Towing fuel economy

[Boosted131]

What do you guys get for mpg when towing and what do you tow?
Last trip to Invermere I got 12.5L/100km with just a truck bed full. This weekend I'm pulling a 12 foot aluminum trailer with a kodiak 450 in it. Less than 2000 lbs for sure, just wondering what to expect

[SJW]

27L/100 when I tow my 24' camping trailer.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by SJW
27L/100 when I tow my 24' camping trailer.

+1

exactly what I get too.

[Boosted131]

I'm hoping to only lose a couple L/100km
I guess we will see

[HiTempguy1]

I have an old-ass 1993 GMC extended cab 4x4 (5.7L TBI). I get 15L/100km on flat highway towing 7000 pounds of race car, trailer, and people/parts in the cab/bed.

Mountains is about 20L/100km. Wind resistance is a bitch (in regards to campers).

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by SJW
27L/100 when I tow my 24' camping trailer. time for a diesel ? My dad still gets 19 mpg pulling the boat

[ExtraSlow]

Unless you are towing every day, you'll never make back the premium you pay to buy the diesel, regardless of the improvement in fuel economy.

[Cos]

.

[spike98]

~18L/100km, Grand Cherokee 5.7L, 20ft TT @ ~3700lbs

[spikerS]

Originally posted by Cos
Yikes, hope I dont get 27 L/100km. Just towing it around to crossfield to fill it up and such I am getting 22 with a 4000# 26'.

LOL if I get better economy than the ecoboost in a 5.4L w/ a 4 speed.


Ill let you know Monday after my trip to kananaskis

no, you will get better numbers towing. your gearing is better suited to it.

Once the EB goes over 17-1800 RPM, the turbos really kick in and start drinking.

however, I will take you on mileage wise any day of the week when not towing. :rofl:

[Boosted131]

I'm hoping to get around 15L/100 with the trailer on. With my gearing it hums along at 100kmh @1500 rpm

[SJW]

Originally posted by Boosted131
time for a diesel ? My dad still gets 19 mpg pulling the boat

Nah. I'm fine with it. Next year I'm getting a 5th wheel because I just bought a new 17' boat. I want to have the boat where ever I camp. Who cares about mileage. It's all about the memories.

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by SJW


Nah. I'm fine with it. Next year I'm getting a 5th wheel because I just bought a new 17' boat. I want to have the boat where ever I camp. Who cares about mileage. It's all about the memories. we used to pull a 5th wheel with a boat on it all the time with a 5.3 Sierra . No problems

[redline]

I get 650-700 km empty to a 90l tank and 300-350 towing...

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by redline
I get 650-700 km empty to a 90l tank and 300-350 towing...
Sounds about right for me too. Towing my little travel trailer cuts me nearly in half. My tank is a little bigger, I can get 400km while towing.

[SOAB]

haven't really kept a close eye on what my mileage while towing is but i average about 600kms per tank (not towing) in the city with a 110litre tank.

i know i had about 1/3 of a tank left after towing from Calgary to Mount Kidd and back. my trailer is 33' long bumper to ball.

[Kavy]

2013 Ram 1500 with mileage killing 20's
5.7l Hemi, 8 Speed, 3.92 Rear

All amounts are according to an app on my iphone that tracks cost of gas, liters filled, km's driven and gas purchased, no numbers are from my dash which tends to show low by about 1-2L per 100km.

Day to day driving 14L/100km

When hauling a bed full of wood 18L/100km

When towing a 6000lb Travel trailer 21L/100km the last 4 trips.

I imagine the Hemi and the 3.92 rear end have a lot to do with my very reasonable gas mileage when towing, my old 2011 Tacoma was around 38L/100km when towing a 4000lb trailer.

[AllGoNoShow]

'08 F350 6.4, 3.73's,
32.8" 17's right now will have 35" on 20" results soon.

600km to a tank loaded roughly 10-11k, passing half tons left right and center
550km to a tank unloaded heavy right foot ;)

Diesel FTW!

[corsvette]

35L/100 kms towing a 34ft travel trailer with a Ford Excursion with a V10 and 35" tires.......ouch!

[SOAB]

how would you track your kms driven if you don't go by the odometer in your vehicle?

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by SOAB
how would you track your kms driven if you don't go by the odometer in your vehicle?

GPS?

Personally I don't track fuel economy. I bought a truck as a DD, I wasn't in it for the economy to begin with so no point in knowing beyond what the dash display tells me.

[Kavy]

Originally posted by SOAB
how would you track your kms driven if you don't go by the odometer in your vehicle?

I was referring to the mpg values my readout says not my km's :)

[SOAB]

ah i see.

i think my trucks calculations are fairly accurate.

reset my L/100km every fill-up and if i didn't do any towing, it would consistently read between 17-18 liters per 100km.

[Boosted131]

I got 16L/100km pulling the trailer and everything else. Figure about 3000 lbs. it worked pretty hard on some of the bc hills. Probably could have got a lot better just going to Edmonton .

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by AllGoNoShow

600km to a tank loaded roughly 10-11k, passing half tons left right and center
550km to a tank unloaded heavy right foot ;)


I hate it when people use XXXkm to a tank, for "fuel economy". It's a completely useless number without knowing how big your tank is. If it's 120 litres, than your numbers aren't impressive, if it's a 70 litres, than wow.

Did some towing yesterday with my Audi, and a 2300lb trailer. Wasn't in a rush, so did it all scientific like (using GPS to include elevation changes, and make sure I wasn't going downhill for most of one test)

@ 90km/h - 11.0L/100km A/C off
@110 km/h - 13.5L/100km A/C off

with A/C on, both the numbers went up by 0.3L/100km.

[SOAB]

lol. i think i would pay the .3L/100km to have the A/C. i would die on long drives without it. :D

[Cos]

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[revelations]

Make sure to check your trailer tire pressure. I found a big jump in MPG when I realized that the tires were at 40psi instead of the recommended 60.

[Boosted131]

Well I'm back now, after 740 km I averaged 16L/100 km. including some offroading and fire wood runs.

[Boosted131]

Here was the load I was towing , invermere and back.

http://i43.tinypic.com/nqtqm8.jpg

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Cos
On the way back decided to regulate not my speed but my foot. Left it just below where it kicked down and however fast I went was how fast I went. Sometimes I was doing 105-110 (which was normal) but on the hill climbs I just slid into the slowest lane and let her ride. Think I was doing 80 at one point.


Just don't be one of those dicks that do this on a 2-lane highway.

I have no problem with people driving slow for fuel economy, but when you're on a single lane, and there's 10+ people behind you because there's no where to (legally) pass, and you're doing 80km.h in a 100 zone... pull the F%^& OVER and let them by, lol.

[Cos]

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[Boosted131]

Lots of those hills on highway 93 are quite the challenge to climb and keep a high speed. Trying to keep it going 100- 110 there was a couple hills where It shifted into 2nd @4500-5000 rpm just to keep speed. Other than that the 4.7 pulled pretty good.

[AllGoNoShow]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


I hate it when people use XXXkm to a tank, for "fuel economy". It's a completely useless number without knowing how big your tank is. If it's 120 litres, than your numbers aren't impressive, if it's a 70 litres, than wow.

Did some towing yesterday with my Audi, and a 2300lb trailer. Wasn't in a rush, so did it all scientific like (using GPS to include elevation changes, and make sure I wasn't going downhill for most of one test)

@ 90km/h - 11.0L/100km A/C off
@110 km/h - 13.5L/100km A/C off

with A/C on, both the numbers went up by 0.3L/100km.

We are all hate NIMBY's and lie-o-meters, can't win them all can we!

[Masked Bandit]

I just got back from a 2000 KM trip pulling a 30' travel trailer (~8000 lbs). If I could sit behind a semi & draft I was as low as 25 L/100 KM but the last 500 KM was in bad weather (rain & hail) and at times a cross wind of about 80 KPH. That stretch ran me around 35 L/100 KM driving at 110 KM/H. That was brutal. Almost makes me want to look for a diesel.

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
I just got back from a 2000 KM trip pulling a 30' travel trailer (~8000 lbs). If I could sit behind a semi & draft I was as low as 25 L/100 KM but the last 500 KM was in bad weather (rain & hail) and at times a cross wind of about 80 KPH. That stretch ran me around 35 L/100 KM driving at 110 KM/H. That was brutal. Almost makes me want to look for a diesel. all depends how often you are towing. Yea you could have saved a couple hundred $, but how much more expensive is the diesel?

[SJW]

Originally posted by Boosted131
all depends how often you are towing. Yea you could have saved a couple hundred $, but how much more expensive is the diesel?

What I found when buying a bigger truck for towing is that my penis actually got bigger.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by SJW


What I found when buying a bigger truck for towing is that my penis actually got bigger.

Is that also why guys install 6" exhaust, and stacks? So it makes the whole truck rumble, and feels funny, like on the school bus when you were 12?

[Cos]

.

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by Cos


Fuel economy would get better but the cost of a diesel is usually $5-$8k on top of sticker. In your trip you would have spent about $700 in fuel? In a diesel you would have spent around $400 maybe?

Lets assume $600 a year is what you save in towing (4000km a year) you are still taking 10 years to break even with the diesel.


Having said that, I want one. Diesel 3500 dodges passing me with 40' fifth wheels and a quad in the back going up steep hills. :(

My penis SHRUNK when that happened. :rofl: same thing happened to me, there was diesels pulling huge trailers/boats and still doing 130 up the hills.

[SKR]

I know that at least when empty, tow/haul mode in the Allison transmission is light years ahead of the 6L90 that comes with the gassers.

And cost aside, your sanity has to count for something. A truck that can sail along at 1800rpm all day is so much better than one that has to drop 2 gears and spin at 5000rpm every time it has to climb a hill.

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by SKR
I know that at least when empty, tow/haul mode in the Allison transmission is light years ahead of the 6L90 that comes with the gassers.

And cost aside, your sanity has to count for something. A truck that can sail along at 1800rpm all day is so much better than one that has to drop 2 gears and spin at 5000rpm every time it has to climb a hill. can it do 1800 up a hill? Sometimes mine downshifts 3 gears if its really steep, from 5th to 2nd

[SKR]

I guess it depends on the load. My truck without the lift could pull hills at 1800 rpm at 120km/hr, as long as the trailer was light enough that it didn't have to drop a gear. If has to shift to 5th the rpms would go up to 2050. 4th would be 2900. If the trailer was that heavy, you'd never see anything less than 3-4000rpm in a gasser anyway.

[ExtraSlow]

Really depends on your attitude, My truck has to drop to 2nd on those steep mountain roads, and it's running 4500 rpm, and I don't really find that stressful at all.
Some people get very worried any time a truck goes over 2000 rpm, for those people, they should just drive a diesel.

Switching back and forth between the two types of engines will make you appreciate the diesel, but if you do any calculations, unless you tow commercially, you will save money on a gas motor, and these days, the gas motors are so good, they will tow nearly any legal load.

[SJW]

My 6.0L 2500HD is absolutely perfect. I hesitate to buy a diesel just because of the increase in costs. That's not to say I don't want one just because I feel I can upgrade my trailer at any time
without caring about all of this towing talk. Oh and towing the boat behind my trailer.

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by SJW
My 6.0L 2500HD is absolutely perfect. I hesitate to buy a diesel just because of the increase in costs. That's not to say I don't want one just because I feel I can upgrade my trailer at any time
without caring about all of this towing talk. Oh and towing the boat behind my trailer. yeah I don't understand how people are getting such horrible mileage. When we pulled the 5th wheel and boat behind it with the 5.3 Sierra we got 22L/100km to slave lake and back , about 1400 km

[hedge]

I love my diesels, they are definately more expensive to maintain and to buy but if you ever towed with one you'd understand.

The best I've seen empty is 14L/100 and towing the 5th wheel or with the camper on it gets 19L/100.

[legendboy]

I average 13.5 city and 22.5-24.5 towing 8000lb 32' bumper pull travel trailer

[spikerS]

Hey, if you get a Diesel, you can do this too!

3bxX4cPs1sM

:rofl:

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by spikers
Hey, if you get a Diesel, you can do this too!

3bxX4cPs1sM

:rofl:
Don't think I would need a diesel to move that little car :rofl:

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by spikers
Hey, if you get a Diesel, you can do this too!

:rofl:
You mean only diesel guys could wear a beard or shirt like that?
There go all my fashion hopes and dreams.

[Cos]

.

[Unknown303]

I towed my trailer just under 2000km this last week and averaged 14.5L/100km

[Boosted131]

Those Chevy 5.3s are good. We get even better than that towing just the boat.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by Boosted131
Those Chevy 5.3s are good. We get even better than that towing just the boat.

This is a Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi.

[Cos]

.

[AndyL]

From north of calgary to crowsnest. (Via 22) with a strong westerly we were sitting around 18 by the fuel stop in crowsnest, now showing 16.3L/100 - even with a low profile 5'er (19'6 long its not even 7' wide and 9' tall, single axle) '12 ram with 4.7L.

Course we're also loaded to the roof with gear and kids...

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by Unknown303
I towed my trailer just under 2000km this last week and averaged 14.5L/100km

What's the trailer?

[Unknown303]

Tent trailer. Around 3600 pounds according to the sticker in it, if I remember correctly.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by Unknown303
Tent trailer. Around 3600 pounds according to the sticker in it, if I remember correctly.

Well that explains it. Lighter weight and no wind resistance. As soon as you go to a regular travel trailer and start pulling that block around, the wind resistance hurts fuel consumption a lot. Throw an 8000 lb brick behind it and see what happens...lol.

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit


Well that explains it. Lighter weight and no wind resistance. As soon as you go to a regular travel trailer and start pulling that block around, the wind resistance hurts fuel consumption a lot. Throw an 8000 lb brick behind it and see what happens...lol. I've seen a few Tacoma pulling those 20-26 foot trailer, they slow down to like 60 on hills.

I don't understand the tow ratings on trucks. Mine says 7000 lbs, but I think on a steep hill it would only do like 40kmh up it so that's useless.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Boosted131

I don't understand the tow ratings on trucks. Mine says 7000 lbs, but I think on a steep hill it would only do like 40kmh up it so that's useless.

Maximum tow rating 7000 lbs. On a flat highway, no wind. If you plan on using hills/mountains, you should only utilize 70% of the max tow rating. (In other words, bigger truck, or smaller trailer).

It's also why diesel is king of towing. So much low end torque, hills don't bother them at all.

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Maximum tow rating 7000 lbs. On a flat highway, no wind. If you plan on using hills/mountains, you should only utilize 70% of the max tow rating. (In other words, bigger truck, or smaller trailer).

It's also why diesel is king of towing. So much low end torque, hills don't bother them at all. on highway 93 I wouldn't even want to do more than 50 percent. Kept revving 3000 rpm on most hills

[Tik-Tok]

It would also be nice for some standardization with tow ratings. Right now it's pretty much whatever the manufacturer wants to advertise. There should be a government test. 110km/h at 8% grade. Whatever the truck pulls at that, should be the tow rating.

[Unknown303]

Yeah if I get any bigger of a trailer I'm going to a diesel. Not that I even really need that excuse to get a diesel, I just want one regardless..

[benyl]

I want a diesel. But I don't have a need to tow anything. But I just want one regardless too.

[hedge]

The other advantage of diesel is that since most of them are turbo charged you don't lose half your horsepower at higher elevations.

I have no problem towing my 11k 5th wheel up the mountain passes at the speed limit. I know the gas engines are meant to rev but it's unnerving to me to hear them churning at 4-5k rpm. I rarely see 2k rpm with the diesel.

Having said that, it's not a great truck for around town. It's big to park and short trips are not good for a diesel, especially the modern ones.

[AllGoNoShow]

Originally posted by benyl
I want a diesel. But I don't have a need to tow anything. But I just want one regardless too.

Do it! Get the truck, you will find many uses for it like I did :)

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by AllGoNoShow


Do it! Get the truck, you will find many uses for it like I did :)

We could all meet up in front of heavyfuel's place and roll coal! :bigpimp:

[ExtraSlow]

youj do have to get used to revving the gas engines. It's hard for ayone used to driving a diesel, but once you get your head around it, the modern gas engines have amazing power.
My 5.4L is very comfortable on smaller hills 3000-3500 RPM, and pulls steeper hills at 4000. If I feel like passing someone up a hill, I can without hitting redline, so that's enough power for me.

[AllGoNoShow]

Originally posted by Unknown303


We could all meet up in front of heavyfuel's place and roll coal! :bigpimp:

Hah he would definitely enjoy that ;)

[Boosted131]

Wtb: duramax,
<10,000 cash

[benyl]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
youj do have to get used to revving the gas engines. It's hard for ayone used to driving a diesel, but once you get your head around it, the modern gas engines have amazing power.
My 5.4L is very comfortable on smaller hills 3000-3500 RPM, and pulls steeper hills at 4000. If I feel like passing someone up a hill, I can without hitting redline, so that's enough power for me.

The 5.4 has plenty of power. But would you really say no to 1000 lbft of torque after a tune? 1000 lbft.

You would need a 16 cyclinder quad turbo to get that out of a gasser. haha

[Masked Bandit]

So, how many guys that have posted in this thread in the last week have now gone onto Kijiji to look at diesel trucks?

1. Masked Bandit

[AndyL]

Nah, I'm patiently waiting to see pricing and some reliability data on the new dodge and nissan 1500 diesels...

Deciding next year will be new 5th time however... gotta see if someone makes a non monstrous 5'er without all the useless expensive crap - a current version of mine with a different layout would be awesome...

[Boosted131]

Originally posted by benyl


The 5.4 has plenty of power. But would you really say no to 1000 lbft of torque after a tune? 1000 lbft.

You would need a 16 cyclinder quad turbo to get that out of a gasser. haha buddy made a bit over 1000 on a new cummins but if he hammers it the tranny slips... Can only run it on the low tune without buying a race trans

[hedge]

My truck is 800 ft/lb and it's stock. I think H+S got it up to 1600 or something ridiculous.

Just saw this vid the other day, 4 wheel burnout

http://youtu.be/YOpv96EBJ_A

http://youtu.be/YOpv96EBJ_A

[Cos]

.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
So, how many guys that have posted in this thread in the last week have now gone onto Kijiji to look at diesel trucks?

1. Masked Bandit

I sure did but I also do that every day...

[fast95pony]

I've towed our i-Go TT just over 5000 kms this year in Alberta,B.C.,Montana and Idaho . The TT weighs about 5200 lbs. I've been averaging 19.5-20.5L/100kms .

2011 F-150 Screw , 5.0 , 3.73 , tow package.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Originally posted by Cos


2. Cos

Except mine was off the manufacturers site. Jesus GMCs are pricey. Optioned I hit 78k!

GM has huge incentives, you would never actually have to pay that.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by benyl


The 5.4 has plenty of power. But would you really say no to 1000 lbft of torque after a tune? 1000 lbft.

You would need a 16 cyclinder quad turbo to get that out of a gasser. haha
Yeah, I know you could have a lot more power, to be honest, what I really want is a better transmission. I'm still stuck back in 4-speed world and let me tell you, it's a long way between dem ratios.

Guys who have been looking at new trucks constantly for over a year
1) ExtraSlow

[benyl]

Yeah, I am pretty glad I have the 6 speed.

[Cos]

.

[Boosted131]

Pfft 4 speed. Even mine has a 5 speed auto. 120kmh @1900 rpm not bad

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by Cos

Sweet baby jesus I just witnessed my future.
Yep, The trailer is only a few hundred pounds heavier than mine, but almost 20 years newer, and from the looks of it, has a few conveinicens mine might lack, like space.

My truck is about to roll over to 222,222 km, so that's pretty exciting. Maybe I should get it to 250k before I upgrade.

[spikerS]

My end game is totally a diesel. Who knows, maybe even my next truck.

This would be it: http://shar.es/zEiZK

little pricey, but damn, this would be an awesome tow vehicle.

[hedge]

^ that's pretty much my exact truck except mine's a 2012. I got mine for quite a bit less than that price though, $52k I believe. You can pay that much for a loaded half ton anymore.

I also have the sunroof (useless feature) and 20" rims. I don't have the backup camera though, It'd be nice to have but mostly useless to me because I usually have the truck camper on so my tailgate is off.

[AllGoNoShow]

How many km have you put on your 2012 now hedge? Love the new 6.7 and interior.

[hedge]

Just 8000k, no problems yet. Just about due for first oil change

[fast95pony]

Originally posted by Cos


Sweet baby jesus I just witnessed my future. That thing is the identical trailer I almost bought and a 4 year newer version of my truck. Good show!



Did you almost buy it from Border City in LLoyd ??

It's a nice trailer. We bought in Michigan , had it towed to Sweetgrass , and pick it up from there.Saved about 4K .