Mpg

[paiceman]

Just returned from a 4,000 mile two week trip from PA, (Pittsburgh) to North Sydney NS with stops in NY, MA, ME, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on way up and similar on way back with last day 660 miles in one shot towing a 30' Flying Cloud. While towing averaged 13.5 MPG with a 2012 Ford F250 6.7 Diesel and 3.55 rear end, Crew Cab, 6-3/4' bed. Diesel performed better than anticipated with one exception - used over 4 gallons of DEF. Not a big deal, just a surprise. Also, if anyone is making the trip from the US, when you see an Ultra Low Sulfur fuel stop - stop. At times they are few and far between.

[dkottum]

The biggest factor in fuel usage when towing is wind resistance, and frontal area of different size airstreams doesn't vary a lot. Headwinds/tailwinds matter. Allow 13 mpg no matter what you use (diesel will do better but has higher fuel, additive, and maintenance costs), sometimes better or worse, and you'll be pretty close.

doug

[slowmover]

The rule of thumb is to deduct 30-40% from solo mpg at the same speed.

A TV or TT with poor hitch rigging, bad bearing or brake adjustments, alignment, etc (such as offroad tires and lift kit) will simply pay a higher price every mile; a 40% deduction or worse (given other factors remain constant).

A 30% increase in fuel burn for my pickup would be 16.8-mpg. That's currently a goal for the average (non-mountainsous). But wtihin reason.

Once vehicle spec is set, it is is not amenable to lower fuel burn outside of gearing and aerodynamic improvements.

Driver skill (read, planning and discipline) remains the bellwether for improvements. "Smart spec", first, and "smart use" second.

.

[dkrug]

2012 F250 Crewcab, 2012 30' International. 13.5- 15.5 going the speed limit.

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by dkottum

The biggest factor in fuel usage when towing is wind resistance, and frontal area of different size airstreams doesn't vary a lot. Headwinds/tailwinds matter. Allow 13 mpg no matter what you use (diesel will do better but has higher fuel, additive, and maintenance costs), sometimes better or worse, and you'll be pretty close.

doug

Just back from an 1800 mile round trip to Boston and Quebec City. Most of the way to the coast we had the strong wind behind us and achieved a daily best of 13.4 mpg. Coming back down the autoroute between Quebec City and Gananoque in Ontario into the teeth of a wicked head wind I could only get 10.4 mpg with the automatic transmission staying in 5th rather than 6th for most of that day's trip. Wind is a killer.

We tow a 2011 International with a 3.5l V6 Sienna minivan, which will get 28 mpg when not towing (with the wind behind me!).

[Airstreamer67]

With my 1996 F250 with the 7.3 diesel engine I can depend on 14 mpg towing through a combo of prairies and mountains.

[Whizzo]

Towing the same Sport 22 trailer (loaded weight about 3580 lbs) with two different medium-sized SUVs, we experienced MPG ranges of:

Ford Explorer 4.6L V8: 12-14 MPG

BMW X5 3.0L I6 Diesel: 14-18 MPG

The Sport line was intended for smaller TVs, and we've found that a properly matched medium-sized SUV works well to balance towing performance and daily driving, if you can't or don't have a full-sized pickup for dedicated towing.

[AlphaInfinit]

13.5 avg from Kalispell MT to West Yellowstone. 27FB International. Started at about 3000 feet and ended up at around 6200 feet..

[AldeanFan]

13mpg with the 2005 V8 Tundra and 23ft Safari, 18-20mpg solo