Towing fuel economy sucks

[Loudram]

How the heck did you pull 26? Dont think I've ever seen over 21 in our 1500!

21'?
The trailer in my sig pic is 33'. No problems at all towing it. Not sure what my MPG is yet. Only took a couple of short trips so far. I have 3.55’s with a Hemi.

 

[NorZeman]

Sure is a lotta halftons towing with 3:21’s in this thread.... wouldn’t the 3:92’s fair better?


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Yes, they likely would fair better, since towing/performance is what the 3.92s are designed for.

However, the 3.92s are a "premium" option that most dealers don't stock and don't advertise well..

My truck had everything else that I wanted, other than the gears, for what I felt was a good price. Couldn't resist jumping on it.

(Plus, wanted to offload my ford before anything else went bad on it.)

For me, it is fine. I tow heavy likely 12-18 times a year (7250lbs). And that is the heaviest I will likely ever tow with a 1/2 ton.

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[michael harpe]

21'?
The trailer in my sig pic is 33'. No problems at all towing it. Not sure what my MPG is yet. Only took a couple of short trips so far. I have 3.55’s with a Hemi.

I’m assuming the 26 refers to mpg and not length of trailer? Cause me thinks there is some confusion..[emoji848]


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[Toddbigboytruck]

Yes, they likely would fair better, since towing/performance is what the 3.92s are designed for.

However, the 3.92s are a "premium" option that most dealers don't stock and don't advertise well..

My truck had everything else that I wanted, other than the gears, for what I felt was a good price. Couldn't resist jumping on it.

(Plus, wanted to offload my ford before anything else went bad on it.)

For me, it is fine. I tow heavy likely 12-18 times a year (7250lbs). And that is the heaviest I will likely ever tow with a 1/2 ton.

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You are so right I got a 18 Laramie I believe it has everything but airbags and a good rear ended The airbag are ok but really a 3.21 I was so disappointed. But it was what it was.

 

[Loudram]

I’m assuming the 26 refers to mpg and not length of trailer? Cause me thinks there is some confusion..[emoji848]


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I wasn't sure, that's why I put the question mark. It makes sense now.

 

[madweazl]

Yea, 21mpg.

 

[fivestar]

Yes, they likely would fair better, since towing/performance is what the 3.92s are designed for.

However, the 3.92s are a "premium" option that most dealers don't stock and don't advertise well..

My truck had everything else that I wanted, other than the gears, for what I felt was a good price. Couldn't resist jumping on it.

(Plus, wanted to offload my ford before anything else went bad on it.)

For me, it is fine. I tow heavy likely 12-18 times a year (7250lbs). And that is the heaviest I will likely ever tow with a 1/2 ton.

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Same. When I bought my '18, my dealer didnt even mention 3.92's. Early this year, when I was looking to trade it in for a 2500 or a new '19, none of the 5 dealers around me had 3.92's in stock. If there was one to be found, it was in a stripped down base model which I wouldn't downgrade to. When asked about ordering a truck new with 3.92's, every dealer told me I could, but then Id lose all incentives and sale pricing. As we know, these trucks are sometimes marked down 8-10k if not more, so no thanks. Occasionally I'll get an email or two from a dealer advertising their inventory....no 3.92's to be had.

 

[fivestar]

Pulling my 6x10 enclosed v-nose trailer with a 460 lb track bike and another 300 lb of gear/stuff, I'll get 10-12 mpg. Sometimes a bit less, but never more. In my case, its definitely not the weight...it has to be the height and drag.

 

[BossHogg]

Sure is a lotta halftons towing with 3:21’s in this thread.... wouldn’t the 3:92’s fair better?

Go back to 2012 or early 2013, you go in to buy a half-ton RAM and you want it to tow. So your salesperson equips the truck with 3:92s axles and of course the only transmission was the six-speed. A couple of years later you go back to get a new RAM that can tow like your old truck. Your salesperson sells you a truck with 3:21 axle ratio with an 8-speed transmission.

You throw up a red flag because of the high axle ratio, your salesperson pulls out a comparison chart comparing the 6-speed transmission with 3:92s to the 8-speed transmission with the 3:21 axles. After a bit of studying the chart, you realize the 8-speed/3:21 ratio has better low-end gearing while offering better high gear performance.

View media item 27566

 

[Casper]

Towed a new Coleman Light trailer (7,000 lbs) Highway fuel economy dropped from 26 to 8 MPG. WTH.

***
So, a vehicle shaped like a brick, that upshifts to overdrive gears as quickly as it can without a load, is pulling a cinderblock, that precludes the tranny from using overdrive gears, gets bad mileage....and you are surprised?
Just say'n.

 

[anchorsaweigh]

Just my 2¢ worth...

If you really give a furry rats ass about fuel economy, you should be driving a Prius, not a full-sized pick-up.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled zanyness.

 

[Mudders Beast]

My enclosed tall and wide trailer toyhauler acts like a boat sail for resistance, 8-10 mph. But no problem with pulling power and keeping up in traffic. You have to pay to play. Its a CC 4wd ruck towing big stuff, in style.

 

[michael harpe]

I get 15MPG NOT towing and driving highway from the dinky town I live in to the closest major city for Walmart/Sams club.

How can anyone having a 392 ci engine wonder why they get shorty gas mileage at any time is beyond me. But I knew what I was getting into buying this thing. It sucks yes, but I love the truck. When I drove semi’s amazing gas mileage was anything over 7MPG.

Last company I worked for Mesa valley transportation (mvt) has a company average of 8.5 and their top driver in 2015 had 12mpg. Course they don’t usually run mountains and stay off I-70. Plus they use trailer tails and the moon discs for the wheels.

Anywhoo...


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[Eclipse Aries]

There are some things that can be done to improve towing gas milage. To be fair it will probably only net about 1mpg improvement, if you're lucky. Air pressure in the tow vehicle and trailer is huge as it can change rolling resistance. Dropping average speed 2-3 mpg. Making sure trailer axles are aligned. Good grease in the trailer hubs. Don't forget to account for the cargo weight in the truck (the pretty lady to your right and 2 tax exemptions in the back that are buried in their phones). Ask any fat guy, life is lot easier when you're not hauling around an extra 100 lbs of your own ass at all times.

 

[marks146]

Towed a new Coleman Light trailer (7,000 lbs) Highway fuel economy dropped from 26 to 8 MPG. WTH.

sounds about right. Why don't you answer the question and tell us about your rig?

 

[michael harpe]

Hahah 2 tax exemptions. Priceless. Shouldn’t the pretty lady be then considered a business expense?


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[dillardgl]

I have a 2018 Big Horn crewcab with 5.7 and 392 gear 2wd pulling 25’tt 5000lb empty weight. 55-60 anywhere 10-12 mpg above that and it is around 8 average. Did a 2700 mile trip in May and overall was 8. I thought it was bad until I talked to a guy pulling almost the same size to with a Ford eco boost and found out he only averaged 8 mpg. Seems to be pretty standard for gas trucks and travel trailers. As someone said wind is your biggest problem.

 

[Joe Merchak]

How the heck did you pull 26? Dont think I've ever seen over 21 in our 1500!

On the highway in the 65mph range I get 26MPG. Last fall I went to Hershey and back from northern NJ that included driving to the hotel and local roads. My MPG for the whole trip was 23.

I have a 18 Express quad cab, 6.4' bed, 20" wheels, 5.7l, 8 speed and 3.21 rear. I left the MDS on as well.


When I did the same trip this spring with MDS off based on this group I was lucky to get 18MPG.

 

[corneileous]

Go back to 2012 or early 2013, you go in to buy a half-ton RAM and you want it to tow. So your salesperson equips the truck with 3:92s axles and of course the only transmission was the six-speed. A couple of years later you go back to get a new RAM that can tow like your old truck. Your salesperson sells you a truck with 3:21 axle ratio with an 8-speed transmission.

You throw up a red flag because of the high axle ratio, your salesperson pulls out a comparison chart comparing the 6-speed transmission with 3:92s to the 8-speed transmission with the 3:21 axles. After a bit of studying the chart, you realize the 8-speed/3:21 ratio has better low-end gearing while offering better high gear performance.

View media item 27566

So then how come the 3.92 gears yields you a maximum trailer weight of 10,000 pounds for your typical shortbed, crewcab, Hemi 4x4 but that same exact truck in 3:21’s is only 8,000 max?


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[Ohio5pt7]

How the heck did you pull 26? Dont think I've ever seen over 21 in our 1500!

I pull over 24 regularly not even trying 4x4 crew cab 3.21 5.7

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