NJMurvin

reasonable? Most of the time was spent cruising at 65mph much of the time in OD. I'm getting about 16mpg in town now, so I expected better. Now that I think of it, it was pretty windy . . .

underwoodtransp

I think that is normal... I tow an 8k trailer with anywhere from empty to 10k on it and I average 9.5-11 depending on how fast I am going. also I have a dually with 4:10 gears. So I would say you are doing pretty well. The ford I had before struggled to pull this trailer and averaged 3-4mpg!!!! happy towin'

tobyw

I guess it depends on the load/trailer. I have three loads that I pull regularly, and these are my agerages:

1.) 24' gooseneck flatdeck with one Jeep Cherokee XJ and one 1977 Bronco, total trailer weight ~15k. At an average of ~65mph, I will see 12-14mpg. Bear in mind the loaded height of the rigs isn't all that much higher than the truck, so it's a relatively "aerodynamic" package.
2.) 14' flatdeck bumper pull with one Jeep Cherokee XJ, total trailer weight ~6k. At an average of ~65mph, I will see 13-15mpg.
3.) 25' Sandpiper T25SP toyhauler with 2 Suzuki Eiger 400 ATV's loaded for bear, total trailer weight ~10k. At at average of ~65mph, I see ~9-11mpg. This is one wind-resistant *****!!!

As you can see, for me at least, weight plays little part in economy. It has more to do with speed and the shape, if you will, of what I'm pulling.

t-15 firefighter

sounds like pretty good mileage to me. we have a 8000lb travel trailer and we average around 11mpg.

britt

Hannibal

We got 10.5mpg average with our '03 Cummins powered Ram with auto/4.10. The worst we got in some good rolling hills and headwind was 9.6mpg on one trip. Best was 12.5mpg at 58mph. Yawn... We're getting 8.5mpg average with the Hemi same 5th wheel same highways same 65-70mph. Worst was 7.2 with a strong headwind and best was 9.5mpg running 58mph flat ground no wind. You should be getting better than 9.5.

NJMurvin

I should have mentioned that my trailer is a high profile fifth wheel (wind resistant) and the terrain was Eastern Sierras into Los Angeles (a few long grades). Based on some of the comments here, I think I may be OK.

bluebull

Right in the ballpark of what you should be getting for mileage considering the load, shape, weight, wind, terreian, and speed.

wild4stangs

I pull a 10k lb 5th wheel and I average 13.5 to 15.... Speeds range from 60 to 70... I tow no problem in OD, if rpm's drop below 1700 or so, I drop out of OD...

Hannibal

Our high profile 5th is in my photo gallery. If you're in the mountains you described with rolling hills otherwise, 9.5mpg is about right.
I didn't get 15mpg towing our 19ft Aljo travel trailer with our '95 Dodge/Cummins. Amazing!

whooptide

i tow a full smoothie toybox (warrior) that weighs in over 10k when fully watered and loaded w/the bikes. i seem to average close to 12mpg and w/ a tailwind to and from even got 12.5. i'm cruising 60-65mph and encounter a handful of grades on the 395 going north to the high desert.....

blown32

10 ish MPG with a 28ft enclosed car trailer (loaded @ 8000+ lbs). Sure would like better but my gasses got 6.5 MPG with the same trailer. Bet I would do better with 4.10s or shorter tires (now 315s and 3.73s).

Lightman

Tobyw really makes some good points. The shape of the trailer and wind really do affect mpg a lot. I towed a relatively aerodynamic 9000 lbs (flatbed trailer with an 04 vette convertible and two atv's) from OH to FL. I averaged 65-70 and got 14.8mpg. Another time I towed a travel trailer that only weighed 4500lbs but was very tall, and got 12mpg.

thejeepdude

Yes, aerodymics play a large role. Here's a pic of my new toy I pulled back from Michigan:



I averaged 11.89 mpg from MI to CA, which is mostly uphill. My best tank was 13.18 and my worst was 10.82 after climbing into Colorado. I cruised around 60-62MPH most of the time, sometimes cruising up to 70MPH if I could tail a semi. Oh yeah, and one burst to 90MPH or so just to see if I could accellerate uphill... man I love this truck!

SageBrush 1

I get 10 mpg pulling 14K and 11 pulling 10K at 70 mph. Sounds normal for a 5th wheel.

SuperGewl

4301 miles; 374 gallons of fuel; All towing with the exception of 2 tanks of fuel. 11.5 mpg average mpg's. Thats going Portland, OR I84-I80-I40-I26 Charlseston, SC towing my 5VR @11klbs

Yeah, I'd say thats good mileage, average is good. I would proberly get better if I were to slow down 5mph