2019 limited towing mpg

[Jim Tallman]

I am sure that there are other posts concerning this subject, just can’t find them. I have had my 2019 Exp limited for 1.5 years now and love it. I do pull a 14 ft enclosed trailer back and forth from FL to MI twice a year. The trailer weight is around 3800# and is above the Exp’s roof line by about 1.5 to 2 feet. I always tow in the advised trailering mode and keep my speed between 65 to 68 mph. The route is approximately 1400 miles, and get roughly 180 to 200 miles per tank, filling up at the 1/4 mark. Real mpg at the fill up is 9 at best. Any thoughts?

 

[JasonH]

Normal. It's based on the aero of the trailer and your speed. If you drop below 65 you'll see a difference. Wind resistance is not linear, so small speed changes have a large impact on mpg, especially when towing. The trailer weight and length aren't really the determinate factors.

 

[spanz]

i have always wondered if you attached a small spoiler that deflected the wind up at the back end of the expedition, if the MPG towing would go way up! There have to be some awesome (as in bad) turbulence created between the SUV and the trailer front.

anyone ever see anything on such an accessory?

 

[mwl001]

I am sure that there are other posts concerning this subject, just can’t find them. I have had my 2019 Exp limited for 1.5 years now and love it. I do pull a 14 ft enclosed trailer back and forth from FL to MI twice a year. The trailer weight is around 3800# and is above the Exp’s roof line by about 1.5 to 2 feet. I always tow in the advised trailering mode and keep my speed between 65 to 68 mph. The route is approximately 1400 miles, and get roughly 180 to 200 miles per tank, filling up at the 1/4 mark. Real mpg at the fill up is 9 at best. Any thoughts?

We get 7-9 mpg typically when going 65-70. I try to stay at 65 just because it's usually not worth the meager time savings past that. If speed limits were slower I'd go 60 but here interstates are 75mph.

If you want to know where your gas is going, swap out the turbo gauge for the transmission temp gauge - you'll see that at a certain speed those turbos are spooling 24/7.

 

[aggiegrad05]

I am sure that there are other posts concerning this subject, just can’t find them. I have had my 2019 Exp limited for 1.5 years now and love it. I do pull a 14 ft enclosed trailer back and forth from FL to MI twice a year. The trailer weight is around 3800# and is above the Exp’s roof line by about 1.5 to 2 feet. I always tow in the advised trailering mode and keep my speed between 65 to 68 mph. The route is approximately 1400 miles, and get roughly 180 to 200 miles per tank, filling up at the 1/4 mark. Real mpg at the fill up is 9 at best. Any thoughts?

There are myriad threads on this...here's one:

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/towing-mpg.47086/

 

[techdude99]

I average 12mpg towing ~6k lbs with my car hauler in the Southeast U.S. on 93 octane.

As mentioned, keep your speed down (55 mph is optimal for fuel savings but not always practical,) keep your speed steady, don't use cruise control unless it's completely flat (the owner's manual says not to use it while towing,) don't accelerate hard, and try to keep the motor out of boost as much as possible. Good quality tires with low rolling resistance while properly inflated help as well.

That's my 2¢

 

[wakeboarder]

The exact verbiage from the manual with respect to towing and cruise.
“Turn off the speed control with heavy
loads or in hilly terrain. The speed
control may turn off automatically
when you are towing on long, steep
slopes”

 

[Jrparne]

On a 2020 we get 8.5 on premium gas with an 8000 lb trailer. I get to 9.5 with my canoe on top!!! Premium gas helps almost 1 mpg or more and the price increase over the long run is cheaper


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[spotdog14]

We get between 10 and 12 pulling our 23 foot travel trailer. I've gotten up to 15 before but that was going an average of 55.

I also lock out a couple of gears on the transmission to keep it out of boost and have the transmission do the work instead.

 

[Fozzy]

My 2016 F-150 with the 3.5 EB and 6 speed gets the exact same MPG as my 2019 Expy MAX with the 10 speed pulling the exact same loads the same distance and speed. Tons of boost but no eco. If the boost gauge is up the fuel mileage is down. 10 MPG or less is pretty common.


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[mwl001]

We get between 10 and 12 pulling our 23 foot travel trailer. I've gotten up to 15 before but that was going an average of 55.

I also lock out a couple of gears on the transmission to keep it out of boost and have the transmission do the work instead.

I’ve thought about locking out gears too. My assumption like you would be that the transmission logic would be to keep boost low but that appears to be incorrect in practice. I’ll try it our next trip.

 

[JasonH]

I’ve thought about locking out gears too. My assumption like you would be that the transmission logic would be to keep boost low but that appears to be incorrect in practice. I’ll try it our next trip.

Nope, it's the opposite. It drives the turbos harder when going up grades instead of downshifting. Even in tow/haul mode, my six speed will go up grades in 5th and 6th if you let it.

 

[mwl001]

Nope, it's the opposite. It drives the turbos harder when going up grades instead of downshifting. Even in tow/haul mode, my six speed will go up grades in 5th and 6th if you let it.

I did actually find this in a travel trailer forum I belong to - appears that locking gears out actually drives the turbos less... giving better mileage.

 

[byathread]

I didn't notice any difference whatsoever PA to FL in all 10 gears vs FL to PA locked out at 8th. Guess I try again this summer to see what locked at 7th is like for a few tanks and see... Makes sense given max torque figures/worth a try!

 

[mwl001]

I didn't notice any difference whatsoever PA to FL in all 10 gears vs FL to PA locked out at 8th. Guess I try again this summer to see what locked at 7th is like for a few tanks and see... Makes sense given max torque figures/worth a try!

Yeah, I doubt you would have. I watch the gear indicator all the time and I very rarely snuck into 9th or 10th gear unless we had a major tailwind, so under most conditions the programming pushes you into 8th gear at around 2100-2200 rpm and boost with turbo for all that wind resistance. We leave on a big trip in a couple of weeks so I'll have a lot of miles and a good comparison with last year's trip (same trailer) to compare.

 

[JasonH]

Not surprised a lower gear would provide better mpg. I think the Ecoboost runs rich under boost to use fuel for extra cooling and to prevent detonation. By running in a lower gear, the engine will see less load and not drive the turbos quite as hard. I guess I can find out soon. I just picked up the trailer from the shop and will be driving 5 hours to Corpus Christi in 10 days.

 

[mwl001]

Not surprised a lower gear would provide better mpg. I think the Ecoboost runs rich under boost to use fuel for extra cooling and to prevent detonation. By running in a lower gear, the engine will see less load and not drive the turbos quite as hard. I guess I can find out soon. I just picked up the trailer from the shop and will be driving 5 hours to Corpus Christi in 10 days.

LOL no you shouldn’t be surprised that’s exactly what I said May 15th!