Towing MPG

[Dan-O]

With the price of gas going up has anyone been successful using fuel additives to improve MPG? If so what did you try.

I have a 2014 Silverado 5.3, 6-speed and 3.42 and a 7000 lb travel trailer. I feel good getting 9.5 and maybe touch 10 with a tail wind. Into the wind average 8.5.
Is there any magic out there when it comes to towing MPG??

Ps has anybody been successful using wind defectors with pickup trucks and towing.

Thanks Dan

[Bobaloo]

I've found that keeping it under 60 mph yields me the best mileage. I average 11 here in Va, less when I'm in the mountains or on rt 81.

[Wileykid]

No magic pill. You are getting right in the range that would be expected. Like what was said, the only way to get better mileage is to slow down.

The only way an additive would increase your mileage is if your engine was internally dirty and needed cleaning. But that would only be getting back to what it should be.

Mark

[NMWildcat]

Lots of 'snake oil' products out there guaranteeing increased mpg. No proof that any of them actually do that.

The air deflectors on the top of pickups that were so popular years ago, also never proved to be worth the cost and PITA of having. The redesign of the front caps of most RVs have done more toward improving mpg than air deflectors ever did.

I agree with the above posts saying slowing down is about the only way to realistically improve mpg.

Good luck!

[Cowracer]

I put 11 things on my truck, each guaranteeing a 10% increase in fuel economy, and now its a huge PITA to stop every 350 miles and drain my fuel tank.

Tim

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

I put 11 things on my truck, each guaranteeing a 10% increase in fuel economy, and now its a huge PITA to stop every 350 miles and drain my fuel tank.

Tim

Now that there is funny

[Dan-O]

Thanks for the reply’s, and I’m with you but had to ask! We are headed south at the end of this week packing now and getting excited. Thanks for the input.

[Casey r]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

I put 11 things on my truck, each guaranteeing a 10% increase in fuel economy, and now its a huge PITA to stop every 350 miles and drain my fuel tank.

Tim

[Chief T]

I periodically put Sea Foam in my tanks due to 86 octane is our "regular" gas. I did notice an increase after I first used it. Final trip last year to Durango got me 11.8 mpg on the way back.

Safe and happy travels.

[BandJCarm]

Some of these above are lying a little. Seafoam IS magic. I don't know what it is. But it will resurrect the dead. I am leery of adding too much to anything, because I've read Stephen King's "Pet Cemetery". And I'm afraid my truck would start flying. I dunno if it will get better mileage though. Try it sometime in your gas lawnmower. Just a cap full. Then watch what comes out after you start it.

Other than that, your mileage is your mileage, when towing. You can drive 15 mph less and get .028978 more mpg. Or vice versa. Or not.

[FrankG]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

I put 11 things on my truck, each guaranteeing a 10% increase in fuel economy, and now its a huge PITA to stop every 350 miles and drain my fuel tank.

Tim

About 30 years ago a group of Engineering students purchased a number of mileage enhancing products from the JC Whitney catalog and put them to the test on the Dyno. NONE of them produced any significant increase and a few actually produced negative results. The idea was conceived one night consuming a few beers and jokingly hoping to achieve your wishful results.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

Other than that, your mileage is your mileage, when towing. You can drive 15 mph less and get .028978 more mpg. Or vice versa. Or not.

That is pretty misleading. 15 mph less will give you a significant decrease in fuel consumption. Aerodynamics on a camper trailer are just terrible. Add to that the frontal aera is enormous. Strike 3 is the physics of aerodynamics is exponential with speed. Finally rolling resistance also increases with speed although no where near as big a deal as the aero penalty. Just putting some numbers into a physics computer shows a standard truck pulling a camper getting 6.45 mpg at 70 mph. Slow it down to 55 and it's getting 9.42 mpg. That's 46% further distance travelled on a tank of gas. No small thing.

[BandJCarm]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

That is pretty misleading. 15 mph less will give you a significant decrease in fuel consumption. Aerodynamics on a camper trailer are just terrible. Add to that the frontal aera is enormous. Strike 3 is the physics of aerodynamics is exponential with speed. Finally rolling resistance also increases with speed although no where near as big a deal as the aero penalty. Just putting some numbers into a physics computer shows a standard truck pulling a camper getting 6.45 mpg at 70 mph. Slow it down to 55 and it's getting 9.42 mpg. That's 46% further distance travelled on a tank of gas. No small thing.

Well, with a minor in Physics, and a major in Math, those are actual numbers from my towing experience. I WISH I had as big a differential as others.

[Bluepill]

No magic for MPG. As already said, lower speed is the best and proven way. If you can find Non-ethanol gasoline for the same price as E-10, you will get a small percentage gain - maybe 3 to 5%, since ethanol has a lower BTU value than gasoline.

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

Some of these above are lying a little. Seafoam IS magic. I don't know what it is. But it will resurrect the dead. I am leery of adding too much to anything, because I've read Stephen King's "Pet Cemetery". And I'm afraid my truck would start flying. I dunno if it will get better mileage though. Try it sometime in your gas lawnmower. Just a cap full. Then watch what comes out after you start it.

I also am very leery of all the "mechanic-in-a-can" products being sold, but I swear by Sea-foam. I have personally resurrected 4 (four!) completely dead transmissions with their "trans-tune" product.

The reason my wife has that new Buick is because her stalwart old Toyota RAV4 gave up the transmission ghost at 207K miles. I had to take my flatbed trailer up to her work to fetch it and it didn't even have enough 'drive' to make it to the trailer, much less up the ramps. Trans fluid was black and burn. About as bad as I ever seen. Before I hauled it to the boneyard, I figured I toss a hail Mary and give Sea-Foam a chance.

Now, the owners manual states that the trans fluid and filter are "lifetime" and only ever needs changed if driving under certain circumstances (towing, off-roading, etc). I guess Toyota never figured on "lifetime" lasting that long. I pick up another filter, a gallon of trans fluid and some trans tune on the way home. Draining and dropping the pan was easy, and the old filter weighed about 9 pounds with all the accumulated 'mud' in it. I zipped in the new filter, filled the trans and hoped for the best.

In just a few minutes of revving while in reverse, it started to pull. I made it out of the driveway and into the street, where it took a few more minutes of revving to get it to pull in "drive". She finally clunked down into drive and has been running more-or-less fine ever since. Oh... The 2-3 shift is hard enough to make you think you got rear ended if you are at WOT (usual state of driving normally, trying to keep up with traffic in a 4-banger RAV4) and don't lift at the shift point. And reverse takes a bit to finally drop in, but I drive it every day, and will continue to do so till it coughs up enough blood that even Trans-Tune wont save it.

If you ever have a trans that you think is toast, it's worth the $9 to give it a shot.

Tim

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Dan-O

With the price of gas going up has anyone been successful using fuel additives to improve MPG? If so what did you try.

I have a 2014 Silverado 5.3, 6-speed and 3.42 and a 7000 lb travel trailer. I feel good getting 9.5 and maybe touch 10 with a tail wind. Into the wind average 8.5.
Is there any magic out there when it comes to towing MPG??

Ps has anybody been successful using wind defectors with pickup trucks and towing.

Thanks Dan

NO magic pill, except buying a popup.
Any money spent on deflector will be wasted for the extremely minimal improvement, if there is any.
Towing a TT with a gasser, no matter what the combo, will be in the 8-11 mpg range.

[calgarycampers]

My wife got us a lot better mileage than our 2500 hemi delivered. We went from 4.5 mpg to 17 by going diesel! 😁 She is so proud of herself. And I get to drive her 2500 CTD once in a while, like when it is too rainy, windy or hilly.

[thebrakeman]

I've been known to draft a semi if I find one going the speed I want to move. Don't get too close! Make them uncomfortable, and they will drift onto the shoulder and kick up debris (ask me how I know). But a past episode of MythBusters confirmed that you don't have to be super close to get some benefit.
1. I notice it's a lot easier for me to hold top-gear when safely trailing a semi.
2. I have a Scangage, constantly monitoring several things, including %Engine Load. When I fall in behind a semi, I can see that % engine load drop significantly.


PS - When that %engine load hits 99%, any further throttle (or an uphill, or increased headwind) will force a downshift. I use this to keep from hunting, when I don't want to lock out OD.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by thebrakeman

I've been known to draft a semi if I find one going the speed I want to move. Don't get too close! Make them uncomfortable, and they will drift onto the shoulder and kick up debris (ask me how I know). But a past episode of MythBusters confirmed that you don't have to be super close to get some benefit.
1. I notice it's a lot easier for me to hold top-gear when safely trailing a semi.
2. I have a Scangage, constantly monitoring several things, including %Engine Load. When I fall in behind a semi, I can see that % engine load drop significantly.


PS - When that %engine load hits 99%, any further throttle (or an uphill, or increased headwind) will force a downshift. I use this to keep from hunting, when I don't want to lock out OD.

The semi driver should want you back there, drafting increases the efficiency of all vehicles involved especially on a semi. Aerodynamic drag comes equally from the front and the back. They make efforts to improve the front and nothing is done to the rear. Even a VW bug tucked in back there will do as much as one of those "trailer tails". If you put 10 semis in a close line every single one, front to back will see an improvement in economy. One day I hope these computer aids will allow that to be done safely on a mass scale. It will also help with congestion.

[TitanMike]

There are only three things that work when trying to get better mileage. First one doesn't require any modifications or out of pocket expense ------- just drive slower. Rather than trying to keep up with the rest of traffic just drive at the posted truck speeds or 55-60, whichever is slower. Start the day a little earlier and relax.

Second one is buy a truck with a huge engine that is merely loafing along when towing. Kind of expensive solution, given the above. Diesels do offer more mileage but at a severe price penalty, both for vehicle but maintenance and fuel costs. Diesel often sells for a premium over Regular Unleaded.

Last option will yield SOME better mileage but at a premium price. Buy Alcohol/Ethanol free gasoline. Downside there is that the stations that sell it are not as plentiful, often way out of one's way, and it's expensive. Alcohol yields less BTU's per pound so you need to burn more to get the same speeds when using E-10. Might see a 2-3% gain with non-alcohol fuel.

I just drive slower and in a typical day of driving it only takes me an hour more to reach my daily limit of 350 miles. Less fuel burned, less hassle on the road as I seem to always have open road ahead of me, and there is less wear and tear on my vehicle. Engine, Transmission, and Differential Temps all run lower. Tires don't get as hot on either truck or trailer.

Be assured, there are NO additives that will give better mileage. Some, according to testing actually can damage engine and fuel systems.

Plan your driving days so you have plenty of time to make it to your next stop without having to drive fast and feel rushed.