Pulling a Small Trailer...Couple of Questions

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fivestar

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So I've got a 2018 1500 5.7L with 3.21 gears. Ill occasionally pull an enclosed 6x10 v-nose trailer with a sport bike and other misc track gear. I believe the advertised weight for the trailer is about 1100 lbs and the bike is about 450,

Ill average about 9-11 mpg while pulling this set up. Flat roads or mountains headed to TN doesn't matter. Without the trailer ill get about 17 or so highway. For some reason I expected a better mpg while towing this minimal weight. I always use tow/haul mode. Speed is on the higher end though around 65-70 on the interstates. I've experimented though with lower speeds and that also doesn't seem to matter.

Is this normal in your guys's experience? I was told the mpg would increase once it "breaks in" but I've got just over 7000 miles on it now.
 

crash68

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It's probably not so much the weight as it is the wind resistance of the trailer. I tow a 24' enclosed car hauler(3K lbs) that I can get 16mgp when empty until it gets windy then it drops down to 12. Pulling the boat that weighs slightly more get close to 20mpg. Granted this is with an EcoD, you won't get similar numbers with the Hemi but I find it's the wind load that drops the fuel #s.
 

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I haul basically the same setup with my Harley in the trailer. my mileage drops from ****** to abysmally shifty, lol. I'll drop from 16 to 12. 5.7, 3.92's. If you think about it, it's a brick towing another brick.
 
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fivestar

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Yikes. Ok. Ive had a few other people tell me that something must be wrong with my truck, as they all expect better mileage with my set up. I called my dealer a few weeks ago and spoke with 3 different techs there....of course they all said it sounds about normal. They said they'd look at everything when its back in for the next oil change including a potential re flash of the computer.

So, any reason a 2500 would be better suited for these needs? Should I be looking at going with a 6.4L or a diesel next time around? I dont ever intend on pulling anything bigger. At most, Id add another 460 lb sport bike. Aside from those two bikes, I dont tow anything.
 

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Same thing happens with my snowmobile trailer. It's wind resistance that is causing the mileage drop. If I have one or two sleds in the trailer, the mileage is the same, even with the extra 500 pound sled.
 
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fivestar

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Makes sense....the few times I’ve dropped my bike off to my suspension guy the mileage is the same with or without the bike.
 

crash68

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So, any reason a 2500 would be better suited for these needs? Should I be looking at going with a 6.4L or a diesel next time around? I dont ever intend on pulling anything bigger. At most, Id add another 460 lb sport bike. Aside from those two bikes, I dont tow anything.
With that light of a load, I highly doubtful you would get any better fuel economy towing with a HD truck. Your daily driving milage will go down with an HD as the truck itself is about 2K more pounds.
The EcoDiesel would be your best best for fuel efficiency while towing something like that. When people ask Hemi or EcoDiesel, I tell them if they like the Go pedal of the Hemi your probably better off. I towed an 8K lbs 28' enclosed cargo trailer and get between 14-15mpg, there again it was fairly calm wind wise.
 
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fivestar

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Is that with the Hemi or EcoDiesel?
 

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Biggest thing I've ever towed would be my space-frame Cerka motorcycle trailer. That was behind my old "O3" Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab, 5.7 CAI, MBRP free flowing exhaust/TTI long tube headers, 3.92 gears, small fuel tank. Once up to speed on the highway I'd see the same mpg increase as if there was no trailer. For sure I'd say it's about the aerodynamics' (wind). My around town tankage would be like 450km's to a fill up. On the highway that would increase to 600 or 650km's between fill ups (not to empty mind you).

RAMnRepsol2017.jpg
 

BruceMorgan

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I haul basically the same setup with my Harley in the trailer. my mileage drops from ****** to abysmally shifty, lol. I'll drop from 16 to 12. 5.7, 3.92's. If you think about it, it's a brick towing another brick.

I get about 11-12 mpg towing a 24', 5000 lb travel trailer with my 5.7 & 3.92. When not towing, on the freeway I get around 17.

So yes, entirely normal to drop mileage. But are you sure it's 9 mpg, OP? I've read that the computer calculated "dashboard" MPG is different than than calculated by hand (gallons put into the tank / miles driven).
 
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fivestar

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Yes, calculating it by hand results an average of 10 mpg while towing my set up. The computer will read about the same if memory serves correctly.
 

BruceMorgan

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I'm going to guess that your truck gets a little lower mileage because 3.21 vs 3.92. Also I'm generally at 60-65 due to wimpy WA state speed limits.
 

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getting 17 mpg on an unloaded 3.21 truck is...pretty low. i guess it depends on your driving habits, but even when i would drive the **** out of my truck completely stock i still saw about 22mpg on the highway.

hell i average 15mpg now with a lift and 35s. i still see 19-20mpg highway hand calc. this is just based off what ive seen from my truck though. I tend to drive like...65mph on the highway on trips though.
 

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Its normal for a gas truck. Diesels see a much smaller difference in economy when towing, which is why guys who tow a lot prefer them. Unless you're towing often and long distances though the extra cost of a diesel truck and its maintenance with the loads you're pulling will be more costly overall. The 6.4 gas 2500 burns more fuel than the 1500 also.
 
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Last June while headed to The Red Mile in Kentucky for the flat track race, no trailer or bikes, I saw a high of 21 mpg. Here at home on the highway its closer to 16-18 mpg. City driving is around 13-15 mpg. All calculated by hand. The computer reads about 1 mpg higher, but I dont go by that. Especially around town, I keep my foot off the gas as much as possible. I really have no clue why my mileage is so low.

One time, and only one time, I got a real shock while towing. Not sure of the month...maybe July or August, I towed my set up to Mid Ohio for two days. I live about an hour away fyi. 90% highway...On day one, according to the computer and by hand, as verified by watching my gas gauge, I averaged about 17 mpg...It was incredible. Down and back, I burned about a 1/4 tank of fuel. Normally, one round trip results in 1/2 tank. I even filled up on my return home thinking my gauge was faulty...nope. At that point I had just crossed the 5k mile mark, so I really thought that the whole "break in" thing was correct. Weird, but accurate.

Day two was back to normal...about 10 mpg. Burned the normal 1/2 tank of gas.

The strange thing is that NOTHING changed. Not my speed, not my driving style, not my route, not even the weather....NOTHING. It was literally like a switch was flipped for that one single day.

Ive been back to Mid Ohio since these trips multiple times, and other places as well. The mpg has stayed the same since. I really have no clue what happened during that one trip.

Strange.
 

BruceMorgan

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Now I'm suspecting you have an actual problem. Maybe a bad sensor somewhere is causing the computers to run your engine a bit rich. You're still under warranty; take it to the dealer and have them run a diagnostic.
 

crash68

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hablox

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I would't be using tow mode all the time with that amount of weight. Tow mode does not allow you to go into ECO mode.
 
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fivestar

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Interesting. I'll try NOT using tow/haul mode then. IIRC, I pretty much ALWAYS use it, unless I forget...which I have sometimes starting out of my driveway.
 
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