I have had my truck about one year now. I didn't own a trailer so I hadn't pulled anything with it. This weekend I purchased a 10' utility trailer and pulled it home about 70 miles empty. I have the tow package but not the pro version.

My experience was that I could fill it when hitting small bumps in the road. Is this normal? (Not bad but I could fill it) Will it be less noticeable or more so when loaded?

Just by the fuel usage chart on the dash it looked as if I was getting about 3-4 MPG less. Will it drop much with the trailer loaded? The trailer is rated for about 2,300 lbs. payload.

Thanks in advance for responses
Boomer

I tried normal and tow mod and could not tell a difference. Does it make a difference with the trailer loaded?

 

The trailer will be more stable with some weight as long as it is distributed evenly and not overloaded. The 3.5 eco probably won't know 2000 pounds is back there. Yes, expect more fuel usage. The transmission will shift and use gears differently with a heavy tow but maybe not with only 2000 pounds.

 

I would think with that truck it should barely be noticeable. I have a 6x12 cargo trailer that I have pulled with a Nissan Frontier (definitely know it's there) and a Jeep Grand Cherokee ( hardly feel it). The trailer will smooth out when you put some weight on it and the suspension is loaded. Does your truck by itself, feel bouncy and unsettled? have thought about changing your shocks?

Weight will affect mileage but mostly the wind drag is the cause.

My cargo trailer is rated at 3000 # the limit, here at least, that trailer brakes are not required. I think your truck is rated to 7000 #

Maybe, maybe not it's something you'll have to try. That really isn't much weight to pull.

 

 

You say it is a utility trailer - does it have a ramp gate?

I had a 16' tandem axle utility trailer with ramp gate. When empty it rode terribly because of the weight of the gate on the very rear of the trailer. I could feel every little bump in the road with the trailer. But when loaded even with a little weight it pulled like a dream.

As far as gas mileage I found those ramp gates put a heck of a lot of air drag on the rig. Mine would not lay flat being it had an assist spring on it. One long trip I made to pick up a car 250 miles away I got nearly the same gas mileage empty as I did loaded on the way home. You wouldn't think the open mesh gate would have much drag but it does.

 

The other day I borrowed my buddy's double axle dump trailer (4000lbs empty) and it towed awesome. Then I went to get some gravel. I had no idea how much gravel weighed while standing there so I asked the young lady driving the bucket loader to just drop a single scoop into the trailer and she promptly obliged. Then I got to the weigh scale and it turns out a single scoop is 3400KG (7500lbs). I know that was somewhat over the tow limit on my 2015 w/2.7l but I only had a 20 minute drive with a single long steep up-hill out of town. I was surprised at how well it towed. I was able to slowly accelerate up the hill and then on flat ground, it was fine. The trailer brakes worked superbly and the truck didn't complain about anything. In tow mode, the transmission will downshift when braking which, with an 11,500lb trailer, helped a lot. I reset the mileage gauge and at 90kph (55mph), I averaged 18.4l/100km (12.75 mpg) on that short journey.

I won't tow that much again but I can have confidence in the truck when I do tow something closer to my actual tow limit.

 

Thanks to everyone for their responses.
Yes it has a ramp. I went out this morning and checked. The way it is designed it will not lay forward. Y'all have confirmed my thoughts. It should tow better with a load on it. Thanks!
I'm not going to be towing it that much so I can live with the decrease in fuel economy. Right now I have about ten loads of fire wood to haul to the house. I'll start on it as soon as it dries up around here so I won't tear up the grass.

 

As I recall people from Ohio don't say y'all. One thing I liked about it.

 

LOL.... I try not to sound like a northerner and say you'ns I live in the very southern part of Ohio. I can see KY from my front porch. I have ancestors buried in PA north of Pittsburgh.

 

Yup - use your trailer and enjoy it. I only took mine that one time out of my area - other than that the mileage hit doesn't really matter. Now if I were buying a trailer to use on the highway all the time it would be a different story.