What does your MPG look like with your EX when towing

[FlyBry]

Another thing you can try, is to trade RPM's for Boost.
These little engines consume less fuel at 2500+ RPM's with little boost, compared to 2000 RPM's with more boost.
In Tow/Haul mode, lock out 10th & 9th gears.
The 5 Star tune does this automatically.

 

[Smiley]

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.

We have a MAX so the tank is 29.5 gallons I believe. I have done the same and plotted out stops as well as carried 5 gallon cans with me (I do that now anyways if I am carrying our generator). I recall telling my wife after the first long drive what I calculated our gas mileage to be and her response was "WHY IS IT SO LOW!?". Obviously allowed me to discuss the physics of pulling a 11 ft tall sail behind us with her...although that did cause an eye roll or two.

All in all, it seems like the weight of the trailer has less impact on gas mileage then the aerodynamics of the trailer, but I have not done any scientific testing of this concept yet. If anyone else has any other tricks, I would love to hear them! Thanks!

 

[shane_th_ee]

As I alluded to before, using premium in the EcoBoost will get you ~10% more range and better performance.

 

[Boostedbus]

recall telling my wife after the first long drive what I calculated our gas mileage to be and her response was "WHY IS IT SO LOW!?". Obviously allowed me to discuss the physics of pulling a 11 ft tall sail behind us with her...although that did cause an eye roll or two.

LMAO! You gotta love em! My neighbors wife was telling me a while back that in a few years when they retire they are gonna sell their house and buy a camper trailer and roam the country living out of it. I asked what they were going to buy to pull this new camper? Her response was “ Oh my Hyundai has a trailer hitch on it so we’ll just pull it with that!” I laughed and said I wish you all luck!

 

[Timo2824]

2017 Limited 4x4 with the max towing package.
These are according to the computer.
Mixed driving unloaded average is 15.4mpg
6x12 enclosed trailer ~3,000lbs 12mpg no wind, on a windy day in Kansas it'll get 8-9mpg, which is pretty much 90% of days in Kansas....

 

[haviland]

To increase gas mileage I believe watching the mpg screen on the dash helps a LOT. Granted, you can't do this very much towing big loads, but a lot of the time I make a game out of it by seeing if I can continually see a tenth of a mpg improvement. It REALLY can make a difference if you don't accelerate hard unless you really have to.

I'm hoping that there's a lot more people out there in all kinds of vehicles (that has this same feature on the dash) doing this. If so, we improve air quality and decrease consumption of our limited supply of fossil fuels.

 

[Noitidepxe]

I own an '04 Eddie Bauer 2WD with the towing package. I've towed my fully enclosed Worthington, all aluminum motorcycle trailer loaded with 2 heavyweight bikes with related 'stuff' on several 1000 mile trips between the northeast and the southeast.

On I-95 coming out of Florida I was seeing mileage in the low teens as the high. The low was the trip I decided to take the interstate across the north tier of West Virginia, not a good choice, where I saw 8 or 9 mpg.

On trips I keep the speed to about 62 which, for me, is a very comfortable speed.

Around where I live I usually see a little over 17 mpg with a mix of surface and interstate.

 

[CASPEROKC]

5mpg worse 100+ degrees in some pretty big hills.
8mpg best at night in the summer no wind.

I only run 91 or better octane in the truck.
(Large difference in MPG and power when running 91+)
7500lb GVW travel trailer.

I am usually in the highway running 70-75mph pulling the trailer. If I pulled slower that would help with MPG.

We did drive from Oklahoma to NJ mostly over night in August and averaged 25mpg running 80-85mph with 91+ octane without the trailer. Pretty impressive for a full sized 4x4 suv loaded down with two adults two kids third row and cargo stuffed full of luggage and other items.

We had an 11’ Crew Cab f-150 with the ecoboost before the 20’ max so I already knew the mileage would be garbage.

Since we knew ahead of time the mileage pulling a trailer, really the only thing we do is religiously maintain the truck. I run the tires at 42PSI cold. 91+ octane only preferably 100% gas and run Lucas fuel injector in the fuel every 5th tank. I also run my trailer tires at 55 psi check them before leaving the house or where we were camping.

 

[rollinstone]

10 mpg give or take. 2014 Expy with tow package towing about 3,400 lb trailer in Western mountains. Usually at 60 mph.

 

[kpieper876]

Like others here, I tow ~6000 trailer and get around 11 MPG. I use premium, but only because that is what is recommended, so I can't compare MPG to different octanes. I will say that speed and wind are huge factors for MPG. The sweet spot seems to be around 50 to 55 MPG. Naturally, tail winds are the best. I just installed a KN air filter upgrade, replacing the intake. They claim a MPG and HP boost, but I have not had it out with trailer yet.