son heading home towing camper

[averageguy]

Damn near everything is legal towing in Michigan, so I have heard.

This is.
https://www.tfltruck.com/wp-content...ty-towing-5th-wheel-boat-double-1024x611.jpeg

 

[dhay13]

Well he is is Wisconsin now and getting ready to pull in for the night. He put about 700 miles on today. He had the cruise set at 63 for awhile but did bump it to 67 for a little while to keep up with traffic. He said it is towing great. Rear truck tires are at 81 hot and the fronts are at about 70 hot, can't remember. The trailer tires are at 70. The sticker on the camper and the tires say max 80. Hitch can't be lowered anymore. It is a Husky Centerline TS and is on the lowest set of holes so can't get any lower. The truck is a 100% stock 2018 2500 6.4 4.10's CC 4x4 Outdoorsman with off-road package.

He said his mileage went up a little. He did say with his cruise set at 63 coming through Ohio and Indiana he was getting about 8.2 MPG. The one tank he was going slower near Chicago due to traffic and got 9.7.

 

[NewBlackDak]

Seems a bit low, but not unreasonable. I got 8.1 today towing my 10K lb fifth wheel into a pretty stiff headwind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dhay13]

Not sure about the winds. I do know at one point today he said it was 94* where he was so I'm sure that didn't help.

 

[tidefan1967]

Not sure about the winds. I do know at one point today he said it was 94* where he was so I'm sure that didn't help.

I hope he got an oil change before the long trip. If it was up to the dealer he bought it from it still had the factory fill in it. I don't think I would want to run the OLM down to damn near zero on the factory oil with that much hard towing.

 

[dhay13]

I hope he got an oil change before the long trip. If it was up to the dealer he bought it from it still had the factory fill in it. I don't think I would want to run the OLM down to damn near zero on the factory oil with that much hard towing.

yeah it was changed right before he picked it up. said yesterday it was at about 85% already...lol

anyone familiar with campers? He has a 2018 Grand Design Imagine 2670MK he is towing. He puled into a truck stop last night but had no electricity and couldn't run his air. He said it was pretty warm in there, too warm to sleep. Said it took about 4 hours to cool down enough to sleep. Is it possible to crack a few windows while driving? I'm thinking it isn't a good idea but just wondered it he pulled over a few miles before his stop and opened a few windows just enough to let air flow through them to cool it down a little before his next stop?

also, his water system isn't pumping off of 12V. He had always been hooked up to city water before this. i remember when we winterized it there was a valve or something that we had to switch in the front cubby to get water to flow through the pump but the whole side panel has to come off the box in the storage cubby to do that. i wouldn't think it would be that much trouble to switch if it was something that had to be done often? other than that not sure why it isn't working. i will try called the dealer he bought the camper from here in a little bit but figured i'd ask here. her will be sleeping in it again tonight then should be at the site Tuesday morning. He is leaving Mauston, WI this morning

 

[AFMoulton]

yeah it was changed right before he picked it up. said yesterday it was at about 85% already...lol

anyone familiar with campers? He has a 2018 Grand Design Imagine 2670MK he is towing. He puled into a truck stop last night but had no electricity and couldn't run his air. He said it was pretty warm in there, too warm to sleep. Said it took about 4 hours to cool down enough to sleep. Is it possible to crack a few windows while driving? I'm thinking it isn't a good idea but just wondered it he pulled over a few miles before his stop and opened a few windows just enough to let air flow through them to cool it down a little before his next stop?

also, his water system isn't pumping off of 12V. He had always been hooked up to city water before this. i remember when we winterized it there was a valve or something that we had to switch in the front cubby to get water to flow through the pump but the whole side panel has to come off the box in the storage cubby to do that. i wouldn't think it would be that much trouble to switch if it was something that had to be done often? other than that not sure why it isn't working. i will try called the dealer he bought the camper from here in a little bit but figured i'd ask here. her will be sleeping in it again tonight then should be at the site Tuesday morning. He is leaving Mauston, WI this morning

Was he plugged into a hook up? 30amp 120v is the only way A/C will work. Check breakers?

Does he have the 12v cutoff switch off?

Did he turn his water pump on and/or have his fresh water tank full?

I would not open windows. If he has a rooftop vent with a cover on it he could open that slightly, that should circulate air.

2018 2500 6.4 4x4 4.10 Amsoil SS 0w-40, Softopper
Black Rhino Armory 18x9 +12mm
Cooper St MAXX LT295/70R18

2016 Durango 5.7 AWD 3.07 Redline 5W-30 RP 10-48
1996 Nissan Altima 2.4 Amsoil SS 5W-30

 

[kyleb8077]

This is.
https://www.tfltruck.com/wp-content...ty-towing-5th-wheel-boat-double-1024x611.jpeg

I'd have to break out all the fingers and toes to figure that one out.

 

[Randy Grant]

I pull a 9000# fifth wheel, and on a trip from Tuscon to central Washington averaged 10 mpg wit a 2019 Limited, e-torque at 55-60. Played around with the speed a little on the flats, and found the sweet spot. Truck loves 55 mph when towing, and never had a problem. As speed increases, mpg falls off radically. Keep the speed down and be safe. Let the fools pass you. At 60 mph you are getting 1 mile-1 min. At 75 you are getting 1.25 mi per 1 min. So, a 3 hr trip gains 30 miles for the 3 hr for roughly a 10% gain in time, but a nearly 20% loss in economy. I guess it depends on how much your time is worth, and if the danger to yourself, family, and other drivers is worth.

 

[Toddbigboytruck]

When I travel with my trailer I always travel with a https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-watt-super-quiet-inverter-generator-63584.html. Picked it up on sale and when I travel i care a few gallons of water in the take so I can boondock ( living with no utilities) Did your son put water in the water tank. And as the same as mentioned is the pump on I believe there is a battery shut off it need great reading his adventure

 

[dhay13]

yeah he put water in the tank before he left and the 12V is on as he has lights and he turned the switch on on the wall where the controls are. his looks like the picture posted above and he turned the switches to go from city to fresh. i called the dealer but the service lady has no idea how t works so she is going to have a tech call me when he gets a chance.

he is just now crossing the St. Croix river into Minnesota on I94. He filled up at the TA stop a few miles before the river about 10 minutes ago. He filled up this morning in Mauston, WI where he spent the night so 1 tank of gas down today already...lol.

 

[sam darakjy]

I have a 2018 6.4 CC Tradesman 4x4 with only 500 miles. Surprisingly averaging about 14.3 in the city so far with no towing or payload. Getting ready to purchase a Northstar truck camper which will probably be about 2700 lbs wet. Interested to see how much it comes down.

 

[OMW2SKI]

I don't like to drive fast while towing. Generally, I keep it around 60-65 MPH. However, at times, I've towed a little faster. There are an awful lot of folks on the forum that think towing at 55-60 MPH is safer. I wonder about that... Around here, on the freeways, I get my doors blown off if I'm only going 55-60 MPH. People brake hard or swerve at the last minute to pass if I'm only driving 55-60 MPH. On our trip to Oregon, some of the freeways had speed limits up to 80 MPH. Semis were driving at least that fast and many cars were driving much, much faster. Towing at 55-60 MPH seemed dangerous when the flow of traffic was so much faster. I do agree, MPG's definitely go up if I keep it 60-63 MPH while towing. At 70 MPH, there is a huge penalty!

 

[dhay13]

Well hw is getting close to the ND border on I94. These last couple of stretches he has been getting almost 10 MPG probably due to flatter terrain. Last stop was in Alexandria, Minnesota. Next stop is Valley City, ND, just past Fargo. So far so good. truck and trailer are doing fine, as well as the driver...lol. He will probably be sleeping in Bismarck or Dickinson, depending on how late it gets. Tomorrow he will only have to drive 2-3 hours to get to his destination (Watford City, ND). Funny thing is when I was calling around for tow mirrors for him my local dealer said only 10 dealers in the country had them in stock and one of them was in Dicknson...lol.

This was his last stop in Alexandria, MN

 

[dhay13]

Well he has parked it for the night. 634 miles today. He only has about 170 miles left. Fargo says elevation is 900' and where he is going it is 2100'. Bismarck is 1700' and he is just past there so quite a hill climb today. He got about 7.5 MPG today towing. Said he was going about 60-65 MPH today. Tomorrow he will stop in Dickinson, ND for fuel (90 miles from where he is now) then head north to Watford, ND up over a mountain. He could probably make it all the way on this tank but earlier he said it was reading about 6.5 MPG so if he only gets 5 or so on the mountain then he will be cutting it close. Curious to see how it is going up that mountain...lol.

Will update tomorrow.

 

[0rion]

Probably figured it out by now but sounds like his bypass valves were still turned for winterizing. Probably 2 valves....one to switch from short hose that you draw antifreeze from to the water tank and another that bypasses the hot water heater.
If he was plugged into shore power and ac didn't work I would check breakers first. If not plugged into shore power or a gen ac won't work.
Doesn't sound to me like he's doing terrible on gas really. I love my Cummins when towing though. I tow ~10k fifth wheel. Went 330 miles across Virginia out of PA in July and probably could've done it on 1 tank.....or very close to it. I never push it so I stopped once for fuel and got to my destination with 3/4 tank or better.

 

[tidefan1967]

I pull a 9000# fifth wheel, and on a trip from Tuscon to central Washington averaged 10 mpg wit a 2019 Limited, e-torque at 55-60. Played around with the speed a little on the flats, and found the sweet spot. Truck loves 55 mph when towing, and never had a problem. As speed increases, mpg falls off radically. Keep the speed down and be safe. Let the fools pass you. At 60 mph you are getting 1 mile-1 min. At 75 you are getting 1.25 mi per 1 min. So, a 3 hr trip gains 30 miles for the 3 hr for roughly a 10% gain in time, but a nearly 20% loss in economy. I guess it depends on how much your time is worth, and if the danger to yourself, family, and other drivers is worth.

You're pulling a fifth wheel with a 1500? Better you than me!

 

[dhay13]

not sure if he figured out the water issue. i talked to him last night and he had just got done eating and was waiting on the camper to cool down a little. no shore power or gennie. he is sleeping at truck stops on the way. i know when we winterized it last year the manual said to pull the panel off the underneath thru storage area where the city hookup was that was shown in an earlier picture and to turn a valve in there but it was already turned. i think i left it that way IIRC so that might be the issue. that storage area is packed so he said he isn't messing with it now. he will be at his destination in a few hours and be back on city hookups

 

[dhay13]

UPDATE: he made it to the campgrounds in Watford City, ND about 20 minutes ago. It's an indoor RV park so his camper will be basically in a garage if they have a spot for him. They told him yesterday they had an opening but it's first come, first served. Said he only got about 6.5 MPG from Dickinson to Watford City but it was going through a mountain so that would be expected. Truck was flawless from what I heard.

 

[Ron Goldman]

I get 11 mpg at 59mph., pulling 7200# w/2017 ram 1500 5.7, 8spd, 3:92 dif. Any faster is dangerous and is probably doing harm to drive train. I constantly get passed by idiots pulling 5th wheels at 70+. Slow down, you will get there. No excuse to go any faster.