Gas Mileage pretty bad pulling a trailer

[CindyC-IL]

7.1 to 8.1

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[CindyC-IL]

I also noticed as watching the avg, more movement towards 10 to 15 than before where it would barely reach 10mpg on flat roads.

 

[Xchevyguy]

Oooh...I coud have had a V8.

 

[glockcopbob]

Your mileage is comparable to what I get in Colorado heading up to the mountains with a camper. It doesn't get any worse with the bigger climbs but it also doesn't get much better coming down the other side either.

I got 21mpg from Denver to Grand Junction without the trailer maintaining 70-80mph. so the fuel savings there just not when pulling the camper.

 

[Shooter56]

I pull a 4500lb loaded Winnebago Micro Minnie with a 21 Powerboost. Over approximately 3500 miles towing in a variety of conditions including windy plains and mountain passes I am getting 9.8 mpg with the trailer. I have varied the techniques from locking out 7-10, using tow haul mode, 4A an 2 wheel drive generally going around 65mph. Based on my observations and not data, I think the road and weather conditions have more impact on mileage than any of the internal setting or adjustments.

 

[Gros Ventre]

I did several test runs going over South Pass from Lander toward Farson, wy. On some runs I locked out upper gears in order to stay off the turbos and others I let the truck decide which gears to use. Could discern no difference in mpg between the runs.

 

[Calson]

Tow Haul mode is designed to protect the transmission and nothing more. The shift points are changed and the torque converter is locked longer and this is to minimize temperature increases with the ATF.

GM recommends using this mode when the truck and trailer combined weight is greater than 80% of the GVWR or with my 2500 truck it was with a trailer load greater than 6,000 lbs in total. It is likely to decrease fuel economy but increase transmission longevity.

The air drag increases with the square of the speed so driving at 80 mph generates 4 times as much air drag as at 40 mph. At a certain point any time savings with a higher speed on the highways is negated by having to make additional fuel stops.

Turning off cruise control is a good tip. A good driver can adjust speed for the terrain and increase fuel economy. Average truck rig drivers average 6-7 mpg and really good drivers will average 9-10 mpg with the same rigs and same loads on the same routes.

Smart trucks are being developed where the cruise control has inputs for the location and the terrain and adjusts accordingly. These are much better than with the average driver but not quite as good as with an excellent driver.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

PB towing 6500lb TT
@ 55 mph = 10 mpg
@ 65 mph = 8 mpg

That's about what I got when I pulled a 7700 pound skid-steer a few weeks back. I was surprised it got that much actually.

 

[SaSurvival]

Do you have the 2KW sys on board? i just started turning off the 2nd Alternator via the on/off on the inverter when I am not using any of the 110v plugs.
Not sure if I have saved any L/100 yet but I had noticed when towing and charging my trailer it went from 16.5L/100 on my 2018 with out 2KW to 18.5L/100 on my 22 with 2KW.

 

[don.mullins]

I press up and down on the column shift lever and you’ll see them disappear on the dash

Note that this resets every time you leave DRIVE.

 

[Ranger621]

I have a 2022 Lariat F150 with the 5.0 and a 3.73 rear gear. I towed my 21 foot Ranger 621 VS boat to Northern Michigan and was getting between 10 and 12 mpg. I also towed my pop-up camper which is about 2500 pounds and got the same MPG all at 75 MPH on average highway speed. At 60-65 MPH I was getting 12-13 MPH. My old 2010 F150 with a 5.4 and a 3.55 gear only got between 6.5 -9 MPG on this same trip.

 

[daemonic3]

TL;DR version: '21 Powerboost FX4 pulling 7500# GVWR TT, I am getting lifetime 10.5mpg, some trips as low as 9mpg and some nearly 12mpg, depending on wind and elevation loss/gain.

Longer version:

• I use cruise control extensively whenever possible as the computer is far more efficient than a human ankle at feathering the regen braking before friction
• I lock the cruise max speed at 60 or 61 because mpg really nosedives after that and overall safety feels worse
• I use Normal rather than Tow/Haul so that I get electric-only coasting on occasion
• I lock out 9-10 for sure, and lock out 8th the instant I see the boost meter become non-zero
• I will allow 9th or 10th on slight downgrades as long as boost is zero - the instantaneous MPG's are usually >20 when RPMs are able to be <1.5 and boost has not lit up
• Likewise on hills or even overpasses, I may drop it down to 7th, 6th or 5th, whichever minimizes boost while keeping decent speed

I do all this not to save $$, but because it is FUN to make each trip a personal contest. It keeps me from getting bored on 5 hour towing drives. The saving $$ in fuel is just a nice reward on top.

 

[CindyC-IL]

Thanks every one for the info and tips. Yesterday there was a lot less wind and while hilly not as much the previous two days. My avg was 11.

 

[kevdog0710]

Thanks every one for the info and tips. Yesterday there was a lot less wind and while hilly not as much the previous two days. My avg was 11.

I just picked up a new camper. 31 foot, 6300 dry weight. Only towed it once, home from the dealer. It was a 65 mile trip, got almost 10 mpg doing about 65. I have a trip this weekend, but it will be backroad driving and not a good barometer. I have 1 last trip this year, about 22,00 miles total, heading to Florida from PA. I do some of the different techniques listed above and see what I manage to get.
I will add that I had more realistic expectations than others, especially those new to towing. I had a 2013 Tacoma I towed my previous camper with. The fuel economy was slightly better in the Toyota pulling a 3800 pound TT. Ill take the decrease in overall fuel economy in exchange for the comfort and ability of my 3.5 Supercrew Lariat all day!

 

[CaptainAmericaRob]

yesterday drove from Plymouth MI, up north to Grayling MI to rescue a friend whose old Dodge broke down towing his camper back from ICEMAN in Traverse city.
Towing his rather small 18' camper trailer, weighing no more than 4,000 lbs.
I was truly shocked to see I could not get more than 7.5 MPG while towing with my 21' Lariat PB FX4.
doing some reading, and the frontal area of the trailer vs the overall frontal area of the towing vehicle is more important than just weight, as far as MPG is concerned.
a cap on the truck definitely helps, along with a more aerodynamic trailer.

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