Towing mpg

[lam396]

I know there are tons of variables in the "what mpg are you getting while towing" question but I'm asking anyways lol. I've been debating getting a camper and I'm curious what mpg folks are getting while pulling a 3kish pound travel trailer vs a pop up of similar weight. I'm in the Midwest and like to hit the mountains so I'll stack the miles up. I'm leaning towards the pop up for that reason but just seeing what sort of experience others are having. Thanks

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[JasonH]

Be prepared for disappointment. The aero is more important than the weight. The trailer being light isn't as much of determinent as the frontal profile, except that you'll be towing up grades so weight will count in a bit more. I'm at 7k and usually around 9 mpg. That's pretty much your worse case scenario. Unless you're towing all the time mpg likely won't be a factor. If it is you'll want a diesel.

 

[lam396]

What kind of camper/trailer are you pulling? Im not expecting anything great, just trying to figure out what to expect really. Since the frontal area has a bigger impact, would it be reasonable to expect 2-3mpg better with the pop up?

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[shane_th_ee]

Averaged over about 14,000 towing miles, we've gotten about 10 mpg while towing our 6000lb trailer all over the mountainous PNW. Note that we use premium while towing which increases our gas mileage enough to offset the cost difference between regular and premium. Note that I tow at 70mph on the interstate and would get better mileage at 60 or 65. (If you plan to tow that fast, please make sure your trailer tires are rated for that speed...)

 

[Calidad]

My 4x6 utility trailer was 21-22mpg long camping trip last summer HD Expedition. Another dad towing a Taxa Mantis reported 14-15mpg was typically his towing mileage. As mentioned aerodynamics is the biggest factor the cheap box RV trailers are lousy to tow and a huge reason I won’t get one.

 

[Fasttimes]

What kind of camper/trailer are you pulling? Im not expecting anything great, just trying to figure out what to expect really. Since the frontal area has a bigger impact, would it be reasonable to expect 2-3mpg better with the pop up?

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Better than 2-3mpg for sure. I had a pop-up prior to my current travel trailer and pulled with my older Xpy. It hardly noticed it was there. I sure do miss that. Aerodynamics of puling a pop-up are awesome. Now, not so much. Like mentioned before, I average 9mpg when towing these days.

 

[lam396]

Better than 2-3mpg for sure. I had a pop-up prior to my current travel trailer and pulled with my older Xpy. It hardly noticed it was there. I sure do miss that. Aerodynamics of puling a pop-up are awesome. Now, not so much. Like mentioned before, I average 9mpg when towing these days.

That's good news. Really helps confirm my thoughts toward a pop up.

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[mwl001]

I tow a full size travel trailer. If mileage is your concern stick with a pop up I’m sure your mileage will be much better.

 

[m3bs]

I just got back from a trip towing my 3000# race car on a 1500# open trailer with a big rock shield in front. Heavy traffic with lots of stop and go on the 320 mile trip up, indicated 12.5 mpg. On the return trip with minimal traffic, and slightly more relaxed pace (68 mph vs 72) I got 16.5 mpg. I do have the HD tow package with 3.73 axle. I bet the rock shield probably costs a significant amount of mpg.

 

[texevora]

Towing a 20' enclosed trailer (~9' exterior height plus a roof AC sticking up another foot) weighing ~6K pounds (4k trailer + 2k contents), i get about 7mpg in my '19 Limited. That's on pretty flat roads in TX at highway speeds going about 70-75mph.

 

[Red Raider]

This trailer weighs around 3000 lbs with some gear and the fresh water tank full. The truck is a 2019 FX4 with HD. I'll get around 13 without the kayak and 11.5 with it on the roof. On the hwy I'll drive 70-75

 

[Goclmbmnt]

First outing last week with our new TT and a 2020 Expdy Max with HD tow. TT is about 6,500-7,000 I figure. From Colorado to Arizona about 800 miles. We were at 6-7 if we cruised 75, but that jumped to 8-9 at about 60-65, which was needed at times due to wind. That was with premium fuel the whole way.

 

[Modelcarguy]

Towing a 3ton boat on a dual axle trailer behind our 2008 limited. Depending on traffic - ranges from about 11mpg in heavy urban to about 14mpg at speed in light interstate.

 

[Elvisinflorida]

Quite a few years ago I had a Ford Torino station wagon with with the venerable Ford 302 that would get about 18 MPG Highway. Over about two thousand miles of towing a heavy pop up camper I got 16 to 17 MPG. That small frontal area of the pop-up camper has only a small effect on overall MPG.

 

[Koz19MaxPlat]

Semi-related question- has anyone noticed a sharp drop in MPG when using a Thule or Sears-type roof box? I'm speaking of the larger, more bubulous unit as opposed to the narrow on you would use for skis.

 

[Calidad]

Semi-related question- has anyone noticed a sharp drop in MPG when using a Thule or Sears-type roof box? I'm speaking of the larger, more bubulous unit as opposed to the narrow on you would use for skis.

My 30 inch wide ski box is typically 1-2ish mpg hit on my cars at 70+mph over the yrs. My SUVs its been hard to see a difference less aero vehicle less likely to see impact the really poorly designed fat short ones likely could show 3-4mpg hit at speed. A big reason not to get the wide short box you can’t fit anything else. My 30 inch wide box I can fit two bikes beside it on 56 inch bars. On 60 inch bars my 18ft canoe will fit next to it. Far more flexibility in roof use. Also even the narrow boxes are easily over loaded, the fat short boxes are typically way overloaded. A crash investigator rents office space next to my neighbors shop. Her number 1 pet peeve are the huge roof boxes!! Said that in recent years many of the high speed really bad roll over accidents she gets called in on had the jumbo roof box in play, and severely over loaded..

 

[Koz19MaxPlat]

My 30 inch wide ski box is typically 1-2ish mpg hit on my cars at 70+mph over the yrs. My SUVs its been hard to see a difference less aero vehicle less likely to see impact the really poorly designed fat short ones likely could show 3-4mpg hit at speed. A big reason not to get the wide short box you can’t fit anything else. My 30 inch wide box I can fit two bikes beside it on 56 inch bars. On 60 inch bars my 18ft canoe will fit next to it. Far more flexibility in roof use. Also even the narrow boxes are easily over loaded, the fat short boxes are typically way overloaded. A crash investigator rents office space next to my neighbors shop. Her number 1 pet peeve are the huge roof boxes!! Said that in recent years many of the high speed really bad roll over accidents she gets called in on had the jumbo box
Thanks for the reply Cali. I didn't notice much of a drop on mpg when driving my suburban with the same box, but haven't done so here yet. For us- it's a carrier of duffel bags or beach chairs, depending on destination. Definitely a space saver but I agree, easy to overload.

 

[Evan D Dailey]

2020 Max, HD tow option.
I have a 3,000 lb trailer, enclosed. 2000 mile trip last month I got 9.5. I agree about the windage as the primary issue. Speed is also important; under 65 and mileage will improve substantially.

 

[Calidad]

I think the Expedition is more sensitive to draggy aero stuff than my Sequoia is/was but then again the Sequoia never broke 16mpg unless you had a big tailwind and long down hill run.
I haven’t noticed a box impact on the Expedition but I typically only have it on during trips with my 4x6 trailer so hard to say.

 

[lam396]

I did a 2k mile round trip vacation with roof box and averaged around 18mpg, did another trip that was closer to 3k miles with no box and averaged a little over 20. I also had a hitch rack full of bikes on the trip with the box and the hitch rack with full coolers with no box.

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