Does this seem reasonable?

[Smabernethy]

avg abt 10.1 mpg 2016 F150 Ecoboost pulling 2020 Jayco hay Feather 25RB

[thutson464]

Originally Posted by BC Camper

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.

I had the same truck (2014) 3.5 ltr ecoboost twin turbo. 21mpg not towing, 8.5 to 11 while towing my 8,000# Denali. On a roundtrip from Washington state to Florida we ended up at 10.2 for the entire trip, some of that was without towing. I always set the cruise at 60mph. On the flat roads over several hundred miles we could get up to 12mpg but going up the 7,000' passes it would drop to 6mpg. I did notice a huge difference in going 60 vs 70. On a side not I now have a 2020 Chevy 3500 with the 6.6 ltr gas. I'm happy (unfortunately) if I can squeeze 8.5 mpg out of it while towing.

[Rustycamper01]

I have a similar set-up with TT and truck. When towing I stick to 60 mph. I get about 9.5 towing; 22.5 with routine driving in northern Michigan. If you're in a hurry you pay for in lower gas mileage.

[Noobsack]

Originally Posted by BC Camper

Am I doing something wrong, or is this about what I should expect?

I understand your frustration.

I have an Xterra Pro4X V6 and a light 174BH at 3600lbs.

I don’t get great gas mileage to vegan with but I was scared I wouldn’t even make it to the campsite because gas was dropping so fast. I did notice that 65 and above I could literally track my gas gauge dropping and around 55-60mph it was doing a lot better. Which isn’t the type of driving I’m used to.

I’m now a 55-60 mph driver and only do 65 when that’s the minimum.

[gymracer]

That is such a pain. We had a Four Winds class C on a E450 Ford chassis with a V10, cruise was useless. Any mole hill mad it down shift. Now have a Seneca 35GS super C with a Duramax. Set it on 70 cruise and forget it, very seldom down shifts. Just drove it tonight from Bowling Green KY to south of Nashville and never downshifted once, was pulling a 24' enclosed trailer with racecar.

[RedHorse1]

BC Camper, what brand of tires do you have?

[travelingjw]

I tow a 5700 lb. TT with a Chevy 2500 van. Our normal mileage is between 14 - 16 and when pulling the TT 7.8 - 9-1. Based and your specs and what we have experienced with different tow vehicles it seems fine to me. We've tried weight reduction, paid attention to balanced loads and were never able to alter the mileage. I use cruise on hi-ways but when I experimented with cruise and no cruise only a few tenths of a gallon difference.

[Scott91370]

I'm late to the game and this may have been said but speed.

I have a 2015 F15 3.5L ecoboost and tow a 19h (3500lbs - ish). Running 60-65 and get about 10mpg. If I push it 70-75 kiss that goodbye. It drops down to 8ish.

[Noblewk]

Both Cruise control and speed are affecting your mileage. Try without cruise, back it down to 60 and you will increase your mileage by 2 mpg. With fuel at an all time high saving where you can makes cents (pun intended)

[kblast523]

Originally Posted by Scott91370

I'm late to the game and this may have been said but speed.

I have a 2015 F15 3.5L ecoboost and tow a 19h (3500lbs - ish). Running 60-65 and get about 10mpg. If I push it 70-75 kiss that goodbye. It drops down to 8ish.

I had a 2.7 EcoBoost F150 that did somewhat better than the 5.7 Hemi I traded it for, and my Nissan Titan gets right at 10.5 mpg towing, equal to the EB, more than the Hemi. Go faster than 65 your mileage is in the...well you know.

[curver900]

Originally Posted by JDug66

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

well you don't have too... but don't tell others to not use what is specifically built into the truck for a reason to tow and haul heavy loads....

What is the logical reason to not use it, especially with such a large load?

[gymracer]

I have a Seneca 35GS with a Duramax. I tow a 24' enclosed trailer with racecar and tools etc. I run the cruise 90% of the time, only in hills do I get off cruise if traffic is clear. I run 70mph where it is legal. Yes slowing down to 60 would help milage but you would be a rolling road block. My vehicle likes 70 and performs better at that speed, not down shifting all the time, actually has to be a very long steep hill to downshift at all. I get 8-9 mpg towing and live with it. I don't seeing buying a MH or TT and then start worrying about milage. You should know going in you are going to spend some serious money with either. Otherwise drive a Honda and stay in a motel.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by mass-hole

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.

The limitation is my trailer tires. Rated for 65 mph. I tow at 62/63 mph. I've towed out west. Towed through the Rockys a couple of times. The trucks and cars all just passed us up. No big deal at all. Speed limit in WI on Interstates is 70. Trucks do anywhere from 60-75. Most are doing 70. Most cars are doing 80-85. Again, everyone just passes us. When something is going on, I am not in the thick of it and have a lot more time to react and deal with it.

That said, we've been doing this since my daughter was 1. She's 37 now. Started towing a trailer when she was 8. So I have more than a few years towing under my belt. I've found it's far more relaxing not to be in the middle of fast moving traffic. But maybe that's just from experience gained after being in the middle of too many near misses. And never have I felt saving a few minutes was worth comprising my family's safety. We set up in the dark many times when we had to leave on a Friday after work. Still had a great time and lots of memories.

[kwalsh]

i just towed my 2018 28rls, approx 8500# from albany to ocean city and back and set cruise at 63 on highway and used tow haul and got 10mpg, I would kick off the cruise on hills and never in the stop and go but i was pretty happy

oh its a 21 f250 with 6.2 gas

[SkyBound]

Originally Posted by mass-hole

Good for you. I'm 33 and have 4.5 yo and 6 month old kids that have to pee and eat and get diapers changed every couple of hours, and not always on the same schedule. I have to take vacation time off of work. 5 mph might not seem like much, but it could make a 1-1.5 hour difference in my travel time on a 6 hour trip if the timing works out poorly with kids stops. It could be the difference between me setting up in the day light or setting up after dark. So it's really great that you have nowhere to be, but I do.

Did i claim to be an expert? No. But I do have a Ford F150 Ecoboost and I have datalogged countless hours towing using fairly advanced datalogging software. I know for a fact that the truck runs 4 degree more ignition timing on 91 than 87 and picks up some mpg's. I did tow for a couple years on 87 octane and my truck was totally fine, but 91 is only 15 cents more than 87 octane here so it actually is not a waste of money for me and possibly for others. Do your own math and see if it works for you. Don't make blanket statements.


Your tundra is also not a turbocharged, direct injected engine with a 10.5:1 compression ratio, so it probably doesn't take advantage of higher octane fuel. I have the 1UR-FE in my Lexus GX(which calls for 91 even though its the same engine as the Tundra) and it doesn't benefit from 91 in the same way as my F150. Comparing an old school, port injected V8 to a DI turbo'd V6 is ridiculous.

If you do tow at 70mph into a 20mph headwind, let me know what MPG's you get though. I bet it won't be great.

But yeah, tell me all about how i have not clue what I am talking about

Just to add to this, I run 91 octane all summer long for the towing season, and then switch back to 87 for the winter. I thought I was done towing so back to a full tank of 87 I went, and then had a last minute day trip with the trailer come up.

When camping, I have myself, wife and 2 kids, big dog, firewood, bikes, camp chef stove, food, water, etc. Probably 1500-2000lbs of extra stuff, plus roof racks and kayaks. This time the trailer was empty, the truck was empty, and it was just me driving.

With the 87 octane, even with cooler ambient temps, the truck was a dog compared to summer towing with 91. It didn't pull as hard accelerating, and it was unsure if it even wanted to hold 5th gear even with no wind. Only when I put the cruise control on would it settle into 5th, and even at that a small hill would command 4th. Fully loaded at nearly 14,000lbs GCWR in summer heat, with 91 octane fuel the truck runs uphill without a problem in 5th.

It also gave me the same fuel burn on 87 unloaded as 91 gives me loaded up with weight and drag (it was a zero wind day). It further proved to me how important high octane fuel is in these engines if you want to maximize their potential.

[kblast523]

Originally Posted by SkyBound

Just to add to this, I run 91 octane all summer long for the towing season, and then switch back to 87 for the winter. I thought I was done towing so back to a full tank of 87 I went, and then had a last minute day trip with the trailer come up.

When camping, I have myself, wife and 2 kids, big dog, firewood, bikes, camp chef stove, food, water, etc. Probably 1500-2000lbs of extra stuff, plus roof racks and kayaks. This time the trailer was empty, the truck was empty, and it was just me driving.

With the 87 octane, even with cooler ambient temps, the truck was a dog compared to summer towing with 91. It didn't pull as hard accelerating, and it was unsure if it even wanted to hold 5th gear even with no wind. Only when I put the cruise control on would it settle into 5th, and even at that a small hill would command 4th. Fully loaded at nearly 14,000lbs GCWR in summer heat, with 91 octane fuel the truck runs uphill without a problem in 5th.

It also gave me the same fuel burn on 87 unloaded as 91 gives me loaded up with weight and drag (it was a zero wind day). It further proved to me how important high octane fuel is in these engines if you want to maximize their potential.

Just to add to this...my 2015 2.7l eb F-150 would get 24.5 to 25.5 mpg not towing using 91 octane, towing I once got 15.2 towing on a tank (36 gallon). Most of the time I got 10.5 or so depending on all the variables. The 2019 RAM with a hemi and the same trailer got 8.5 to 10 and fuel grade didn't matter. My current 2018 Nissan Titan with same trailer I had for the two previous tvs will get 10.5 to 12 mpg on premium, 9 to 10.5 mpg on regular, but 'regular' from here to the other side of the rockies is 86 octane, and premium is 50-60 cents a gallon more than regular.