Please list your model and fuel economy

[Gringo]

For what it's worth, we just rented a Ford 2012 F-250 Super Duty with the 6.7 Powerstroke. Six speed auto tranny. Crew Cab, long bed. Four wheel drive. Pulled a 27FB from Downtown Dallas to northern Fort Collins CO by way of Taos NM and then out through Tres Piedras and over La Veta pass ( 9400 ft.) into Colorado.

The truck was brand new, we were the first renters. had 237 miles on it. The manager of the rental place is a dog lover and a new blog fan so she set us up pretty well with one of their new trucks. So it was not 'broken in' in any way. We put just over 3,000 miles on it in two weeks. It was equipped with a MPG function, of course.

When we picked the truck up in Houston and drove it empty up to Dallas, it was getting around 18.2 mpg on the highway. No load whatsoever.

We hitched up the trailer, which probably ran around 6,000 lbs, in Dallas and continued onward. I never got the chance to install the Reese WDH/Antisway hitch I had with me. It sat in the rear floorboard of the Ford the whole trip.

Worst mileage we saw was that long, bumpy uphill stretch of I-40 New Mexico toward Albuquerque before turning off toward Taos. The average dropped to 9.4 mpg at it's lowest while towing. The truck has unbelievable power. I had no hesitation drag racing various other trucks at red lights in Texas and while unhitched in NM ( 'beaten like a rented mule'). And beating them. I passed a septic truck uphill on a switchback on that road going into Taos. He pulled onto the shoulder and waved me on. I showered down on the accelerator and broke the rear wheels loose. That tells me it wasn't loaded too heavily on the rear.

We left the trailer in CO and drove the near empty truck back to Houston, going via the not too travelled route east out of Denver, then taking two lane roads down throu Eads and Ft. Carson, cutting across the worst part of Oklahoma and finally rejoining the modern world just north of Dumas TX. The average for the entire trip, start to finish, was 16.8.

My gut feeling while towing the trailer was that we were averaging around 11 mph just for the towing part.

We had rented an F-350 last spring from the same people in Houston ( PV Rentals, great people by the way) and preferred this 250. Only complaint was that it was just too long for easy driving in anything but a straight line. But boy does it do well at that.

I tended to keep it at around 65 mph for most of the trip, easing up to 70 from time to time to facilitate passing something slower. I had to really, really look to find any indication of sway, even with a straight, single, rental supplied receiver bar with nothing else at all to control sway. The rear bumper of the truck sat down about two inches when I put the tongue weight on it, but I couldn't feel much difference driving. It will burn the tires at any speed. I had to use 4X4 to get up a long uphill gravel driveway in Colorado Springs. I was surprised to find manual hubs again after year without them. But once we figured that out, the 4x4 walked up that hill in a stroll. I think this thing would have pulled the trailer up a tree if I could get the wheels to stick.

Anyhow, that was our recent experience ( last two weeks of October) if it's of any interest to anyone. I don't know the gear ratio on it. It was pretty much a barebones interior, with a factory tow setup.

Doesn't make me change my mind on what we want to buy next spring for our own tow vehicle, if I can find it. I am pretty sure we want a 99-'04 F250 with the 7.3 and for sure we want four wheel drive. And shorter. I think the two door extended cab and six foot bed would be a lot easier to deal with driving around little towns with 90 deg. corners on two lane roads.

Unless someone talks me out of it in the meantime.

[wayneskid]

2010 Interstate 3500. On a 6400 mile trip from AK this summer we got 18 MPG. Best tank 20.67 MPG; worst tank 16.50 MPG. Ending ODO 11,845 so this vehicle is still breaking in. Love the Interstate.

[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by Gringo

For what it's worth, we just rented a Ford 2012 F-250 Super Duty with the 6.7 Powerstroke. Six speed auto tranny. Crew Cab, long bed. Four wheel drive. Pulled a 27FB from Downtown Dallas to northern Fort Collins CO by way of Taos NM and then out through Tres Piedras and over La Veta pass ( 9400 ft.) into Colorado.

The truck was brand new, we were the first renters. had 237 miles on it. The manager of the rental place is a dog lover and a new blog fan so she set us up pretty well with one of their new trucks. So it was not 'broken in' in any way. We put just over 3,000 miles on it in two weeks. It was equipped with a MPG function, of course.

When we picked the truck up in Houston and drove it empty up to Dallas, it was getting around 18.2 mpg on the highway. No load whatsoever.

We hitched up the trailer, which probably ran around 6,000 lbs, in Dallas and continued onward. I never got the chance to install the Reese WDH/Antisway hitch I had with me. It sat in the rear floorboard of the Ford the whole trip.

Worst mileage we saw was that long, bumpy uphill stretch of I-40 New Mexico toward Albuquerque before turning off toward Taos. The average dropped to 9.4 mpg at it's lowest while towing. The truck has unbelievable power. I had no hesitation drag racing various other trucks at red lights in Texas and while unhitched in NM ( 'beaten like a rented mule'). And beating them. I passed a septic truck uphill on a switchback on that road going into Taos. He pulled onto the shoulder and waved me on. I showered down on the accelerator and broke the rear wheels loose. That tells me it wasn't loaded too heavily on the rear.

We left the trailer in CO and drove the near empty truck back to Houston, going via the not too travelled route east out of Denver, then taking two lane roads down throu Eads and Ft. Carson, cutting across the worst part of Oklahoma and finally rejoining the modern world just north of Dumas TX. The average for the entire trip, start to finish, was 16.8.

My gut feeling while towing the trailer was that we were averaging around 11 mph just for the towing part.

We had rented an F-350 last spring from the same people in Houston ( PV Rentals, great people by the way) and preferred this 250. Only complaint was that it was just too long for easy driving in anything but a straight line. But boy does it do well at that.

I tended to keep it at around 65 mph for most of the trip, easing up to 70 from time to time to facilitate passing something slower. I had to really, really look to find any indication of sway, even with a straight, single, rental supplied receiver bar with nothing else at all to control sway. The rear bumper of the truck sat down about two inches when I put the tongue weight on it, but I couldn't feel much difference driving. It will burn the tires at any speed. I had to use 4X4 to get up a long uphill gravel driveway in Colorado Springs. I was surprised to find manual hubs again after year without them. But once we figured that out, the 4x4 walked up that hill in a stroll. I think this thing would have pulled the trailer up a tree if I could get the wheels to stick.

Anyhow, that was our recent experience ( last two weeks of October) if it's of any interest to anyone. I don't know the gear ratio on it. It was pretty much a barebones interior, with a factory tow setup.

Doesn't make me change my mind on what we want to buy next spring for our own tow vehicle, if I can find it. I am pretty sure we want a 99-'04 F250 with the 7.3 and for sure we want four wheel drive. And shorter. I think the two door extended cab and six foot bed would be a lot easier to deal with driving around little towns with 90 deg. corners on two lane roads.

Unless someone talks me out of it in the meantime.

I'm so jealous, that is exactly the truck I want (maybe in my next life it will happen)! I should look into renting one for my next ATV trip.

I have an F150 4WD with the 5.8 gas engine. I get about the same mileage, but certainly not the the same feel in the gas pedal! It is embarrassing when I have my foot to the floor and the semi trucks are passing me up.

[choctawmel]

I never even thought about a Power Stroke as a replacement when my trany blow up.

[Kota]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

I'm so jealous, that is exactly the truck I want (maybe in my next life it will happen)! I should look into renting one for my next ATV trip.

I have an F150 4WD with the 5.8 gas engine. I get about the same mileage, but certainly not the the same feel in the gas pedal! It is embarrassing when I have my foot to the floor and the semi trucks are passing me up.

We were looking at 5 wheels last year before deciding on the MH. I test drove the 2011 F250 crew cab 4X4 short bed. King Ranch package. That was one nice ride! Very quiet and powerfull. I was very impressed. Price tag was impressive too.

[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by Dakota

We were looking at 5 wheels last year before deciding on the MH. I test drove the 2011 F250 crew cab 4X4 short bed. King Ranch package. That was one nice ride! Very quiet and powerfull. I was very impressed. Price tag was impressive too.

Yup, 60k+

[Kota]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

Yup, 60k+

I think MSRP was about $63K. At the time they were dealing at about $47K. By the time you pay taxes and all the other fees here in Colorado it was back up to about $55K. Add another $40K for a 5th wheel and then all the annual fees for plates, insurance, storage, ect....

That's when we started looking at used diesel pushers. Which lead to the Airstream search....

[8rmesse]

1988 345 7.4 liter
(454) carburetor towing a Harley-Davidson Softail. I get 10mpg if I can keep my speeds at 60 or lower. If I try to run 70-75 like everyone else on the interstate it drops to 7mpg.

[alfalsetto]

that way I have a Diesel in Old Gertrude. The good old Isuzu get around 14 MPG on the road

[crazeevw]

Originally Posted by EasyStreamer88

1988 345 7.4 liter
(454) carburetor towing a Harley-Davidson Softail. I get 10mpg if I can keep my speeds at 60 or lower. If I try to run 70-75 like everyone else on the interstate it drops to 7mpg.

J, forget to ask, but how do you tow the HD? Trailer it? Just curious.
Thanks, Derek

[8rmesse]

Originally Posted by crazeevw

J, forget to ask, but how do you tow the HD? Trailer it? Just curious.
Thanks, Derek

I use this thing called a Bike Tow

BikeTow - Take it with you

You drive the front wheel up the included ramp into the wheel chock then strap it in much the same as you would strap a bike into a truck bed. Then I put the transmission in neutral (I also disengage the clutch with a velcro strap wrapped around the lever and grip as an added safety measure), I put my Geza Gear towable motorcycle cover over the bike to keep rocks and other road debris off and away I go.

I originally towed in a 6X12 enclosed trailer but I quickly got sick of looking for pull-through sites or being forced to deal with a trailer once I got to a campground. Since I travel solo most of the time a 1300lb trailer can be a real handful. Not to mention it seemed silly to use a trailer that weighed twice as much as the motorcycle and the trailer didn't have the aerodynamic advantages of the Airstream. All this seemed as though it would hurt my gas mileage, although I never actually checked mileage once while towing that trailer. Other advantages to the Bike Tow are you don't have to tag it or pay annual taxes on it and the whole thing which easily is disassembled only weighs 70 pounds.

[crazeevw]

Originally Posted by EasyStreamer88

I use this thing called a Bike Tow

BikeTow - Take it with you

You drive the front wheel up the included ramp into the wheel chock then strap it in much the same as you would strap a bike into a truck bed. Then I put the transmission in neutral (I also disengage the clutch with a velcro strap wrapped around the lever and grip as an added safety measure), I put my Geza Gear towable motorcycle cover over the bike to keep rocks and other road debris off and away I go.

I originally towed in a 6X12 enclosed trailer but I quickly got sick of looking for pull-through sites or being forced to deal with a trailer once I got to a campground. Since I travel solo most of the time a 1300lb trailer can be a real handful. Not to mention it seemed silly to use a trailer that weighed twice as much as the motorcycle and the trailer didn't have the aerodynamic advantages of the Airstream. All this seemed as though it would hurt my gas mileage, although I never actually checked mileage once while towing that trailer. Other advantages to the Bike Tow are you don't have to tag it or pay annual taxes on it and the whole thing which easily is disassembled only weighs 70 pounds.

Jason,
That is one SWEET set-up! Thanks fro responding. So, how many days left at ToG???
Derek

[8rmesse]

Zero, I decided Wednesday that enough was enough. I got up Thursday morning and loaded the bike, battened down the hatches and hit the road. Glad to have moved on to happier places.

[honyeray]

My 1986 345, with electronic ignition gets 10mpg without towing and 8-9 towing a 2009 honda fit.

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by blkmagikca

1994 LY 34-ft diesel - 13+mpg towing a small car between 56-58 mph (just after it kicks into 6th gear).

BTW, it's up for sale (bought a 32-ft Excella trailer & Dodge diesel pickup truck).

Sold in Sept/11 and I picked up the 1987 32-ft Excella with the 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 / 24-valve Cummins diesel. On the trip home I logged 16.6 mpg (at 55 mph - I drive a bit faster now).

[Brad1775]

2011 Avenue. Trip from Fort Worth to Seattle, 17 mpg average. Best mpg was 18 and worst was 14 mpg. I was not towing anything and kept the mph to 65.

SF,
Brad

[AirRowan]

Key west to Marathon and back (100miles) average 17 mpg with 8 wheels and 17,500lbs on a 345 1986 motor home with an 2008 duramax/ Alison 6 speed transmission.

[honyeray]

Originally Posted by AirRowan

Key west to Marathon and back (100miles) average 17 mpg with 8 wheels and 17,500lbs on a 345 1986 motor home with an 2008 duramax/ Alison 6 speed transmission.

Classic MH
I two have a 1986 345 and never have I gotten a MPH that high, what was your average speed, any hills?

Eray

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by classic MH

Classic MH
I two have a 1986 345 and never have I gotten a MPH that high, what was your average speed, any hills?

Eray

Note that KeyAir is running a modern Duramax diesel w/ Allison 6-speed transmission. That's going to offer a huge advantage in both power and economy.

[AirRowan]

Originally Posted by classic MH

Classic MH
I two have a 1986 345 and never have I gotten a MPH that high, what was your average speed, any hills?

Eray

No hills just about 20 bridges and 15kts of head wind on the north bound averaging 62 with max of 75mph. As for KeyAir he started a thread for me because he is just awesome! There is one guy out in Colorado that is doing a duramax swap (2004 LLY i think with the 5-speed) on a 31 with a new interior I think his will be the best MPG.