Towing MPG?

[Rod240sx]

Hi Guys,

My name is Rod and I'm new to the forum. I recently purchased a 2006 Ford Expedition limited and love the truck. I've been able to get a great amount of info & data here on the forum thus far, so many thanks for the valuable information.

I wanted to ask you guys what kind of mileage you all are getting during towing conditions? I participate in small racing events across the east coast and decided to invest on a better truck and trailer setup this year thus purchasing the 06' Expi with the tow-package and a 20ft enclosed trailer. However, this weekend I towed for the first time and was shocked to see that I was averaging 7.5 MPG!

I installed a K&N intake kit and the prodigy P-3 brake controller. I also had a tune-up done at a friends shop right after I purchased the truck and had the spark plugs replaced (a nightmare and a 4 day job), fuel filter, new belts, and the works...

The trailer is a 20FT enclosed - weight is appox 4,000lbs. The car weights 2,600lbs - so total weight of about 7,000 rounding it up.

With the car loaded in the trailer I was averaging 7.5 mpg and with the empty trailer i was averaging 9.5.

Are you guys seeing similar MPG's? Any tips or suggestions on improving gas mileage? Would one of those piggy-back computers like the EDGE or Superchips be of any help?

Without the trailer and a combination of city and highway driving; I'm averaging 13.5 - 14 which isn't great either...

Many thanks again in advance for any insight you can provide.

Best,
Rod

 

[hautevue]

Hi Rod:

My '08 Expy EL gets 15 mpg around town. That is conditioned on not punching it between traffic lights, let the engine do some of the braking when slowing down, and so forth. Gentle is the operative word.

Towing a 7100# Outback travel trailer (6100# from the factory, another 1000# of our "stuff"), we get 10 mpg. That was our average going from Baltimore to Seattle, then up to Vancouver, across to Victoria, down the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, over to Glacier Nat Park in upper Montana, then down to Boise, east to Grand Tetons Nat Park and Yellowstone and then back to Baltimore.

We seldom got as low as 8 except on a few tanks going over the Rockies, etc. The long winding downhill road from Idaho down into Jackson, Wyoming, is about 9%, so we had it in first gear, and went about 10 - 15 mph using the engine to keep her slowed down. On that tank I got 7 mpg, but the thought of burned out brakes and going out of control made me very conservative.

If you get 9 mpg around town, I suspect something's wrong. Unless you're heavy-footed, you should be much higher. But if you get 13.5 to 14 around town not towing, you might be doing about as well as you can expect. My EL now has 50K miles on it, so maybe your mileage is a lot higher and things are wearing?

Best of luck diagnosing this problem.

 

[Rod240sx]

Hi hautevue,

Many thanks for the feedback. That was a super long trip you made! I would imagine you took a few weeks off for that? Sounds like fun.

In non-towing conditions, the mileage i get is fair (about 14 mpg) and comparable to other owners... The towing mileage is the scary one for me tho - at 7.5mpg, there's no way I can continue racing this year =).

I'm going to look into a programmer like the EDGE or Superchip - a few members on another forum chimed in and are using them in combination with other mods and are averaging 10-11 mpg's towing with loads heavier than mine. I financed my truck, so unfortunately, I'll need to make the best of it.

Thanks for the insights and feedback

 

[joezek]

At 7.5 mpg, what speed are you pulling? Do you set cruise, and are you able to use overdrive or is that too heavy for overdrive?

What type of fuel are you using? I've found that using higher octane, especially when towing, I get better mileage. Not trying to start another octane relating mpg debate but basically the more you can advance your timing, the better your mpg is. If the engine pings and sets off the knock sensor than it retards the timing and kills MPG. If you keep the octane high, and injectors clean, you won't ping and the timing will stay advanced....

I use an SCT programmer instead of a piggy back type. My setup allows me to purchase "tune files" designed for towing, racing, economy, etc. online and then simply download to the programmer and plug into the truck. I used VMP tuning because of their great reputation and experience with Expeditions. He emailed me two files for $50, both were designed for 93 octane, one for towing and one for economy.

Stock my EXP runs 0-60 in approx 10 seconds using a G-meter related application on my Droid phone. With the "towing/performance" tune file installed and no other changes, the 0-60 is now 8.2 seconds.....Not only that but towing is effortless because it downshifts much easier without having to push hard on the gas pedal when going over hills or passing cars.

 

[Stoned06]

Around town with mixed driving, I see 14 mpg. Highway I see 18-19. Towing the 6000 lb boat/trailer in my sig, around town/highway mix I see 9-10 mpg. Highway I see 10-10.5 with OD off running around 70 mph.