First tow
10-01-2015, 03:19 PM
#11
Senior Member
11-04-2015, 02:09 PM
#12
Far from 12mpg
Pulling a travel trailer very similar in size and weight as you have described. my 2011 S/crew 4x4 with 5.0L and 3.55 gears. I think you will be pleasantly surprised pulling with the truck. Living in the Northwest we see lots of hills - and a few passes in the 3000 foot range. Worst tank I saw was about 11 mpg. Last couple runs are seeing 11.5-12.0 mpg at highway speeds around 65 mph. dont typically want to go much faster. I do have a weight distribution hitch, and just went ahead and replaced rear shocks with Monroe Load Adjusting Shocks. Much more stable ride and they don't appear to significantly affect unloaded ride. I do run with the truck in Tow/Haul mode. this helps with both shifting up as well as slowing down the rig without use of the brakes. Truck will typically run in 5th gear (no hills). Only saw it hit 6th gear on nice flat roads.
11-04-2015, 07:15 PM
#13
@ MisterL:
What engine/ gear ratio do you have? In 4th gear at 70 mph, what were your rpms?
If the truck is only in 5th for a short time than 'kicking out' it might be best to lockout 5th and 6th. You will not damage the engine running at higher RPMs. They were designed for it.
Welcome to the forums!
What engine/ gear ratio do you have? In 4th gear at 70 mph, what were your rpms?
If the truck is only in 5th for a short time than 'kicking out' it might be best to lockout 5th and 6th. You will not damage the engine running at higher RPMs. They were designed for it.
Welcome to the forums!
Last edited by nihilus; 11-04-2015 at 07:21 PM.
11-04-2015, 07:25 PM
#14
Senior Member
Peak torque at 3850..... Why are you driving 70? Slow down
11-05-2015, 06:27 PM
#16
First tow with my new truck went good. I have a 2015 with the 5.0, it's a crew cab lariat fx4. My camper is a 33ft coachman catalina. The dry weight is around 6700lbs and I figure I had probably another 750lbs of gear in the camper and 500lbs in the truck. My gas milage wasn't great, about 8.5 mpg. About what I expected. I set my hitch up so the truck was level according to the on board level in the truck. My only thoughts was it stayed in 4th gear the majority of the trip. Does that seem right. It was about a 400 mile trip that started out on flatter roads in Florida and ended on some hills in middle GA.
I would highly recommend on running over a scale on your next trip, it will really help you know where you are at as far as weight and how you have your hitch set up.
11-05-2015, 06:39 PM
#17
tTook the new truck out the weekend before last and have to say that im not sure how i feel about it. First off the gas mileage was gar from 12mpg. The camping location is about 50 miles away from my house and pretty much a straight shot on flat roads. It showed that the average was between 7.9 and 8.8 mpg. Second it never wanted to shift out of 4th gear. When it did it was after i got up to 70mph and let off the accelerator. But it wasnt in 5th for long. I dont expect to see 6th gear but why am i not seeing 5th. I guess my main concern is that if im traveling and towing my camper and it never comes out of 4th what kind of damage is being done besides getting horrible gas mileage? Is it the tow/haul button? Should i not use it on flat areas? Like i said in previous post this is all new to me but seems like something isnt right. Thanks as always.