First tow!

[Old Bear]

Pulled a 14' flat-front trailer with a touring bike and a bagger to Dallas TX from Clarksville TN and back. Mostly Interstate. Truck did great, but wow, that mileage - or lack thereof. I couldn't get 10mpg, and some stretches I was below 9mpg. I got better than that in my dually pulling a 43' toy hauler. Ah well, such is life. I guess it makes up for it around town, as I can easily get mid-twenty, high twenty if I pay attention. And I don't tow that often - at least yet. Now I wonder how much a v-nose trailer would help. Maybe next time.

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[fluffernutter]

I get about 9-11 mpg towing my 6500lb 22' travel trailer. And thats like towing a brick wall that just wants to stop the wind.

 

[Snakebitten]

I don't think it really gets much worse. 8-10 is the norm for a 3.5 Ecoboost working hard. It's a gasoline/torque formula.

 

[Skier167]

I just got back from my annual fishing trip in Michigan. Roughly 800 miles towing my 6000 boat and averaged 8 mpg but was also doing 75 the whole time. You either get eco or boost

I’ve made this trip with a 2012,2016, and my 21 and ironically my 21 gets the worst mileage. All had 3.5 and 3.73 and were platinums.

 

[Snakebitten]

Diesel is obviously not the same variable in the gasoline/torque equation.

 

[HammaMan]

Diesel contains ~20% more energy than e10 gasoline and runs higher compression ratios as well. E10 gas burners have no chance of coming anywhere near their efficiency. Of course the motors must be stronger to handle the pressures and cost more to manufacture and also more to fuel, especially factoring in DEF. No free lunches on that one.

 

[Old Bear]

When I ordered the Ford Powerboost, they failed to tell me that "hybrid" actually meant "Jekylll and Hyde!" But I really am not surprised. The good news is that it towed like nothing was there as far as handling, very well behaved. And I've had four Super Dutys in a row, plus Army time driving heavy equipment transports, tanks, little things like that. I'm well versed in the pluses and minuses of diesels. That is a love/hate relationship as well.

 

[LD50]

Welcome to the club. I get 13-14 pulling my 8,400 lb X-Star with my PB.

 

[HammaMan]

plus Army time driving heavy equipment transports, tanks, little things like that. I'm well versed in the pluses and minuses of diesels. That is a love/hate relationship as well.

What'd you drive? I want a HET w/ a detroit for some odd reason. 8 wheel drive semi truck that can tow 250klbs. Yeehaw

 

[Bugzuki]

Pulling the 21' Mini Lite I was able to get around 12mpg if I could keep it at 60mph. But it was way too easy to go faster and get more like 6mpg. So my average mpg for that trailer is low. I like it that the truck tracks lifetime mpg ratings for each trailer (even if it is a little off do to Fords Calculations).

 

[Aron]

Pulled a 14' flat-front trailer with a touring bike and a bagger to Dallas TX from Clarksville TN and back. Mostly Interstate. Truck did great, but wow, that mileage - or lack thereof. I couldn't get 10mpg, and some stretches I was below 9mpg.

I'm guessing that you were going 65-70mph on average during that trip? If you slow down, the fuel efficiency gets better. I have a 6500lb travel trailer, and I get similar mileage when I'm really moving down the interstate. When I switch to slower speed back roads (say, 45-55mph speed limits), the fuel efficiency improves dramatically (often 12-14mpg). It's a time/cost trade-off...and sometimes, I'd rather spend the extra money to get where I'm going that much faster. Other times, I want to enjoy the journey, and it's nice that I save some money as well.

Now I wonder how much a v-nose trailer would help.

In the past, I've seen aerodynamic evaluations that have shown that the v-nose trailers may be some of the least aerodynamic ones available, which flies against intuition. I don't remember the details, bu I recall that it has something to do with how rotating air bubbles build up in front of the flat faces of trailers, which allows most of the flowing air to hit that bubble and ride up and over the roof. As I recall, v-nose trailers ruin that bubble, so the trailer is cutting through the full air current the whole time.

 

[Davexxxx]

I'm guessing that you were going 65-70mph on average during that trip? If you slow down, the fuel efficiency gets better. I have a 6500lb travel trailer, and I get similar mileage when I'm really moving down the interstate. When I switch to slower speed back roads (say, 45-55mph speed limits), the fuel efficiency improves dramatically (often 12-14mpg). It's a time/cost trade-off...and sometimes, I'd rather spend the extra money to get where I'm going that much faster. Other times, I want to enjoy the journey, and it's nice that I save some money as well.



In the past, I've seen aerodynamic evaluations that have shown that the v-nose trailers may be some of the least aerodynamic ones available, which flies against intuition. I don't remember the details, bu I recall that it has something to do with how rotating air bubbles build up in front of the flat faces of trailers, which allows most of the flowing air to hit that bubble and ride up and over the roof. As I recall, v-nose trailers ruin that bubble, so the trailer is cutting through the full air current the whole time.

I've only towed ~6K twice. First got 7 something. Yesterday was 8 something. First was probably 65mph, yesterday, was a good chunk at 60.

I was hoping closer to 10.

Just a fuzz over 2K miles on the truck and the lifetime MPG is just shy of 22, with 87 octane,, mostly in normal mode, driving sensibly, good marks from the coach etc.

As to that, I'm not disappointed but I've never gotten the big mileage that I see some post.

 

[Aron]

I've only towed ~6K twice. First got 7 something. Yesterday was 8 something. First was probably 65mph, yesterday, was a good chunk at 60.

I was hoping closer to 10.

Just a fuzz over 2K miles on the truck and the lifetime MPG is just shy of 22, with 87 octane,, mostly in normal mode, driving sensibly, good marks from the coach etc.

As to that, I'm not disappointed but I've never gotten the big mileage that I see some post.

Tow/haul mode does seem to help (and using high-octane gas). I've tried towing the same trailer in tow/haul and in normal modes, and the tow/haul seems to get better mileage when towing. At this point, when towing, I only use normal mode when sitting in stop & go traffic creeping along at 2mph. When towing on interstates, I'm often moving at 65-70mph, and I usually get 8-10mph. It does tend to increase significantly when I switch to the secondary roads with lower speed limits. That's the price to pay for towing an 11' wall behind me, I guess.

The powerboost is more than capable for towing moderate loads, but is probably not the most efficient engine for towing. Maybe I get slightly lower fuel efficiency than other engines. But the added cost in fuel is more than offset by the capability to use the onboard generator to power the trailer, at least to me.

 

[Old Bear]

What'd you drive? I want a HET w/ a detroit for some odd reason. 8 wheel drive semi truck that can tow 250klbs. Yeehaw

M911 6x8 HET pulling the the four-axle 747 trailer, transported everything from M1 tanks to light APCs in Washington state while stationed at Fort Lewis, 28 wheels on the ground. Max weight was 198,000 pounds, empty was 78,000 pounds. And I was TC for the M88A1 all over. Good times!

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