Gas mileage ?

[Camp4Life]

2015 F-150 SuperCrew, 4x4 with the new 2.7L EcoBoost.




Unloaded highway between 26-29 MPG @ 60-70mph
Fully loaded for tent camping with both bikes on the rack, all camping gear, 2 giant coolers full of food/water/beer/ice and half the bed full of firewood ~26 MPG.
Haven't built my trailer yet, but towing a 4x8 loaded down with wood was about 22-24 MPG on the highway doing 60-65 MPH.

The EcoBoost is great on gas as long as you don't mash the pedal, otherwise the turbos spool up and drink up all the gas

[booyah]

Not trying to discourgage the conversation because that is what forums like this are for. but my thought on the MPG question is, "does it matter what your MPG is towing your TD"? I would venture that really the answer is no. who cares if it costs you an extra $2 in gas over your 300 mile weekend trip? who cares if it costs an extra $10? it is easier and cheaper than buying a new car to tow a full size TT or 5th wheel.

My dad bought a brand new mustang a few years back. he had been waiting for 20 years to replace the Maverick he sold when I was born. showing off the car to his coworkers the first day he drove it. somebody asked "what kind of millage does it get" his answer was " I don't know, I don't care. It puts a smile on my face."

I imagine that most feel the same way the first time they drag their TD with their daily driver, to camping spots that 40ft 5th wheels would never be able to venture.

So, I care... I average 33-35 with the car without the TD (Scion XD 5 speed manual) and about 25-27 with the TD depending on speeds and roads. This means our recent 1000 mile jaunt on a 3.5 day weekend with kids, ran us about $90 in gas, $100 in groceries, and $100 in souviners, and camping spots (that we had to pay for).

Good family fun on a vacation with the two biggest kids for under $300? beats the heck outta any other type of vacation I can find. Now, when we do 5k in our long trip next year, it will REALLY make a difference

[Silver]

I am using a 2011 VW Golf TDI to tow the 1680 lbs fully loaded Tear with electric trailer brakes. Fuel economy drops from 40 to 45 mpg not towing to 30 or 28 mpg towing. The trailer is taller than the Golf. Economy depends on how fast I run it uphill. Golf has no issue towing the trailer uphill at 90 mph at a steady ~ 2700 rpm in 5th gear (manual). If I behave myself and stay below 75 - 80 mph the economy is better at ~32mpg. Now I will be searching for replacement since it appears VW is pulling the Diesels back and there are no new ones from what I know so far.

[Adirondackersouth]

In general, the larger the vehicle/engine the less it is affected by the trailer. We've towed our extensively with both our vehicles. With my wife's 4-cyl Highlander it drops from 24-25mpg to around 19. My V8 Tundra gets around 17-18mpg drops down to 16.

Hello Teardropper,
So my 6 cylinder Highlander that gets 24 highway will get something like 21 mpg. I can deal with that I think. I shall consider that in my plans. Finally last month I found a 1965 Cox pop-up trailer body to start my teardrop ideas. Now I have my Adirondack Teardrop dimensions cut out for me
10 x 6.5 x 6
Total width 81"
Inside wheel wells 54"
The deck boards are 96"
Front of boards to bumper is 106"
Total length 124"

Wider is heavier but I maybe able to construct this light and strong with fiberglass over wood, like a boat.

What do you think?

David
Ashland, VA

[dancam]

the weight issue has been bouncing around in my head lately, more so as i read more about mike's giant foamy. i'm trying to shave lbs off my 4x10 woody to ease strain on my car climbing mountain roads. i'm only at 1100lbs fully loaded, but think how much better the mileage and performance if i could have another 2-300 lbs lighter...

Not much. It's drag ie height and width that will kill mileage. Make it skinny like a cigar tube then you will see better results. Think like moving through water put the wood length wise it slips through go width wise it's hard to push. Width and height equals more drag

I have towed a bunch of different trailers with a small car and can tell you weight hardly makes a difference, its all wind resistance.
That 2-300 pounds on the trailer will save you the same amount of gas that not taking an extra passenger would. Almost negligable. Its all in the aerodynamics.
This trailer below weighs 900 pounds or so. Lawn mower, car engine and a bunch of steel rims. Plus the car was filled with heavy stuff too. 26 us mpg like this. Going through huge hills keeping my speed as close to 65mph as possible. If i take that plywood off? An even 40mpg. The car gets 44 empty.





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[dancam]

Just in addition to the above, its not just frontal area of the trailer either, aerodynamics is more than that. I also towed a 5x8x8 u-haul that weighed 900 pounds (thats why i put 900 pounds on that utility trailer).
The frontal area of the u-haul was much larger than my plywood but it had rounded edges and was more aerodynamic. It was actually slightly easier to pull.
I was doing a few tests, one was to see if i could overheat the car and another was to see how bad i could get my fuel milage. So i found the biggest hills within a couple hours of where i live and when i said i tried to keep 65mph that means i would quite often put it in 3rd and keep it at 45-5500 rpm up the hill. Impressive gas milage for how i drove i think. There was a stretch of freeway that was over 70mph as well for a bit.


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[Camp4Life]

Wishing that I had been able to build my TTT this year, but for health reasons I decided to pick one up that I found for a really good price.

My 2015 F-150 with 2.7L Ecoboost engine gets me 26-29 MPG on the highway.

With my camper, I get around 9.5 MPG
The camper is not very aerodynamic, and weighs in around 4500 lbs. But it's due to go on a diet as I get rid of a few things that I don't need : hot water tank, heater, air conditioner and possibly entire bathroom including black water tank if the wife allow it. I'm also going to drop one of the two propane tanks since it's overkill. The fridge hardly uses propane and we don't cook inside.

[pchast]

If I might suggest: A cap when towing and
perhaps an air wing at the end of it.

Its the frontage 'Air Dam' that kills things.

Also at what speed are you towing?

[Tigris99]

Wow that trailer probably weighs as much as the truck if not more.

I forgot ford put such a sad little motor in some F150s.

Btw weight vs wind resistance is a fair bit off.

If your where its basically flat terrain then its mostly wind resistance which still isnt a big deal till speed above cruising around town.

Highway it plays a good sized part but weight becomes an even bigger issue when you have hills and mountains to deal with. Towing up hill with a vehicle that doesnt have a sizeable amount of torque will loose around 50% of its fuel mileage. No different than a noticeable fuel mileage loss between just the driver versus full of adults in a vehicle.

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[Syberia]

My Tacoma gets ~21-22 without the trailer and ~18-19 with. Trailer weighs 1640 lbs with probably another few hundred pounds of gear in it and a few hundred lbs in the bed as well. Have to tow in 3rd on the freeway (4 speed auto) because the little 4 cyl engine won't maintain speed doing 2000 rpm at 60 mph with all the weight.

Now that this truck is no longer my daily driver, I wish I had the V6 as I would gladly give up a few mpg for more power.

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[gudmund]

not to say that I am a Ford fan-which I am not, BUT "....sad little motor in some F150s" ? that 'little' motor is why that BIG full sized truck gets such good MPG with no load and the question should asked, how can such a "small" motor even be able to tow such a heavy trailer along with powering such a big truck?? 2.7 liters equals about 165 cubic inches - YES that is a SMALL motor!!! But believe it of not, it produces about 325 HP and a lot of torque to go with it - if I remember right it has duel turbo's on it and yes, when you need or use all of it's power when towing the gas mileage drops a whole lot but no matter what size of motor or brand of vehicle you have when towing something that heavy/air resistance your mileage is going down!!! a lot!!!. I am still total awe of the power being produced by the Ford's nowaday engines along with them, for the most part being so dependable. They seen to be holding up just fine so far. Next time you see a Ford Explorer police vehicle - and there are a lot of them!!, think about what is under it's hood - a 3.5 liter V-6 producing 365 HP and 420 lbs of torque - that's only about a 213 cubic inch motor!!! and some of the newer versions of this motor are over 400 HP now!!! ... Sad little motor ???? (Sure glad my brother-in-law does not read this forum-I would NEVER hear the end of this if he found out I am defending FORD )

[Tigris99]

Im not a specific brand person anymore. Ford and jeep growing up. Becoming an ASE tech, messing around with imports and such I learned a lot. And since I still do it on the side (helping friends that have a shop but they dont keep up with the advancements like I do, so I usually handle the newer vehicles)

Turbo motors in a truck that arent part of a diesel is just wrong. And almost 6000 rpm to get to that output. Thanks for making me look all that up, drove me further away from ford lol. And i really like the looks of the newer trucks. Not meant derogatory towards you in ANY way. First thought when i looked at the newer fords in detail now all I could think is Id have to burn my man card if i wanted to drive one. And right now we drive:

My work vehicle is a POS 1999 caravan short body thats a blueish purple (got it for $200, have less than 1000 in it total, bought it to haul mountain bikes and tools)

Wife has a 2007 Honda Odyssey (i let her think its hers, I bought it, shes getting her Sienna she wants probably this fall)

I kind of want a 4 door pickup but to have a real engine means older, no modern transmission or OHC/OHV for power and mileage. Not unless I want to pay half the cost of a nice house.

Trucks are going the way of the SUVs. Minivans drove moms to SUVs, which went from sport utility vehicles to useless, pretty looking urban kid haulers (with a few exceptions). Except trucks are turning into purely an "image" thing as well. Awesome numbers for a motor that belongs in a sports car. For DYI Dads that want to look the part. Again theres some exceptions.

I understand it and hopefully no one takes offense. To each their own. Just irritating that most vehicles are becoming simply luxury kid haulers that are nearly useless for the tasks they grew up doing. SUVs was offroad capable, rugged, outdoors off the beaten path lifestyle. Trucks is a haul or tow what you need to get the job done. Not look pretty, not under powered and built soft, meant to go to work, get it done.

I wouldnt be poking fun at ford if that motor was in a ford ranger or equivilant. Would make some sense at least.

When it comes to work load power, there is no replacement for displacement. But great mileage unloaded can still be had. Honda and toyota have been doing it for decades

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[lrrowe]

Guess we all have our opinions and at least I do not put down other folks choices her. My 2012 F150 Lariat pulls my loaded converted CT trailer, goes in the woods with me, drives the sands of Cape Hatteras, holds my front mounted surf rods safely and conveniently, keeps my old bones comfortable and the heated seats soothe my bad back (need surgery someday). Turbo gas mileage is not so good, but I am at the stage of life where I say, so what? And yes, my eyes were open. I strive to keep up with no none of the Jones', but I have a TV which suits my wants and needs. I never burned my draft card and if I did have such a thing as a "man card" (I guess to go with my " man bag"....ha!, I would not be caught dead with one), I would not burn that either. If I want, I can drive and tow at all Interstate's speed limits. Trust me, the power is there, more then is needed. Ever spin your tires towing a heavy trailer?

Oh and afterwards, when I clean it up, it serves as my family vehicle carrying 5 passengers very well. Do not need another vehicle to serve that function. So what is the issue, really?

With my truck cab, it carries my "goods" dry and protected. Yes it could have a little more of a throaty sounds, but,then again, I did not buy it for sound, but for function. If I need the sound, I could get a Harley, but then again, someone would pick on my choice there too.

Buy what you want, but do not put my choice down.

[working on it]

Wishing that I had been able to build my TTT this year, but for health reasons I decided to pick one up that I found for a really good price.

My 2015 F-150 with 2.7L Ecoboost engine gets me 26.29 MPG on the highway.

With my camper, I get around 9.5 MPG
The camper is not very aerodynamic, and weighs in around 4500 lbs.

• That little 2.7 liter engine probably is fighting it's little heart out everytime you start from a stop, just to get the trailer rolling. Your truck is probably running on 17-18" tires, using 3.73 gears (at best), and gulping gas while the turbo screams away...meanwhile, my 2500HD Chevy, with a 6.0 liter engine, on 16" tires with 4.10 gears, slowly gets rolling, but doesn't gulp the gas until higher speeds. Unloaded, it might get 14 mph at 70 mph, but when loaded only gets 11-12 mph, regardless if the load is 2000 lbs (my TTT), or 4500 lbs (my wife's 20 ft Puma...much taller and wider, too). I've also towed to drag races, with 2000 lbs in my truck bed, and 7000 lbs on the open carhauler, and never dropped below 10 mpg, even at 75 mph. The key is that the smaller tires combined with the steeper gears keep my 6.0 liter engine in its' optimal power range, and the heavier rotating mass of the larger displacement 6.0 l engine keeps the "train a rolling", but also never gets great mpg, for the same reasons. So, while your modern-tech engine can pull a heavy load, it is best suited for lighter-duty, else the turbo has to force consumption of more gas to achieve what better gearing and larger engines do well, in moving heavy loads.
• "There is no replacement for displacement", and "steeper gearing is better", both variants of "go big or go home"... were a couple of maxims I swore by in dragracing, that applied to going down the track, or towing my cars to it. New technology makes more power than the old tech did, using computers and the like, but, sometimes you just can't get power and gas efficiency at the same time...that's when the old, proven, tech wins, at least in my experience. No surprises. I'll never get good gas mileage in my old truck, but always get about the same, regardless of what I'm towing. It hardly notices any difference, no matter what's following behind. Just my opinion, yours may vary.

[Tigris99]

I wasnt putting "choices" down, just Fords. Sorry if you didnt see the humor. I figured everyone did when i admitted yo what we have for vehicles lol. Not very "manly" but do the job. And I used to own ford pickups exclusively. Ecoboost trucks is where i lost respect for them.

And a 2012 is still a truck. I am just not a fan of american made newer vehicles in general. Too many have gone the "Suburban Family" style and much of that makes a truck or SUV what they used to be is lost. But I cant help but poke fun at new Fords.

Sorry if anyone took offense to a little "ford" humor.



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