Crappy mileage when pulling camper

Calab · May 23, 2017

According to the truck computer, we get about 16l/100km (14.7mpg) gas usage on our 2011 Ram 1500 Sport. That's with the 5.7l Hemi. Not the greatest, but it could be worse.

When we pull our camper, the mileage ends up being around 30l/100km (7.8mpg). That is crazy. The last camping trip we got about 244 kilometers (152 miles) to one tank of gas!

The trailer is about 6500lbs dry, and 8600lbs when loaded to the max... I think we're somewhere in between. I haven't taken it to the scales yet.

This is putting a real crimp in our camping plans. The amount of money we spend on gas to go anywhere is crazy.

Is this normal? Is there anything we can do to improve our gas mileage?

All 16 spark plugs were just replaced, as well as an oil change. Air filter is clean.

Any help is appreciated!

yillbs · May 23, 2017

Calab said:
According to the truck computer, we get about 16l/100km (14.7mpg) gas usage on our 2011 Ram 1500 Sport. That's with the 5.7l Hemi. Not the greatest, but it could be worse.

When we pull our camper, the mileage ends up being around 30l/100km (7.8mpg). That is crazy. The last camping trip we got about 244 kilometers (152 miles) to one tank of gas!

The trailer is about 6500lbs dry, and 8600lbs when loaded to the max... I think we're somewhere in between. I haven't taken it to the scales yet.

This is putting a real crimp in our camping plans. The amount of money we spend on gas to go anywhere is crazy.

Is this normal? Is there anything we can do to improve our gas mileage?

All 16 spark plugs were just replaced, as well as an oil change. Air filter is clean.

Any help is appreciated!

I can only give opinions based on my own experience. I have a 6 inch lift, and 35 inch tires, I tow about 7500 pounds two or three times a month. I get about 8 - 9 MPG doing that, if you're getting 7.6, something could be seriously wrong, again, IMO. That seems excessively low. Are you running recommended mid grade gas? How many miles are on it? Are you going up a lot of mountains, if you're speaking in Km, I assume maybe canada, or mexico perhaps, both of which have some pretty hilly terrain, unlike my better 9MPg in the flats of texas.

Totesmygoats · May 23, 2017

That's what happens when you pull a parachute. Same thing happens when I pull a horse trailer, you should be able to "feel" the drag of it if you are in tune with your truck at all, things like needing more throttle to hold speed.

drittal · May 23, 2017

Slow down. 60-65

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NewBlackDak · May 23, 2017

drittal said:
Slow down. 60-65

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This! A travel trailer is a giant sail. I towed my wife's car on a trailer over the same pass we go through camping, and it weighed about 500lbs than we normally load to. Travel trailer 8.9 mpg. Her car on the trailer 10.6. Keep the speed down, and dot be in a hurry. I get the best mpg with the cruise set at 62.

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sandawilliams · May 23, 2017

NewBlackDak said:
This! A travel trailer is a giant sail. I towed my wife's car on a trailer over the same pass we go through camping, and it weighed about 500lbs than we normally load to. Travel trailer 8.9 mpg. Her car on the trailer 10.6. Keep the speed down, and dot be in a hurry. I get the best mpg with the cruise set at 62.

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Exactly. I don't tow over 65 mph. Towing 24000 miles now with my 6.4 I average 9.0 mpg overall. Many people don't know that most ST tires are only rated for 65 mph.

TRCM · May 23, 2017

Calab said:
According to the truck computer, we get about 16l/100km (14.7mpg) gas usage on our 2011 Ram 1500 Sport. That's with the 5.7l Hemi. Not the greatest, but it could be worse.

When we pull our camper, the mileage ends up being around 30l/100km (7.8mpg). That is crazy. The last camping trip we got about 244 kilometers (152 miles) to one tank of gas!

The trailer is about 6500lbs dry, and 8600lbs when loaded to the max... I think we're somewhere in between. I haven't taken it to the scales yet.

This is putting a real crimp in our camping plans. The amount of money we spend on gas to go anywhere is crazy.

Is this normal? Is there anything we can do to improve our gas mileage?

All 16 spark plugs were just replaced, as well as an oil change. Air filter is clean.

Any help is appreciated!

Sounds perfectly normal to me.

1) slow down
2) take off slow & easy
3) keep tire pressures on the truck & camper at spec
4) remember, you added almost the trucks weight again, and a LOT of surface area that has to push air out of the way

I get as high as 22 mpg on my Ram, but ave 20 on the highway....towing my 3300 lb boat, 12-13, towing my 6000 lb camper, 10-11.

If your numbers without the camper are that low, you need to slow down.

fordtech90 · May 23, 2017

I average about 7-8 mpg pulling my 7k lb trailer. 2013 hemi 4x4 leveled with 35" tires. I do 60-70 mph depending on road.

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mtofell · May 24, 2017

Normal for that truck and weight. Certainly, nothing "seriously wrong" as someone tried to scare you with. Things like gas octane and tire pressure can help but make a very small difference. As many others have said, slowing down will make by far the biggest difference. Easily 1-2 mpg difference towing 55 vs. 70. Maybe even more.

In the whole scheme of things 7-8 MPG driving a full size truck and hauling a house is pretty good. My old carburetor trucks used to get about 7-8 downhill with a tail wind and no trailer.

I am curious though... how drastic of a change can this MPG put on your plans? What were you expecting to get? Gas is cheap these days. The difference between 8 and 10 MPG @ $3 per gallon over a 400 miles trip is $30. What else do you spend $30 on and not even think twice?

And I'm not just trying to give the OP a hard time. These fuel micro-managing threads go around here daily. People spend 40K for a truck and 30K for a trailer and **** and moan about $30 in gas. Get a Prius and a tent and be done with it. Work is hard, life is hard. You buy a truck and trailer to get away from all that. Look away from the gas pump and have fun.

Bigdaddy · May 24, 2017

I get about 9-10 mpg with mines, flat I can make it to 10 mpg the only other thing to do is get a diesel with is not in the budget, good luck and drive on.

Sandbox · May 24, 2017

Last Fall, I pulled the marching band trailer to their last competition with my 2015 1500 CC, 5.7, 8-speed. The trailer is a 24' car trailer that fully loaded comes in about 7k lbs. We stopped and filled up and checked tire pressure right before we got to the school. When we got back to the school and unloaded, my gas light came on. That 178 mile round trip on one tank of gas and the EVIC said I was averaging like 8mph. So, I'd say that it's about normal. Not solely because of that , but we now own a 6.4 2500.

ronheater70 · May 24, 2017

mtofell said:
Normal for that truck and weight. Certainly, nothing "seriously wrong" as someone tried to scare you with. Things like gas octane and tire pressure can help but make a very small difference. As many others have said, slowing down will make by far the biggest difference. Easily 1-2 mpg difference towing 55 vs. 70. Maybe even more.

In the whole scheme of things 7-8 MPG driving a full size truck and hauling a house is pretty good. My old carburetor trucks used to get about 7-8 downhill with a tail wind and no trailer.

I am curious though... how drastic of a change can this MPG put on your plans? What were you expecting to get? Gas is cheap these days. The difference between 8 and 10 MPG @ $3 per gallon over a 400 miles trip is $30. What else do you spend $30 on and not even think twice?

And I'm not just trying to give the OP a hard time. These fuel micro-managing threads go around here daily. People spend 40K for a truck and 30K for a trailer and **** and moan about $30 in gas. Get a Prius and a tent and be done with it. Work is hard, life is hard. You buy a truck and trailer to get away from all that. Look away from the gas pump and have fun.

Man, that's some tough love right there, but so dang true. I look at it this way, I try to drive at a safe reasonable speed (as others have said usually between 60-65) and whatever I end up with, I end up with. I am aware of my mileage, but it is not the driving factor of where I go camping, etc..
Make sure your tires are properly inflated on the truck AND rig, and make sure your WDH is properly setup and doesnt have your nose in the air catching even more wind.. But in Short ,It's a truck, pulling a camper.. if 20-50 bucks in extra gas is going to ruin your vacation, you need to look at Tenting it..

Pntyrmvr · May 24, 2017

I think you're getting great mileage for what you are trying to do.

Horsepower needs energy. More energy needed is more fuel.

Drive sanely with your foot like there's an egg between it and the pedal.

Use the cruise.

Think constantly.

Coast when you can and avoid the brakes.

Or just drive like there's no trailer, vary your speed up and down, drive in the hammer lane, jam on the brakes, stand on the gas, and keep being completely unrealistic.

And then sell the truck and trailer at a loss, buy a Prius and feel real macho.

That's a way to save money.

"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

jawzs2 · May 24, 2017

Close to what I get towing my TT - 4600 dry, about 5700 loaded, I do a little better with the camper, closer to 9, but a little worse in town, just over 14, a lot of stop and go where I am. Can get over 20 on the highway if I take it real easy

Calab · May 24, 2017

Thanks for all the feedback folks...

More info for anyone interested...

- Tires are Cooper Discoverer (almost ready to be replaced) kept around 50psi
- Rear end is 3.55 (according to a VIN search)
- No lift or level... basically stock

We were going to take a long trip around Alberta, 1700km (1000miles) this summer, but we worked out the cost of gas alone to be around $800 in the end (at around $1 per litre) - Strathmore to Cold Lake to Jasper and back to Strathmore.

To make matters worse, we are considering replacing the Coopers with a set of BFK KO2s.

I'll take it easy and try some better gas.

One item... Does using Tow mode save gas? It appears that the truck never gets into 6th gear when in Tow mode.

P.S. My other car is a Fiat 500c

NewBlackDak · May 24, 2017

Calab said:
Thanks for all the feedback folks...

More info for anyone interested...

- Tires are Cooper Discoverer (almost ready to be replaced) kept around 50psi
- Rear end is 3.55 (according to a VIN search)
- No lift or level... basically stock

We were going to take a long trip around Alberta, 1700km (1000miles) this summer, but we worked out the cost of gas alone to be around $800 in the end (at around $1 per litre) - Strathmore to Cold Lake to Jasper and back to Strathmore.

To make matters worse, we are considering replacing the Coopers with a set of BFK KO2s.

I'll take it easy and try some better gas.

One item... Does using Tow mode save gas? It appears that the truck never gets into 6th gear when in Tow mode.

P.S. My other car is a Fiat 500c

Top gear is locked out in tow/haul. Overdrive gears don't usually have enough material in them to stand up to towing duty.

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VernDiesel · May 24, 2017

The eight speed would Be good for 1 mpg & accelerate notably better. Have each wheel checked for brake drag. Use cruise when possible set at 60. Never accelerate on the hill just hold steady or let it fall back a little. Unless you need it for off Road Ing don't get an all-terrain tire. Get a low rolling resistance all seasons highway tire like Michelin defender or General grabber which can be good for as much as an mpg. Coast more when coming to a stop and accelerate easy but steady.

If you tow a lot consider an Ecodiesel. I tow travel trailers for a living. Normally towing a 6,500 - 7,000 box TT at 65 averages 14.0 mpg.

NewBlackDak · May 24, 2017

VernDiesel said:
The eight speed would Be good for 1 mpg & accelerate notably better. Have each wheel checked for brake drag. Use cruise when possible set at 60. Never accelerate on the hill just hold steady or let it fall back a little. Unless you need it for off Road Ing don't get an all-terrain tire. Get a low rolling resistance all seasons highway tire like Michelin defender or General grabber which can be good for as much as an mpg. Coast more when coming to a stop and accelerate easy but steady.

If you tow a lot consider an Ecodiesel. I tow travel trailers for a living. Normally towing a 6,500 - 7,000 box TT at 65 averages 14.0 mpg.

I had to go to an more aggressive tire. I've had to use 4wd 4 times to get out of sandy spots with the trailer. One time I was worried I wouldn't get out.

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coldfusion73 · May 24, 2017

I did a 3000 km round trip from Northern Ontario to Saskatchewan and back last summer.
Truck is a 2016 Ram 1500 SLT CC, 4x4, 5.7, 8 speed, 3.21 rear.
Trailer is a 2016 Jayco Jayflight SLX 264BHW, loaded was about 5700lbs. Average of trip according to dashboard was 9.7 mpg. Cost $800 in gas.
Never went over 65 mph and mostly stayed around 60...
And was in tow/haul mode entire trip using cruise control mostly

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Riccochet · May 25, 2017

Sounds pretty accurate to me. I get 7-9 MPG pulling my 8000# travel trailer at 60-70 MPH. 5.7 with 3.55 rear.

Tip: When you're on the highway using cruise control no need to be in tow/haul. Unless you're traversing hills and such. You'll get a little better mileage keeping it at lower RPM's.

Crappy mileage when pulling camper

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