gas mileage reduction when pulling trailer

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faithie999

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I have a 2016 Ram 1500 Crew cab, 3.6L V6. I bought it a couple of years ago with no thought about ever having a trailer.

Saturday we picked up our new Surveyor Legend trailer. the UVW is 3800 lb, and tongue weight is 405 lb. all the water and waste tanks were empty.

we drove about 100 miles to pick it up, most of the way on the interstate. I-70 in Indiana is pretty flat, and the wind on Saturday was negligible. at 70 mph on the freeway and 55 on about 20 miles of 2-lane, the truck got 20 mpg according to the dash display.

on the way home, same route, but cruise set at 62 on the freeway, it got 11.1 mpg. I used the "tow" mode for about half of the 80-mile stretch on the interstate, then the other half with no tow mode, with no difference in mpg according to the trip computer.

I was surprised by the almost 50% reduction. does that seem reasonable? my wife is happy because that means we need to stop every 3 hours for gas!

thanks in advance

Ken
 

NewBlackDak

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50-70% is about right for a gas powered engine. It will be very dependent on terrain, speed, wind, and traffic. Most of us are happy to reach double digits while towing.


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Ohio5pt7

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Yep right in line with what to expect

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2019RamInSC

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We tow a Surveyor Luxury 267RBSS almost 2x the weight of yours. I found that 61 MPH is the sweet spot. Coincidentally :). We get 9-12 MPG. So your numbers are pretty standard. As indicated by everyone else. I think that at highway speeds its more a matter of frontal air resistance that actual weight. On level ground and minimal wind.

Have fun!
 

Loudram

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One more vote for "that's typical towing mpg". I get between 9 and 11 when I tow. As RamInSC said the main drop occurs because of wind resistance. And of course the other factors play a role as well as NBD pointed out.
 

670hoth

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Just got 9 mpg towing a 6000 to 6200ish lb camper approximately 110 miles today. It was interstate the whole way going 65 to 72 or 3 mph. Truck is a 2017 1500 quad cab hemi w/ 8 speed and 392 gears. Im sure at 55 mph I would have gotten much better mileage.
 
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CamperMike

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Mileage sounds about right. I find 62-65 gets significantly better mileage than 70 but it still is right around 10 for my trailer at 62. Mine is a bit heavier than yours but the main thing is the wind resistance. I talked to someone with a smaller trailer and a jeep gladiator with the 3.6. They got the same mileage as my ram with the 5.7 and larger trailer.
 

crash68

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I used the "tow" mode for about half of the 80-mile stretch on the interstate, then the other half with no tow mode, with no difference in mpg according to the trip computer.
Leave the Tow/Haul mode on while towing, it keeps the rpms up to prevent lugging the engine. Being a gasser it probably a good idea to run 89 octane while towing also.
It not the weight that clobbers the fuel economy as much as the wind load. I tow a 17' boat and a 24' enclosed car hauler (empty) that both weigh about 3K lbs. I get close to 20 mpg with the boat but it drops to about 16 mpg with the car hauler with my EcoDiesel. Same situation with a gasser will fair worse.
Keep the speed under 70 mph for better fuel economy and safety. At 60 mph your covering 88 feet every second or about a football field in 4 seconds.
 

2003F350

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I echo pretty much everything said above, and crash lays out some good points.

Slowing down and keeping it out of the higher gears is better for the overall driveline as it reduces stress in the system. It can also reduce stress on YOU since you'll have more control and more time to react to other idiots on the road.

Remember that even though you've got a small trailer behind you, it's got a LOT of frontal area, which serves to drastically increase drag, in turn dragging down fuel economy.

I can get about 16-17 running empty, 15-16 pulling my flatbed empty or with a light load, 13-14 pulling my boat...but about 10 pulling our travel trailer.
 

JEFF MANN

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Leave the transmission in "TOW" mode while towing or hauling, it's not there for fuel mileage it's to keep the engine in the proper RPM/TORQUE band which will in turn prolong the life of your transmission. If the transmission gets to a point that it's "hunting" for the proper gear by upshifting & downshifting then do your transmission a favor and drop to the lower gear.
 

pilgrim6

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I have a 2011 4.7 RAM and I recently used the "Tow 91" program on my Super Chips tuner. Towing about 6000 lbs, in mountainous northern PA I averaged about 12-12.5 mpg. The tuner seemed to help as I never saw that high mpg on previous trips ( without the tuner)
 

zogg

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Yep. Mileage is right on. But I bet the salesman told you you’d get 15 or more. Ha.
The v6 has to work particularly hard towing. I’ve always wondered why they were ever installed in a truck.

The biggest issue is the wind resistance of the front of the trailer. You’re towing a tall brick and nothing will fix it.

Years ago I towed my son’s utility trailer with a large vented rear gate that dropped down for a ramp. We loaded the trailer with furniture and I got 12 mpg. Running empty on the return trip i got 13…all do to wind drag. I took off the tailgate ramp and strapped it inside the trailer and got 19.
 

rotwiler

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Odd thing happened on my yearly camping trip. Every year I go to a place Maupin Oregon, river rafting is big there. Same year I bought my 2013 Ram I went there and every year since. Every year I got 10.5 mpg there and 9.5 back towing my camper and truck loaded up. Truck has not changed(mods) , since I first went there 6 years ago, 5.7 6 speed quad cab 3:55 outdoorsman. I have had a bullydog canned tune the entire time and run premium fuel. This year was going to be around 110 degrees there and I have to go over a mountain pass, so decided I would add 2 small bottles, 11oz total of stp octane booster, I never added it before, but was worried about ping with the extreme heat and locally 94 gas is way too expensive. I decided for first time to reset the tune, I noticed in past cars the learned function would cause gradual loss of power etc and my transmission was feeling kinda sluggish. So I filled tank with 91, added 2 bottles of stp, reset computer and put tune back in. Combined weight of my Ram with trailer was around 10,500 pounds. My travel trailer is pretty rare v nose v cross vibe. On way there I got 14.5 mpg and way back 13.5. Now I am back home and getting 16.5(before was around 15 flat) but I tend to drive my Ram faster than I should. Not sure why the mileage towing went up 4mpg average. I saved almost 1 tank of fuel on trip, still confused. Every year my mpg was 10-10.5 down and 9-9.5 back. Any idea what would cause this 20%+ gain in mpg. I didn't even have fresh oil, is due now for change.
 
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09SilverRam

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I had to help a friend pick up a horse trailer that the tow vehicle had broken down. We took his dads F250 7.3L gas F250 with 4.30 rear end. Unloaded we got 14.8 on the way there, and on the way back we got 8.6 with a 10k pound 34' gooseneck horse trailer with living quarters.

I have an 09 ram 4.7L, I pull an 8x16 cargo trailer that weights right at 5k pounds (tons of wind resistance though). Running in tow haul mode I'm getting about 11mpg with the trailer.
 

PolarisCobra

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I have an enclosed snowmobile trailer. When towing it empty, or two snowmobiles in it (1300 pounds extra weight) the mileage is about the same - 12 - 13, with tow mode on. Trailer weighs about 1000 pounds empty. It is wind resistance that robs the mileage. 33.jpg
 

turkeybird56

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I have a 2016 Ram 1500 Crew cab, 3.6L V6. I bought it a couple of years ago with no thought about ever having a trailer.

Saturday we picked up our new Surveyor Legend trailer. the UVW is 3800 lb, and tongue weight is 405 lb. all the water and waste tanks were empty.

we drove about 100 miles to pick it up, most of the way on the interstate. I-70 in Indiana is pretty flat, and the wind on Saturday was negligible. at 70 mph on the freeway and 55 on about 20 miles of 2-lane, the truck got 20 mpg according to the dash display.

on the way home, same route, but cruise set at 62 on the freeway, it got 11.1 mpg. I used the "tow" mode for about half of the 80-mile stretch on the interstate, then the other half with no tow mode, with no difference in mpg according to the trip computer.

I was surprised by the almost 50% reduction. does that seem reasonable? my wife is happy because that means we need to stop every 3 hours for gas!

thanks in advance

Ken
YUP, and the sail U R pulling down the Highway luvs the wind. I get 12.5 to 13 pulling my stock trailer at 2,150 lbs whether empty or full. In actuality, always helps to have a lil weight in the trailer, pulls better, less wagging the dog. But I tow w/o a WDH as only a local tow. Would have WDH if long haul. I usually have 4,000 - 4,500 lbs of hay in trailer. Just the one hossie, only 1,300 lbs plus trailer weight. But I found regardless, I get the same mileage when pulling the trailer unless doing big hills/ etc, then U can forget it, do not look at MPG, too depressing, but it is a Gasser and A Hemi. All IMHO and personal experience.IMG_0418.jpg
 
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Jerrybob

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We tow a 17ft Casita with our rig.....about 3000 lbs....tongue weight about 400lbs. These small fiberglass trailers do not have the same wind drag as stick built trailers. We consistently get 15 to 17 mpg when towing.....when not towing....we get 20 to 21mpg. I tow at 62mph or less....we take a lot of back roads. I rarely use tow mode unless in the mountains. Love the truck and trailer.
 

rockmanm35

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On a recent trip in hilly TN and NC, I averaged 13.8 puling a 3100 pound camper. I usually get around 21. Tow haul worked well and the 5.7 with a 3.21 rear gears worked great. I did find that I watch the engine temps a little more than normal.

Bill
 

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