economy. You bought the least fuel efficient vehicle! Who cares?!

Because trucks are work/business vehicles and you wanna keep your expenditure low.

 

[uavmx]

Because trucks are work/business vehicles and you wanna keep your expenditure low.

It's not the money for me, it's having to stop for fuel every two hours. I've been dangerously close to running out on a trip....

 

[vtron]

Took my trailer out with the powerboost for the first time last week. 22' Winnebago Micro Minnie. I was happy to see 12mpg+. Same setup with my 2014 Ram 5.7 averaged between 10 and 10.5mpg. I kept it in normal mode and locked out 9 and 10 and used cruise control where it made sense.

Towing was a lot more comfortable as well. To the point where I could almost forget the trailer was back there. The Ram wasn't bad, but you definitely knew it was there at all times. So far I'm really happy with it. I can't wait until our first trip without electric to try out the onboard genny.

 

[RickBullotta]

11.5 MPG here pulling a 20 foot Airstream (about 4400#) at 70-75 MPH. I'm pretty happy with those numbers actually. Almost 350 mile range out of the 30.6 gallon tank.

 

[Atlee]

This week I had a 12 foot closed box trailer hitched up to my new KR V6 Eco/PowerBoost and let’s just say my eyes popped out of my head when I realized a refuel was needed far sooner than both my 2001 Lariat and 2011 Lariat V8. I used the drive mode selector and chose tow mode which didn’t seem to help MPG much at all. I drove a total of about 200 miles before it was time to refuel. Anybody else experiencing shockingly low MPG while in tow? Any tips?
I know this truck is far more powerful off the line and tows like a dream handling wise, but this MPG decrease has me a bit disappointed.

I've towed for a little over 1,000 miles. My fuel mileage is 11.1. I locked out 8,9,10 gears and stayed in Normal. No mountain driving, just hilly Piedmont. My truck is a 4x4, 3.73.

 

[Sentinel1201]

OK couple of observations and one question after a year and roughly 8-10k miles towing a ~5000 lb 7x14 dual axle motorcycle cargo trailer.

1. Falcon tow/haul shocks with adjustable damping in the rear make a HUGE difference to tow comfort. I set the damping to one click firmer in the rear when towing and the truck is so much more planted, needing fewer steering corrections. Basically, the trailer doesn't dominate the truck at all and it makes long (4-6 hours) towing trips easier with lower stress.
2. I get about 12.5 mpg in favorable wind conditions towing my setup. But the route I drive usually has heavy winds (15-17 mph) and I have gotten as low as 8.5 mpg. I usually set cruise to 70 while towing.
3. I definitely get 1.5 mpg better on premium gas than 87. This is both towing and unloaded daily driving. I also use the generator quite a lot and idle the truck upto 24-36 hours at a time in pro power mode. Definitely see better results with premium gas even in this scenario compared to regular.
4. I always locked out 8-9-10 (get upto 2 mpg better this way). But tranny temp runs about 20 degrees warmer this way than otherwise. Never a concern, but something to keep an eye on.


Question - I always engaged tow/haul mode while towing as I assumed that tow/haul mode was better for modulating the electric surge brakes in trailer? I would prefer to tow in normal mode if I can though - can anyone confirm normal mode still does whatever needs to be done for trailer brakes??

 

[UGADawg96]

OK couple of observations and one question after a year and roughly 8-10k miles towing a ~5000 lb 7x14 dual axle motorcycle cargo trailer.

1. Falcon tow/haul shocks with adjustable damping in the rear make a HUGE difference to tow comfort. I set the damping to one click firmer in the rear when towing and the truck is so much more planted, needing fewer steering corrections. Basically, the trailer doesn't dominate the truck at all and it makes long (4-6 hours) towing trips easier with lower stress.
2. I get about 12.5 mpg in favorable wind conditions towing my setup. But the route I drive usually has heavy winds (15-17 mph) and I have gotten as low as 8.5 mpg. I usually set cruise to 70 while towing.
3. I definitely get 1.5 mpg better on premium gas than 87. This is both towing and unloaded daily driving. I also use the generator quite a lot and idle the truck upto 24-36 hours at a time in pro power mode. Definitely see better results with premium gas even in this scenario compared to regular.
4. I always locked out 8-9-10 (get upto 2 mpg better this way). But tranny temp runs about 20 degrees warmer this way than otherwise. Never a concern, but something to keep an eye on.


Question - I always engaged tow/haul mode while towing as I assumed that tow/haul mode was better for modulating the electric surge brakes in trailer? I would prefer to tow in normal mode if I can though - can anyone confirm normal mode still does whatever needs to be done for trailer brakes??

I think it was @daemonic3 who posted about only using normal mode when towing, but I don't recall where that post was.

 

[DOUGIE0426]

Towed a 6700# (dry) TT a weeks ago from NTX to Southern OK and averaged 8.5mpg...but I was also fighting wind and semi's and my own white knuckles from the sway and had to keep it under 60 to feel in control. Never thought about shifting myself or NOT using tow/haul mode but I may try it on our upcoming trip...10 days, 3 states, 900+ miles...hoping to not white knuckle it the whole time. Seems like a loaded CAT scale stop might be a good idea.

I realize this may be meant for another thread but any other tips for reducing felt sway? In any kind of real wind it feels like I'm all over the place...switched to a BlueOX SwayPRO so hopefully that helps.

 

[Snakebitten]

Almost any aftermarket shock absorber.
Rear Helwig Antisway bar.
Load E tires
Then dial that WDH in.

I think you'll be stunned at how much more planted the truck is with the Helwig and stiffer sidewalls.

It's not inexpensive to get these Aluminum F150's to tow as stable as the older steel F150's did. But man are they nice to spend the day in the saddle once you get them sorted.

 

[DOUGIE0426]

Thanks! Yeah I have T (speed) rated tires and OEM shocks...hoping the SwayPRO helps, if not then I'll try the shocks first and then keep adding till I feel better...I reached out to my RV service shop to see if they have a tongue weight scale I can borrow...

 

[c35cannon]

This week I had a 12 foot closed box trailer hitched up to my new KR V6 Eco/PowerBoost and let’s just say my eyes popped out of my head when I realized a refuel was needed far sooner than both my 2001 Lariat and 2011 Lariat V8. I used the drive mode selector and chose tow mode which didn’t seem to help MPG much at all. I drove a total of about 200 miles before it was time to refuel. Anybody else experiencing shockingly low MPG while in tow? Any tips?
I know this truck is far more powerful off the line and tows like a dream handling wise, but this MPG decrease has me a bit disappointed.

I've seen some people keep the truck in normal mode (or even eco) to trick it into still going into electric only drive sometimes. This might help while at least towing around town. The truck won't ever go into all electric mode while tow/haul is selected unfortunately

 

[Snakebitten]

Thanks! Yeah I have T rated tires and OEM shocks...hoping the SwayPRO helps, if not then I'll try the shocks first and then keep adding till I feel better...I reached out to my RV service shop to see if they have a tongue weight scale I can borrow...

The shocks are more about the pogo affect of vertical forces on an underdamped leaf spring. So it's nice to address that with some inexpensive Bilsteins back there.

But white-knuckling in winds is all about horizontal stability. Side-to-side wallowing of the back of the truck.
Tires are way underappreciated in that respect.
And the rear Antisway Helwig is fantastic for fighting that lateral influence. My complaint with the Helwig is the basic doubling in price for our generation of truck. Why? Makes no sense to me.

One other approach that addresses both vertical and lateral, basically increased damping and less body sway is the RAS from Activesuspension.com

I added them to my 2022 KingRanch Powerboost a few days ago just to compare to my traditional approach of shocks/Helwig combo.

I haven't put them to the towing test yet but they sure planted the rear of this truck! And a bargain for what they accomplish. Fully adjustable too.

 

[DOUGIE0426]

Yeah I think I'm going to try and be a little less anal about adding weight front vs back and try to ensure I have more weight in the front. My TT has the kitchen mounted almost directly above the axles and the outdoor kitchen, bathroom and bunk room are towards the back, so I strongly believe I need to add more weight up front AND dial in the new SwayPRO.

Sponsored