Let's talk mileage... Towing heavy road vs. No towing
I am looking at several long trips and thinking about towing either my Durango or ram 3500. What I'm curious about is how much difference on a Seneca 37TS millage difference do you actually see if you are not towing, towing at 5500# and at max towing? If it's like my Ram 3500 once you get over 10k doesn't seem to really make much difference. Looking for folks with similar setups. Thanks so much!
Durango has to work harder than the 3500, so my choice would be the 3500 which would be cheaper in fuel consumption.
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2014 Ram 1500 CrewCab 4x4 5.7 Hemi 3.92 Rear and Air Lift 1000
2005 Jayco Jay Feather LGT - 29Y GVWR-7000 lbs.
Dexter Axle Lift 4-9/16" - installed with sub-frame.
Pro Series 1200 lbs. WDH with Double Sway Bar.
Champion 3100/2800 watt Inverter/Generator-Onboard Solar Power
For what it's worth when we had our 08 SENECA (KODIAK/DURAMAX) I never saw any noticeable difference between a GMC Canyon, 1500 Silverado or Chevy Sonic.
Location: Kingman AZ and where our Seneca is today.
Posts: 3,120
Here is our weight in our trip last week. Spent a week in Grand Junction at a music festival so we were loaded with everything including a full tank of fresh water and full fuel tanks + pulling a 150kw portable diesel generator.
We averaged 7.5 mpg including running our generator for the 6 hours on the way.
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Steve & Stacy with Jasper (Australian Cattle dog)
2015 Seneca 36FK
Custom 27' flatbed trailer hauling:
07 Toyota FJC & Yamaha Kodiak 400 ATV
From October 2015 until April of this year, we towed a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. This April, 2018, we purchased a new Silverado 1500. Full crew cab with 80 inch bed and put a fiberglass cap over the bed. We've towed it about 2500 miles and really don't notice a difference or a difference in fuel mileage. Set up for the Traverse, which is all wheel drive, is different from the drive train disconnect of the 4 wheel drive pickup. There is a learning curve on both, but nothing that is abnormal with professional setup and time. The Silverado pickup is our mobile box trailer, that is self powered, steers and seats 5.
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Smooth Sailing,
Ric and Jan Golding
Southern Illinois
2016 Jayco Seneca 37FS
2016 Chevrolet Traverse
2018 Cheverolet Silverado
Here is our weight in our trip last week. Spent a week in Grand Junction at a music festival so we were loaded with everything including a full tank of fresh water and full fuel tanks + pulling a 150kw portable diesel generator.
We averaged 7.5 mpg including running our generator for the 6 hours on the way.
Steve, I am thinking if you need to pull a 150 kw generator with you then you are definately a heavy power user. Perhaps a smaller hair dryer?
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Mark and Joanne
2018 Jayco Seneca 37TS (M2)
2023 Jeep Rubicon XT Recon
Here is our weight in our trip last week. Spent a week in Grand Junction at a music festival so we were loaded with everything including a full tank of fresh water and full fuel tanks + pulling a 150kw portable diesel generator.
We averaged 7.5 mpg including running our generator for the 6 hours on the way.
My guess would be heavier vehicle weight and number of tires (3500 dually?) and tire size of the toad .... the 3500 is probably 1500 to 2500 lbs heavier than the durango, also larger tire size will create more drag. But if it's enough to make a difference in your towing??? no clue since I use them as a TV.
Are there any plans for specifically using/needing one or the other on your trip?
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2016 Jay Flight 28RLS
2016 Silverado LT 2500DH Diesel 4x4 with towing Package
Sounds like user experience shows marginal hit on towing vehicle of choice. I say tow whatever gives the better end result when at you destination and roll with it! That's probably going to be the Durango since it offers more interior storage.
Location: Kingman AZ and where our Seneca is today.
Posts: 3,120
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S
Steve, I am thinking if you need to pull a 150 kw generator with you then you are definately a heavy power user. Perhaps a smaller hair dryer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dananu
150 kw? my 8 kw runs everything we have. LOL
Let me explain... This year we went with 3 other full size motorhome/FifthWheel rigs that all have 50A hookups. 6-days in a Hayfield with no shade and high temps of 103F. The Generator ran from 7AM to 2AM every day. We also had an outdoor cooling unit running in our middle of camp in addition to the 8-AC units on the RV's.
I agree that we did not really need a 150kW unit, but the smaller ones were all reserved. They basically gave us the bigger unit for a discounted amount close to a 75kW that we really were looking to take.
We had every cord connection on the generator used - and ran it hard.
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Steve & Stacy with Jasper (Australian Cattle dog)
2015 Seneca 36FK
Custom 27' flatbed trailer hauling:
07 Toyota FJC & Yamaha Kodiak 400 ATV
My father told me many years ago, if you are worried about fuel costs, you probably can’t afford the rig. 😄 while not completely true, I don’t often let fuel cost dictate. We run a 2016 Seneca 37HJ. My lifetime MPG is about 7.3, but when in the North, we get 8-9. Not sure why, maybe a fuel blend thing. Have seen same behavior 2 years in a row. We generally tow a 2011 JK Unlimited Rubicon or 2016 F150 4x4 crew cab. Both are around 5,500 lbs. no difference in mileage between the two, and really not much better when we don’t tow. We like having a spare vehicle, so we usually tow. I recommend towing the vehicle you want to use when you get where your going. For instance, if going to Colorado, we always pull the Jeep, but when hitting TX State parks, the Ford is usually with us since it has better AC 😄. Take what you need to maximize enjoyment!
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