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Gas Mileage in your truck (towing)


hawaiianstyln

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Just curious of what kind of gas mileage some of you are getting in your gas engine trucks when towing? I have a chevy Silverado 1500 extended cab with 5.3 engine, K&N intake, Dual Exhaust, power programmer and wanted to compare. My MPG seem very low when towing my VLX on the highway, compared to driving on the highway not towing. This morning I drove to work 22 miles and averaged 23 mpg driving 67 mph all the way there. However, when I tow on the highway, it seems like I average about 11 mpg or maybe even a bit lower than that. Ughhh. I'm sure I would get better MPG in a diesal, but the price for diesal is exactly 1 dollar more per gallon that 87 octane gas.

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oh, i'm using the digital MPG guage on the dash to find the averag MPG. I reset it everytime i'm in the truck when i'm curious. I always reset it when i'm towing.

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in my opinion even though diesel is high it is worth the money to own one.iI sometime travel 100 miles or better and in my 04 dodge cummins i can get 22 miles per gallon.And the best part is i cant tell the boat is back there.

Yahoo.gif

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Crappy with or without. Dodge V-10, 4.10 gears, oversize tires and wheels.

Upside, truck paid for a long time ago. :)

Edited by LS-One
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I usually find I fill up twice as fast when I drive with the boat behind. When I brought it home from TN to Ottawa, I filled up every two hours when I normally fill up every 4 hours. Basically what you are indicating.

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I don't find the vehicle's system to be as accurate at calculating mileage as I'd like. It's always optimistic compared with the old-school method.

Hmmmm, Chevy Silverado 2500HD crew cab 4x4 w/8.1L & Allison = you don't even want to know. The good news (if there is such a thing when talking about gas mileage in relation to the 8.1) is that it doesn't vary that much whether you're towing the boat or not.

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05 Avalanche with the 5.3, AT & 4.10 rear. I get around 18 or 19 mpg on the freeway normally, and it drops to about 11 or 12 mpg towing either the Vride or the ATVs.

Keeping it under 65 mph seems to help the most. I can get it up to about 14 mpg while towing if I keep it under 60 mph.

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i have an 05 f150 4 door with 5.4, k&n, exhaust and Troyer programmer and get 11mpg towing and about 13mpg highway at best......first and last Ford i'll ever own

Edited by javamans
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I have found that my mileage really fluctuates with speed, air temperature, and boat size.

I have a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Hemi. It is a fantastic tow vehicle and has plenty of power.

When I pull my 2006 RLXI, I have done quite well. City driving I see normally 10. But one morning at like 6am, I pulled my boat through Denver from Parker to a boat repair place on 64th and Federal. I think it was like 30 miles each direction. I was able to set the cruise and roll through town around 60-65mph and I got 16.7mpg there and back. I see about 20mpg on the highway not towing.

However, the other week I pulled my buddies 2006 Centurion Avalanche and that was a beast. The Hemi pulled fine, but it was slowing down that was interesting. Granted my RLXI has disc brakes and his had drums, but it was dramatically different. I only pulled it in town and it was like 8mpg. So I figure I would struggle on the highway to stay up above 12-14.

I have never pulled a really long distance with the Jeep, but I know it has the cylinder shutdown, but would assume it doesn't engage in tow mode. Once above 65mph, I turn off tow mode.

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good to know since i'm about to tow mine from Mesa, AZ to Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma (1100 miles one way). I guess it seems for the most part, the MPG are average to everyone else. Anyone want to rent me a VLX for 5 days? :) :)

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oh and when I towed my boat to Oklahoma last year from Arizona, I got like 9.8 average all the way there. However, I was towing at 78 mph and my RPM seemed to want to stay at 3,000 all the way there. Thet gets annoying after a while with an exhaust system. LOL!!! It keeps the baby sleeping tho. :)

Maybe when I hit i-40 all the way to Oklahoma city, I should just suck it up and go a little under the speed limit. I think the limit on i-40 most of the way is 75mph. I can just keep it at 68 mph this time and see how much of a difference it makes.

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So far, I am averaging 11 mpg when towing my VTX with my 01 Tahoe and running 60 - 65 mph on the highway. Reading this post makes me feel better that I can't do much better than that with the exception of a diesel which will hopefully become more widely available in the near future.

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Cheer up. My 88 Landcruiser and my wifes 02 MB G500 both get about 14 mpg on the highway NOT towing. Cry.gif Fortunately the boat is at our lake house and we never have to tow it anywhere.

BTW I had a big block Chevy Dually a few years back and towed a 30 foot race car trailer - I was lucky to get 8 mpg. Nice truck but I sure was glad to see it go.

Steve

07 Sunscape 21

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Maybe we should start a thread of who gets the worst gas mileage. :lol: 7 mpg with a Lance camper while towing the boat, 8mpg while towing the boat with an empty truck & 9-10 not towing anything & unloaded. It will pass everything....everything but a gas station that is. :lol:

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Maybe we should start a thread of who gets the worst gas mileage. :lol: 7 mpg with a Lance camper while towing the boat, 8mpg while towing the boat with an empty truck & 9-10 not towing anything & unloaded. It will pass everything....everything but a gas station that is. :lol:

I really don't think we want to go there...... 6mpg while towing, and its a diesel. Cry.gif

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Maybe we should start a thread of who gets the worst gas mileage. :lol: 7 mpg with a Lance camper while towing the boat, 8mpg while towing the boat with an empty truck & 9-10 not towing anything & unloaded. It will pass everything....everything but a gas station that is. :lol:

I really don't think we want to go there...... 6mpg while towing, and its a diesel. Cry.gif

Must be a FORD.

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2004 GMC Savanna Explorer High Top conversion with 5.3L & 3.73 rear end....I get between 10 and 11 mpg depending on how heavy my foot is....

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My Nissan Titan gets around 16 mpg around town and 17-19 on the highway. Towing it gets 13 on the interstate and around 10 on short trips. On short trips (<30 miles), there are a lot of traffic lights. Truck has no mods with the equivilent of 4.10 gears. Towing on my long 300 mile trips, I keep the cover on the boat. Don't know if that helps or hurts.

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I tow with a 2007 Yukon XL..... It sucks on gas mileage without towing. I don't try to think about it. Good thing is on July 3rd we are moving within 1 mile of the lake.....WOOOOOOHOOOO.

AF1 Cheers.gifBiggrin.gifPartytime.gif

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I wonder if there is a huge difference by somehow towing with the tower down. But then again, my titan is resting on my windshield! :Doh:

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