First Cross Country Tow

[McLaughlin]

So we experienced our first major RV outting traveling from Southern Oregon to St Louis for the holidays.

We have a 2005 Tundra pulling a 23ft Rockwood Mini. (We've downsized from the F250 Diesel/34ft 5th Wheel) First thing is, the 2005 V8 4.7l Tundra 200+ miles, pulled that trailer anywhere at any speed (disadvantage-No Tow Button/tow gearing).

The bad news was... I lived at the pump! Even today with the trailer parked in the RV parking, I want to drive to Loves to fill up....one more time! (sarcasm).

The V8 Tundras have a reputation of poor fuel mileage and I don't do enough daily driving with it to worry about it. That being said, I usually do about 300ish miles per tank (22 gal). So my range isn't the best. Now attach the Rockwood Mini and I had to be looking for gas stations around 150-160 miles. So mileage at least cut in half. There were some stretches I got 130 miles on a tank. I never met a gas pump I didn't like! . Interesting enough we got our best gas mileage driving the high deserts through Arizona and New Mexico, thinner air I guess? I had to be very careful to know how far we were from the next services and almost got caught in the middle of Nevada at one point.

BTW-I did start the trip being conservative on MPH, sorta had to going through California (55 for towing). The MPH never seemed to be a huge factor on our mileage. Head winds and rain were probably the worst.

My thoughts now on our setup is, either we add an addition tank to expand our range or move on to another truck. I've done the 2007 F250 Diesel already. It was just expensive to have. Big truck, big wear and tear. It was in at Ford regularly for big items. The saving grace was I had an excellent extended warranty that saved our hides many times. $100 deductible only... and left many times only paying that for $1000 work expenses. People say, "ya but diesels last forever. So far I haven't owned one vehicle in my life forever and my experience is, the truck will fall apart around the engine anyhow... Didn't care for the turbo lag either. However, the diesel probably did much better with the fuel economy than the gas V8 we have now...(?).

I love to hear from some of you on your towing rigs. I see a lot of beautiful trucks out there on the market from Dodges, GMCs, Fords, etc. Gas vs Diesel.

Hope everyone had wonderful holidays!
We got to see our older children with no major issues, meaning...success!

Cheers!
Doug

PS. I kind miss our 34ft Elkridge after this long trip!

[bikendan]

Because I saw similar experiences like yours, I bought a F150 3.5 Ecoboost with the Max Tow package. Which comes with a 36 gallon fuel tank.
I get around 20mpg highway, not towing. Towing our 26ft TT, I average 10-11mpg.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Do you have a tow package on that Tundra?
We pulled a 5,100 GWV trailer with our 2006 Tundra Double Cab V8 4.7L with tow package and had no difficulty pulling it.
You're basically towing a box behind your truck, so mileage isn't going to be great. Speed is the main factor. We got our best gas mileage at around 60mpg and got very good mileage on flat roads. Hills and mountains killed mileage.
All that said... I have no idea what you should do. It probably depends on how often you'll be towing vs daily driving. Any of the newer trucks should give you better mileage. Starting with 2007, the Tundra went to a 5.7L and a much larger truck and a larger towing capacity.

[DougW]

I have owned and towed with many trucks over the years. If it is a gas engine, you can be pretty sure you will get about 10MPG. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is a V10 or a V6 turbo, they all get about the same. The diesels will usually use a bit less fuel but, from my experience, there really is no savings because the diesel fuel costs more than gas and the maintenance on a diesel is more expensive. If you are towing a big load and need the power diesel is great, otherwise they are not for me.

My suggestion, since it sounds like you are happy with the power, would be to get more fuel capacity whether from a replacement fuel tank, an auxiliary tank or a new truck.

[Should_Have]

From scouring many forums I would have to agree what Doug said about gas mileage. I have 2019 Ram 1500 4x4 Quad Cab3.92 axle and can get 22 mpg non towing. 10mpg/60 Mph. 9 Mpg/70 Mph Towing my 2020 21DS Flagstaff. Plenty Power Towing up and down I95. Apparently the BOX has more effect on gas mileage then the TT Weight to a point.

26 Gal Tank Filling Up every 200 miles,

[Brother Les]

Do you think that a tuner would help your truck? I know that you have plenty of 'power'.... but does that mean that your RPMs are a lot higher when pulling. It may change your shift points and RPMS to have that get up and go in the lower gears, but drop down when at cruising speed. A 'factory' setting may be middle of the 'road' setting, but a tuner will give you more versatility. I have had a tuner/chip for over on my truck 15 years and like it very much. And yes, I have a Smoker... no Cat, open pipe.....


Also, as a side bar.... the Ford 7.3 ('99-2003) is pre-EPA and owner friendly to work on.

[McLaughlin]

Reverse_Snowbird. Sounds like we have the same Tundra setup that you have/had. I'm very happy about the towing ability. It literally pulls up hill at 70 if you want. So it's a rockstar in that regard. It's just the mileage/range.

I like DougW thought about the upgrading to a larger tank. And, it didn't even occur to me Brother_Les to maybe add a tuner to give it some newer towing technology. That is a very interesting idea.

The truck is a 2005 with 200+ miles on it, but driving it you would never know it had that many miles on it. Paid off and comfortable. Lot cheaper than a new 40-50K truck! So... probably pursue the larger tank/tuner ideas.

Thanks for the input.

[BarabooBob]

I have a 3.5 EB in my F150. I get about 10 with the truck doing 60 and 8 going 70. Head winds will kill you along with high speeds. We went across North Dakota with 35 mph headwinds and got 7.5 no matter what speed we drove so I set the cruise at 70. The truck ran and pulled great but we stopped every 100 miles for fuel.

[flyflotrtim]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Because I saw similar experiences like yours, I bought a F150 3.5 Ecoboost with the Max Tow package. Which comes with a 36 gallon fuel tank.
I get around 20mpg highway, not towing. Towing our 26ft TT, I average 10-11mpg.

My experience is very similar but not quite the mpg you get towing. That may be attributable to our towing all being at higher elevations on steep twisty roads in the high Sierra.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by McLaughlin

Reverse_Snowbird. Sounds like we have the same Tundra setup that you have/had. I'm very happy about the towing ability. It literally pulls up hill at 70 if you want. So it's a rockstar in that regard. It's just the mileage/range

McLaughlin.
It's been my experience that the need to stop for gas every couple of hours forced me to get out and stretch my legs and take a break..... Just trying to make lemonade out of lemons.
Because of medical problems, we sold the trailer because it got too difficult to hook and unhook. Bought a 25' class B+ which gets great mileage, but now I have to remind myself to take breaks.
Still got the 2006 Tundra though and it runs like new.

[Brother Les]

When my truck was in 'Stock' mode, it would drive and pull just fine. No changes in shifting with or without a load on it. Once I 'Chipped it', I got that PMS (Powerstroke Mod Syndrome) grin on my face...... The Chip has two pulling modes and 'stock' and a High Performance mode. In the 'High Performance' I can launch off the line and quickly go through the gears and the RPMs will not get to high with each shift (17-1800 RPMs) and fly... (this is an F-250 Crewcab). It will setting down to 1800 RPM @ around 70mph OD. The 'Heavy' tow mode (I have a 35ft Hemisphere) The shifting is a lot slower as I increase speed and the RPMs at each shift will hit 22-2400RPMs but when it hit OD it will settle back down to 1800 RPMs at 65-68mph. when I towed before I put in the chip at OD the RPMs in Stock mode would average 2200 @ 65mph.My mileage when not towing 22-24mpg, towing 14-16mpg. If we are going on a long distance trip and will be on the road all day, I usually do not shut the truck off at Rest Stops or Fueling. I would rather fuel up at a 'Truck Stop', than a 'regular' gas station.... I want the room to maneuver and am not worried about the bigger rigs, I will 'wait'... or one of them can 'wait' for a pump...


I like choices, and with a tuner/chip, you can have more choices.

[Jfkmk]

I have a F150 with the 3.5 eb and Max tow package, which includes the w6 gallon tank. My trailer is slightly smaller than yours at just under 20’ and I average 12-12.5 mpg at 65 mph.

I previously towed a 17’ tt with an SUV and had to get gas ever 150 miles, which sucked.

[Dirt Sifter]

After our first trip with our Tundra and a 30' SOB I put a transferflow tank on the rig. 48 gal of gas adds weight, but gassing at my convenience usually once a day was worth it. Not sure if they make a tank for your year smaller Tundra, but I've been very happy with ours, towing or not.

[jwfrede]

Originally Posted by BarabooBob

I have a 3.5 EB in my F150. I get about 10 with the truck doing 60 and 8 going 70. Head winds will kill you along with high speeds. We went across North Dakota with 35 mph headwinds and got 7.5 no matter what speed we drove so I set the cruise at 70. The truck ran and pulled great but we stopped every 100 miles for fuel.

Same experience with the ecoboost, although I get maybe 12-13 at 55mph with the trailer. I get 21-22 driving around without the trailer. Once in Yellowstone, doing 45 everywhere I got 26-27. Love the 36 gal fuel tank. After a week in Yellowstone the gauge for miles to empty read over 950 after filling in W Yellowstone.

[Trawlerphil]

Here's the preamble to a very long post I did 2 years ago about Tundra towing across country: We just finished a 2 month, 9,992.73 mile “Walk-About” around the country in our Forest River Flagstaff Classic 8528RKWS 5th wheel. Fully loaded she is around 9,000 lbs. and we tow with our 2012 Toyota Tundra with the HD towing package. I am especially anal and keep track of everything so we’ve accrued some complete and interesting data on our trip.
RV Forums spend a lot of time discussing why a ½ ton pickup can’t tow a 9,000 lb. 5er. It seems the ¾ ton folks make fun of the ½ ton folks and the 1 ton folks make fun of the ¾ ton folks. The Freightliner folks make fun of everyone. Some don’t believe an F-450 will tow a grocery cart.
I’m a 73 year old “gear head” so I came at the problem of a tow vehicle from a different perspective looking at individual systems. For example the Tundra puts out 381 horsepower and 401 ft. lbs. of torque through a 6 speed paddle shift transmission with “tow/haul” programming to a 4:30 rear end. The four-wheel disc brakes use large ventilated rotors, 13.9 inches and 1.26-inches thick with four-piston calipers in front; and 13.6 x 0.71-inch with two-piston calipers in the rear. Our pin load is 1,520 lbs. sitting on a 16K Pull-Rite slider hitch. These pieces-parts almost exactly match many ¾ ton trucks.
I understand the arguments, but the fact is we’ve gone through the Great Smokey Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Green Mountains, the Cumberland Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Allegheny Mountains, the Adirondack Mountains, and the Rocky Mountains without problems, stress, or concerns. We haven’t embarrassed ourselves ascending mountains or down grades up to 10%. Here is a useful summary of all of the detail accumulated over our 60 day adventure:
• $3,086.46 Gas Cost
• 1,043.288 Gas Gallons
• $2.958 Average Gas Price/Gallon
• 9,992.73 Miles Travelled
• $0.31 Average Cost per Mile
• 238.03 Driving Time Hours
• $1,762.58 Camp Site Cost

The overall mileage was 9.5, but pure towing mileage is 7-9MPG. That's just the way it is.

[SmackIt]

Originally Posted by Trawlerphil

Here's the preamble to a very long post I did 2 years ago about Tundra towing across country: We just finished a 2 month, 9,992.73 mile “Walk-About” around the country in our Forest River Flagstaff Classic 8528RKWS 5th wheel. Fully loaded she is around 9,000 lbs. and we tow with our 2012 Toyota Tundra with the HD towing package. I am especially anal and keep track of everything so we’ve accrued some complete and interesting data on our trip.
RV Forums spend a lot of time discussing why a ½ ton pickup can’t tow a 9,000 lb. 5er. It seems the ¾ ton folks make fun of the ½ ton folks and the 1 ton folks make fun of the ¾ ton folks. The Freightliner folks make fun of everyone. Some don’t believe an F-450 will tow a grocery cart.
I’m a 73 year old “gear head” so I came at the problem of a tow vehicle from a different perspective looking at individual systems. For example the Tundra puts out 381 horsepower and 401 ft. lbs. of torque through a 6 speed paddle shift transmission with “tow/haul” programming to a 4:30 rear end. The four-wheel disc brakes use large ventilated rotors, 13.9 inches and 1.26-inches thick with four-piston calipers in front; and 13.6 x 0.71-inch with two-piston calipers in the rear. Our pin load is 1,520 lbs. sitting on a 16K Pull-Rite slider hitch. These pieces-parts almost exactly match many ¾ ton trucks.
I understand the arguments, but the fact is we’ve gone through the Great Smokey Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Green Mountains, the Cumberland Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Allegheny Mountains, the Adirondack Mountains, and the Rocky Mountains without problems, stress, or concerns. We haven’t embarrassed ourselves ascending mountains or down grades up to 10%. Here is a useful summary of all of the detail accumulated over our 60 day adventure:
• $3,086.46 Gas Cost
• 1,043.288 Gas Gallons
• $2.958 Average Gas Price/Gallon
• 9,992.73 Miles Travelled
• $0.31 Average Cost per Mile
• 238.03 Driving Time Hours
• $1,762.58 Camp Site Cost

The overall mileage was 9.5, but pure towing mileage is 7-9MPG. That's just the way it is.

You were only 7.27 miles from a full 10k trip....and you call yourself anal? Thanks for the stats, I'm trying to decide if we will pull our trailer from Nevada to New Hampshire and back this summer. That $0.31 average helps.