Tow vehicle Gas Mileage ???????

[Hippo]

The wife said if you have to worry about MPH then you can't afford to drive the thing or have any AS fun camping. Her words are sell the thing and stay home. She said she would buy a small motorhome for her and the dogs and I can stay home and stew about MPG.
Hippo

[PWRSTRK]

The new 6.0 PSD has an amazing transmission that is easily manipulable to get an engine braking effect. We strongly recommend it. Towing our 9100 lb. Safari 28SO we're getting 13.5+; 12.5 in the mountains. Can't recommend it strongly enough. It has great acceleration, runs very smoothly and the noise isn't very bad. We love it.

Tom, and Frank.

Originally Posted by takenitez

I agree with sticking with the diesel. I consistently get 12 mpg towing my 30' Excella with my '02 Ford F-350 PSD. The only negative about a diesel that I've found is a lack of engine compression braking going down long steep hills, but I've learned to fine tune my driving habits (lower gear, firm short stabs at the brake) to compensate for that.

Bob

[Cracker]

Currently getting just under 14 mpg towing - and an honest 21 mpg solo. All interstate mileage on New England's moderate hills and mountains, at about 60 mph. These are recent readings as my prior mileage had gone to pot due to a clogged fuel filter following a bad batch of diesel. Incidentally, I also serviced the truck at 20,000 miles, when the fuel filter was changed, and I switched to synthetic oil. I've been a dino-oil holdout for a long time - but the mechanic who worked on the truck convinced me to make the switch. I don't want to start another synthetic oil discussion - but others have insisted that synthetics provide better fuel mileage.

[dryan]

I just returned from a 2400 mile trip pulling a 19 bambi with a dodge 3500 crewcab/automatic/diesel engine. Mileage was 14.5 to 15.5 going 60 mph. At 70, it dropped to 14 even. Truck has only 15,000 miles on it and I service it on regular basis.

Dallas

[basecamp]

The 2500 burb with the 6.0 should pull your trailer no problem, don't get anything less than a 3.73 axle. I tow a 96 30' excella with a 1/2 ton Avalanche 4.10 axle, LT BF goodrich tires with 60lbs tire pressure, I got 10-10.8 US gal average over a 1600 mile trip from Florida to Toronto and I'm not a slow driver. My next truck will be a diesel as I will be keeping it for a while, the diesel will hold it's value better over the long term with high mileage. My dream would be a 3/4 ton Avalanche with a Duramax. I wish GM would get their act together and start putting the Duramax in the Avalanche or Suburban.

[Theo]

With my '02 Powerstroke, I get 11.3 towing the 34 footer. With my '96 powerstroke I got 10.1 towing that weight, and with my current tug, an '05 Kodiak (medium duty chevy) I get 14.6 solo, and 11.2 towing 10,000 pounds of Airstream. The Kodiak has the 6.6 liter Duramax (Izuzu) diesel. I prefer the Kodiak to tow with, as it's brakes make the Fords brakes look puny. Going down a steep long hill, the Ford's brakes do not instill confidence, as the Rotors distort very easily in that truck, when they get hot.

Theo

[eljay]

2004 Chevy 3500 Duramax Diesel, towing Hunkajunk, 30 foot Sovereign, got 14 mpg this past weekend bringing it home from Illinois.

[driftwood]

This past Spring & Summer trip of 16,000+ mile circle route around America and into Canada (Banff) I averaged 10.8 mpg for the total trip. I run a 3.75 gear (two wheel drive). I most always drive the top limit of the posted speed limit.

The scales reflected the following:
Front two axles (Excursion) = 8,420
Rear two axles (Airstream)= 6,280 Total scale weight = 14,700 #'s


In city light I get 11.8 - 12.0 mpg. Best I've seen on highway without towing is 15.8 flat land, 70 mph. More normal highway average is 13.8 - 14. No modifications to engine.

[Hippo]

This weekend we took our 25 ft AS to Newport, Oregon and back to Battle Ground,Wa. The F250 4x4 crewcab with the V10 gas engine averaged 9.4 to 9.6. Overall 11.4. I feel this is good for our set up. We dry camped and everything worked well. Great waether in the 60's for Feb. With out the trailer the truck averages 13.1.
At this point I am happy I don't own a diesel truck. Fuel today is $2.67 a gallon.
WBBCI 7854
Chuck

[brunoffrance]

Hi there;
About fuel consumptions, I propose you this link that was a thread when I wanted to know, the mileage before buying a pick-up truck . Finally I've bought a F150 4x4, 4,6 liters that I have equiped with LPG. Consumption: about 15mpg;

http://www.airforums.com/forum...ead.php?t=3994

Bruno

[Pick]

Getting between 13-15 Mpg towing my 31 foot Airstream with my Duramax. Get up to 21 Mpg solo. 16-19 buzzing around town. Last fillup was 18.8 mpg, mixture of country and feeway driving.

Truck before was a 2000 3500 SRW with 7.4L. Got around 9.5-10.5 towing the coach. Best tank was 14.7 coming back to Ohio from Florida. 10-12 buzzing around town.

[Bob Thompson]

Getting 13-14.5 mpg with my 2002 Tundra pulling a '97 25' Excella. Pulled nearly 10,000 miles in '04 and the mileage stayed consistent. Our previous trailer was a 23' Award (3500#) and we actually get slightly better mileage pulling the A/S than the Award. I've experimented a little with varying the the tow weight as much as 600 lbs. and have found it only minimally impacts mpg. I removed some furnishings, water, etc. for one 1200 mile trip and found less than .5 mpg improvement. It gets up to speed easier, but once there, the gas consumption was nearly identical to a loaded vehicle.

[airstreamer01]

Took a trip last fall from St. louis to Kentucky land between the lakes. Three guys, 3 motoercycles all our gear, 2001 30' Classic my brothers Duramax= 15 mpg all the power we ever wanted. My 5.7 suburban would get 10-12 but no room for motorcycles. Great trip, good time and great mpg.

[balrgn]

We have a '75 Trade Wind, '03 5.3 GMC Siearra Quad Steer. From Ohio to NH Through Canada last fall we got 13.5 MPG. Not bad Not towing I get between 15 and 16.

[Hippo]

Diesel fuel I saw at the pumps here today $2.67 Washington State. Saw on the news Oregon is at $2.64 a gallon.
The price of goods will be going up soon.

[Pick]

If you want to see weeping and gnashing of teeth, they have a "Fuel Price" thread going on over at the dieselplace.com site. Looks like Washington, Oregon and Kal-ee-forn-iya are really getting hit hard.

Filled up for $2.199 yesterday, in High Springs, Florida. Some I75 stations are at $2.299.

[Towdaddy]

We are pulling a 30' Safari LS with an 01 F250 CC Powerstroke. This is also my daily driver. I get 14-15 around town and 18-20 on the highway. A solid 14 pulling the Airstream.

Diesel is running around $2.30 in SW Michigan - same as regular unleaded.

Jeff

[Theo]

I am getting about 11 towing the 34 ft.. This is good enough, I think - It would be a lot less, if I had a motorhome, so I am happy.

Theo

[Steve Heywood]

I just returned from a 5 1/2 day trip from near Sacramento to Houston and return. Enroute to Houston I got a very steady 17.75-17.9 running 72-75 MPH (empty) with a very new (started with less than 1500 miles on the truck) Ford F250 Crewcab with a 6.0L Powerstroke diesel.

On the return trip I was towing my 30' Airstream which weighs about 7,800 lbs. West bound with the trailer I was fighting 25-45 MPH headwinds (Ah yes, spring time in the desert southwest!). My worst tank (worst winds!) was 10.27 MPG running 65 MPH in W Texas. Less wind at 65 MPH equaled 12.45 MPG. In CA (running 60 MPH because of the 55 MPH truck/trailer speed limit) I got 12.96 from the CA/AZ border through LA then to the north side of the Grapevine. My trip computer showed between .2-1.1 MPG better than the calculator. From the N-side of the Grapevine home my trip computer showed 14.1 MPG but I haven't filled up yet.

[hmsteader]

Stick with the Ford F-250 Powerstroke. The little more one pays for diesel fuel more than offsets the cost and less mileage of gasoline engines.

I run a 2000 Dodge Ram with Cummins 359 ci engine and 4-speed automatic transmissison. Running solo on the highway at 1875 rpm, which is about 68 or 69 mph, I log in at the 21+ mpg; and on rare ocassions 22 mpg. When towing my 25' Excello, fully loaded, I get about 15+ mpg. When bucking an extremely strong headwind, I got about 12+ mpg. The best I've ever gotton was driving idea flatland interstate highways with no wind, and that was a hair over 17 mpg. Oh, I've got about 84K on the truck now; just broken in.

The Good Sam Club recommends that one not run more than 70% of maximum towing capacity. For example, my truck is rated at 9,990 lbs (10,000 lbs). Therefore, I try not to exceed 7000 lbs. Although my previous SOB was closer to 7800 lbs fully loaded.

From the charts I've seen and read, an internal combustion engine with be down to 70% at 7000ft of its rated power. For every 1000 ft beyond that, it will continue to loose another 10% per thousand feet. (Personally, I think if one runs near the top of your engine's torque curve, you can't go wrong.)

So, for whatever this info is worth, take 79 cents and buy yourself a cup of coffee.

Keep the shiny side up. And good luck.