[puddin]

Hey everyone I just got back from a quick 4 hour trip towing our new travel trailer. I purposely bought my EcoBoost because of the great mpg and towing capabilities the v6 could still offer. I have the standard towing package, 2wd and 3.15 gears. I am towing a 28 foot 7000 lb travel trailer with an equalizer hitch. On my way there I got a whopping 7 mpg. I couldn't believe how bad it was so I did some quick research while camping out over the weekend and cranked my air pressure up on my rear tires and changed the hitch to put more on the trailer. That only got me up to 9mpg. I am still surprised it is this low. The motor isn't running hard or anything.

Any ideas on what I should try next? Helper springs to raise the rear and not have so much tire to the ground? New gears?

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[Wayne]

That's about the same mileage I get when I tow my travel trailer.

 

[puddin]

you have 3.73 gears? and get 9 mpg?

 

[SPPD]

I have the 3.73 with MaxTow also 2wd. I just returned from a 1200 mile tow and averaged 10.7. My trailer is 36 foot long and weighs about 8800 loaded.

What type of terrain were you pulling in? Head wind? Rain? There are a ton of variables that will effect your towing mpg. I have done 14+ towing this same configuration with a steady tailwind on fairly flat land. I also did 6.6 on the same route with a 30 mph headwind in the rain. I tow at 55 to 64 mph depending on road conditions and traffic. What speeds were you towing?

I think you can certainly do better, but much is dictated by outside forces.

SPPD

 

[puddin]

On the way back 60-65 mph. Side wind for part of the way - had 7mpg then. Wind went away then up to 8.6-9.2 mpg. nothing too hilly other than texas/oklahoma plains. The highest I got with wind pushing me was 10.5. When we started out in town on the highways i was doing 12 easily. once out of town where there where some hills and a little wind I tanked. I really thought i would be 11-12 mpg normal with wind.

I am considering re-gearing but curious if anyone has and it helped.

 

[TwoWheelDave]

Do you get better than average mileage when running around un-loaded? It makes sense that the taller gear would make more work out of towing than 3:55s or 3:73s. It shouldn't be a surprise that this costs you fuel mileage. Hopefully the fuel savings when empty off-set this.

 

[Wayne]

We averaged 10.8 MPG while on our winter excurision to Texas. Our total trip was 6125 miles. Approximately 60% of that was towing our 27 foot travel trailer. I saw over 10 mpg while towing on flat roads with no wind and as low as 6mpg whan going into a head wind. I have found that cold temperatures wiil negitavely affect the mileage too. On a recent trip to Canada pulling my boat I got 16.5 MPG for the 1475 mile trip. I was hoping for 12 while towing the travel trailer but, It ain't going to happen.

 

[puddin]

here is a pic of the set up. I really think my back end is sagging to much with the load. Maybe I just need to accept the difference in mpg at just didnt expect it. I have pulled a camper for the last 5 years and haven't had such a flex but it was a much lighter trailer.

 

[puddin]

oh and this picture was on my way there and before i added pressure to the tires and adjusted the hitch....still dont think it was too different on my way home.

 

[Wayne]

Looks to me like it is squatting too much in the rear. Maybe you need to shorten/tighten your equalizing chains another link. I don't hink this will help your MPG though.

 

[Wayne]

Click on Forum and then look at towing link then look at pictures of Ecco boost towing.

 

[SPPD]

You are definately sagging too much in the rear. You should definately bring that nose down. You can adjust the load in your trailer and put some additional weight behind the axles, or adjust your spring bars to add some additional WD to your front wheels. Your trailer looks a little nose high as well so you might consider dropping your ball some.

Good luck and keep us posted.

SPPD

 

[cnrwbaker]

Put an air lift on it level it out you are pushing a lot of air with the nose up like that I have the same gears with a 4" lift and 20" tires it was saging bad with my trailer and getting 9.6mpg I put the air bags on and leveled it up I'm up to 12.6 mpg 7700 pound 28' travel trailer

 

[puddin]

Just bought the Air Lift kit for the back. Should be here in a week and I will test it out.

Thanks

 

[Yake Bait]

Speed is the #1 variable that you can control. On the loooooooooooooooooong pull back home from South Dakota last month I did some testing on flat highway resetting my calculator at different speeds. I did this after getting clobbered in headwind on I-90 - I was getting 6.5 mpg on a stretch of road with a nasty crosswind and questioning if there was something wrong with my truck. Here is what I found while pulling my 27' Jayco:

60 mph = 11.5 mpg
65 mph = 10.0 mpg
70 mph = 8.5 mpg

The other big variables are wind and grade which you can't control.

As far as gears, not sure what that will do to your highway mpg. I can't see much difference when towing my camper in 5th or 6th gear as far as fuel economy. It seems that 6th gear needs more boost from the turbos so the mpg is about the same when pulling something big and heavy.

 

[440justin]

Hate to say if you want better milage you will have to either get a trailer with less cross sectional area or upgrade to a diesel. I don't tow enough in a year to justify to cost of a diesel just for the better milage when towing.

I have a friend that only gets 7mpg towing with his Tundra,I have way more power and never slow down going up hills and 8.1mpg is the worse I have seen towing and 10.4mpg is the best. When I go camping with my friend I always make sure I am in front of him before we hit the two lanes so I don't have to slowdown as he tries to make it up the big hills

 

[markf]

How many miles do you pull the camper vs. miles not towing? And see if it will offset the cost.

IMO: If the dealer knew you were going to tow a large camper they should have NEVER sold you a truck with 3.15 gears. They should have sold you a 3.55 min. or better a 3.73

When I ordered my EcoBoost I told the guy I always work with that I wanted the 3.73 and he said when I know it will be used to tow and haul heavy loads I always go with the 3.73 That is one of the reasons I like dealing with the same person for years!

I have purchased about 10 trucks from the same person for 20 years.

Btw: My wife and I just took a weekend trip towing her IH Scout II to a show. About 7k# with trailer and 70 mph in KY hills we got an avg of 12.5 on the way there and 12.3 on the way home. With wind and rain on the way home.