Towing mpg

[jerryliving]

I'm on the road now. I pull our 22' Surveyor Sport with a Toyota 4Runner (4.7L). I was disappointed with 9-10mpg, but sounds pretty normal. The dry weight on the trailer is about 4000, so probably towing around 5000 pounds, but haven't weighted to know for sure.

[baldy]

I didn't read all the responses but thought I would chime in. 2010 F150 5.4 and a Roo 21SS I was getting around 11-12 US mpg. Those were 3-4 hour sometimes longer pulls but never over 60 mph. More often 50-55 mph. It makes such a difference. I would let it drop back on the hills and never pushed it over 3000-3500 rpm. Slow down or pay the pump is what I found.

[700hauler]

Originally Posted by transamz9

]

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...plications.pdf

fair enough. But this comment on that link is what sticks out to me;

"Industry standards dictate that tires with the ST designation are speed rated at 65 MPH (104 km/h) under normal inflation and load conditions."

See the "speed" portion of this quote posted (by one of our members) from Discount tire;
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...res-17247.html

Either way I stick to my opinion on proper towing speeds safety wise. Tire rating/pressure is only a small portion of what can affect towing safety. Its been proven time and time again that as speeds increase probability of catastrophe/death increases exponentially. Adding an attached trailer to the equation compounds those numbers even more.

[transamz9]

So then why not tow at 35 MPH? Even more safe and better fuel mileage.

[baldy]

Originally Posted by transamz9

So then why not tow at 35 MPH? Even more safe and better fuel mileage.

Yup! You are correct. Why not? Sometimes I do just cause. Got behind another RV and we did for 2 hours. I was in no hurry and niether was he!

[700hauler]

Originally Posted by transamz9

So then why not tow at 35 MPH? Even more safe and better fuel mileage.

Nothing wrong with that as long as you're not impeding traffic. There's obviously a threshold for speeds. Lets not be unreasonable here. You would obviously want to avoid going so slow in high speed traffic that you run the risk of having your trailer shoved through the back of your tow vehicle by someone beebopping along at 80 mph with a trailer in tow (not being able to slow down in time because they were towing too fast).

[ng2951]

So then why not tow at 35 MPH? Even more safe and better fuel mileage.

That is not always true. I can get better gas (diesel) mileage at higher speeds (62-63) than I can at some significantly slower speeds.

It is also important to have the right TV for the trailer you pull. For example, with old Trailmanor I use to have if I had pulled it with a V8 instead of a V6, I would have gotten a much better MPG.

Same thing is true for one of the posters here who is getting the same mileage pulling a TT 3,000-4,000 lighter than mine. Granted my price per gallon is about 10% higher, I am pulling almost two of his trailers.

But I went through two trailers and three trucks to learn that lesson...

[blw2]

When not towing, my silverado 1/2 ton crew cab (5.3L, 3.23:1 rear end) mileage peaks at approx 50 to 55MPH. I never plotted it while towing, but there is a point where slow doesn't help (in terms of MPG anyway...)

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by blw2

When not towing, my silverado 1/2 ton crew cab (5.3L, 3.23:1 rear end) mileage peaks at approx 50 to 55MPH. I never plotted it while towing, but there is a point where slow doesn't help (in terms of MPG anyway...)

X2, got 27 on a 200 mile trip ONCE, held it to 55 on cruise. Calculated from fillup to fillup. Never got that good again, but never held it at a constant speed either.

[Ft W crew]

I get about 8.5 to 9.5 MPG with Ford Expedition EL towing my trailer approx (6200 lbs dry) probably close to 7200 lbs full loaded. I get about 14 MPG without the trailer, the DW gets about 11.5 unloaded but claims it due to the city driving, LOL.

[ng2951]

ScanGauge, et al, really give you insights on how well your configuration is doing. You still need to calibrate it, but it will give you good, immediate feedback.

Mine has proven useful many times over.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by ng2951

ScanGauge, et al, really give you insights on how well your configuration is doing. You still need to calibrate it, but it will give you good, immediate feedback.

Mine has proven useful many times over.

X2.

[BigTJohn]

Ram 1500, 5.7 Hemi, 3.55:1 towing a Grey Wolf 26RL. Not towing at 74 mph or <, I get 20 - 21.5 (calculated, not EVIC) and towing, using cruise control, 58 mph, right lane if on I- Anything, 8.5 - 10, loaded weight TT is 6500#. I get to be the "traffic" everybody is worried about, but I keep a close eye on the rear views and move over - if safe - to center lane at merge points for on ramps. A 26 gl fuel tank gets me to 200 mi for fuel stops and a stretch. Dog gets out so is not too grumpy, DW also.()

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by ng2951

ScanGauge, et al, really give you insights on how well your configuration is doing. You still need to calibrate it, but it will give you good, immediate feedback.

Mine has proven useful many times over.

x3. I have strived to be easy on the gas since the 1974 oil embargo, but found the ScanGauge has even improved my conservative ways.

[OldCoot]

We have a Garmin Nuvi 2460LMT with the ecoRoute™ HD which does about the same as ScanGauge.

[Coops1]

Originally Posted by ng2951

ScanGauge, et al, really give you insights on how well your configuration is doing. You still need to calibrate it, but it will give you good, immediate feedback.

Edge Insight CTS is what I use, does what the ScanGauge does and more.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by dunnnc

We have a Garmin Nuvi 2460LMT with the ecoRoute™ HD which does about the same as ScanGauge.

The Garmin reads the vehicle computer, giving you current, tank, today, and previous day mpg's ??? The ScanGuage will also give you gallons used, gallons to empty, miles to empty, miles since the last fillup, plus it shows transmission temperature, coolant temperature, several ranges of maximum rpm's, and a bunch of other neat stuff.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

The Garmin reads the vehicle computer, giving you current, tank, today, and previous day mpg's ??? The ScanGuage will also give you gallons used, gallons to empty, miles to empty, miles since the last fillup, plus it shows transmission temperature, coolant temperature, several ranges of maximum rpm's, and a bunch of other neat stuff.

The Garmin reads the vehicle computer:
RPM meter
Choice of gauges: Fuel Flow, Intake Air Temperature, etc. Coolant/Temperature-Oil/Pressure data, Throttle position, Combustion mixture, Engine component operation and status, Battery and charging system information, Climate control information – Heat and A/C etc.
Real time fuel, sweet spot monitoring,
Overall score
Speed score
Braking score
Acceleration score
Graphical chart showing drive history
Real-time MPG reading
Total fuel used
Average fuel economy
Cost of fuel used
Carbon footprint value
Graphical view of your trip
Monitors 4300 ODBII fault codes
Press fault code to get more data
Reset and re-scan ability

And, I don't have to have another device on the dash or windshield other than my TST TMS
The truck itself has the rest.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by dunnnc

The Garmin reads the vehicle computer:

And, I don't have to have another device on the dash or windshield other than my TST TMS
The truck itself has the rest.

I looked it up.....neat.

[M109Rrider]

I have the Kiwi OBDII plug in. It transmits all the vehicle's ECM data via Bluetooth to my phone. On the phone it uses the Torque app to include GPS overlays to figure vehicles performance on different parts of the trip. It does all the mileage stuff plus can monitor, graph and record every parameter the ECM monitors. Can also make a dashboard and monitor all the stuff real time.