Towing Question

Blkhwkbob

Blkhwkbob

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Location
Des Plaines, Il.
What kind of fuel mileage do you guys get with your rigs? Please specify Vehicle and trailer.

Here's my problem: We currently tow with a car. A 97 Ford Crown Victoria towing an enclosed two place with two sleds. We are getting around 11 miles per gallon, and with just two guys splitting the cost, it is getting very expensive to trailer 360+ miles up to Northern Wisconsin. Of course, towing with this car just sucks to begin with, but funds for a new vehicle have been low. Next season, however, it's time to upgrade.

Basically, I'm wondering if using a vehicle that's actually designed for towing is going to be more efficient--or, because of the bigger engine and vehicle size, 11mpg is going to be average.

Also, does anyone tow in overdrive? I know it's not recommended, but if the trailer only weighs 1500lbs, does anyone risk it?
 

i have a 2004 tacoma v6 4x4 auto. tow a 2 place open and get 12-13mpg at 75mph with a heavy foot. i use to have a 1998 4.3 zr2 blazer and got 11. it wont hold overdrive so i tow in drive. if your vehicle holds overdrive and doesnt downshift you can use od if you have a good trans cooler.
 
04 Saturn Vue AWD with Honda 250 HP V6. I get 16 mpg towing 2 place triton enclosed. Great power & tows well.
 
1998 gmc 1/2 ton 4x4 extended cab long box. 305 vortec. truck is in a haulers thread on here for more details. open 2 place trlr(home made) with a sxr and viper on it and a 1997 et410tr in the box for a trip at christmas in snow storm with all our gear in it. some one will have to do the conversion from metric. we where gettin about 625km for close to 100L of gas averagin between 100-120khp on the highway and we where pullin in overdrive. we kicked the tranny down when we got to larger hills as we went from sudbury to manatowage (i know i spelled that wrong). did it on only 2 fillups too. if we woulda had the stereo turned up it would have gotten worse fuel milage.



sleds where fully fueled and oil was topped off. we went packed to cart the trailer home at all costs so we had spare everything + gas + oil + chainsaw.

it pulled good just that the 305 feels weak in the hills with any more weight than we had on it. id recommend a 4.3 for better fuel milage and more grunt in the hills. or just go 350 (5.7l). yes it burns more fuel but it will really flatten those hills out.

does that crown vic have a 302 in it? those things suck the fuel back when haulin. been ther dun that.
 
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'04 GMC 2500 Crew Cab with one in the bed pulling a three place R&R enclosed trailer - Average 8 - 9. Pulling the same trailer with my '98 2-door Tahoe got 10 - 12. But I must say, the comfort and control with a bigger truck is NICE.
 
03 HD Crew with 6"'s of lift and 31575R16 only got 7-8 with a Two place V Drive in-out. Throw the stockers on there and I only gained 1 or 2 MPH(last truck)

My 04 Ext Cab 1/2 ton with 28575R16's or the 20"s I run gets 10-12 MPG with a 3 Place V Drive in-out.(current truck)

FYI, both trucks had the computers recalibrated for the proper tire size. The speedo's were dead on at 65MPH.
 
use a 03 grand cherokee with a 4.7 pulling a r+r enclosed two place with a rx and rs venture @ 80-90 mph getting 13-14 mpg using o.d. most of the time other than the big hills near mighty mak. bridge
 
'99 Ford F-150 4x4. regular cab, 8' bed. 5.4L Triton V8 with 4-speed automatic. 3.73 rear gears.
With my sled in the bed it will still pull 16 mpg. With the bed loaded full of firewood (up to the top, couldnt get another piece in if you tried) it pulls 14 mpg. I use O/D most of the time but I will click it down into D on the big hills. My truck has a tranny cooler, so you arent going to hurt it. The biggest problem with my truck is braking. The brakes are fine when its unloaded, but if its loaded full and you have to stop in a hurry forget about it. The truck just wont do it!
Hebi
 
02 Ford Excursion 7.3L turbo diesel with a couple power adders. Pulling a 24' Pace enclosed with 4 sleds all gear, lots of extras and 5 people. I can get 14-15 miles to the gallon. Excursion alone without the trailer gets 18.5mpg.
 
Do you have the 3.73 gears in the excursion? What RPM"s are you pulling at 80mph?? I'm trying to compare to the 4.10's in my F350 that are producing about 14mpg empty/10mpg loaded .... Thanks. :rockon:
 
00 Ford E-350 7.3L Turbo Diesel, 28' (toung to tail) Enclosed Wells Cargo 4 place. The Diesel never has a prob. pulling We pull a 20' enclosed work trailer (~10,000#) just about every day motor is strong and in 75K no issues with the motor and trans. we are on our 3rd (yes I said 3rd) rearend. Gas mlage is consistant(sp) at 14mpg. Tow in over drive all the time. We have towed with an 03 Yokon (sp) Denile (sp) XL and the trip computer sais we were getting on adverage 4mpg and it would not go in OD had to run it out of OD.
 
'03 GMC Denali - 6 liter engine, full-time AWD and 4-wheel steering. Hauling a non-enclosed Floe 2-place with 2 sleds, 1000 from here to Laramie (1000 miles), average 75 mph. Trip computer said 11.3 mpg until we got to western Nebraksa and started climbing, plus a very stiff north wind at that point. At that point, the mileage dropped back to 10.3 mpg. It pulled fine in overdrive until we got to about Sidney, Nebraska (home of Cabela's), then I had to switch to tow/haul mode which changes the shift points and pretty much keeps it out of OD. Temp gauge on the transmission showed that the tranny was nice and cool the whole way.

On the trip back, without the trailer, I got 15.2 mpg
 
Well, it looks to me like our mileage isn't that bad after all. Towing with a rear wheel drive car is still an issue that has to be corrected. Guess I'll just keep an open mind and look for a good deal to come along over the summer.

Anyone have any experience with an AWD Chevy Astro Van 4.3L? I envision a real cool tow vehicle with 4 captain's chairs, a nice sound system, and plenty of room in the back for junk... Also can use it as a work vehicle. Just an idea.

Thanks for all the responses.

Bob
 
4.3l chev is a good motor and strong too. if you go that way you will be happy. i know i loved mine in the pu and that little bugger would get the same fuel milage loaded or empty. it would only get a little worse if i towed a trlr on the same trip.
 
Chevy 4.3L is pretty bullet-proof. It's just a 350 with 2 cylinders missing. Can't go wrong with it. I've had an 89 Astro (RWD) with that engine, and my in-laws have a '95 Astro (AWD) with it as well. They both tow extremely well. Pulled a home-built trailer with two sleds on it from Anchorage, AK to Delta Junction, AK with the '95. Had to drop it out of overdrive for the big hills, but on the flats it had no problems. I think we were seeing somewhere in the 15-18 mpg range (it was a few years ago that we made that trip).
 
I get 450 miles out of 27 gallons which is about 16mpg loaded with trailered boat, Jeep, motorcycles, or sleds on back, full of family and family's stuff. Ford F250 Crew Cab Powerstroke'd. It gets me the same year round no matter which toy I am draggin behind it an no matter the weather. Mileage actually has gotten better since I put 30K on it. Unloaded it gets about 18 to 20mpg I think but its usually loaded most of the time. If you asked me, I would buy this exact truck all over again, only downside is they don't use the 7.3 anymore, so I will have to consider all options next time around. I guess I will have to drive it for 300K and see what they have available then :-)
 
Brunter Burner said:
I get 450 miles out of 27 gallons which is about 16mpg loaded with trailered boat, Jeep, motorcycles, or sleds on back, full of family and family's stuff. Ford F250 Crew Cab Powerstroke'd. It gets me the same year round no matter which toy I am draggin behind it an no matter the weather. Mileage actually has gotten better since I put 30K on it. Unloaded it gets about 18 to 20mpg I think but its usually loaded most of the time. If you asked me, I would buy this exact truck all over again, only downside is they don't use the 7.3 anymore, so I will have to consider all options next time around. I guess I will have to drive it for 300K and see what they have available then :-)
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dude that 7.3L motor doesnt start seating in till 80,000km. when you have that much on it it will pull like stink and still get awsome fuel milage. drove one for awhile at work when it was new. only way to get better fuel milage outa it was to put a quart of motor oil in the fuel about every 3rd tank of fuel.
 
04 Chev Duramax. Only get 12-13 while towing. Thought it would be better when I made the purchase, but a great tower. Pulls my 23' proline like nothing.
 
2003 GMC Envoy. 3.73 gears. 2 sleds, open with salt shield, steel trailer.
3rd gear:
60 mph 15 mpg
65 mph 14/15
70 mph 10/11
75 mph 7/8
80 mph 6/7
OD: Not recommended because of potential for constant gear changes
65 mph 11
70 mph 9
75 mph 7
80 mph 5/6

I think these numbers would be much better with the 4.10 gears, which would allow the engine to run at optimum RPM and BSFC at speeds around 70/75, keeping wind resistance down. Once you get over 75, that baby is pushing a lot of wind. Bottom line for me? Driving at 65 mph in 3rd gear gets double the mileage of running at 75. I hate driving that slow, but I hate paying twice as much for gas too. I think a V8 might do better than the 4.3l I-6. She gets almost 22 mpg in OD at 65 empty, but add that load and it really makes a difference. :rockon:
 
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