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

[CaptnJohn]

If you are not going to tow over 10,000 miles a year do nothing or go with original size tires. Put the money toward fuel and be happy or find a used F250 and be happy, one with a diesel and be overjoyed!

[Tfort]

Putting the factory tires back on it will do more than anything for the fuel mileage. That and slow down and tow it around 60. If you do have a trans shudder there is a great product on the market called shudder guard or shudder fix made by Lubeguard or Dr. Tranny. Can't remember exactly which but if you google it you can find it. Lubeguard is a recommended product by Ford for this condition, I have used it many times at the dealer.


2000 F250 CC 4x4 7.3L diesel

15 Salem Hemisphere Lite356QB

[Kenny kustom]

The difference bt your 3.55 and 4.10 is almost the same diff bt your 30-33's.

Drop back to the 30's and tune.




2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

The difference bt your 3.55 and 4.10 is almost the same diff bt your 30-33's.

Drop back to the 30's and tune.




2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

Note that doing either might solve your tranny problem, but neither one will improve your mileage.

[MikeRP]

I don't have much to add here except the same experience. I had a 2005 Avalanche with the 5.3l. Beautiful truck. Stock tires sucked so I put on some 33's. I was towing a rock wood roo 19. I swear that truck would struggle pulling that 4500 lb trailer with those tires and the .355 rear end ratio.

So my research turned up one thing these guys have just alluded to in addition to the rear end ratio declining to .320 or so the wheels and tires are much heavier. Check it out maybe 10lbs per tire. Well that doesn't sound like much but it really is because it right where the torque is being applied.

I went back to stock and it was crazy better to tow with but still, in my opinion a dog. thr weight of the trailer combined with the huge wind resistance with a .320 rear end is poison. A tuner won't help that, the motor running better won't help that, don't waste your money.

I did all those even a new exhaust from gm performance and a tune didn't help. It's all about gearing. Look at the class c's and a's driving around the country fine with a ford v-10. It's almost all in the gearing. Not all but a lot.

Also my suburban 2500 with the 6.0 l got 10 mpg towing and 14.5 not. It has .410 read end and was a tow beast.

A gmc w 373's or 4.10's with that select gear will tow well but gas mileage will still suck.

Good luck!

[MikeRP]

Btw if you are looking for a new truck and Good fuel milage check out the dodge Ecodiesel. I'm getting 27mpg on average and folks who tow say they get 15-16mpg.

Btw my class c 32 ft Sunseeker towing my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee gets 7.5 mpg. I stop every 250 miles to fuel up. But it goes fine.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by MikeRP

I don't have much to add here except the same experience. I had a 2005 Avalanche with the 5.3l. Beautiful truck. Stock tires sucked so I put on some 33's. I was towing a rock wood roo 19. I swear that truck would struggle pulling that 4500 lb trailer with those tires and the .355 rear end ratio.

So my research turned up one thing these guys have just alluded to in addition to the rear end ratio declining to .320 or so the wheels and tires are much heavier. Check it out maybe 10lbs per tire. Well that doesn't sound like much but it really is because it right where the torque is being applied.

I went back to stock and it was crazy better to tow with but still, in my opinion a dog. thr weight of the trailer combined with the huge wind resistance with a .320 rear end is poison. A tuner won't help that, the motor running better won't help that, don't waste your money.

I did all those even a new exhaust from gm performance and a tune didn't help. It's all about gearing. Look at the class c's and a's driving around the country fine with a ford v-10. It's almost all in the gearing. Not all but a lot.

Also my suburban 2500 with the 6.0 l got 10 mpg towing and 14.5 not. It has .410 read end and was a tow beast.

A gmc w 373's or 4.10's with that select gear will tow well but gas mileage will still suck.

Good luck!

This is spot on. I don't care what accessories you buy, you aren't going to see much, if any, improvement in performance unless you go back to a stock tire size. The only thing that will help at all is a gear swap, but you're still rotating more mass and have more friction(I'm betting those 33's are NOT a mild tread pattern.). This truth is probably painful since a lot of the appeal when you bought the truck was in the wheels and tires, but it is what it is.

[rmac04401]

Sorry if I'm dumb on terminology. But when you guys are talking about 33's in regards to tires what are you meaning? All terrain tires?

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by rmac04401

Sorry if I'm dumb on terminology. But when you guys are talking about 33's in regards to tires what are you meaning? All terrain tires?

Means the tire has a diameter of 33". IIRC, most 1/2 ton trucks come with stock tires with a diameter of ~30-31". Most tires aren't measured using the actual sizes anymore, such as a 33x12.50-15. This would be 33" diameter, 12.5" wide on a 15" rim.

[Kenny kustom]

Measure the actual tire.
A 33" tire isn't always 33"..


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[Austintatious]

Originally Posted by MikeRP

Btw if you are looking for a new truck and Good fuel milage check out the dodge Ecodiesel. I'm getting 27mpg on average and folks who tow say they get 15-16mpg.

Btw my class c 32 ft Sunseeker towing my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee gets 7.5 mpg. I stop every 250 miles to fuel up. But it goes fine.

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.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Measure the actual tire.
A 33" tire isn't always 33"..


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

True. Actually, most of them aren't. They're typically around 32.7-32.8. Kind of like my Suzuki 400 ATV is only 372cc, or something like that.

[rmac04401]

Ok I just know when I get tires the size is 255-70-16. So I would assume mine is stock.

[phillyg]

Assuming your motor is a 5.4, a 3.73 axle would be best all around. I'd get rid of the big tires and go back to stock wheels and e-rated tires. I don't trust tuners. You will still take a big hit on fuel economy. My 2004 went from 14mpg to 8-10, but I was pulling an 8,400lb FW.

[MikeRP]

Originally Posted by MikeRP

Btw if you are looking for a new truck and Good fuel milage check out the dodge Ecodiesel. I'm getting 27mpg on average and folks who tow say they get 15-16mpg.

Btw my class c 32 ft Sunseeker towing my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee gets 7.5 mpg. I stop every 250 miles to fuel up. But it goes fine.

Anyway w that Sunseeker weighing 18500 lbs w the JGC in tow and rated for 22,000 lbs gcvwr, you can see it is in the gearing because the v-10 is 305 HP and 420 ft-lbs of torque which is less HP and maybe a bit more torque than a ford 5.4l or an Ecoboast.

The one thing I can say about the v-10 is that once it is broken in, it loves to rev, 4500 rpm it's purring like a kitten. Any other truck I've owned sounded horrible at that level.

So a ford truck used wit a v-10 would be a gas drink in tow beast.

But you'd be surprised what the little Ecodiesel will tow.

[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!

[raspivey]

Originally Posted by djemgoss

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.

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

[rockfordroo]

The faster you go, the worse the mileage. Most of us do about 62 mph and get 9-11 mpg.

My advice - Slow Down!

[rsdata]

a 5-10 MPH head-wind or tail-wind can change your MPG by 1-3 MPG... slow down if going into a head wind to combat an MPG loss

[CaptnJohn]

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!

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.