Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-11-2021, 02:49 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: WAUKESHA
Posts: 3
Angry Does this seem reasonable?

I am towing a 6,000 lb double axle Jayco travel trailer (28BHS) with a 2017 Ford F-150 Supercrew, equipped with a tow pkg (up to 10,700 lbs), and a 3.5L V-6 turbo. The tires on the travel trailer were recently replaced, and slightly over-inflated, and my truck tires are slightly over-inflated. I have a weight-distribution hitch and the trailer tows well. The load in the truck bed was minimal. While the terrain/highways in WI aren't flat, I wouldn't consider them all that hilly compared to what you might see out West. i (mostly) use cruise control on the freeway set at 70, and with the transmission set in Tow/Haul mode. Doing so, I am getting about 7.2 miles per gallon over a 240 mile trip. While I expected a significant drop-off from the 22 hwy mpg I get when not towing, I figured I would get somewhere north of 10 mpg, but not so. Am I doing something wrong, or is this about what I should expect? If I get a lighter trailer, say around 5,000 lbs., is that likely to help much, or only inconsequentially? Would an F-150 with a V-8 show less of a mileage drop-off based on what I'm towing?

Thanks in advance for the feedback.
BC Camper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 03:40 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Route 66 Traveler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Kingman, AZ
Posts: 1,949
I tow a 30 foot trailer that scales out at 6900 with a Toyota Tundra TV. I never use cruise control, never exceed 65 mph and have max psi in the tires according to the Goodyear inflation chart. I plan my trips using 10 mpg as a reference for fuel stops. My lowest calculated mpg was 9.4 mpg with hills and headwinds; my highest was from Gallup, NM to Shiprock, NM, mostly level ground with no wind calculated at 13.6 mpg. That's with 65 gallons of water, 2 cats and a 30 pound dog. I found that any speed above 65 kills my fuel economy instantly

Scale weight of my truck and trailer together was 13,640.
Route 66 Traveler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 04:09 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
ARoamer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: St Johns MI
Posts: 1,719
Probably the thing that will help most is... slow down! I got about 5 mpg more going 55 vs 70.
I never liked using cruise control on my gas trucks when towing, any incline and it's RPM time as the truck tries to maintain set speed and has no way of knowing you're just going to crest that hill in 100 yards.....
__________________
2020 Pinnacle 32rlts
640 watts solar, 300AH lithium
2020 High Country Duramax 3500
TS3 Hitch
Ms says I'm full of useless knowledge and other stuff...
ARoamer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 04:10 PM   #4
Site Team
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Connellsville
Posts: 22,681
Speed while towing will make a significant difference in MPG. You are pulling a big flat nose "parachute" through the air. I mostly tow at the 62-64 mph range on the highway. With my 5500# 22bhm with the cruise set at 64 mph (that's where the 10-speed/3.55 gear ratio, 3.5L Ecoboost will shift to 9th), I routinely see 10.5-11.5 mpg on the highway. Now your trailer has a larger profile and slightly heavier than mine, so I would expect the mileage to be less. But, I would recommend slowing down your travel speeds to see if that helps.
__________________
Moderator
2017 Jay Feather 7 22BHM Baja/Andersen WD
2018 F150 4x4 3.5L Ecoboost Max Tow
2015 MB Sprinter 2500 Passenger 2.1L Diesel
2007 Ram 2500 4x4 Cummins 5.9L G56

Midnightmoon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 04:40 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Daytona Beach
Posts: 660
First off, one doesn't buy a truck and trailer for fuel mileage .
That said, here's my experience, not apples to apples but....
2001 Ford diesel(7.3) Excursion, 3.73 rear
Not towing highway - 18 to 22 mpg
11,000 lb tt - 10 +- mpg
7,500 lb tt - 10 +- mpg
5,000 lb tt - 10 +- mpg
Current tt - 10 +- mpg
Around town no tt - 12 to 16 mpg
Now mind you my Ex is shaped like a brick towing an even larger brick. I'm happy with my results.
So, don't feel bad it happens to us all.
PaulB12
PaulB12 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 04:47 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Murff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: State of Confusion
Posts: 5,004
Quote:
Originally Posted by ARoamer View Post
Probably the thing that will help most is... slow down! I got about 5 mpg more going 55 vs 70.
I never liked using cruise control on my gas trucks when towing, any incline and it's RPM time as the truck tries to maintain set speed and has no way of knowing you're just going to crest that hill in 100 yards.....
Agree with this^^^^!

An aside, what brand of tires are you using? Most trailer tires are rated for only 65 MPH. Goodyear Endurance rated for 87 MPH.

But speed will kill your mileage as will a strong wind or driving across Nebraska.

Murff
__________________
Murff

2015 White Hawk 20MRB (It's last year)
2017 F150 2.7 Eco Boost 3.73 Gears

Murff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 05:56 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Spring
Posts: 928
Cruise control was not meant for towing and can create an unsafe condition. When towing, your mileage will suffer. Eliminate as much up/down shifting of the transmission by setting the highest gear which is not an Overdrive gear. It helps alot.
__________________
2016 Starcraft AR One 18QB
2016 Colorado LT 3.6L V6 Ext. Cab
16WhiteColly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 06:43 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 2,882
Quote:
Originally Posted by 16WhiteColly View Post
Cruise control was not meant for towing and can create an unsafe condition. When towing, your mileage will suffer. Eliminate as much up/down shifting of the transmission by setting the highest gear which is not an Overdrive gear. It helps alot.
Modern cruise controls are meant for towing. Semis even come with them. The new system in the Freightliners are pretty impressive. Of course weather, traffic, and other environmental conditions come into play.
__________________
2017 JayFlight 21QB
2021 Ford F150 SCrew 3.5 Eco, 157”, 3.55, Tow Pkg
TaftCoach is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 06:46 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Charleston
Posts: 419
Quote:
Originally Posted by BC Camper View Post
I am towing a 6,000 lb double axle Jayco travel trailer (28BHS) with a 2017 Ford F-150 Supercrew, equipped with a tow pkg (up to 10,700 lbs), and a 3.5L V-6 turbo. The tires on the travel trailer were recently replaced, and slightly over-inflated, and my truck tires are slightly over-inflated. I have a weight-distribution hitch and the trailer tows well. The load in the truck bed was minimal. While the terrain/highways in WI aren't flat, I wouldn't consider them all that hilly compared to what you might see out West. i (mostly) use cruise control on the freeway set at 70, and with the transmission set in Tow/Haul mode. Doing so, I am getting about 7.2 miles per gallon over a 240 mile trip. While I expected a significant drop-off from the 22 hwy mpg I get when not towing, I figured I would get somewhere north of 10 mpg, but not so. Am I doing something wrong, or is this about what I should expect? If I get a lighter trailer, say around 5,000 lbs., is that likely to help much, or only inconsequentially? Would an F-150 with a V-8 show less of a mileage drop-off based on what I'm towing?

Thanks in advance for the feedback.
Had the same truck (before upgrading to f250) with the same engine/tranny/camper towing mostly flat with some mountains in WV at no higher than 55mph (I take back roads) and best I got was 10.2mpg.

Lighter trailer would help, slowing down would help too.
__________________
Velocity Blue 2020 F-250 XLT Crew Cab with Short Bed (bought 12/30/2020)
2021 Jay Flight 28BHS (bought 11/14/2020)
E4-10k Equalizer Hitch
Furrion Vision S 7” Rear and Side View Cameras
2021JayFlight28BHS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 06:58 PM   #10
Site Team
 
JFlightRisk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Newark, NY
Posts: 15,765
I agree with everything above, and have a similar set up as Midnightmoon, with the exception of the 10 speed tranny. Our F150 SC 3.5 turbo has a 6 speed, it's 2 years older.

Both TT and TV tires are inflated to the recommended cold pressures, never tow with the cruise control, do use the tow/haul mode, and speeds at 62 to 64 mph. We get between 10.5 to 12 mpg, depending on the hills, and headwinds.

Your tires are engineered for the increase in pressure from the recommended cold PSI, as they heat up from driving. Artificially inflating them higher will result in higher hot pressures, and may be putting them at risk to catastrophic failure. You mentioned new tires on your TT, and am curious what brand and load range they are, and how much over you have them inflated to?
__________________
Moderator
Think you're too old to cry or swear out loud...walk into your hitch in the dark.

2012 Jay Flight 19RD
2016 Ford F150 XLT 2X4 SC 3.5L Eco Max Tow
2010 Tundra TRD DBL Cab (Traded)
2 new fluffy Corgis, Bayley and Stanley
JFlightRisk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2021, 10:52 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Oakley
Posts: 156
Does this seem reasonable?

I have a 2014 3.5 Ecoboost and tow my X213(5500 gvwr) at 70 mph any time i am on the open freeways around here(Utah, Wyoming and Idaho mostly.)

I have seen 10 mpg a handful of times. Maybe 3 trips. The rest of the time i am usually in the low 9’s if its good conditions. Start throwing in a headwind and it drops quick. I’ve seen 6.7 mpg towing in a stout headwind before

One issue with the Ecoboosts is that they will richen the air fuel ratio to keep the exhaust gas temps in check. If you let the truck shift on its own, it will hold higher gears and climb hills at low rpm/high boost and it will cause the air/fuel ratio to tank and run rich. If you manually lock out gears and spin the engine faster you can keep the AFR at 14.7:1 for all but the biggest hills.

This last tow I was running in 4th at 70 mph, which was around 3000 rpm, because with the headwind the truck was dropping the AFR in 5th. On hills i was preemptively dropping to 3rd at 4k. The truck could pull the hills in 4th but it was tanking the AFR and running in 3rd kept the afr around 14.7 for the most part

The other big help will be premium gas while towing. If you can run 93, do it, because the truck will add a significant amount of ignition timing. More advanced timing means more power from the same amount of fuel. At least in my truck, i will gain about 3-4 degrees of global timing added going from 87 to 91. Ive even started adding Boostane to bump the 91 to 94 and am picking up about 6+ degrees of timing over 87
__________________
Trailer: 2012 JayFeather X213
TV: 2014 F150 Ecoboost - Lariat, 4x4, Screw, 6.5' Bed, Max Tow Package
2nd TV: 2011 Lexus GX460
mass-hole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2021, 06:56 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 3,430
Two comments. One, slow down. Why are you in a hurry? The faster you go, the more your mileage drops. And the difference in time is minimal. I run 62/63 and get about 12 mpg. Granted I'm toing a smaller trailer, but even with my old '08 Sierra with 4 speed I was getting 10 consistently towing.

Second, that 6000# weight you quote is dry weight weight. Dry weight is a mythical number. The GVWR of that trailer is 8800#, loaded for camping you;re a lot closer to that number than the dry weight. Take it to a scale and find out what it really weighs loaded up.



Quote:
Originally Posted by 16WhiteColly View Post
Cruise control was not meant for towing and can create an unsafe condition. When towing, your mileage will suffer. Eliminate as much up/down shifting of the transmission by setting the highest gear which is not an Overdrive gear. It helps alot.
I've been using cruise while towing for many years. My experience is that yes, sometimes it has to downshift. That was a minor problem with my old 4 speed, not at all with my 8 speed. But one thing for sure is mileage is better using it and it's more consistent. The only time I won't use it is in rain and really heavy traffic.

That said, you are absolutely correct about the towing gear. I tow in 6 with my 8 speed. Wonderful towing experience. Rarely has to downshift.
__________________
Chuck
2013 Jayco Jayfeather X20 E (sold)
2016 Chevy Silverado LTZ 2 Z71 Crew Cab (sold, and dearly missed)
DocBrown is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2021, 08:58 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 153
As mentioned power requirements with additional speed are not linear. Slowing down will give you significant fuel savings and probably won't make any appreciable difference in distance traveled per day due to extended range. Cruise control in moderate or hilly terrain will negatively affect fuel mileage vs. Knowledgeable driver who anticipates grades and takes appropriate action.
Pickledill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2021, 09:41 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Oakley
Posts: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by DocBrown View Post
Two comments. One, slow down. Why are you in a hurry? The faster you go, the more your mileage drops. And the difference in time is minimal. I run 62/63 and get about 12 mpg. Granted I'm toing a smaller trailer, but even with my old '08 Sierra with 4 speed I was getting 10 consistently towing.

Second, that 6000# weight you quote is dry weight weight. Dry weight is a mythical number. The GVWR of that trailer is 8800#, loaded for camping you;re a lot closer to that number than the dry weight. Take it to a scale and find out what it really weighs loaded up.





I've been using cruise while towing for many years. My experience is that yes, sometimes it has to downshift. That was a minor problem with my old 4 speed, not at all with my 8 speed. But one thing for sure is mileage is better using it and it's more consistent. The only time I won't use it is in rain and really heavy traffic.

That said, you are absolutely correct about the towing gear. I tow in 6 with my 8 speed. Wonderful towing experience. Rarely has to downshift.
For me, traveling at 70mph is the most comfortable speed on the freeway in terms of keeping with the flow of traffic. In Utah and Wyoming, there are no truck speed limits and Idaho has a 70mph truck speed limit. The 18 wheelers are pretty much all doing at least 70 mph on the flats and faster on the downhills. Most of the other campers are doing at least 70 mph. I've had guys pass me tandem towing big 5th wheels with a second trailer loaded down with Rzr's doing 80mph.

So when I tow at 70, I am keeping with the flow of most of the 18 wheelers and am generally on the lower end of the speed for the camper trailers. Regular cars are generally doing 80mph+. Going slower than 70 mph becomes more of a hassle for me and the drivers around me, especially if the traffic is heavy. People do dumb things when you inconvenience them like that.
__________________
Trailer: 2012 JayFeather X213
TV: 2014 F150 Ecoboost - Lariat, 4x4, Screw, 6.5' Bed, Max Tow Package
2nd TV: 2011 Lexus GX460
mass-hole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2021, 12:28 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Route 66 Traveler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Kingman, AZ
Posts: 1,949
Just so your ST tires are rated for the speed. Many are only rated for 65 max. I travel usually at 62-65 on Arizona freeways posted for 75...for cars and trucks. Never a problem and I don't care what everyone else is doing.
Route 66 Traveler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2021, 01:45 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
JDug66's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 195
For Hills only

Don't use your tow/haul mode unless you are on hills.
__________________

"If everyday is a break-even day, I'm good with that"
2020 JayFlight SLX 287 BHS, UVW 6,180 lbs
2015 RAM 1500, 8spd, 4x4, 5.7L, TowPak, 3.21 ratio, Fastway e2 2-Point Sway, AirLift 1000, GCWR 13,800lbs
1998 Coleman Redwood Pop-up (sold2020)
2000 Ford F-150 SuperCab (sold2018)
JDug66 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2021, 08:26 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Oakley
Posts: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by JDug66 View Post
Don't use your tow/haul mode unless you are on hills.

This is not good advice for an ecoboost. You dont want it lugging in a higher gear or it will get dog crap economy. You want to spin it a little higher rpm to keep boost down.
__________________
Trailer: 2012 JayFeather X213
TV: 2014 F150 Ecoboost - Lariat, 4x4, Screw, 6.5' Bed, Max Tow Package
2nd TV: 2011 Lexus GX460
mass-hole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2021, 07:52 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 1,588
1.) Slow down
2.) Lock out gears that cause RPMs less than 1700-1800
3.) Run premium high octane fuel
4.) Use tow/haul
5.) Cruise control is your friend
6.) Slow down

*Profile drag is exponentially more detrimental to fuel mileage than added weight is. You could shed 1,000lbs and you would still see similar mileage at speed given same conditions. Slowing down reduces profile drag. If you double your speed, you quadruple your drag.

*I personally get 9-9.5mpg on a consistent basis towing with 91 octane given light to no wind conditions.
__________________
2013 F-150 EcoBoost MaxTow, Roush tuned (415hp 506tq), lifted on 33s, R.A.S.
2013 Jay Flight 28BHS Elite (Equalizer 10K hitch)
SkyBound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2021, 11:11 AM   #19
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: WAUKESHA
Posts: 3
Thanks for the feedback!

Thanks to all who have provided feedback. My key takeaways are:

- yes, the mpg's are probably reasonable based on what I described
- to get better fuel economy my choices are to slow down, don't drive the freeway (speed limit and most traffic traveling at or above 70 mph), and/or avoid using cruise control

To answer some of the questions posed:
- the "over-inflation" i referred to was minimal (like 1 or 2 lbs), hoping it would net some fuel consumption benefit. I doubt it had much impact especially on the Travel trailer, so I will return to the posted recommended inflation.
- like some have posted, 70 is the posted speed limit; I could try 65 without worrying about causing issues, or I could try other roads. In this case, I was traveling home from a very familiar destination, wanted to make good time and have seen the "sights" multiple times; I just wanted to get home on a Sunday afternoon into evening trip.
- the travel trailer is big (30' long) and whatever the standard height is so I get the "drag" issue. I did drain the water tank so the 6,000 lbs I mentioned should be right on, if not a little high
- the fuel mileage I get when not towing is indeed good, so I just to need to go into the towing expectation looking at about 8 mpg's, and plan accordingly (wondering if trucks with diesel engines are about the same, or significantly better regarding fuel economy?)
- I'm not obsessive about fuel economy; just wanted confirmation of what I was experiencing as "expected" or "reasonable". Sounds like it is both.
- Sounds like a V-8 might offer some towing advantage (fuel economy wise) while towing, but would be offset by the much bigger percentage of time I don't tow.

Again, thanks for the feedback!
BC Camper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2021, 03:26 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Oakley
Posts: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by BC Camper View Post
Thanks to all who have provided feedback. My key takeaways are:

- yes, the mpg's are probably reasonable based on what I described
- to get better fuel economy my choices are to slow down, don't drive the freeway (speed limit and most traffic traveling at or above 70 mph), and/or avoid using cruise control

To answer some of the questions posed:
- the "over-inflation" i referred to was minimal (like 1 or 2 lbs), hoping it would net some fuel consumption benefit. I doubt it had much impact especially on the Travel trailer, so I will return to the posted recommended inflation.
- like some have posted, 70 is the posted speed limit; I could try 65 without worrying about causing issues, or I could try other roads. In this case, I was traveling home from a very familiar destination, wanted to make good time and have seen the "sights" multiple times; I just wanted to get home on a Sunday afternoon into evening trip.
- the travel trailer is big (30' long) and whatever the standard height is so I get the "drag" issue. I did drain the water tank so the 6,000 lbs I mentioned should be right on, if not a little high
- the fuel mileage I get when not towing is indeed good, so I just to need to go into the towing expectation looking at about 8 mpg's, and plan accordingly (wondering if trucks with diesel engines are about the same, or significantly better regarding fuel economy?)
- I'm not obsessive about fuel economy; just wanted confirmation of what I was experiencing as "expected" or "reasonable". Sounds like it is both.
- Sounds like a V-8 might offer some towing advantage (fuel economy wise) while towing, but would be offset by the much bigger percentage of time I don't tow.

Again, thanks for the feedback!
-Yes I think your 7.2 mpg could be considered reasonable if you are facing a headwind or similar, I would expect 8's or low 9's in ideal conditions at 70mph.

-There is no reason not to use cruise control. It's very good on the F150's and keeps the truck right at the set speed. It will not hurt your mpg's.

-Lock out 10th and 9th gears at a minimum on your truck and try to run in 8th and possibly 7th depending on the conditions and your rear axle gear ratio. My ecoboost seems to be most happy at ~2200 rpm on the flats. The Ecoboost is a monster and will pull along happily at 1800 rpm but then you are needing a lot of boost to make the torque required to do so and that causes it to run rich.

-The only half ton V8's that might offer an advantage are the GM 5.3 and 6.2L. I have not seen any evidence to suggest V8's from Toyota, Ram, or Ford will do much better towing than the Ecoboost.

-A diesel should give you a good bump in MPG's, probably 30-40%, but how much more does the fuel cost and how much are you going to spend buying the new truck? Probably not worth it in the long run.
__________________
Trailer: 2012 JayFeather X213
TV: 2014 F150 Ecoboost - Lariat, 4x4, Screw, 6.5' Bed, Max Tow Package
2nd TV: 2011 Lexus GX460
mass-hole is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:46 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.