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Old 03-18-2012, 05:30 PM   #1
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Gas Milage w/ TT Sucks... any suggestions?

My current TV is a Honda Pilot (6 cyl, 250HP) normally gets around 18.0 mpg but with 4,000lb TT (Rockwood MiniLite 1809s) ONLY gets 8.6mpg. Honda is rated to pull 4500lbs.

What other suggestions are there to increase mpg? May trade soon... any other vehicles (considering a Ford F150 or another SUV)? Will a V8 be an improvement?
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Old 03-18-2012, 05:40 PM   #2
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I am was pretty much died in the wool Ford truck fan for over 40 years, but I am pretty much Toyota fan now. Yes, V8 will be an improvement.

You might see an improvement in mileage if you tow for a long trip, as the computer compensates with the air/fuel mixture. It might be worth a call to your Honda dealer to see if there is a chip that could help. You might also check a few Honda Pilot forums for tips on improving mpg when towing.

Best of luck to you,
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Old 03-18-2012, 05:42 PM   #3
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Gas Milage w/ TT Sucks... any suggestions?

My current TV is a Honda Pilot (6 cyl, 250HP) normally gets around 18.0 mpg but with 4,000lb TT (Rockwood MiniLite 1809s) ONLY gets 8.6mpg. Honda is rated to pull 4500lbs.


What other suggestions are there to increase mpg? May trade soon... any other vehicles (considering a Ford F150 or another SUV)? Will a V8 be an improvement?
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Old 03-18-2012, 05:44 PM   #4
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The presence of a V8 will also mean a larger heavier vehicle.

Sequoia SUV with a 5.7 V8. Fully loaded with a family of five and a dog and towing our 5,300lb trailer we get between 8 and 9mpg and sometimes 10mpg IIRC. Its a thirsty beast. Plus, I do not average 18mpg not towing. Something to consider if gas mileage is the primary requisite.
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Old 03-18-2012, 05:45 PM   #5
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MY TV is a 2010 f150 FX4 normaly gets 15 or 16 mpg 9 or 10 with TT 5800 lbs. my thought is the 5.4 v8 has to work with less strain on it thus every thing just feels right. the extra money it cost to drive to the camp grounds is worth the peace of mind knowing my TV is handling all the extra weight.
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Old 03-18-2012, 05:46 PM   #6
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Welcome to the world of towing!

Not sure what speed you're towing at. Fuel mileage towing improves maybe as much as 1 mpg by slowing down 5 mph. The issue is the drag from the frontal area of the camper more so than the weight. Of course headwinds have a huge impact on mileage.

I went from a 6000 lb TT to a 8400lb 5th wheel and the fuel mileage was only .5 mpg worse.

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Old 03-18-2012, 05:56 PM   #7
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I was mostly traveling 60-65 on the interstate hwy (6 hours total)...
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:03 PM   #8
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Welcome to our world. I think most of us wish we could get better MPG while pulling. Keep the trailer and TV as light as possible and travel slow. Down hill if possible.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:17 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wfmdfm
Welcome to our world. I think most of us wish we could get better MPG while pulling. Keep the trailer and TV as light as possible and travel slow. Down hill if possible.
Down hill both ways to the camp site and back home if possible again - like Escher's stairs.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:24 PM   #10
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8.6 is good. Dont complain! Unless you have a low profile aerosynamic trailer dont expect much better.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:27 PM   #11
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Wind resistence plays a big part of fuel economy. A tent trailer would be a big help. A V8 would even be better. Diesel would be way better. With what you have reduce oversll weight keep speeds to 55 is about all uou can do.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:29 PM   #12
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Welcome to our world. I think most of us wish we could get better MPG while pulling. Keep the trailer and TV as light as possible and travel slow. Down hill if possible.
My dad told me about going to school, up hill both ways. I still haven't found anything like that.

Anyone that I've talked to that pulls a TT says they get anywhere from 8 to 10 MPG. That seems to be the magic range. A long time ago I had a 27' popup and a 92 Dodge Dakota to pull it. I got 16-18 mpg with it. That was a low profile trailer and a V6/manual TV. Since I've gotten the full size TT/full size TV it's been 8-10 MPG.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:38 PM   #13
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Actually I hear some have had great success by installing a set of inertial dampeners both internal and external. I would think that you only need an external dampener to help with gas mileage.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:48 PM   #14
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You're not going to get a lot more mileage with a bigger truck/engine. You probably will increase it some, but unless you move up to a diesel (and I'm not advocating you get a diesel to pull that small a trailer), which pulls its torque at much lower RPMs, you're probably not going to gain a lot. What you will gain is a much more stable towing experience and something more suited to towing. What you're running into is not so much the weight of the trailer, but that big flat wall that is causing wind resistance.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:55 PM   #15
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If you don't tow a lot, the price of the vehicle change will dwarf your present cost of fuel. If you are going to change vehicles anyway, then that's a different story. Other factors are how far you tow, frequency, terrain, etc. Is this a daily driver as well as tow vehicle. Lots of factors.
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Old 03-18-2012, 06:56 PM   #16
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If your Honda Pilot tows acceptability, don't worry so much about the fuel mileage when towing. The other way to look at it is the miles towed verses total miles put on the vehicle per year. At 18 mpg unloaded, you're better off than most of us.

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Old 03-18-2012, 07:06 PM   #17
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My Tundra gets about 11 (+/-1) when towing. I have the smaller 4.6 V8 engine and I think my trailer is in about the same weight range as your trailer. The speed limit when towing is 55 here in California.
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Old 03-18-2012, 07:09 PM   #18
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My Tundra gets about 11 (+/-1) when towing. I have the smaller 4.6 V8 engine and I think my trailer is in about the same weight range as your trailer. The speed limit when towing is 55 here in California.
That's probably more about driving 55 than anything else.
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Old 03-18-2012, 07:09 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by Dave_Monica View Post
If your Honda Pilot tows acceptability, don't worry so much about the fuel mileage when towing. The other way to look at it is the miles towed verses total miles put on the vehicle per year. At 18 mpg unloaded, you're better off than most of us.

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Old 03-18-2012, 07:20 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_Monica View Post
If your Honda Pilot tows acceptability, don't worry so much about the fuel mileage when towing. The other way to look at it is the miles towed verses total miles put on the vehicle per year. At 18 mpg unloaded, you're better off than most of us.

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X2! (Unless, of course, you are trying to justify a full size truck with the DW!)
Ditto X3

A good part of my daily driving is 25 mph with several stop signs which affects my daily mpg. Recently I checked my mileage on a trip to Las Vegas and I actually got 22 mpg which is something I have never seen in this truck. Of course I wasn't towing....

While your towing mpg might suck your daily mpg doesn't look so bad to me either.
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