189 FDS/FBS owners what do you tow with and what mileage

We tow a 2008 189 FBS with a 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD with an 8.1 L V-8 engine and five speed Allison transmission. On a recent trip from Washington state to glacier national Park, 1600 miles round-trip we averaged 9.7 miles per gallon

Great tow vehicle passed everything except gas stations :)
 
No slide out here but we tow with a Jeep Liberty 3.7 liter V6. But we would not take it to the mountains. It's what we had. We weighed it on a truck scale with full holding tanks and we were close to maxed. That was not good. We get 11.5 mph.
With our 32 fifth wheel and Ford F-350 7.3 Liter International turbo diesel we got 11 mpg with the rig. Towing it all over the country for 11 months.
 
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We thought our Jeep WJ w/6cyl would pull our 189... but the first few short trips showed that it was too much for it.
Found this Buick Rainier with the 5.3l under the hood, and that has made a world of difference. The buick gets 18 or so daily to work, and around 12 pulling the rig.

We just picked up the canoe, and we'll see this weekend if it helps us 'cut' the air.
Off to Trap Pond State Park in slower Delaware.
 

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2016 GMC Denali HD duramax diesel gets 11-12 mpg towing at 70 mph with cruise control set. Truck averages 19-20 mpg cummuting to work.

Toy hauler is a 2012 XT276
 
Hi Bruce,
I apologize for my late post... I thought I posted way back, but couldn't find it... :rolleyes:

I have an '08 Cruiser FF Xtra - 190XT Toy Hauler (almost 20' long) and I pull it with a '13 Chevy 1/2 ton crew cab Silverado Max Tow, with a cab high camper shell. It has a 6.2L gas and a 6 spd Allison Automatic Trans with trailer tow switch & manual override switch, and 4x4. The truck is factory set setup at a maximum tow weight of 10,900 lbs.

My first pulls with this truck and trailer (partially loaded) and at 60 - 65 mph were much better than my old Blazer at about 7 mpg, and ran at an average close to 10 mpg. However when fully loaded, including a 600# ATV in the trailer, my mileage dropped to an average around 9... :(

I pulled the wind deflector (Wing) off the Blazer and modified it to fit the Silverado and it made a huge difference. With the wing mounted on the top of the camper shell and positioned as close to the trailer as possible... about 7 feet forward of a direct line from the trailer (a maximum of 6 feet is recommended), my mileage jumped a solid 3 mpg... Two trips to AZ & S. Cal and back to MN (about 10K miles total), my mileage averages now at a solid 12 mpg... AND without the ATV, mileage runs closer to 14 mpg, and NO wind effect when passing or meeting trucks... :D

In my set up, I always pull in trailer mode (It acts like a converter lock-up) and found the Cruise control, and speed to be two critical variables. With cruise control ON, the truck swifts often and mileage drops... with cruise control OFF, I can drive a little faster downhill and a bit slower uphill to keep tranny in the gear I want, increasing mileage.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing...
 

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We pull our 189 FBR with a 2010 Honda Pilot and get between 10 and 12 miles per gallon averaging about 60 mph. Have traveled in the CO mountains and to Alaska without any trouble
 
First Trip with our new trailer

We finally took our FF X189FBR out for its first trip. We travelled at total of 334 miles round trip, camped 3 nights, and got 15.8 MPG.

We pull with a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with 3.0L Diesel engine. The Jeep allows tongue weight up to 800 pounds and with trailer weight limit of 7500 pounds.

Fully loaded we are usually about 9600 pounds but I didn't weigh in on this trip.
 

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I know this is an old thread but I figured I'd put my tow rig info here. I have a 2012 189FBS with a slide out. I am towing it with a 2007 Jeep Liberty 4x4 with the factory towing package. I'm very focused on weight so here are the specs:

Jeep Liberty 4x4 with towing package is rated for 5000lbs towing. (A 4x2 Liberty is limited to 3500lbs.) Combined gross vehicle weight (CGVW) of my Liberty and trailer is limited to 10,100 lbs. Tongue weight limit of the Jeep is 750lbs. Base tongue weight of the trailer is 290lbs. Curb weight of the 189FBS is a few pounds shy of 3000lbs. Jeep curb weight with one passenger and a full tank of gas is 3900lbs. Add my dogs and a passenger and the Jeep is about 4100lbs. No gear is loaded into the Jeep when we travel. I weighed all of the gear that we load into the trailer and it is about 250 lbs of which most is loaded over the axles to avoid increasing the tongue weight much. We will never carry any water in the fresh tank or in the gray/black water tanks while driving so that doesn't add to the weight. We tend to only take a few days of food/beverages at a time so I estimate another 150 lbs. for eats and clothing/toiletries.

So, 4100lbs for the Jeep and 3400 lbs. for the trailer loaded = 7500 lbs CGVW. This is 2600 lbs less than the rated limit CGVW of the Liberty and 1600 lbs less than its tow limit. With a weight distributing hitch with anti-sway, the Liberty is a fine towing vehicle for our 189 FBS...when loaded like I load it. If you load up the trailer with water and/or lots of heavy gear, it may not be. I try to keep the speed at 60mph or less and I'm averaging between 9 and 11 mpg. Turn off the overdrive and be prepared to get the RPMs up when going up grades. Make sure you have your brake controller setup properly and stopping is not a problem.

Your mileage may vary...literally. :)
 
We have 2005 160T I think. Anyways 16 foot single axle. Got this summer and have been towing with 2001 Durango with 5.9L engine. Seems to tow ok around 60-65. As for gas mileage I seem to be getting an average of 10.8. This next year going to be towing with 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS. Hoping to get closer to 15 with that but upon reading what others are getting that might not be the case. Guess I will find out this next year after I get antisway bar, air bags and probably equalizer hitch.

I tend to stay out of OD unless coasting down a hill as I rather not lug the engine nor worry about heating up the transmission.
 
It was said earlier - all about frontal space, aka drag. Towing a big brick that is taller than the tow vehicle versus the prior pop-up camper which was a flat, low drag trailer back "there."
I towed my 210UDS with Nissan Titan (rated to tow 9500lbs.) A dismal 8-9mpg with such a tiny tank. I was practically going from exit to exit refueling. I barely crawled up the Rockies, through the Tetons, etc.
Now-I roll with an F350, 6.7 diesel. I replaced the stock fuel tank with a 57-gallon Transfer Flow and we go! I run about 16-17 mpg empty. 12mpg with my 210UDS. BUT-I then throw a 3000lb truck bed camper in the F350 and pull the 210UDS. I get about 9mpg. But who's complaining? 57 gallons at 9mpg. My range is 450 miles+.
I barely know that I'm towing or that the truck bed camper is loaded. My speed is limited by those notorious trailer tires rated at 60mph limit, which I push all the time. That's just me.
 
runner, if you are interested in tires with a higher speed rating, check out the new Goodyear Endurance.

And back on topic, I tow a tiny X-139 and still get just 10 mpg -- it's the air resistance.
 
And back on topic, I tow a tiny X-139 and still get just 10 mpg -- it's the air resistance.

Oh! oh! I can help with this -- take up kayaking! When we tow without the kayak(s) we get about 9-11 miles per gallon, when we tow with the kayak we get 13 to 15 LOL just put them in the back at a slant and they create an airfoil that helps overcome the wind resistance of the camper.

Liz
 

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Oh, and PS We tow bare, we don't have a WDH or sway bars or anything and we never even know the trailers back there. And with all the stuff I have in it, appliances etc, memory foam mattress... I'm sure it weighs a bit
 
The only posted comment you can take to the bank is "your mileage may vary". I find that it is directly related to your right foot. I pulled my 233RBS (4800#dry) 10,000 miles from Alabama to Oregon and back last spring. I averaged 12.4 for the entire trip pulling with a 2.7 Ford Ecoboost in an F150. Some spots I was getting 8...if I found a friend to draft, got as much as 15. As I prefer back roads, speed was usually 60ish but never over 65 (tires). So plan on 10 or 11 and smile at your friends in their class c who are getting 6!
 
Just bought a new tow vehicle last month. If you look at post #33, you can see that I had been towing with a Jeep Liberty. Upgraded to a 2019 F150 Supercrew with the max towing option and the 3.5L motor (375hp and 470ft/lbs of torque). What a difference! The Liberty was pushing the limits of its towing capabilities (even with the towing package) when the trailer was loaded and packed for a trip. Plus it was lifted and that made towing a white knuckle experience on winding roads. The new F150 scoffs at the little 189 behind it. Through the rolling hills here in VA, I get about 10.5-12.5 MPG. Without the trailer, I get about 22. We could have gone with a smaller motor for sure but I wanted to future proof my tow vehicle knowing that we will likely get a bigger camper next season.
 

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