5.7 Tundra Real World MPG?

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by atheness

I am looking at a Sequoia, which I believe is a SUV on the Tundra chassis. Do these MPG stay the same? Thanks

Toyota Indiana (TMMI) assembles the Sequoia and a model of Tundra. The V8 engine is assembled in Alabama (TMMAL) for both the Sequoia and all models of Tundra, Indiana or Texas.

Here's an interesting picture at the Toyota site, complete with Airstream
Full-Size SUVs | Toyota Sequoia 2015 4WD SUV

[Landrum]

I have a 2011 Sequoia with the smaller 4.7l and a 25fb. This summer we went out west: 3,300 miles in a variety of terrain and wind. We averaged right at 12mpg. Some of those miles were not towing miles.


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[m.hony]

The mileage should be similar. The drive train is the same. Same engine, transmission, rear end gears-
The wheels and tires are the same-
The entire vehicle is the same up to the b-pillar.
The Sequoia has independent rear suspension, though, and therefore less towing capacity.

[apittmanii]

I have a 2007 Toyota Crewmax 5.7 2WD, no camper shell towing a 1990 33-foot Squarestream Land Yacht. Total trailer weight is about 7,600 pounds. I usually drive about 55-60 MPH and get about 11 miles per gallon while towing. Our gross weight of the trailer and truck (with all 5 of us) was 13,600 for our last trip. I just replaced the shocks on the trailer (previous were original from 1990) and now see how easy towing an airstream really is. I have yet to take it out since the shocks replacement but I have a feeling i'll be averaging more like 12 MPG. I live in Austin, Texas and traffic here is atrocious. I average 14.2 MPG with no trailer (but usually with 5 people in the truck). I'd like to say that's a combination of both highway and city, but even the highways are clogged here! I have noticed that the tundra does adapt to different driving styles--when i'm really light on the gas and don't accelerate quickly, the tundra is far more fuel efficient. It adapts by not "gunning" the engine with minimal pressure on the gas pedal. When i'm more lead-footed, the tundra's reaction to a little gas has a lot more zoom. So my take is that your driving habits affect the on-board computer which affects your gas mileage.

[slowmover]

". . So my take is that your driving habits affect the on-board computer which affects your gas mileage."

The "modern" version of a vacuum gauge to monitor efficiency is an Ultragauge or Scangauge. Driver feedback cortesy of an OBD reader. Well worth it. MPG is about the overall annual average, and it is the percentage increase to that number made by paying attention to the tenths that pays cash money.

Not to mention knowing exactly how to hit a grade that speed and fuel burn at the crest can be predicted by the driver . . . I may drive 12k miles/month, but knowing how to "run" a trip as part of trip-planning means details like this are part of figuring how to best use allowable hours (Federal Rules) on an outbound leg of a roundtrip. Seconds, minutes and days, it all comes together intuitively over time.

I can choose to drop gears or not on some ascents, but engine supplier CUMMINS says to allow that 15L motor to lug down to 1200 rpm before the downshift. It "may" be faster to drop a gear at 1500, but the motor (relatively) screams.

Best use of fuel is also best use of power which is less engine wear & tear. And the trans. An average of 12 over 11 is a good goal as it is close to 10%. The skill acquisition and vehicle prep will pay off.

A very careful reading of the Operators Manual may reveal several strategies. We've found that re-engaging the cruise control at 60-mph will take us back to the governed 68 faster than keeping the throttle punched. The computers really are smarter (rather, with full control of parameters, they can allow more throttle, so to speak), so experiment.

Hopefully, no one here is climbing grades that slow big trucks significantly much faster than they. Dropping to 50-55 (or the minimum 45) will keep one out of trouble if the need to brake arises (fools changing lanes around one another; see this far too much). Slack in the rig lash-up is always a problem. Best to be able to accelerate away as this is the only condition where the lash-up is taut. The rule of thumb is to always climb a grade in a gear where one can still accelerate. It's usually the best with which to make the descent.

Learning full manual control of an automatic is how I started over forty years ago. It should be much more fun with todays greater number of gears.

Where safety and fuel efficiency meet is also the numerical baseline of the rig. TT axle alignment and bearing pre-set. Brake adjustment (no drag). Same for the TV. Make no assumptions they are correct unless verified. Same for using a certifed scale to set up the WDH and to get TV tire pressure dead on. Tracking, weight balance, etc, are all part of best performance.

Those tenths of a mpg add up quickly. KENWORTH says, among other references, that steering corrections per 100-miles is measurable as to fuel efficiency. I've always favored "fingertip steering" for reduced stress if no other. Work toward that goal -- via gear and baseline -- and much of the rest falls into place.

And put the cruise control on ASAP. A setting a couple of mph below what one "thinks" is best usually makes up for a CC that is "aggressive" in climbing the lesser grades. And this DOES NOT change the trip time, so to speak. The big truck and engine makers all advise the use of CC. Where safety is first, MPG will follow. Conversely, having to hit the brakes hard is evidence of poor driving skill. There is room for improvement, drastically, if it's more than a couple of times in 10k miles.

(I can hear the complaints, "but most of my miles are solo, I only tow X-miles per year!" Yes, . . drive the solo miles as if hitched for braking distance is the number one lesson.)

FWIW, my folks second TV, an '87 EFI V8-454 Suburban, hauled their Silver Streak in a combined rig of the same approximate weight. But at 6-8 mpg. The occasional 9.

Good luck

.

[m.hony]

The ECM does actually "learn" your driving habits.
I first noticed this on my grandmother's 1985 Buick LeSabre.
It must electronically control spark advance/retard, air/fuel mixture, etc.

[Gene]

I find that staying behind traffic quite a distance helps because when that light turns red up ahead, I can roll quite a distance, or downshift to slow down so that I have a better chance of getting to the light when it is green and not have to start from a dead stop. Accelerating from a dead stop takes a lot of fuel (Newton's laws I think—a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion). A slow start also saves fuel. Since we got the trailer, I drive slower and with more attention because I have to, but it is a good habit (except sometimes it is fun to see how fast I can climb the 1/2 mile up to our new house, but not with the trailer).

Gene

[OldVwHunters]

Originally Posted by Gene

Accelerating from a dead stop takes a lot of fuel (Newton's laws I think—a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion). A slow start also saves fuel.

Gene

That's exactly what I tell my Wife when I drive through those red lights.

[m.hony]

I have discovered that I get 11-12 going 60-65 mph on US Highways and interstate highways with 10-20 mph crosswinds and headwinds. If I go 50 on the Natchez Trace with no wind I get 10 mph.
What's up with that?
My wife doesn't believe or understand.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I have discovered that I get 11-12 going 60-65 mph on US Highways and interstate highways with 10-20 mph crosswinds and headwinds. If I go 50 on the Natchez Trace with no wind I get 10 mph.
What's up with that?
My wife doesn't believe or understand.

The Natchez Trace is closer to sea level and thus closer to the Earth's iron core. The core's magnetism creates a drag on your truck and you use more gas. In Colorado where we are farther from the core, we get 20 mpg and have to be careful not to fly off the planet. If the Airstream were steel instead of aluminum, it would be even worse on the Trace. Of course, your odometer could be broken or you may not be able to do long division.

Gene

[m.hony]

You must know something about the levels of polarity and gravitivity...

[Gene]

Originally Posted by m.hony

You must know something about the levels of polarity and gravitivity...

I think by polarity you mean how close you are to the magnetic pole in northeast Canada. This makes your truck want to go north, especially in the northern states and Canada. For example, once you get as far north as Sudbury, Ont., you have to hold the wheel tightly to keep from going to Nunavut. This can be difficult as there are no roads to Nunavut unless you have 4WD. I'm going to a Holiday Inn Express in a few days and will know more about this then.

Gene

[m.hony]

No. I'm referring to the fact that I could jump off a mountain with my mother and not get hurt because I braced myself using the levels of gravitivity and polarity-

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I have discovered that I get 11-12 going 60-65 mph on US Highways and interstate highways with 10-20 mph crosswinds and headwinds. If I go 50 on the Natchez Trace with no wind I get 10 mph.
What's up with that?
My wife doesn't believe or understand.

m.hony

I usually get 13.5 mpg towing our 66 Tradewind. Now I have an 08 Tundra 5.7 2wd and drive gently. I have gotten 14.5 mpg towing down the Blue Ridge Parkway (speed limit is 45 mph). I generally slip it in neutral while desending the hills. Try this on the Natchez Trace and you will improve your mileage.

Now here is one for you. I recently went to Raleigh, NC (about 150 miles) and got 15.5 mpg and only 14.5 mpg on the return trip. I drove gently both ways. I really don't know why my mileage south was 1 mpg better or why my overall mileage of 15 mpg was 1.5 mpg better than I usually get towing.
I don't understand it but I am not complaining.

Dan

[m.hony]

I have gotten 10 mpg going to the Canopener rally at 55, but then got 12 coming home from the same rally at 60 mph. I attributed it to wind speed/direction.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by Gene

The Natchez Trace is closer to sea level and thus closer to the Earth's iron core. The core's magnetism creates a drag on your truck and you use more gas. In Colorado where we are farther from the core, we get 20 mpg and have to be careful not to fly off the planet. If the Airstream were steel instead of aluminum, it would be even worse on the Trace. Of course, your odometer could be broken or you may not be able to do long division.



Gene

I am so glad that after a couple sentences in that your satire became obvious.... Early on in your statement I was considering whether I had the energy or even the desire to answer this.....

[KJRitchie]

2010 2wd Tundra Double Cab 5.7L towing a 2008 Classic 25fb. Last October we traveled from DFW to Disneyworld. I hand calculated every fill up. We got 11+ to 12+ mpg driving mostly interstates at 60mph. I found driving in 5th gave as good a mileage as 6th despite slightly higher rpms but my foot was lighter on the pedal.

When we had our Casita and our 4Runner 4.7L V8 I found better mpg driving to Glacier Natl Park than driving around Texas. Maybe the high altitude helps or the gas has a different formula. Mostly 85 octane when getting into Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. On some legs of those trips I got as high as 15mpg. We haven't had the fortune of taking our Airstream back to Glacier yet so I can't compare. Not so much for the dollars spent but for the convenience of range. Sometimes and extra 30 or 40 miles range helps.

Kelvin

[mhilley]

2008 Sequoia (same stuff under there as Tundra - different rear axle but same ratio). Calculated average of 10.7 mpg towing 23' Safari, loaded. All conditions. Sea level to 11,000 feet. Wind on all quarters. 120,000 miles on SUV and still going strong. Love it.

[Gene]

Putting the transmission into neutral while going downhill has 2 problems:

1. No matter what gear you are in, if you don't depress the gas pedal, you don't use any more gas than being in neutral. Your RPM's will change, but no more gas.

2. It is unsafe. You get no engine braking in neutral and have to use the brakes much more, thus possibly causing brake fade, rotors to warp from excessive heat and pad wear. I downshift—that slows the truck and I try to stay off the brakes.

Gene

[Goal15]

Not to mention that it may be illegal in whatever state you happen to be coasting through...