Towing mpg

[dawg82]

I just recently made a trip to Ocean Lakes campground in Myrtle Beach,SC from Augusta Georgia pulling a 2011 Shamrock 21ss weighing about 5000 lbs fully loaded.My TV is a 2011 Chevy silverado crew cab 4wd with towing package and 5.3 l v8.This was my first trip pulling the camper over 3 hrs and I was very disappointed with the mpg I got on the trip.I got 9.4 there and 8.6 on the way back.I thought the truck would tow alot better than it did.It was constantly hitting close to 5000 rpm going up hills at 65 mph.I was wanting to know what others that have a similar truck and camper setup were getting.I am seriously looking at trading up to a chevy 2500 hd.If anyone could help with any suggestions I would appreciate it.

[camper_Lucy]

Sorry, but a 2500 really will not pull and better, unless you go to the Duramax as well. I had a Puma 33 around 10K loaded and I got 8.5 to 9 with my 2500 gas (6.0?), so i traded it for a 2500 Duramax and I got 14 to 15mpg. Currently getting 12 with my 3500 Dually and a 14,000lbs 5th wheel

[MtnGuy]

dawg82, what final drive ratio do you have ??

[Rugged Brown]

just finished a x-country trek from BC to NS in 5 1/2 days. (6000k). I averaged 8-10 mpg towing a 6500 lb loaded TT with a 2010 5.7L Tundra. Mountains, hills, flatlands, didn't make any difference to the mileage. If you climbed a hill, you would save on the way down. My speed varied from 90 km/hr to 120 km/hr and I didn't notice a big difference in gas mileage then as long as I got the truck in overdrive. There was a nice sweet spot around 105 km/hr though.

[EXGMTech]

I'm pulling around 7200+ lbs with my '10 2500 6.0L gasser and get around 9 with an average spd of 60-65. I didn't expect much more, and my rpm rarely sees 3500. The combo of the 4.10 diff, and 6 spd trans really make it pull well. Had I had an extra 8 grand I would have gotten a diesel.....but 8 grand will but alot of gas!

[bikendan]

i pull my 5000lbs. Roo 23SS with an '07 Avalanche with the 5.3 and 3.73 rear end. i rarely get that low of mpg average. usually after a trip, i get between 9 and 11 mpg. and i live in California with lots of hills and mountains.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

I averaged 8-10 mpg towing a 6500 lb loaded TT with a 2010 5.7L Tundra.

Terry, what happened to your Dodge ??

Originally Posted by EXGMTech

I'm pulling around 7200+ lbs with my '10 2500 6.0L gasser and get around 9 with an average spd of 60-65. I didn't expect much more, and my rpm rarely sees 3500.

3500 rpms is about the maximum that my truck engine sees, and that is mostly getting up to speed on the interstates. If I am not doing interstate, on many trips my engine doesn't go much about 3000 rpms. A couple of times the tranny slipped down to 2nd on the highway, and the revs went up to about 4000, but that usually doesn't happen.

That is the reason I asked about what final drive the OP has.....a high final drive (low numerical) might be causing the tranny to shift to 2nd on the highway to keep up speed.

[dawg82]

mtnguy it has a 3:73 rear end.It would lose 10 to 15 mph going up hills and that was giving it a good bit of gas around 4500 to 5000 rpms

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by dawg82

mtnguy it has a 3:73 rear end.It would lose 10 to 15 mph going up hills and that was giving it a good bit of gas around 4500 to 5000 rpms

Hmmm, that should be a good final drive ratio, unless you have over sized tires.

I don't have an easy answer for you. I here the 5.3L is a good engine, and is comparable to my my 2006 5.4L Ford. I will let my truck loss a little speed up some of the steeper hills around here to save on gas, but losing 10 to 15 mph just doesn't seem right.

[MtnGuy]

I just looked up the stats on your truck. The 5.3L has more hp than my 5.4L, but not quite as much torque. But that 6 speed transmission should give you much more flexibility than my 4 speed. Other Chevy owners will have to chime in here to figure it out.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by dawg82

I just recently made a trip to Ocean Lakes campground in Myrtle Beach,SC from Augusta Georgia pulling a 2011 Shamrock 21ss weighing about 5000 lbs fully loaded.My TV is a 2011 Chevy silverado crew cab 4wd with towing package and 5.3 l v8.This was my first trip pulling the camper over 3 hrs and I was very disappointed with the mpg I got on the trip.I got 9.4 there and 8.6 on the way back.I thought the truck would tow alot better than it did.It was constantly hitting close to 5000 rpm going up hills at 65 mph.I was wanting to know what others that have a similar truck and camper setup were getting.I am seriously looking at trading up to a chevy 2500 hd.If anyone could help with any suggestions I would appreciate it.

Are you using cruise control, tow haul or trying to hold 65 mph going uphill? I have an old broken down 05 Silverado with a 5.3 and never use cruise while towing as it will downshift like crazy going uphill. I try to hold it around 60-65 max and always use the tow/haul mode. If it slows down going uphill, so be it, I never rev the engine over 3,500 regardless of the speed. Whomever is behind me can either go around or just stay back there. If I see over 2 or 3 behind me, if I can, I will pull over to let them go around. Can depend on 10.? mpg, sometimes as high as 12 and as low as 9.5. Have a 3.23 re.

[jamesroadking]

My 2011 F250 Crew Cab with a 6.7 diesel and with 3.31:1 rear axle ratio get 19 MPG not towing at 75 MPH and when I tow my Work and Play 30WRS which I guess weights in at about 10K lbs. in gets 10.5 to 11 MPG turning 1500 RPM's at 65 MPH.

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Terry, what happened to your Dodge ??

That was my brothers setup. I drove the truck and camper and he drove the VW Jetta. I helped with his relocation to the east coast.

[ResQMoore]

Originally Posted by dawg82

I just recently made a trip to Ocean Lakes campground in Myrtle Beach,SC from Augusta Georgia pulling a 2011 Shamrock 21ss weighing about 5000 lbs fully loaded.My TV is a 2011 Chevy silverado crew cab 4wd with towing package and 5.3 l v8.This was my first trip pulling the camper over 3 hrs and I was very disappointed with the mpg I got on the trip.I got 9.4 there and 8.6 on the way back.I thought the truck would tow alot better than it did.It was constantly hitting close to 5000 rpm going up hills at 65 mph.I was wanting to know what others that have a similar truck and camper setup were getting.I am seriously looking at trading up to a chevy 2500 hd.If anyone could help with any suggestions I would appreciate it.

I have a very similar setup to you- I was towing a Roo 21SS with a 2009 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab Std Bed 4wd 5.3L and tow package. I went from Concord , NH to Lancaster, PA averaging 6-8MPG and pulling in the 4K-5K RPM range up some of those hills. Normally I average between 10-12MPGs and usually don't juice it up hills.

What rear end do you have in the truck? I have a 3.73.

IMHO a 2500HD is overkill for a 5K lb trailer.

[DDC]

I think you have to remember that you are towing and not try to drive like you have no load. I tow with a 5.3 avalanche with a 3.42 rear end and never work it like that, you will be putting a tranny or even an engine in if you keep up that method of towing, did you check the tranny temp as you went along, that's something I check as I climb hills. If you want to tow at constant speeds reaching 65 to 70mph you will need to switch to a diesel.

[bignugget]

My wife and I just finished a camping trip pulling our travel trailer that totaled 1900 miles. Part of it was from Va to Ocean Lakes in Mrytle then back home then a trip to pigeon forge tn and back. I averaged 12 mpg running 70 to 75 mph. My total weight on the cat scales was 14200lbs. I have a 06 3/4 ton dodge diesel. There was no slowing down on hills and never turned over 2300 rpm. If you are a chevy guy get yourself a diesel and never look back. Just my opinion.

[bignugget]

I meant get yourself a duramax if chevy is what you like.

[ResQMoore]

Originally Posted by DDC

I think you have to remember that you are towing and not try to drive like you have no load.

This- While I mentioned in my post that I sometimes hit the high ranges thats only in rare circumstances with some very steep hills. I understand that when I approach a hill I need to drive different with a load. I might even downshift and slowdown to let my truck do the work, not the gas pedal.

The other thing is if you decide you want better gas mileage and speed you are going to sacrifice a lot of money for going with the 2500. In the benefit that you would receive for higher gas mileage you would lose even more with the higher maintenance costs associated with a 2500 (LT tires, diesel engine, etc).

The Silverado 1500 is a great truck. I should note that I have the 4-speed auto transmission. I wish I had the 6-auto, but it works great with the 4.

[Dave_Monica]

Further to what dunnc said...why to you feel that you have to maintain 65 mph going uphill and revving 5000 rpm to 2nd gear to do it?

I use cruise most of the time except when I'm climbing a grade. I use 4th or 3rd gear if steeper and speed falls to whatever it can maintain without further downshifting. The max rpm is about 3200, where the maximum torque for the V10 is.

Gets better fuel mileage that way and I haven't had any drivers giving me the one finger salute.

Dave

[wyo700]

I have been very disappointed with Chevy since they switched to the newer body style in 1999 and the new 5.3 and 6.0 engines. I have always been a Chevy guy. I was a mechanic and worked in a fleet garage we had all the big three to work on and Chevy was the worst for reliability. I could not believe the problems we had with them. The tranny/transfer case design on the 3/4 ton Chevys are the worst design ever. I replaced more transfer cases and trannies than I could shake a stick at. So a warning to all Chevy owners watch your trannies where they mate up to the transfer case there is an adapter plate that cracks and cause leaks. I have sandstorm 203slc when fully loaded ready to go weighs 6800 lbs. I have a 2005 Nissan titan 4x4 king cab with 9200 tow capacity. I am not winning any races but the truck does great. I have been very happy. Towing I get about 6-10 mpg witch whatever I don't care. My work truck is a 2008 Chevy 2500hd with 6.0. And struggles worse with less weight than my Nissan. So although it has a higher towing capacity the 6.0 just doesn't have enough power to pull heavy campers. The duramax is a must. And then will have to worry about the drive train failing.
If I was to buy a diesel it would be a dodge with the cummins. We had some in our fleet and they were rock solid.