E-PRO TT and Powerboost Camping Trip First Long Distance Tow

[Cobraman428]

We recently completed 31 day a 4,400 mile trip trip from GA to CO, returning via NM and TX. We were towing our Lance 1685 camper, 6,400 lbs GVWR, but probably about 5,600 lbs when loaded. Our camper is really boxy and a foot wider than the E-Pro, which has an impact on fuel economy. Overall fuel economy was 9.7 mpg, towing fuel economy was 9.3 mpg. We only towed in tow mode and did not lock out any gears. We limited our speed on interstates to 65 mph max and pretty much always ran cruise control. We always ran 87-88 octane fuel (in Colorado regular is 85 octane).

When we weren't towing, we got >25 mpg just running around.

We used to tow a Lance 1575 which was lighter and more importantly narrower and we got 1-1.3 mpg better fuel economy than our current rig.

The PB tows like a beast, running up long grades to >11,000 feet elevations and it never felt it was working hard.

The oil life monitor went down from 100% to 22% during the course of the 4,400 miles. This is in line with the owner's manual recommendations of more frequent oil changes are required when towing. I changed it as soon as I got home.

We have a pretty good solar set-up on my camper to supply all of our 12V needs, but no inverter. The pro power generator on board the truck was handy the few times we needed AC power for something such as running the microwave. But that wasn't for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. Fortunately for us the the few times we needed air conditioning, we had access to shore power.

Good info... You should try to lock out gears 8-10 the next time you tow. That helps keep the turbos from kicking in. It really helps the fuel economy and keeps the engine temp lower. Higher RPMs mean more coolant going through the engine. I was shifting a lot during my 2100 mile trip. I watch the boost gauge and if I was climbing a hill/mountain with a steep grade I would downshift and let the ICE rev up. I think the most I got was 4.9k on the Tach. The ICE engine braking worked great for me. It held my speed going downhill without me applying my brakes that much. These are my observations during my trip.

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[Cobraman428]

So made my first long distance tow last weekend. Tampa Bay Florida to Newland, NC. My PB really towed my 4400# Flagstaff E-PRO well. Tow-Haul mode all the way. Locked out gears 8-10 and got around 9.8MPGs. Kept out of the turbos as much as possible. Used the gears a lot downshifting and letting the ICE rev up for engine braking and towing uphill so the turbos stay off. Overall very happy with the truck performance. After unhooking the TT running around the Blue Ridge Parkway a lot this week got some amazing mpg. Up to 95 mpg on some of the downhill roads. Here are some pics so far. Week 1 of 2 camping so more to come....

Here is some additional pics and mileage update:
Overall drove 2159 miles on this trip. Most was towing my 23-20FBS TT. Tongue weight was 575-600#s. Steer Axle was 3440#s / Rear axle was 3860#s / Trailer axle weight was 3680#s Gross Weight 10980#s. Overall MPGs for the entire 2159 miles was 12.6mpg. Used 171 gallons of 93 Octane gas that costed $620.14. I did not use the PPOB during this trip so nothing to report on that. Tow Haul mode when towing and ECO when not towing the TT.

First night was at Interstate RV Park in Byron, Ga,

( Nights 2-8 was at Mountain River Family Campground in Newland, NC. Mountain River CG.

Nights 9-11 was at Unicoi SP near Helen, Ga

Last 3 nights were at Skidaway Island, Ga. (near Savannah).

 

[Pitago]

Nicely done!

And evidence that a Powerboost is still a tow machine with regular mirrors.

I drive a lariat 2023 power boost and tow a Flagstaff EPro 16 toy hauler it's about 3, 000lbs and I get 20.5 miles per gallon I love it that's on regular tow*

 

[Cobraman428]

I drive a lariat 2023 power boost and tow a Flagstaff EPro 16 toy hauler it's about 3, 000lbs and I get 20.5 miles per gallon I love it that's on regular tow*

What mode are you using? Normal mode for the 20.5 MPGs? Just curious...

 

[Cobraman428]

I haven't seen this one before living in Florida. But nice to know that the PB Engine Braking does work well. Used the engine braking a lot and downshifted a lot so I didn't have to use much braking on the long downhill runs. Kept my brakes from overheating on me and kept the speed right on target.

 

[Samson16]

I am trying to determine when the regenerative braking ends and the mechanical braking begins to use in concert with engine braking to reduce wear and heat buildup. I think the blue/green bar graph display might be useful in this regard. Riding the brake feels all kinds of wrong, but it can be a useful tool I think. I would want my trailer brakes dialed in so they don’t engage with just regen brake pressure applied.

 

[Cobraman428]

I am trying to determine when the regenerative braking ends and the mechanical braking begins to use in concert with engine braking to reduce wear and heat buildup. I think the blue/green bar graph display might be useful in this regard. Riding the brake feels all kinds of wrong, but it can be a useful tool I think. I would want my trailer brakes dialed in so they don’t engage with just regen brake pressure applied.

I had my trailer brakes dialed in during my trip. Used the gears during the uphill and downhill runs. The turbos wanted to work way to much, shifting gears and getting the ICE up to higher rpms helped which also caused the engine coolant to move more to keep the temp down. When the Tubros were engaged you could see the eng & trans temp start raising and the MPG go down fast... Locking out the overdrive gears 8-10 the entire trip helped with MPGs... Next time I'm towing in the mountains I'll try to grab some additional screen shots when it doing the engine braking / regen....
This worked the best for me and my setup. I haven't done much towing and this was the first long distance trip I've towed with my PB. Other's may have other ways to tow their rigs...

 

[Snakebitten]

I am trying to determine when the regenerative braking ends and the mechanical braking begins to use in concert with engine braking to reduce wear and heat buildup. I think the blue/green bar graph display might be useful in this regard. Riding the brake feels all kinds of wrong, but it can be a useful tool I think. I would want my trailer brakes dialed in so they don’t engage with just regen brake pressure applied.

Again, I can only go by the PID that shows how much current regenerative braking is pumping into the battery. And it's easy to see when it maxes out at ~130Amps of ~280V, which is an amazing rate of charge for that tiny battery. Double what the charging rate is for just normal charging. (~62Amps is about max)

However, there's no way to confirm that the ABS logic isn't "blending" friction braking at or before the maximum regenerative braking is reached.

I need a PID for friction braking of some sort? I do know that there's a height sensor PID in the VDM module that is very sensitive to the front end dropping even a millimeter, which you might assume would instantly reveal front caliper activity.

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