MPG

[Fozzy]

Yep the expanded yard maintenance trailer ramps are a massive drag. I convinced a buddy to ditch his gate/ramp he gained 5mpg on his trip vs the prior year with the same trailer. He was shocked said it even towed noticeably more stable. He had a shop fab up ramps that drop into a channel for easy setup and had them put slots on each side where he drops them in sideways on each side of the trailer for storage

I don’t know if I will get 5 MPG’s. But it would totally be worth the hassle of ramps for that much. My 24’ has ramps pinned to the front already so I’m good to go.


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[jimz]

It seems that manufacturers design for set MPG. I had a class C road block on a Ford frame. It would get "about" ten MPG at a steady 55MPH or 75MPG. When we traveled the only real change was in the travel time.

Like Uncle Carl told me when I looked at my first big-block-V8, "It costs to go big". Since then the operating costs were not the most important costs. It was always smiles.

 

[PhrogPilot]

Towing a 21 foot 4500lb travel trailer at 62mph I am happy with 12.5 to 13 MPG. HOWEVER, I always pull into a strong headwind so it usually comes out to 10.5 to 11.5 MPG. If I travel south, wind is out of the south. If I travel north, wind is out of the north. I use 91-93 octane.

 

[5280tunage]

Just did a 400 mile trip today, but sadly after the big storms in colorado, seems like the winds got some pep in their steps. Last time I did this trip, the conditions were pretty similar but without wind, and I managed to stay right around 21 mpg, but with the head and shifting side winds today, I dropped down to about 16 mpg, no towing. Turns out it was 20 to 40 mph gusts for about 70% of the trip. This thing is a wall! But overall drive great.

 

[MidnightBruce]

Very interesting topic! I just pulled a small 16 ft box trailer single axle to Arizona loaded to the gills and I got 11 miles per gallon. Doing 65 all the way here. Going up hills at 65 and third gear produced a significant amount of carbon coming out of the exhaust that look like dollar bills flying out the tailpipe. I actually thought that I might have an oil seal issue on my turbos but it turns out it was just that much fuel burning. However, on the way home empty I got worse fuel economy, 9.1 mpg, because I had no load to push me down hills. It was very interesting to say the least. I tried In neutral going down a very steep grade, the wind resistance was so high. The whole rig wouldn't do any faster than 55 mph out of gear just to see how much resistance was there. It was unbelievable. I felt like I was a drag car pulling a parachute. This little trailer doesn't even have trailer brakes. It's so small. If I set cruise control at 65 and make a 400 mi trip without towing, I've averaged 28 MPG. Absolutely insane how much the wind gets caught behind these rigs because there's nothing to keep the air from underneath the vehicle and it goes right up and pushes against the nose of the trailer like a giant brake.

 

[duneslider]

I just did a 365mile pull with the camper. Salt Lake area to Moapa Valley, NV. Terrible wind on the way down, it was NOT an enjoyable pull. Averaged about 7-8mpg, speeds ranged 55-70mph. Wind was pushing me all over the place, worst conditions I have ever experienced towing a camper. I will acknowledge I was probably a bit more on edge due to the wife's recent accident that totaled our expedition.

The drive home was much more pleasant and was 70mph pretty much the whole way and I averaged 11mpg which is pretty consistent with my last expedition also. This is pulling a 21ft camper, loaded weight is probably a hair over 5000lbs.

I still do not think the CCD shocks handle the trailer as well as the bilsteins on my last expedition. I am going to get the HD sway bars to see if that helps when towing.

I'm super cheap and our last expedition was the xlt and this one is a platinum and I have to say the cooled seats are very nice...