Best MPGs While Towing?

[ElCamino Man]

Hey guys, Im wonderin what you guys AVERAGE while towing. I know, this will be an apples to oranges comparison as some of you are towing 31 footers with 1/2 tons and some 16 footers with 3/4 tons and so on. I just wanna basic idea essentially. You can say what you normally get and then your best overall, which most likely meant you were towing downhill lol. Dont forget to say what your TV and AS is if its not in your sig!

[ElCamino Man]

Ill go first! Iv only towed mine once and got a whoping 9.5 mpg! My TV is in my sig

[Bill M.]

average about 14.5. high maybe 16. low, 13.5. 25' Excella, Dodge diesel. These are the hand calculated results after a fill up. I have seen the mpg indicator on the truck as low as 7 wnen pulling up grades in the Bighorns (was watching close as I was very low), and as high as 19 on level spots at slow speeds. Wind affects my rig a lot. Going west across the plains I usually average a couple lower than coming back on the same route.

[barts]

We get about 14-15 mpg +/- pulling our 25' Trade Wind with our 1996 F250 4x4 crew cab diesel. Less if we're traveling faster than 60 mph, a lot less if we're climbing steep grades. Numbers are approximate since most of my long distance runs have headwinds/tailwinds.

- Bart

[Lumatic]

I pull a 71 Tradewind with a 99 F250 with a Triton 350 and get between 9 and 12 mpg towing.

[Globie64]

Pulling our 19' Globetrotter with our Honda Pilot, I averaged 14.8 mpg on the highway for about 120 miles, according to the on board computer.

[ddruker]

We average between 16 and 18 MPG pulling our 1999 27' Safari with our Mercedes GL 350 diesel.

[50KIP]

I tow my 19' International CCD with a 2006 Ford F-150 5.4 liter heavily loaded. My most recent trip was to Burning Man and I got 11.8 mpg on the flat portion of the route from Seattle to Eugene. However, the mileage dropped to about 10 on the mountainous section from Eugene to Black Rock City (over 6000-foot passes). I try not to exceed 60 mph. My theory is that it takes about the same amount of gas (not diesel) to pull two tons no matter what the TV is. Diesels do better but diesel fuel costs more than gas.

[Jimz]

Towed a 19 ft Bambi from FL to Vancouver Island and back last summer (2011), plus the Canadian Rockies...about 12,000 miles...with a 2010 Toyota Tundra (big V-8). We got between 12-13 mpg depending on the terrain. Speeds below 60 would actually get about 14 on flat ground. Bought a 23 ft Safari this year and got about 11-13 on trip to Canadian Maritimes...about 7,000 miles...Not a whole lot of difference between 19ft and 23 ft, but about 1,200 pounds different gross weight. Wind resistance should have been the same for the two trailers.

[BigAl]

pulling a 31 foot 1994 Excella with a 2011 Ford f150 with the gas powered 3.5 liter Ecoboost turbocharged 6 on fairly level ground in Ontario, I got 14.3MPG(US).
Al

[overlander64]

• 1999 GMC K2500, 7.4 Liter VORTEC, 4.11 Differential
  • 1964 Overlander (6,000 to 6,100 pounds)
    • 9 MPG Low (Rocky Mountains)
    • 12 MPG High (Plains of Kansas)
  • 1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre (3,000 to 3,200 pounds)
    • 10 MPG Low (Rocky Mountains)
    • 14 MPG High (Plains of Kansas)
• 1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, 8.2 Liter V8, 2.70 Final Drive
  • 1964 Overlander (6,000 to 6,100 pounds)
    • 6 MPG Low (Southern Illinois Hills)
    • 10 MPG High (Plains of Central Illinois)
  • 1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre (3,000 to 3,200 pounds)
    • 6 MPG Low (Rocky Mountains)
    • 10 MPG High (Plains of Kansas)

Kevin

[Lumatic]

MPG data will be more meaningful if you include towing speed and terrain info. Thanks

[Ag&Au]

I think this is probably like asking, "What's the biggest fish that you ever almost caught".

Ken

[moosetags]

OK, I'll make everybody feel good about their MPG.

My tow vehicle is a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 D-max 4x4, crew cab, long bed, single rear wheel. When towing Lucy, I am also carrying an Outfitter pop-up truck camper. The truck and camper together weigh 11,000#.

Lucy is a 2005 Safari 25FB who weighs 7,400# ready for travel.

The average mpg while towing is 11.4. This is a cumulative average over 15,000 miles of towing in various terrains and conditions all over the United States. I keep fairly meticulous fuel mileage records and make my entries at every fill-up.

I have also noted that my average MPG when not towing Lucy is only slightly better at 11.9.

Brian

[dkottum]

Brian, that's interesting because it supports the idea that weight has little to do with effort needed to pull the trailer, is mostly about wind resistance (except during hill climbing). Of course those who have done bicycling are aware of that.

Similarly when we went up 1300# from a 20' Airstream to a 25' the difference was hardly noticeable in driving or fuel usage.

doug k

[Mulligan]

Hi All

I tow a 73 Overlander with a Nissan Navara (same as your Frontier i believe)
and i usually get 23-25mpg (Uk gal) so i count myself very lucky, It does have a tuning module fitted which pushed it up by about 5 mpg towing, and i get average 38-40mpg without the A/S

but then again our fuel is about 4 x the cost of yours

Cheers

Tim

[purman]

Originally Posted by w7ts

I think this is probably like asking, "What's the biggest fish that you ever almost caught".

Ken

I caught one once that was this big " -- -- "

[purman]

My last trip from western Colorado to Oregon coast, up to seattle and Back I averaged 10.4 mpg over 3256 miles. I drive 70 mph when speed limits allow, or the posted speed limit.

I got as bad a 6-7 mpg in the Colombia rive gorge and as good as 17 mpg on the flats with a tail wind..

17-21 mpg without the AS depends if I think i'm in a NASCAR race or not
2008 Toyota Sequoia 5.7 liter V8

[c_lewis77]

I am getting between 8-10 mpg towing a 34' triple axle (loaded) with a 3/4 ton V10 excursion 4x4. I drive about 65 mph max on the highway
About 12-13mpg without the airstream.

[MrUKToad]

Towing a 2011 28' International with our 3.5 litre V6 Toyota Sienna, we averaged over the 2012 camping season 12.8mpg (US). Most terrain was pretty flat and we tend to do around 60-65mph. Our best ever was 14.9 on flat terrain with no headwind doing around 50mph. Our worst was 10.1 on a wet and windy day on our way back from the Finger Lakes in NY.

Our real advantage is the average 28.4mpg when not towing :~)