Real world towing mileage

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by greg.thecoop

I guess my question is what is the better value, 10-12 mpg with diesel at $4+ per gallon, or 8-10mpg with gas at 3.25 or so per gallon? Diesel seems to run more expensive per gallon. Granted, the diesel can pull more for sure, as I look at some of the large 5th wheels around that my Tundra wouldn't even touch, but we are not into that size of camper.

IMO...

If your staying under 10K in weight with your camper, are a weekend warrior and don't want to upsize...gasser would fit the bill.

Everything above this...diesel is the way to go and worth it

[wmcclay]

According to the engineers only 2% of fuel in used in overcoming friction to make vehicle move without a trailer. Rest of fuel is used in starting and overcoming air resistance. It increases expotentially above 55 to 59 mph. Fuel mileage is dependent on vehicle speed and air resistance. Believe it or not 30% of resistance is due to pulling air along at rear of trailer. That why drafting works. I have a diesel and get 11.3 mpg pulling a sanibel 3500, 39 foot long and 12 ft 6 inches high, weighing 13,000 lbs. Never above 60 mph.

Wayne

[MillerTime]

I get about 10mpg (adjusted) towing my 34' 5er with 35" tires on my '05 d-max, crew cab 4x4. That's towing in hilly areas about 70-75ish mph (about 1900-2000 on rpms. Best not towing is about 15-16 mpg(adjusted- my spedo and mileage is off 11% with the tires). My truck is 7340 lb unloaded, toolbox with 1/3 full of junk, 5/8 tank of fuel and I think me. Can't remember if my companion hitch was in or not or if tailgate was on - think it was. Trailer - haven't weighed but should be around 10-11k loaded.

[ependydad]

So, here's what I've got - diesel 2012 Ram 3500 DRW w/ 4.10 gears. With just me and my daughter in the truck (no hitch, no wife, no misc. "travelling stuff"), we have a weight of about 8,200 lbs. My trailer had a dry delivery weight of 12,239 lbs - but we've added our stuff to that; though, I haven't hit scales yet (it's very intimidating, I'll admit). The trailer is 41' long and 13' tall.

I hand-calculate almost every fill up.

We range from 8.6-11mpg towing. Around town, we range from 10mpg-13mpg with one freak tank of 14mpg.

This past trip to Florida (900miles each way) was cruise-control set at 64mph for most of the way - we got 8.7mpg. Coming back, I ended up dropping the cruise-control to 61mph (though, I did have an hour of faster driving due to a screaming baby in the backseat) - I saw an increase to just over 9mpg.

The truck has just over 13k miles on it with 4,800 of that being towing miles.

I'll admit - these numbers were not quite what I expected or was hoping for.

[Gizmo0706]

[QUOTE="anaro;288765"]We used to tow our 7000 lb TT with an 04 nissan Armada. It got about 13 mpg on a good day and towing was about 6-8 mpg. We upgraded to a 09 F250 w/ the 6.4 L diesel 1 year ago this month. We get approx 13 mpg not towing (best was 15mpg on a long trip from NC to MD w/o TT). We get approx 11 mpg towing. Not too shabby.

When we upgraded we were not looking at diesels, we were looking at new and slightly used 3/4 ton gassers of all makes. We figured out the gasser we wanted would have to be a special order and we could not find it used anywhere. We started paying attention to the prices of used gassers and diesels. We found a good deal on our truck with only 32,000 miles on it. Doing some research I found diesels live to be around 300,000 to 500,000 miles when properly cared for. Between the better towing mileage, ability for future trailer upgrades, better towing experience (armada struggled w/ our trailer), and longer life span, we decided the extra cost in maintenance and the more expensive fuel was worth it. I have not been sorry, I love driving and towing with my truck. My only regret is it has a lower payload than I thought so I can't get the 5er I really want (should've gone w/ a F350 for not much more money).

The downsides to this truck: lower payload than I thought, more maintenance = more time and money to maintain, long bed w/ super crew (4 door cab)= 22 ft long truck, not easily parked anywhere, need to add fuel additives w/ every tank of fuel.

Positives of this truck: I love driving it. It is a good reliable truck w/ plenty of power for daily driving and towing. It doesn't even really know my TT is behind it. It is very comfortable and roomy. Fuel mileage when towing is better than a gasser (same not towing as my old SUV), longer life span.

I have the lariat package w/ bench back seat and captains front seat. In lariat the seats are leather. They didn't feel comfortable at first but then they broke into me pretty quickly and when the seat heater is on, I just melt into my seat. The radio is average. The integrated brake controller is great for towing. I love being able to scroll through my dash and have little updates on all my systems and it shows me my braking numbers on my screen. It will also alarm and tell me if my wiring gets disconnected (this came loose due to operator error one time). T

[Gizmo0706]

Not sure what happened, just typing away and everything was lost. Here goes again!

Thanks for your review of the F-250, it sounds like you have a good fit for your needs. I test drove some new trucks this weekend and was surprised to like the Ram the most. The have really made some great improvements since the last time I drove one. I drove a gas and diesel Ford and felt the 6.2 gas seemed underpowered, but so does the 6.0 gas in my Chevy work truck. It may just be me but I am used to the 5.7 in the sequoia which is pretty peppy. Also, the middle front seat of the Ford doesn't seem to recline which I would think would be rather uncomfortable after awhile. After riding in the trucks I really wonder how realistic it is for the six of us to be able to ride around on long trips. I want a HD truck for the payload and ability to throw firewood and supplies in the back but it may not be very practical. I have enjoyed all your responses so far and appreciate the info, keep it coming!

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Gizmo0706

Not sure what happened, just typing away and everything was lost. Here goes again!

Thanks for your review of the F-250, it sounds like you have a good fit for your needs. I test drove some new trucks this weekend and was surprised to like the Ram the most. The have really made some great improvements since the last time I drove one. I drove a gas and diesel Ford and felt the 6.2 gas seemed underpowered, but so does the 6.0 gas in my Chevy work truck. It may just be me but I am used to the 5.7 in the sequoia which is pretty peppy. Also, the middle front seat of the Ford doesn't seem to recline which I would think would be rather uncomfortable after awhile. After riding in the trucks I really wonder how realistic it is for the six of us to be able to ride around on long trips. I want a HD truck for the payload and ability to throw firewood and supplies in the back but it may not be very practical. I have enjoyed all your responses so far and appreciate the info, keep it coming!

If your staying with TT's and a large group of travelers...Duraburb may be your answer, awesome trucks!
It's a retrofitted Tahoe with the Duramax engine...you can YouTube them to check out, a little pricey though.

[DnD]

In August I bought a '12 Ram 3500 new. I work from home so it doesn't get driven too much per week and only has 2500 miles on it today. Up until we got our new 5er last week it never had a load on it. The manual says up to 6000 miles before seated without a load on and less with a load. So I am expecting better MPG once the engine is fully seated in.

Driving the trailer back from Tucson to Phoenix I got 11.6 mpg with the CC set at 65. I had filled up before leaving and filled up again upon my return and hand calculated the results. The onboard computer was reset when we left and showed 11.8 mpg upon arrival.

All and all I am extremely happy with my rig. I would estimate the weight on my 5er at a lil under 11k, because still being new, we don't have it fully loaded out yet. So we should top out near the 12k GVWR.

The Ram pulled my 5er like a dream. I am sure the Ford and Chevy folks have similar experiences with their trucks as all are pretty darn stout. So IMO it really comes down to which truck fits you better with: ammenities, design, fit & trim and of course cost.

[Gizmo0706]

Originally Posted by Ragin Cajun

If your staying with TT's and a large group of travelers...Duraburb may be your answer, awesome trucks!
It's a retrofitted Tahoe with the Duramax engine...you can YouTube them to check out, a little pricey though.

Or maybe something like this,




Although finding a parking space or wallering the camper into a campsite might be more challenging!

[DnD]

Originally Posted by Gizmo0706

Or maybe something like this,

Although finding a parking space or wallering the camper into a campsite might be more challenging!

Holy cr@p. I thought my truck was hard to park sometimes ... That would be impossible!

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Gizmo0706

Or maybe something like this,

Although finding a parking space or wallering the camper into a campsite might be more challenging!

Yea, I may just want to upsize to that...not because I need to but WANT TO!

[asquared]

You could consider a 3/4 ton SUV. Chevy makes them. You can also still find a used ford excursion. They make a great tow vehicle and you still get room for everyone.

[Gizmo0706]

Originally Posted by anaro

You could consider a 3/4 ton SUV. Chevy makes them. You can also still find a used ford excursion. They make a great tow vehicle and you still get room for everyone.

I have considered a Suburban /Yukon XL 2500 but all I would really gain is a higher GVWR/payload and then not by a whole lot. The tow rating for the Suburban 2500 is a couple hundred pounds less than the Sequoia and it has less HP and torque. The more I think about it maybe I should just get the truck and make everyone suffer through it!

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Gizmo0706

I have considered a Suburban /Yukon XL 2500 but all I would really gain is a higher GVWR/payload and then not by a whole lot. The tow rating for the Suburban 2500 is a couple hundred pounds less than the Sequoia and it has less HP and torque. The more I think about it maybe I should just get the truck and make everyone suffer through it!

Now we're getting somewhere! Remind everyone during the travel that this is 'camping' some conveniences will not be with us

[Gizmo0706]

Originally Posted by Ragin Cajun

Now we're getting somewhere! Remind everyone during the travel that this is 'camping' some conveniences will not be with us

That's right, the discomfort we're feeling is part of the camping "experience"!

[DnD]

Originally Posted by Gizmo0706

That's right, the discomfort we're feeling is part of the camping "experience"!

That's called "roughing it"

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Gizmo0706

I have considered a Suburban /Yukon XL 2500 but all I would really gain is a higher GVWR/payload and then not by a whole lot. The tow rating for the Suburban 2500 is a couple hundred pounds less than the Sequoia and it has less HP and torque. The more I think about it maybe I should just get the truck and make everyone suffer through it!

Just get a boat too. Then everybody can ride in 2 vehicles, and you can carry twice as much junk in your tvs!

Just kiding, but that's what we do most of the time, unless we talk someone else into camping with us and have them pull the boat.

[ependydad]

We have the bench seats front and back and regularly carry six for up to an hour at a time. With 3 adults in the front, one adult, a car seat and a child in the back- it gets cozy. For all of our long drives (where there were 6 of us), my in-laws drove their own car.

That said, we sat in each of the big 3- we found the Dodge to have the roomiest feeling back seat even with its shorter middle seat (still wish you could get the megacab back seat in the crew cab).

[Gizmo0706]

Originally Posted by ependydad

We have the bench seats front and back and regularly carry six for up to an hour at a time. With 3 adults in the front, one adult, a car seat and a child in the back- it gets cozy. For all of our long drives (where there were 6 of us), my in-laws drove their own car.

That said, we sat in each of the big 3- we found the Dodge to have the roomiest feeling back seat even with its shorter middle seat (still wish you could get the megacab back seat in the crew cab).

Thanks for the info! One question though, does your truck have the floor shift for 4wd or the dash selector? I was just wondering if the console thing that comes with the floor shift can be removed. Most of the trucks in my price range have the floor shift 4wd.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Gizmo0706

Thanks for the info! One question though, does your truck have the floor shift for 4wd or the dash selector? I was just wondering if the console thing that comes with the floor shift can be removed. Most of the trucks in my price range have the floor shift 4wd.

I've got a 2012 Ram, the gear shifter is on the steering pillar and the 4WD is a knob on the dash. Our has a fold-up cup holder that folds out of the way when we have a middle passenger.

Not sure how other trucks are laid out, though. Though, as a kid - I remember many trips of 2 big guy adults and me in the middle of my Dad's Toyota Truck (no model, just "truck") that was a manual and I had to work to keep out of the way.