gas mileage

Again, I performed a cost benefit analysis on the used Ford IH Powerstroke and the scales were in favor of the diesel. Admittedly I have only had it a few years but thus far it has been cost effective and the best tow vehicle I have owned (been towing since the 1970s).
 
2016 GMC 1500 5.3l engine, 6x speed tran & 3.42 rear axle ratio. Use Trailer/Haul when towing. 214WSD weighs 4000lbs+ on average.

I almost always keep it to 60mph when towing and get 10-12 mpg (US) with the trailer.

Around 20 mpg highway without the trailer, averaging 70mph

As always, "Your mileage may vary!"
 
Gas Mileage

As most others have stated, mileage is directly related to your right foot. Just finished nearly 10k mile trip from Alabama to Oregon and back (obviously, we took the long route) and averaged 12.4 for the entire trip. Towed a FF 233RBS with a '16 F-150 Crew Cab, 2.7 EcoBoost . As a daily driver, I get 24 mpg so it is in line with everyone else...figure about a 50% reduction. I also agree completely with leaving the cruise OFF. I experience about a 1.5/2 mpg drop in hilly terrain when it's on. On flat ground it works fine with little noticeable reduction. I run 62/63 mph max.
 
Using our 08 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 3.0 Liter Diesel, we get consistent 15-16. If the wind is our helper we up that to 17-18. In a very strong head wind as in the Columbia Gorge, it will drop to 13-14. Hills don't seem to matter much. We have towed over 30,000 using the Jeep.
 
Using our 08 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 3.0 Liter Diesel, we get consistent 15-16. If the wind is our helper we up that to 17-18. In a very strong head wind as in the Columbia Gorge, it will drop to 13-14. Hills don't seem to matter much. We have towed over 30,000 using the Jeep.

Although diesel gives more torque than a comparable gasoline engine, as far as milage goes, the added cost of diesel fuel negates the increase in mpg.
 
we just took a relatively short trip, about 400 round trip, through hilly terrain. Again, our van got good milage. computer said average of 16 mpg. when we got gas, we checked it with the trip meter and it was accurate. now on the way home, it was windy and didn't do as well. dash read out said 14. I was going much slower because of wind and rain. I don't know how good towing a trailer is for our van though. I find myself needing to manually choose a gear and keeping it in 5th or 4th. rpms are around 3000 to keep the speed up to between 45-50 on hills.
 
Just started towing our 2015 FF 266 KIRB with a empty weight of 5725. Brought it back from the dealer yesterday and at 60MPH thru the North Georgia area I got 8,5 bad cross wind yesterday, or headwind. I tow with a 2015 F150, 2.7 EcoBoost, factory tow package, 3.17 gears. Empty truck I get 25-28 MPG at 70-80 MPH.
 
2011 Jeep GC w/Hemi. 10-12 mpg at 65-70 mph pulling our 214WSD.

Rip5;21500, How does your Jeep GC do? I tow a 214wsd with my 14 Grand Cherokee. It doesn't do bad but it does move me around on the highway more than I would like. If yours does well, what sway control and weight distribution are you using?
thanks
Brian
 
when we towed the 1800 lb Scotty to Alaska 3 yrs ago ,we averaged 15 mpg at 55-60
yesterday coming home from south of Edmonton ( 120) miles we used 3/4 of a tank?usually use 1/4 empty. so its not as good with this 139 ,its lot higher than the old Scotty,
 

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Like mentioned before. A diesel for pulling is almost always a better choice. Most people do not pull more than 500 to 1000 miles a year. Doesn't make sense to me as most the year gas is cheaper than diesel and oil changes alone are $75 for gas and $200 to $300 for a diesel. Now if I was retired and rving full time I would look closer. I pull my trailer to Idaho from Alberta every year,1000 km each way and find it cheap to pull. $20 to $22/hr. A good used diesel is the way to go. New ones are $60000 to $100000 here in Canada. I ran a fleet of 18 diesel trucks for work and all my pickups were gas. Very few repairs as I could only charge $30/hr per pickup. Just my opinion and experience. Fuel to me is the cheapest part of trailering. I am looking at a Suburban or Yukon XL with a 8.1 liter, not for fuel economy that's for sure. Silverado
 
Just to offer my data point, my 2003 F250 7.3L Powerstroke gets 15-16 when not towing and averages 11 mpg towing our trailer. I purchased my truck from the original owner at 170,000 and paid $10,700 for it. The trans had been replaced and gauges added. I am now over 200,000 and it runs like a dream. My only regret is not switching to a diesel truck sooner. My 460 gas trucks all got 6-8 when towing.
Just my experience!
 
Since my truck is a daily driver and probably only towing with it maybe 15% of the time, I searched for several months for one with a 6.4 Hemi engine in a 2500 series.
Nearly everything I found slightly used was an oil burner that I didn't want.
I finally found what I wanted half the country away in Massachutes and had it shipped to me. Shipping to my door was $550 and no way I could fly over and drive it home for that!
 
Eagle and APD started us on Tow/Haul mode. Another data point. 2013 GMC Sierra, 5.3 gas, 6-speed trans, 3.08 rear, HD Trailering Pkg. My truck has it and I've found it drops the mileage a couple mpg when towing for me.

When I head down to the Keys, f'rex, I'm usually running with the FF up around 6,400-6,500 and the truck/trailer totaling about 13,000. That's reasonably level but not flat driving, mostly on I95. With Tow/Haul engaged, the truck spends a lot of time revving in 4th and mileage drops to 8-8.5. Normally, I deadfoot at 55-60 mph in 5th rather than drive so it doesn't keep looking for torque (60 mph in 6th is about 1400 rpm). That keeps me in the 10 and maybe 10.5 mpg range. As an aside, in 2013, the Sierra 1500 got the same "powertrain grade braking" in normal transmission mode that in earlier models operated only in tow/haul mode; it uses engine torque to slow the vehicle rather than just the brakes.

I drove down without the camper a week ago using Drive and cruise. With the speed limit of 70, I ran about 70-75 and averaged about 19.5 mpg. When I could drop back down to 55-60, the mileage soared to 22. The best leg I had on that trip was down Overseas highway with practically no stops, running 45-55 mph and logging 23.7 mpg. (That's the best leg I've had in that truck period.)
 
Dick,
Really interesting mileage numbers! Thanks for sharing.
I would only question whether Chevy rates the 6-speed tranny to be able to tow 13000 lbs total in 5th gear. In the earlier 4 speed, 4th was notably weak and band slippage could occur.
 
I takes some serious dredging to dig up the right specs for any given truck these days. I dug down and think I have most of the data. GM used two different 6-speed automatics in a wide range of rear- and rear-biased all-wheel-drive vehicles with an inline (as opposed to transverse powertrain from the Camaro SS to the 6.2l crew cab Silverado/Sierra. That includes the 5.3l Sierra like mine.

Both transmissions have a wide overall ratio spread of 6.04:1 which means a steep but not "stump puller" first gear of more than 4:1 right up to a very "tall" overdrive top gear of .67:1. 5th and 6th gears are overdrive in both. And because they use Performance Algorithm Shifting, tow/haul mode may work differently from truck to truck.

GM 6-Speed 6L50, RPO "MYB," is good to a Maximum Validated Weight of 6,613 lb (GVW) and 12,505 lb (GCVW).

GM 6-Speed 6L80, RPO "MYC," is heavier duty with a 50% higher torque rating good to a Maximum Validated Weight of 8,600 lb (GVW) and 14,000 lb (GCVW). It's also geared slightly lower (higher numerically) in first through fourth than the 6L50.

I didn't dig deeply enough so I don't know if the max ratings go up in the non-overdrive gears. I suspect they do.

Here's where it gets tricky for any owner. The build sheet shows every RPO code that goes into each vehicle; it's the only way you can be sure what options you have. Mine calls for MYC Transmission, 6-speed automatic so my truck has the GM 6L80. In my particular case, when I load to 13,000, I'm right about 90% of the transmission rating and just within the overall truck rating. Just. It also helps that I tow like an old grannie and not the one from Pasadena.

Of course, on this last trip south, I blew two low beam bulbs on the Thruway and cut a tire in the Delaware Water Gap, but that's a whole 'nother story.
 
Going back to the original post, which is pretty old, I tow my 2009 Funfinder 189fbs with a 2018 Nissan Frontier 4x4 crewcab. On my 330 mile trip from Klamath Falls, Oregon to Minden, Nevada I got 13 mpg. I kept the speed at 55-58 mph.
 
I guess I have an economy car compared to the gas guzzler numbers which many have reported. My truck is a bloated 7.3L Diesel which consistently averages 11mpg pulling 7000 lbs.
 
Not quite the same setup, but we just took our first trip with the new (to us) x189fds towed by a 2010 Nissan Titan V8. Mostly primary and secondary roads, 45-60mph. Average of 10.2 mpg.
 

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