What you tow with

[pappy19]

If you gassers out there aren't using non-ethanol gasoline, you really need to try it. Better power and mileage plus you are not hurting your fuel system with ethanol. There is also an app for Android phones.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

[scamp]

I have a 2012 silverado LT 1500 ext cab 6.5 foot box 4x4 ,tow package,rear diff 3.42 locking,5.3 L engine,6 speed trans,z71 off road suspension,I get about 18 miles per Canadian gallon at 60mph or 100kph,towing our 2012 19 foot flying cloud.using 10% ethanol regular 89 octane

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by Skater

That's surprisingly low...are you sure there isn't something wrong? I mean, 11 mpg is about the lowest we ever get in our truck when towing the trailer.

Our '06 F350 Dually, with 6.0 Powerstroke, and 4.10 gears gets 10 to 11. Doesn't matter....empty and no trailer, hooked to the equipment trailer empty, or loaded, or the 33' gooseneck horse trailer with four horses in it. 10 to 11. I run between 55 and 60 mph when a trailer is hooked up and 60 to 70 without a trailer. 10 to 11 mpg.....I can take that number to the bank. Hey, at least it's consistent.

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by pappy19

If you gassers out there aren't using non-ethanol gasoline, you really need to try it. Better power and mileage plus you are not hurting your fuel system with ethanol. There is also an app for Android phones.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

Our local BP station carries pure gasoline and also ethanol blend. I have run multiple tanks of both in my Nissan truck to get a good overall average. The truck does get better gas mileage on the pure gas, but it costs more. The cost per mile, for me, in this truck, came out the same.
At least seat of the pants, I could not tell any difference in performance, although I am willing to concede you are right that pure gas should give better performance. I just could not tell it in daily use.
As to whether ethanol damages engines that are in daily use, I don't know for sure, but I suspect the OEM's have pretty much evolved these things to where it's not an issue anymore.
I have been told by reliable sources that long term storage with ethanol blends is not a good idea, so for like my lawnmower, snowblower, etc, I store them off season with pure gasoline ( and stabil ).

[SafariSS]

Just did 2k mile trip with Safari 30 and GL350. Did awesome, 15.8mpg towing at 65

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[Sardog]

I pulled my 25' TradeWind home from Austin Texas, with my Twin Turbo AWD Ford Flex...

But the 1997 F250 4X4 with the built up 460 is always first choice...

[JFScheck]

I towed my 2009 25FB Classic with a 2009 diesel TDI Touareg - 407lbs torque...
I towed my 2011 30 Classic with a 2011 diesel Ford King Ranch SRW F-350 - 800lbs torque...
I tow my 2013 27FB International Serenity with a 2013 Cummins powered 2500 Laramie - 800lbs torque....

Now here is my 2014 SRT Grand Cherokee with 470 horses & 465lbs torque sitting here while I work on the Twinks and I know she wants to hook up and take Twinks out for a spin....

Side note, my Touareg and Grand Cherokee have the same max payload and tow rating (give or take a few pounds) - but each has more max payload than that 2013 EcoBoost that I owned for one week and YES - my 27FB in the Serenity with the Ram is my final, favorite combo but I do admit it took me a few Airstreams to figure that out...

[wncrasher]

I've been happy with my Silverado 2500HD. It's hard to beat nearly 800 ft lbs of torque and 14-16 mpg towing. Decent ride and very comfortable. It will hold any grade, with a trailer at 65 mph and above.

The oil changes every 10k miles are around $100. DEF costs around $20 every 5k miles. The 50k mile service put me back $400. No other breakdowns or issues during the 3 years and 65k miles I've had it.

[SovrnScout]

Gotta love the duramax/ally combo...

Suspension/ride smooth enough to put the kids to sleep and it's WIFE-PROOF! I got it solely for the fact that of any power train combo, it's the easiest to hook up and press Tow/haul followed by Exhaust break and go. Anyone can tow any legal load with it anywhere, no skillz or knowledge required. Couldn't say that about the Cummins and manual tranny (what I first looked at for pure reliability).

[Ahab]

Usually runs around 16MPG @ 62-65 mph. No problems above 7000' or on grades.

[SteveSueMac]

Wondering if anyone has seen the Oct 2014 issue of Popular Mechanics, page 48 "Anatomy of a 30,000-Pound Tow Rating"?

It made me think about the discussions (debates? p'ing contests? :-) ) we tend to get in to on these forums when it comes to tow vehicles. Personally, I LOVE the capability of my 2500 Duramax but HATE that it's such a behemoth. Reading this article made me wonder why comprehensive mods to non-traditional tow vehicles couldn't work just perfectly. I don't know how far Can Am's mods go (I think I've seen Andy talk here about hitch mods, frame mods, cooling systems, etc.) but this article/info-graphic covers the Ram 3500 with the 6.7L Cummins (850 lb-ft of torque) and says, "From the lug nuts to the cooling system, a 30,000-pound tow rating requires bumper-to-bumper upgrades."

Some examples:

Driveshaft is 3x heavier than the 1500's with u-joints designed for >5,000 lb-ft of torque.

Cooling fins on the rear differential.

Leaf springs to support >7,000# payload.

A 26" engine cooling fan that moves 10,000 cubic feet of air per minute (compare to the 1500's 19" fan that flows only a quarter of that volume).

14.2" brake rotors (bigger than the 1500's and even the 640hp Viper's) "...important when you're slowing down a load that's about half the weight of a fully loaded 18-wheeler."

Of course, no one needs 30,000# of towing capability (is anyone else hearing Harry Chapin right now??? :-) ) for an Airstream....

[Erik Olson]

2012 VW Touareg Lux and 1974 Ambassador.

[OurJuneBug]

We currently tow a 16' Bambi, and we're upgrading to a 25FB. How much modification needs to be done to our hitch set-up for the larger Airstream? HELP!!

[wkerfoot]

My new tow vehicle, headed to the Balloon Fiesta the end of the month.

Bill

[Ken J]

Hey Bill - very nice rig - will be a highlight of Balloon Fiesta !

Ken J

[wkerfoot]

I can only hope that it receives as many comments as the Lincoln would.

Bill

Originally Posted by Ken J

Hey Bill - very nice rig - will be a highlight of Balloon Fiesta !

Ken J

[PharmGeek]

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[cwf]

Thor (truck) and Mjolnir (Thor's hammer/AS)....

[Airrogant]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Wondering if anyone has seen the Oct 2014 issue of Popular Mechanics, page 48 "Anatomy of a 30,000-Pound Tow Rating"?

It made me think about the discussions (debates? p'ing contests? :-) ) we tend to get in to on these forums when it comes to tow vehicles. Personally, I LOVE the capability of my 2500 Duramax but HATE that it's such a behemoth. Reading this article made me wonder why comprehensive mods to non-traditional tow vehicles couldn't work just perfectly. I don't know how far Can Am's mods go (I think I've seen Andy talk here about hitch mods, frame mods, cooling systems, etc.) but this article/info-graphic covers the Ram 3500 with the 6.7L Cummins (850 lb-ft of torque) and says, "From the lug nuts to the cooling system, a 30,000-pound tow rating requires bumper-to-bumper upgrades."

Some examples:

Driveshaft is 3x heavier than the 1500's with u-joints designed for >5,000 lb-ft of torque.

Cooling fins on the rear differential.

Leaf springs to support >7,000# payload.

A 26" engine cooling fan that moves 10,000 cubic feet of air per minute (compare to the 1500's 19" fan that flows only a quarter of that volume).

14.2" brake rotors (bigger than the 1500's and even the 640hp Viper's) "...important when you're slowing down a load that's about half the weight of a fully loaded 18-wheeler."

Of course, no one needs 30,000# of towing capability (is anyone else hearing Harry Chapin right now??? :-) ) for an Airstream....

This is fantastic information. I vote it post of the month! I think it is worthy of a thread of all of it's own. Would you please consider reposting this as a new thread? I've been developing a list of things that I know go into the "upsizing" of my truck from a "smaller" base unit. I'm very interested in what components typically get tweaked by the factories vs. the types of components that get tweaked by the aftermarket.

[Hibby]

Agreed! This is good info... Even if you're not hauling bananas, I appreciate th knowledge.


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