What does your MPG look like with your EX when towing

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Smiley

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Howdy everyone,

First post on this forum but long time to other forums like the old FordDiesel forums.

My questions are as follows:

1. What does your MPG look like when towing?
2. What are you towing?
3. What seems to affect your mileage most, the weight of your trailer, the height of your trailer above you EX, or that you have your foot in the gas too much?
4. What have you done to improve your MPG while towing?

Thanks so much for your responses everyone!

Smiley
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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I typically get 15.5-17.2 mpg in day-to-day driving depending on how much city vs highway driving I do. I'm easy on the gas for the most part. I learned long ago that a heavy foot in this truck has a significant impact on gas mileage. I can drop the MPGs all the way into the 13s if I drive it like I stole it.

All of my towing involves utility trailers. < 2,500 lbs my mileage drop is negligible. Between 2,500-4,000 lbs or so I'll drop to the 14s. With a heavy load, say 8,000 lbs, I've gone all the way down to the 8s.
 

shane_th_ee

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1. Between 10 and 11.
2. A 6000lb travel trailer
3. I tow at 70mph which really hurts the mileage. (I’m running the Goodyear Endurance tires on the trailer as they’re rated to 87mph.)
4. I use premium as it gains me about 10% better mileage.
 

gkretro

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I get around 19 when not towing around town, by being pretty light footed.
I tow a 3500 travel trailer, plus some gear in the Expy, probably 4000 total. Generally get around 12 mpg on the interstate doing 70 mph. I generally don't go faster than 65-70 mph.
Once on a trip where the road required lower speed, 55mph, I got above 15 mpg. So, speed makes a difference for sure.
 

JasonH

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I usually get 8.5 - 10 mpg
My 7,000lb travel trailer (~33ft).
It's the aero. Speed, headwinds, tailwinds, and leading vehicles all impact mileage. Above 65 mileage declines precipitously.
The only thing you can really do is slow down. I've tried to follow 18 wheelers on occasion and it does help somewhat, but then I have to worry about them getting blow outs and poor visibility ahead.
 

mlogan

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So interesting.
'15 Ecoboost - 3.73 Max Tow pkg - 6spd

16-17 around town
7500lb travel trailer 34'
5-8 towing 70mph - headwind

Thinking about upgrading to 2021 or 2022. Sounds like you all with the 10spd are getting better mileage towing - but yes the speed and headwind kills - I was getting 5mph this past weekend at 72 coming across South Dakota with a headwind. Gas every 150 miles...
I could have slowed down but it didn't seem to make much difference and just wanted to get home.
 
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Smiley

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Thanks for all the responses thus far. As a follow up, what have y'all done to improve MPG and increase your range when hauling? Our current TT is 22ft and weights about 4600 loaded but it 11ft tall and not very aerodynamic. I also drive fast which kills my MPG. I know I need to slow down but what else helps increase range? Carry more fuel? Other mods?
 

JasonH

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Thanks for all the responses thus far. As a follow up, what have y'all done to improve MPG and increase your range when hauling? Our current TT is 22ft and weights about 4600 loaded but it 11ft tall and not very aerodynamic. I also drive fast which kills my MPG. I know I need to slow down but what else helps increase range? Carry more fuel? Other mods?

Is your Expedition the short wheelbase? The long wheelbase tank is around 30 gallons and will get you over 200 miles. I budget for stops every 250 miles in my 2017 EL and it hasn't been an issue. Only other thing you can do is grab some 5 or 10 gallon gas tanks, but you'll still need to stop to put the fuel in. It's just the physics of hauling objects with a poor aero profile. Highway towing and small tank = frequent stops.

One thing that helps reduce the inconvenience of stopping is planning your stops in advance. I plot out trucks stops no more than 250 miles apart. Then I view the layout on a satellite map and street view. I had a bad experience once where the truck stop was much smaller than expected and it was difficult to maneuver. Now I flag the ones I want on Google maps in advance.
 
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gkretro

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I second JasonH, tight fuel stations are a pain. Sometimes on secondary highways you don't have the nice big truck stops so you have to live with it. So I always try to fill up when I don't have the trailer connected but that's only a small part of the time. As for what you can do to increase range, the big thing is lower speed and I guess reduce weight. However I like regular stops since it give me a chance to stretch, walk around, check the trailer, use the restroom, all that jazz.
 
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