drittal
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Tips for getting the best MPG towing?
- Thread starter ram5.7hemi
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ram5.7hemi
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How and which gear should I lock out on my 8 speed? What's the purpose of locking out gear...??
gofishn
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Depends on the terrain, Load and minimum speed of the roadway.
Really is a common sense thing. go faster, downhill. Keep RPm as close to 2K, as ou can, goign uphill until you need more rpm to top the hill. wait until the very last poossible moment to put yoru foot iinto the pedal.
i cannot drive that way. gas is cheap. I only have so many minutes on this planet. not oging to waste a single one trying to save a few pennies on fuel, if i wanted cheap fuel burning car, wold a got a 3cyl import POS.
drittal
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I'm not sure how your 8sp works with tow haul. The 6sp in my 2500 doesn't let me into 6th when I have T/H engaged. Maybe I don't tow fast enough for it to let it shift into 6th when towing.
I believe locking out OD it is to ensure the transmission is being properly oiled when towing. If not, excess heat and wear can/will happen.
Do a quick search for tow haul here and see what pops up.
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ram5.7hemi
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lol thanks i know what you mean i don't like to go any slower than i have to... i don't speed with a trailer though...
i will just have keep cruise control off and watch the rams. i like to go about 70 if the speed limit is 75 mph... i have noticed it works a lot harder keeping 75 mpg.
ram5.7hemi
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i use tow haul mode. i seem to like it i noticed it will hold the gears longer than normal. especially 3rd gear i think it is if its steady up a hill... i have the plus and minus buttons on the steering wheel and i can select which gear i want to limit it to.... so i can select 6th and it won't do 7th or 8th... but if i have tow haul mode on and leave the shift buttons alone...( i really don't know how to use them) it has gone into 7th with tow mode on when i have been at a lower speed and flat road...
indybp57
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Might want to look at the specs on your trailer tires. Many are only rated at 65mph Max.
ram5.7hemi
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Thanks, that's one of the first things I did they are rated for 75
cableguy_hd
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On your next run keep it no higher than 60 and just let the t/h button do the work and see what you get. You can baby it and get 9-10. I have towing more weight.
monteholic
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if you want to improve towing MPG, two main things
tire air pressure and speed
slowing down is the main thing
once you hit 55 mph, wind restriction has a major effect on mpg
tire air pressure and speed
slowing down is the main thing
once you hit 55 mph, wind restriction has a major effect on mpg
Jim2015RAM
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An 8-speed with 3.21 gears at 70 mph will be about 3050 in 5th gear. If you can get it to stay in 6th gear, it will be just under 2400 rpm and should help gas mileage and still have enough torque for flat steady speed. But to get that, you likely will need to turn off cruise control with the trailer. Otherwise it will downshift to 5th too often with a slight incline or wind gust. And the computer will hold 5th gear a long time. Try getting up to speed normally (maybe 1 mph over target), then using the gear +/- buttons on the steering wheel, select 6. You may have to ease off the throttle slightly until the computer shifts to 6th (2400 rpm at 70 mph). If you see a slight incline coming, accelerate slowly (avoid downshift) a couple mph and then hold throttle on the incline allowing the mph to drop. If it drops too much (>5 mph under target), you might decide to apply throttle to regain speed and start all over again on the next flat section.
Approximately:
70 mph 5th = 3050 rpm
70 mph 6th = 2375 rpm
70 mph 7th = 2000 rpm
65 mph 5th = 2850 rpm
65 mph 6th = 2200 rpm
65 mph 7th = 1850 rpm (low for heavy towing)
TruckNut
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Speed hurts mileage. The more I go above 60 the quicker the gauge drops. My 3400# 17.5 footer (2900# before wife's extensive packing) nets me around 12.9-13.0 at 65. If I back off the throttle, 13.5-14 is easy to do. Also I use the WW ll Japanese trick of applying lots of wax. (They waxed the wings and bodies of the *** Zero's in the war.) Less drag really helps. Bet I get 1/2 mpg boost at 65 if I wax the trailer.
drittal
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gofishn
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Never use cruise control, unless totally Dry, even, Flat roadway. Also, never use cruise in snow or rain. too easy to loose control if one tire spins out.
Cruise, by definition, will attempt to maintain a speed. doing so, for tiny micro adjustments, to compensate for all the infinitesimal grade breaks, will kill fuel mileage.
Example, look at teh road, any road, it will hardly ever go more than 500-1000ft without some osrt of grade change, the longer your rig,, the more that tiny little grade change will affect your speed. Cruise will raise teh rpm's to re-attain that speed.
WHen YOU are in control of the RPM's, you can choose to allow the tow vehicle to slow, over undulating territory, knowing that once you get over teh slight crest, the sags is where you will re-attain your speed. Cruise control does nto know this.
Also, when climbing a substantial hill, you can choose to allow speed to be reduced, even by 10 MPH speed reduction, if doing so will get you that much closer to the actual top of the hill, so that a tiny 300-500rpm increase will allow your Rig to actually "Crest" the hill.
Where upon you can instantly reduce your RPM's, so that the downhill run will allow you to re-attain your speed, even picking up some. Cruise will limit all gains to teh whatever speed the cruise is set, you cannot gain an extra 3-5mph cushion, for the next hill.
Again, this is not complicated, don;t make it so, use your head and common sense.
EDIT:
By the way, with 3:21, it takes you much more RPM to get that load moving, from a dead stop. Also, takes much more RPM to get it accelerating, from low speeds, to higher ones. Take your time, use the lay of the land. Once you are actually AT your preferred highway speed, though, that 3:21 will really shine. Just realize you have traded higher gearing, for better mileage once desired speed is attained, at the expense of acceleration, at any speed. With 3:21's, it is the acceleration, and resulting RPM increases, which are killing your Mileage. With my 3:92's, it;s the consistently higher RPM's, once my cruising speed has been achieved, that kills my mileage.
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gofishn
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+1, what he said.
Again, common Sense.
Higher speed (5vs65vs75)requires higher RPM's to both achieve and maintain that speed. Too, any reduction in wind resistance will allow for a higher maximum possible speed or, conversely, allow you to maintain a set speed at lower the rpm's.
Reason why Howard Hughes was the first one to use countersunk rivets on an airplane, the Hughes H-1 Racer. Soon, everyone followed suit, saved fuel and increased speed.
Bottom line, as stated in my original reply, it is all about RPM's.
Keep them , as low as possible, at all times.
DO everything possible, from waiting until the last possible second to accelearte, to TOP a hill to waxing your vehicles, to properly inflated tires and levelled load to an airfoil to break up the hard lien of the towed vehicle and allow the slip stream created by your truck/trailer to be reduced
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I hear ya, but I get the same mpg towing or not using cruise as I do not using it.
Just like on my boat, people say don't tow with the cover on, it'll scratch the finish and it robs mpg cuz it acts like a big balloon. Well, my cover does fit pretty tight, and the difference between towing with & without is .1 mpg, and I have yet to see any scratches on the finish, so I tow with it. Keeps cig butts & other road trash out of it and off the interior.
I bet I've got close to 10000 miles towing on that boat with the cover on, and I challenge anyone to find a scratch related to the cover being on when towed.
The point I'm making, is it all depends on the driver & equipment. Never say never.
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ColdCase
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Todays cruise controls are tailored to be more mpg friendly. Since the computer has complete control over the throttle and transmission, it can tailor the mix/spark tables to better mpg (so called another layer of eco mode). Don't think it helps much, maybe .1 or .2 gal. It makes more of a difference on those vehicles with adaptive cruise (the ones with RADAR) as the computer can see obstacles coming up and adjust accordingly in a more mpg friendly manner than slamming on the brakes
As mentioned before, the biggest improvement is driving style. Drive as if you have no brakes (anticipate the stops), and adjust the throttle early for upcoming hills (both up and down). Accelerate moderately to your desired speed and try to keep a constant throttle/speed as much as you can safely.
Tire pressure and tread can be a significant contribution.
Dubstep Shep
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I get about 13-15 mpg towing my Vette around Texas on the highway. I went from Houston to Dallas and back and averaged 14 mpg doing about 75-80 mph.
The truck is a 2014 with the eight speed, 3.92 gears, exhaust, intake, and a few other bolt ons.
The truck is a 2014 with the eight speed, 3.92 gears, exhaust, intake, and a few other bolt ons.
lennyd96
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We left out on June 25th from Alabama to Timmins Ontario Canada and returned on July 4th. The round trip was 2983 miles. We pulled our 35' 5th wheel fully loaded with food, clothes and fresh water filled to the top. The lowest I got was 10.7 and the highest was 12.1 . I kept it on cruise as much as I could and it pulled the hills in Kentucky great.
ExpressRules
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