SkiSmuggs

Vermont to Virginia, Livernois 87 tow tune, 91/93 octane, cruise control set at 60 mph, 10.4 mpg towing over 8500 lbs of fifth wheel. I am pleased.

RedOne

Just got back from the Smoky Mountains National Park area instead of the Finger Lakes area. 511 miles towing each way. 93 octane got 11.2 down there and back with the cruise sitting at 64 mph, until the last 100 miles when we had a 30+ mile cross/head wind. It was 8 something at best for that stretch.

mikenannie

We just returned from our first long trip pulling our trailer. 300 miles each way, northern Indiana to Ludington, Michigan. This is mostly a flat route until you get about 20 miles south of Ludington where you run into a few long hills.

Our trailer is a Sunset Trail 20CK, about 4800# loaded with a full tank of fresh water. Our Eco is 100% stock, and it's just me and my wife, a road trip grill and two folding chairs in the truck.

On the trip up, we got 10.2 mpg cruising at about 63-64 mph with cruise control set most of the way. On the trip home, slightly lighter since we used most of the fresh water, we got 10.6 mpg at about 62 mph with cruise. The truck was in 6th gear most of the time.

I was a little disappointed since this is about the mpg we got with our Honda Ridgline pulling the same trailer over the same route. And based on my reading here, I thought we would do better.

The trailer has a rounded fiberglass front cap and is pretty aerodynamic compared to a 'normal' flat front TT.

Our truck only has about 2500 miles on it, so I'm hoping mpg will improve with more miles. All mpg calls were done by hand by the way. I do like the 36 gal tank becuase we can make the 300 mile trip none stop!

On a 250 mile road trip further north during our week, we got 18.8 mpg without the trailer, mixed driving. I was happy with that.

Here is a picture of our truck and travel trailer.

EcoboostKev

Your mpg should get better than that. From what I can see from your picture you have the max tow pkg which also means you have 3.73 gears. That is the same as my truck and my trailer is 32' and weighs 7500lbs loaded. I have averaged between 10.0-10.6 mpg depending on head winds and steep grades. What are you averaging for mileage when not towing?

mikenannie

You're correct, max tow 3.73. Just added my sig line.

I'm averaging 16-17 around town, mixed driving. I'm pretty easy on the truck, just a few pushes on the pedal for fun every now and then .

EcoboostKev

I think you will notice a difference in mileage when you rack up a few more miles on your truck. I honestly didn't start getting decent mileage until around 10,000 miles with my truck. I was only averaging 13-14mpg around town and 17-18mpg on the highway in the beginning. Now I'm getting mid 15's around town and up to 20.5mpg on the highway with a light foot. I have to say that I love the color of your truck. Your making me second guess the choice I made with the silver.

mikenannie

Thanks! We were originally thinking about getting Tuxedo Black, but since we were looking at 2012s with the rebates, our choices were limited when trying to find a properly equipped truck. After seeing the Candy Red, that became our first choice. Our truck was located in Saginaw, MI about 200 miles away.

I don't think the photos do it justice

acadianbob

Not so sure about that. 11'ish at 60 mph is about what you can expect; and it drops dramatically with just a few mph increase. Also, IMO, it is more about wind resistance than weight.

EcoboostKev

That is some what true since these trailers are nothing more than BIG bricks behind our trucks. But considering his trailer has almost the same shape front end as mine when considering aerodynamics and his weighs almost 3000lbs less then mine. He should definitely be averaging better mpg than me.

SkiSmuggs

Just got home yesterday from a Vermont to Virginia (10.4 mpg) and back again. I got 11.1 for the trip back and it was 11.4 until I got into NY and VT with more rolling hills. It was so nice having my own bed, etc and not living out of suitcases. I plan to do this more often as I got better mileage than I expected and the savings on motels made up for the extra fuel costs. Spent much of the trip in the yards/driveways of friends and family.
93 octane and the 87 tow tune worked out well. Now that the camping season is over, I will switch to the 87 performance tune for the winter.