F-150 towing a Hybrid 23SS - something is wrong...

[kennyairport]

Originally Posted by Austintatious

That's exactly what I did. My 2015 JKU can pull our TT at 60-65 and manage 12mpg but it's spending way too much time in 3rd at 3300rpm or sometimes even 2nd at 4200rpm if there is a combo of grade and strong headwind.

And like the OP, I wasn't comfortable with my engine screaming along at that high an RPM for an hour. Or two. Or three.

So I picked up the Ecodiesel. It's a world of difference pulling our TT along at 60-65mph and getting 16-19mpg, mileage the Jeep only sees when it's NOT towing. The engine spends most of it's time at or below 2000rpm.

I'd prefer to tow with the Jeep because, well, it just LOOKS so good but in the end I had to admit to myself that it's just not the right choice.

I have the ram 1500 ecodiesel and getting 14-16 mpg towing also getting 26-29 around town. have not drove on highway without trailer and can only imagine mpg.

[Dennis and Julie]

Sounds about right for milage that's about what we get. Doesn't matter if 21 ft Outback or 35 ft VLite, get between 9 to 11mpg.

[mike.t]

Originally Posted by djemgoss

Left last Sunday morning from the Milwaukee area headed to Land Between the Lakes Tennessee. Nice day and no wind to speak of. This was our first long trip with our new camper and truck! Around town and on the highway I get around 20 mpg. I was in shock as I could almost see the gas gauge needle fall. We went 140 miles before we had to fill up with 19.2 gallons of gas (7.3 mpg). Next pit stop was 125 miles, 22.2 gals, had about 1/2 gallon left in tank (5.6 mpg). Next stop was 130 miles, 18.5 gals (7 mpg). Next stop was 100 miles, 13.9 gals (7.2 mpg). We were head south on I-57 thru Illinois, flat as a board. The truck did not want to shift out of 4th gear. When it did it was just for a short period of time. I was going between 70 and 75 mph. After I got the 5.6 mpg I slowed down to between 65 and 70 mph the mpg went up to 7 mpg. I had to be going down a hill to see it shift into 6th gear.
The return trip I was able to keep it in 5th and 6th gear and around 8 mpg and my speed was between 65 and 68 mph. I'm not happy with the mpg, but from what I'm reading here, that is what I should expect.
We bought the trailer first and then the new truck. The dealer said there would be no problems pulling that weight of trailer with the truck we bought. I also talked to the trailer people and they also confirmed that I under the max towing capacity with this truck. It pulls with no problem, but it does use a lot of gas doing it. Not sure what a mountain trip will bring, but we will see soon!

Why on earth would you be going 70 75 MPH???????????????????????

[Themeads46]

I have a 07 f150 and tow a surveyor 251rks. I get 10-11 mpg on level and 8-9 in hill country. The only mod I did is a 3in cat back exaust with 1 in 2 out magnaflow muffler. I don't know if it helped mileage any but it sure sounds good. I think I sometimes drive it harder than I normally would just to hear the sound.

[djemgoss]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

My last rig was a 2015 F150 2.7 EB and a 2016 TT 7000# loaded. Through the mountains of NC MPG was 9.3. Ran tow/haul all the way. 6th gear was rare as there was little flat so only down hill for 6th, mostly 5th. Running the mostly flat coast MPG only went to 9.7 and did not see 6th gear much then either. Cruise was usually set at 64 MPH. Better than what you saw but I was not satisfied either so bought an entirely new rig.

Originally Posted by raspivey

You might want to check the speed rating on those trailer tires.

I check the tire and they are rated "L" 75 mph max.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I think about the fastest that I went was around 72. I think the cruise control was set around 68. I did slow down and the mpg did go up. I learnd a lot from the trip down and I got better mpg on the return trip and the truck stayed in 5th and 6th gear most of the time. On the return trip, we gased up before getting the tollway going around Chicago on Friday night. At late rush hour traffic, the speeds were way down. The mpg from there to Milwaukee was around 9.5 mpg!
I will be driving slower from now on!!!
The camper and truck handled great on the entire trip! No sway at all, even when trucks went by us!
Have a great camping season!

[NorSnrub]

I keep my speed from 55 to 60 and have gotten 10 to 15 per gallon except when going from Flagstaff to Phonex. I got better than without the 35 ft 8310ss. I got 22 to a gal there 100 mi down hill.

[Hugeez]

I was also unimpressed with my gas mileage when pulling our TT. Our Ram gets around 18 mpg unloaded but around 8 when pulling our TT through the hills of Branson. You know the old saying..."if you wanna play you gotta pay"

[mike.t]

hug. What is your rig?

[Themeads46]

Today I got home from a trip to Sacramento to Brookings Or. On the leg from Sac. To Redding, all flat and level, I got 10.2. On the leg from Sac. To Grants pass, up uhe siskiyou grade, mpg average drops to 9.6. Average 9.7 when I got home. I was concerned about a 1/2 ton on a long uphill grade and I was really impressed. Speed dropped to 50 at one point but I didn't push the truck too hard, kept the rpm at 3k or less. Mileage might have been affected some because I5 was closed at Reb Bluff and it took 2hrs to go 5miles in bumper to bumper surface street traffic. All in all I'm happy with this truck and I am going to quit looking at new trucks.

[robsshots]

That 5 mile bumper to bumper cost you a ton in MPG, I promise you. We just towed our 8280WS fiver (7800 lbs dry weight) from Melbourne, FL to Townsend at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. We got 11.2 MPG, I kid you not.

The biggest killer of MPG is sitting going nowhere. Ugh!!

We always keep it between 60 - 62 MPH. Braking never a problem, although I have learned to anticipate and slow down way in advance. That is 9200 lbs behind me after all (full weight loaded comes in at 9200 lbs.) No need to be dumb out there.

[Stygshore]

I picked up a SuperChip tuner locally for pretty cheap. Hooked it up, set the tire size proper ( the vehicle was set at 30" and I was running 32.75" tires )

Set the tuner for heavy tow and hit the road.

Happy to report that RPMs never topped 3k. We used 1/4 tank of gas towing about 90 miles and about 50 miles of driving around in the truck killing time in the rain. The truck shifted properly and smoothly the entire trip, brakes were responding better with proper tire size

We have a 5.5 hour trip north at the end of the month, mostly highway, so that should be a bigger test, but if the mileage we got on this trip is indicative, I can live with it.

Styg

[mike.t]

10 gal. tank or 100 gal. tank?

[Stygshore]

Originally Posted by mike.t

10 gal. tank or 100 gal. tank?

no sure what you mean?

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Stygshore

no sure what you mean?

I think his point is that 1/4 tank means nothing if we don't know tank size. Tanks can commonly range from low 20 gallons to more than 40 in trucks.

[mike.t]

You used a 1/4 tank of fuel. Without knowing how big the tank is a person wouldn't know how many gallons you used.

(sorry late post Dustman beat me to it)

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by Stygshore

My tank is 26 gallons so maybe 7.5 mpg is the best the 5.4 can do towing. Previous owner had it all decked out for towing when I bought it - maybe that's why he got rid of it - just couldn't do better no matter what he threw at it


Styg

His tank is 26 gallons. He towed 90 miles and drove around for 50 and used 1/4 tank (6.5 gallons). Estimate he got about 18 mpg just driving around in an F 150 for 50 miles, that would of eaten up about 2.7 gallons leaving 3.8 gallons for the 90 miles pulling the trailer, or 23mpg towing.

Check my math..................where do I get one of those tuners?

[mike.t]

I came up with 23MPG as well using a total of 140 miles. Now if it was 90 total and of that 50 was driving around. If it was 140 please name that tuner.

[Stygshore]

Until I do the long trip I wont have real towing numbers - I was just goign off the fact the first trip we actually saw the needle moving as we towed the trailer. This time it was much more gradual. We all know the 1/4 segments on a gas gauge are not the most accurate of tools for measurement.

Just trying to report I think I found a solution to my towing problem... I wont bother to follow up next time.

[mike.t]

Well OK then.

[KMP44]

If the chip let you run in a higher gear and took care of the shifting issues it sounds like it was a success regardless of what you got for mileage.


Happy camping!