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Towing and MPH


hawaiianstyln

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I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado Extended cab with the 5.3 straight gas engine. 305 HP stock, but added a magnaflow dual exhuast with a K&N cold air intake system. I have definately noticed a HUGE difference after adding both of those options in gas mileage and horse power.

Without pulling the boat, I get anywhere from 22-25 mpg on the highway depending on how hot or cold the day is. I have the digital realtime MPG option that shows the average after about 5-7 miles or so. I get an average read out of about 18.5 in the city. I have never taken a long trip with the truck, nor have I towed anything over an hour (one way) to the lake. I can't ever get a good understanding of the MPG when I tow my 04 VLX since i'm towing thru some rough mountain terrain.

I'm wondering what kind of gas mileage should I expect, towing on I-40 (speed limit 75) from Arizona to Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma. It's about 1,100 miles one way. I leave August 10th and come back on the 17th or 18th. I'm just wondering if I try and tow over 75 mph, would I get worse gas mileage (assuming yes).

Who tows their boats for long journeys and what kind of gas mileage did you get in your truck??

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I say 12mph if you haul 70-75mpg

I don't think your 22-25mpg on your pickup is bogus.. set your trip odometer next time you fill it up and burn through a tank of gas - then divide your mileage by the number of gallons it takes to fill it back up..

IMHO NFW you're getting 20+ mpg other than downhill ;)

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Hopefully you have a rear axle ratio of 3.73 or higher, which I doubt if your are getting the mileage you claim. That would make the tow go much smoother, especially thru the mountains. My brother does alot of long towing with his 5.3, and he has no complaints. Around 13 mpg towing 6000#.

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I'd personally say if most of your drive is flat and not rolling hills you will average 13mpg at 65mph. I've noticed that if you exceed that speed your just throwing your gas out your exhaust pipe, so with that in mind I don't have a problem getting somewhere a few minutes later than spend more money in gas to get there sooner.

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My old silverado used to get 12-13 towing but only 17-19 when empty. That silverado was a 4WD 1500 crew cab with 4.10 gears and I would tow at 65-75 mph. Also, all my towing has been in the rolling hills of the norhteast don't know what Arizona to OK would be like. I do have a friend that gets 20mpg with his silverado ext. cab and his has the 3.73 rear. I told him he was full of bs but he backed it up more than once.

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I towed my new RLXI back from Indiana to Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. About 300 mile round trip. My MPG was 15.2 using the tow haul mode on my 2007 Chev. Tahoe. It is equipped with the 5.3 and 3.73 gears. On flat land the motor would even kick down to the 4 cylinder mode. Love the truck and the boat. Very happy with that MPG.

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Yah, I know others throw the bull$hit flag on me when I claim that kind of gas mileage. I would thro the flag too! :) I would only hope that the digital guage that gives me the average mpg would be correct, but who knows.

Just this morning I drove into work and set my cruise at 68 mph, 91 degrees outside while driving, and the average MPG read 22.2 (after driving 32 miles to work). When I first got the truck and drove to work at the same speed and temp, the average would only be around 19.1 without the upgrades. Who knows tho, that could be totally wrong or it really could be reading right after the upgrades. I have heard of other people getting great gas mileage like that after upgrading the air flow on trucks.

Thanks for the replies, it's always nice to see what others are getting when they tow. :)

Edited by hawaiianstyln
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Yah, I know others throw the bull$hit flag on me when I claim that kind of gas mileage. I would thro the flag too! :) I would only hope that the digital guage that gives me the average mpg would be correct, but who knows.

The real-time digital gauges in cars these days are not the most accurate. As mentioned earlier, the only real way to tell is to reset the odo with a full tank and then at the next fill-up note the odo reading and then the fuel added.

I've towed a couple of times ~800 miles each way and anything above 65mph and my economy goes south. I've also had mediocre results towing with the 5.3 on hills. It has adequate power, but the cruise control is awful, it will kick down 2 gears just to get up a small hill. Tow haul mode didn't make any noticeable difference.

Also, I would have a spare tire for your trailer, as well as a spare wheel bearing, and inflate the tires to max psi (usually 50psi).

My tow vehicle was a '05 Silverado w/5.3

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Where can I pick up a spare wheel bearing (how much are they)? I bought a new 2006 trailer for my 04 VLX. I have the oil bath hubs and it was just serviced.

Also, would I really get better gas mileage using the tow button??

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I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado Extended cab with the 5.3 straight gas engine. 305 HP stock, but added a magnaflow dual exhuast with a K&N cold air intake system. I have definately noticed a HUGE difference after adding both of those options in gas mileage and horse power.

Without pulling the boat, I get anywhere from 22-25 mpg on the highway depending on how hot or cold the day is. I have the digital realtime MPG option that shows the average after about 5-7 miles or so. I get an average read out of about 18.5 in the city. I have never taken a long trip with the truck, nor have I towed anything over an hour (one way) to the lake. I can't ever get a good understanding of the MPG when I tow my 04 VLX since i'm towing thru some rough mountain terrain.

I'm wondering what kind of gas mileage should I expect, towing on I-40 (speed limit 75) from Arizona to Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma. It's about 1,100 miles one way. I leave August 10th and come back on the 17th or 18th. I'm just wondering if I try and tow over 75 mph, would I get worse gas mileage (assuming yes).

Who tows their boats for long journeys and what kind of gas mileage did you get in your truck??

WOW!!!!!!!!! That's hybrid type numbers...my HEMI gets a solid 14 and I love paying $3 a gallon too Yahoo.gif I have heard that the K&N filters make a huge differnce but to go from mid teens too low 20s??? Sounds like the guy who sold me my toneu cover..."you'll save 2-3 gallons a mile!" Yeah...2-3 gallons over the course of the year maybe!!! Tease.gif

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The K&N filters do make a big differnce. I put one on my 2007 Tahoe and it incresed the milage by 1-1.5 miles per gallon. Believe or not it is the truth. I have done it by the digitel read out in my truck and I have also checked by the miles/gallon method. Either way you do it is not going to be perfect. By checking your milage using the miles/gallon method you better make sure you put in the exact amout you started with. I would put more faith in the computer read out I get in my truck.

Every vehicle gets different MPG. This is why the car makers give you a range in fuel economy. The guys who saying no way on gas milage are the guys who are getting low MPG and are jealous of the more efficient vehicles.

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Every vehicle gets different MPG. This is why the car makers give you a range in fuel economy. The guys who saying no way on gas milage are the guys who are getting low MPG and are jealous of the more efficient vehicles.

Whatever dude.. I suppose on one hand you are right.. (I don't get mileage that good) but I also know that most people don't actually calculate their mileage, or use some sorta small sample of data from the car when they are coasting down the freeway.

Just check the MPG ratings on the trucks in question.. the EPA ratings are under the very best conditions, and if you drive like grandma.. needless to say they are the highest you would possibly expect to see.. much less towing a 6000lb pile of wind resistance behind you.

20-25mpg in a full size pick up truck is pretty much unheard of as an average - The newer trucks with the variable displacement are getting pretty good mileage, but even those aren't quite that high.

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Every vehicle gets different MPG. This is why the car makers give you a range in fuel economy. The guys who saying no way on gas milage are the guys who are getting low MPG and are jealous of the more efficient vehicles.

Whatever dude.. I suppose on one hand you are right.. (I don't get mileage that good) but I also know that most people don't actually calculate their mileage, or use some sorta small sample of data from the car when they are coasting down the freeway.

Just check the MPG ratings on the trucks in question.. the EPA ratings are under the very best conditions, and if you drive like grandma.. needless to say they are the highest you would possibly expect to see.. much less towing a 6000lb pile of wind resistance behind you.

20-25mpg in a full size pick up truck is pretty much unheard of as an average - The newer trucks with the variable displacement are getting pretty good mileage, but even those aren't quite that high.

I don't have any problem getting 21 MPG(non towing) on my 2007 Tahoe at freeway speeds, 70-75. With the new displacement on demand motors GM has in these vehicles it works. City driving I average 16.5 -17MPG.

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I got the same gas mileage as Tahoe32 with my 2005 Tahoe (with K&N intake), but it was a 4.8 if that matters much.

My buddy is the Ronix/Radar rep for the entire North region of the United States and has been pulling an Xstar from Seattle to the East Coast (twice) and he gets an average of 15mpg towing in his new Chevy truck (I think it's the 2500 tho). So take that boat off and I can only assume you would increase gas mileage up another 4-6 mpg (not towing).

Could be wrong, but even if my digital guage is off, it CAN'T be that far off or why would GM put it in there?? They would have TONS of complaints if it didn't work right and I have yet to see a GM bulletin on it.

Either way, i'm pulling my boat a few hours this weekend on flat highways and will be able to get a better average of mpg. I'll update after the weekend.

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