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So I have not had the opportunity to really try my luck with heavy trailer towing. Short of a few trips hauling downed trees out of the way on my grandfathers farm, I have not needed to even use tow/haul mode. However I still have been impressed with the EcoBoost while hauling my little pop up. Its gross weight is only around 3,000lbs fully loaded for a week out. I then get to toss the coolers, fishing gear, and extras into the bed without having to worry about overall weight.
The last trip we did was down south and I was pretty happy with my mileage. 95% highway running about 70mph and averaged 20mpg on the way down. That was far better than my old S-10 did hauling that same trailer without all the extra crap, I mean stuff, my wife put in it once we bought a real truck. By the end of the trip we had over 2k miles and averaged 18.5mpg with my playing on the forest service paths for a few days.
We are very happy with our choice in trucks at this point, and I look forward to getting a full frame trailer in the future. On a related topic does anyone have any experience towing a 16'ish camper in the range of 4k-6k lbs? I would be interested to know about what mpg I can expect with the added wind resistance.
The more aerodynamic front end you get on the TT is going to have a huge affect on the mpg. An upright front end will really hurt you.
Look at the "sail area" and slope of every trailer you look at.
I posted in the first thread here my experience with mpg, but with only 5,000 pounds total,or so, I think yo should be able to get low teens for mpg.
Heaviest thing I have towed with mine so far is my 20' John boat. Total package probably weighs in at 3000lbs loaded so not too heavy. 600 mile round trip averaged 13mpg running 70-75 in hilly areas. Way better than my 02 did at 9mpg...
Is the Trailer Toad squirrelly at all? How is the sway with it?
Not at all!! I think even less tendency to sway than without it.
I hardly know the rig is back there. I still have my OE 20" P-metric tires on the truck, and the rig just pulls straight and solid. I've got about 4000 miles towing with the Trailer Toad, and I think it may smooth out the towing experience even better than without it.
The only minor issue is when backing. The Toad has a vertical pivot so it can go around turns. Before backing up I have to get out to lock the pivot plate - then it backs up just like you normally back a trailer, but I can't turn very far when backing. I try to avoid backing up, and that's not a problem at any tracks I visit where there's plenty of room to maneuver around in the paddock area to park trailers without backing up. I've never had any problems maneuvering around through gas stations, etc.
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It was in the page or two of this thread....enclosed tandem @ 7K lbs (typical). Based on reading over the last couple of years, I think I get better tow mpg than the eco which makes sense considering a turbo's efficiency maxes out at 75%.
Unloaded it is no contest on mpg. You guys win hands down.
Did this on Friday. One-time 500 mile round trip with about 6,000 pounds of buffel grass seed that totaled almost 10k pounds. Yes, a WDH would have been a smart idea but this trailer was being sold at auction the next day. Truck handled it juuuust fine.
I normally tow a 3000# cargo trailer and could feel rear end wiggle on corners. It just felt odd. I added a Helwig rear swaybar and it helped tremendously.
03-04-2015, 12:20 PM
I think even less tendency to sway than without it.
