8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

[dave11]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

I have the exact same truck, F250 V10. I get in the 11-12 mpg range unloaded. Towing a 25' boat (maybe 6500 lbs or so) I got 9-10. Towing my car on the trailer (4500-5000 lbs) I get right around 10.

Mine is 2WD standard cab and 8ft bed. Your 4WD drops the mileage a bit.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

I used a 7.3L PSD 4x2 Dually Crewcab to haul an enclosed trailer with a 4000lb car inside from PA to TN a few years back, we went through the mountains of WV and also had plenty of tools and fuel in the trailer, it did about 10 mpg overall on an 1800 mile round trip. It got about 18 or so empty with no trailer. I thought that wasn't too bad considering it was like pulling a 11' tall billboard down the road. The trailer was a 9500lb GVW twin axle enclosed car trailer, the truck a 1997.
I made the same trip with an older truck a few years earlier and got about 5 per gallon with an older truck with a 460 gas V8 and an E4OD trans.

A buddy now uses a newer 6.0L PSD with a cap on the truck, a wing on the truck and a bubble on the new trailer and gets closer to 14 MPG overall but he's cut down on the weight a bit but the new trailer is higher but a lot lighter as it's all aluminum. The old trailer also was running bias ply tires while the new trailer has radials.

The impression I got was that the PSD did best when it kept moving, once you got it rolling, it seemed to sip the gas but when you get into traffic or had to slow down often, it drank more fuel. The difference was pretty noticeable.

 

[GreenF350]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

The towing MPG sounds like it is close to normal (Seems a hair low to me though) the empty MPG is what seems off to me. Most 6.0's get upper teens or low 20's. I have a really good friend with a 6.0 in a lifted 4x4 F250 running 37" mud tires tires on factory 3.73 gears and he usually gets about 19-21mpg calculating by hand...I have a similar setup to him with a 7.3 and I got 16-17mpg empty and about 13mpg towing a travel trailer that's just shy of 7,500lbs. Eitherway, some vehicles just seem to do better than others towing.
-Aaron

 

[204 Escape]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

My '01 F-150 Supercrew with a 5.4 V-8 pulling our LARSON Deck boat gets, 8.5-9 m.p.g. But gets 16-18 m.p.g. on its own.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

With my 02 f-250 5.4L i get about 12 towing my boat at 65 and about 8 at 70. Its about 4500 lbs.
Towing the racecar trailer, about 10,000 fully loaded, I would guess about 2 mpg. Never wanted to check it.
Speed, wind/drag make a ton of difference, diesel or not.

 

[Fisher freak]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

yes it is normal it is sad to say i love fords but that year had crappy programing and a crappy engine set up. see if you cant trade it in and get a newer or slightly older truck. it sounds like a lot but the money you save on fuel and the difference in the truck will make up for it.

 

[elkhunter338]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

Do not use #1 diesel in the summer, only cold cold winter. #1 does not have the lubrication and you could and probably will ruin your fuel pump, unless of course you add lots of extra oil.

Your fuel milage is 57% of your highway milage.
I pull a 5,000 lb camp trailer and get about 64% of my highway milage.
Cummins 19 empty about 12 - 12.5 loaded. Alot depends on how you drive and the terrian you are driving in.
My total truck/boat weight is 14,500 and I get about 13ish.

 

[CAVU V]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

I have a Dodge 2005 2500 diesel and get about 20.8 on the highway at 65 but when I pull my boat and trailer 10,500 lbs I get a between 9 and 10 so I think you are right on with the milage.

 

[dave11]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

Wool, the mileage may suck, but you have a good safe tow vehicle. You probably aren't going to get great mileage with anything.

 

[woolznaz]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the feedback. I have to admit, I absolutely LOVE the truck. I was hoping for a few more MPG, but I really only use it sparingly, so I guess I should stop worrying about the MPG and appreciate it for what it is -- a big, heavy, safe tow vehicle.

My typical tow is what I would consider a very inefficient road -- VERY hilly, two lane roads, really no highway towing to speak of. I am an easy driver, though. I coast a lot. I do not tow very fast. I'm easy on the accelerator and the brakes, so I was hoping for more even in these almost extreme conditions.

Thanks again.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

this thread makes me think of all the old timers who managed to sell their carbed 454 powered dually's to city folk with the "10 mpg empty or towing a house" line ..... If you were real lucky you got 10 empty and 5-7 towing..... I have a good friend with a beautiful 78 chevy c&c with a pipeline bed and 100 amp lincoln gas welder on the back.... loaded with LOTS of tools..... when asked he always says he gets 15 mpg....... Then he says 10 on the highway plus 5 in town.... 15 LOL

 

[Subliminal]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

That last post really sums it up...people tend to exaggerate their mileage as much as possible. I actually have a spreadsheet where I calculate my mileage at every fill up...but yet when I tell people what I get I generally tell them 1 or 2 mpg over what I actually get. Not sure why I do that...but I think it's pretty common.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

perfectly normal towing that parachute.... I get 6 towing my 10,000 lb fifth wheel and 4,000 lb jeep I get 9 towing my 9,000 lb boat and I get 12 empty. I have a 7.3 with 305,000 miles on it. The 6.0's get better milage empty but they drop more with a heavy (or high drag) load than the 7.3's
You might actually get better milage pulling a 30' glass boat.....

Drop your speed to 5 mph under the limit and you will likely notice a profound improvement..... Also stop using the brakes any more than you have too..... you have been to the ramp before.... you know the turn is 1/4 mile ahead, take your foot off of it and coast...... You are losing speed on a hill but you have another to go down..... do you mash the accellerator and then ride the brakes down.. nooooo let your speed fall and come back up on the downhill..... If you have to stop or pull over to let traffic by, try to do so at the top of a hill


EDIT: btw my figures are HAULING BUTT empty or loaded , Also my truck has 4.56 gears and weighs over 10,000 lbs empty and holds 140 gals of fuel.... I am not a patient person and I generally pass everything on the road.....pedal flat on the floor on the uphills while watching the egt's climb. 26,000 lbs cruise set on 80 mph..... 1000 miles one way. .... not bragging but rather just adding context for figures

Your F350 weighs 10,000 lbs unloaded? I thought they were significantly less than that unloaded.

 

[Subliminal]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

Yeah, that story sounds a little exaggerated...I've caught the biggest fish on the boat before, too...and it just gets bigger with every story. ;-)

You must have some kind of gear splitter to hit 86 with 4.56 gears...I've never even heard of someone having gears that low in a street driven vehicle. 4.11 or 4.10 are the standard LOW gearing, and generally mid 70s is about as good as trucks do with those gears.

Not saying anyone is lying...just exaggerating.

 

[fastercat]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

i have a 2005 gmc denali with awd a big v-8 and i got 14mpg pulling my 242 baja 600 miles from Illinois to mn

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

Your F350 weighs 10,000 lbs unloaded? I thought they were significantly less than that unloaded.

Well now when I say unloaded I mean as unloaded as my truck gets. It is a crewcab dually deisel 4x4 with a 5th wheel hitch 100 gal fuel tank and loaded toolbox in the bed.... It was just under 10k with about half fuel ..... As for the gears you may be right.. It might be 4.10.... 80 plus is no mistake though..... I have a the speed limiter raised with my superchips tuner.... Dangit now you have me curious about my gears.... Gonna have to look in to it ;D

 

[25thmustang]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

I will have to check, but I believe there might have been a 4.30 option on some of the Super Duty trucks.

I only questioned the 10K as it came up in a convo with my boss about unloaded weights of even large crew cab dually diesel trucks, and the numbers we were getting were in the middle 8000 lb range. I can see where adding in those items would bring the weight up.

 

[83Evinrude]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

My 97 Dodge 4x4 with a modded Cummins gets 18-20 unloaded depending on the road, conditions and my foot. Towing a mid profile 29' 5th wheel that weighs right at 10,000lbs loaded I'm getting 10-12 average and have recorded 13 on several runs that were relatively flat (Florida) and not much wind.

I would expect to average 13 towing your weight but then maybe my 5th wheel draws less wind than your pontoon, who knows. Yours seems a bit low but overall speed and how often you pass can make a big difference. I would normally be towing 65-70 or around posted speeds depending on the hills and traffic.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

ok well I WAS wrong about my gearing.... it is indeed 4.10.... fyi I hit 2000 rpm at 60 mph in od and 3000 at 90 .... rev limiter is set at 3450

here is the load


here is the weight.... same day bout half load of fuel

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: 8-9 MPG while towing - expected better

I never figured out what my MPG for my 2003 F250 4 x4 V10 towing or not.

I would get depressed.