6.4 Hemi MPG same towing and city driving

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mtofell

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I hauled a 3000# car on a Uhual auto dolly (1000#?) up over a 5K mountain pass and averaged 12.1 MPG. I get roughly that MPG with a tank of gas doing a bunch of stop/go city driving. This reminds me just how terrible the MPGs get on these trucks with stop/go driving. At the end of the day I'm impressed that a 7000# truck can get the kind of MPGs this truck does so I'm really not complaining. I just thought the comparison was interesting.

And, no, I didn't hand calculate and never do so I don't know how accurate my lie-o-meter is. My point is the similarity in MPGs.
 

GsRAM

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That is interesting. On the last camping trip I averaged in the 9s towing my 6k TT, but that did include some mountain pulls one of them was a 12% grade. Empty, when daily driving on my stop and go/back roads commute I'm around 12mpg. Empty on the highway I've been up over 17 mpg average. Not bad for an HD truck with over 400 Horses under the hood.
 

River19

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I have seen similar figures empty around town and towing. I think the other major variable when talking about towing mpg is highway speed. When we tow we are usually closer to 60 than anything else and I think fuel economy drops off a cliff as we go up in speed as you would expect.
 

SouthTexan

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I would trust that towing mpg if it was with fewer engine stops/starts than the city numbers. Since I record both at every fill up, I have found that the more I turn the engine off and on, the greater the discrepancy is between EVIC and hand calculated.
 

MADDOG

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We know the MPG calculations are not correct when measuring values for one driving condition.

What confuses me is why would you think, when you measure two driving conditions, that either is correct and that they can be compared?
 
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mtofell

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We know the MPG calculations are not correct when measuring values for one driving condition.

What confuses me is why would you think, when you measure two driving conditions, that either is correct and that they can be compared?

I guess I'm just assuming my if my lie-o-meter is off it's going to be off similarly for both legs of the test.
 

PatinAZ

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I just got back from camping with my Power Wagon towing a travel trailer weighing ~6500lbs. My trip takes me from 2500ft to 8000ft elevation, then back. My mpg evic was mostly in the 6's with occasional 8's, with a several mile run out of the Salt River Canyon AZ at 5000+ rpms and 2mpg on the evic. I don't even bother to hand calculate when I'm camping and towing. I just make sure my debit card is fat and my credit card is a backup. I usually average $400 in gas in the 5-600 mile round trip to my favorite camping area. After I dropped my trailer off at my parents, I was averaging 18.5 on the evic on my 80 mph run home.
 

MADDOG

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I guess I'm just assuming my if my lie-o-meter is off it's going to be off similarly for both legs of the test.

Naw...I doubt that very much. The variables are too large given the two driving conditions.
 

Dive-Ho

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I just got back from camping with my Power Wagon towing a travel trailer weighing ~6500lbs. My trip takes me from 2500ft to 8000ft elevation, then back. My mpg evic was mostly in the 6's with occasional 8's, with a several mile run out of the Salt River Canyon AZ at 5000+ rpms and 2mpg on the evic. I don't even bother to hand calculate when I'm camping and towing. I just make sure my debit card is fat and my credit card is a backup. I usually average $400 in gas in the 5-600 mile round trip to my favorite camping area. After I dropped my trailer off at my parents, I was averaging 18.5 on the evic on my 80 mph run home.
WOW ! At $3 a gallon thats just about 3.75 to 4.5 mpg . I average around 9 to 10 mpg with my 6.4 towing a 7000K travel trailer . I'd have to go diesel :( with those kind of numbers
 

PatinAZ

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I only get up to my favorite spot a few times a year at best. If I were doing it more often, like when I retire in a few years, I'm going Cummins.
 

GsRAM

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I have seen similar figures empty around town and towing. I think the other major variable when talking about towing mpg is highway speed. When we tow we are usually closer to 60 than anything else and I think fuel economy drops off a cliff as we go up in speed as you would expect.

Same here. I try to stay 55-60 max. Occasionally 65 as needed due to traffic flow or if I need to pass someone. Saves fuel. Keeps trailer tires cooler, helps em live longer (especially most st rated trailer tires which have a 65mph max speed rating) and is safer.
 

Sandbox

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I've noticed the same. When I bought the truck, I had a 20 mile commute in stop and go traffic. I was averaging about 12mpg just going back and forth to work. In early June, I started a new job that is 11 miles farther but, in the opposite direction so I'm going against traffic and normal highway speeds, no more stop and go. Now I'm averaging 16-17mpg going back and forth to work.
 
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