Disappointing Gas Mileage When Towing

[98lincoln]

I was never thrilled with the overall gas mileage on my '07 V8 Limited. Just reading a post a few minutes ago, I suspect a big part of it could the tow package. If it has a 3.73 rear end, that would be part of it!

What is more disappointing is how the fuel economy plummets ( 9 mpg) when I am towing my 21 ft. Flagstaff Micro Lite travel trailer. I don't tow that often, but I sure don't like the prospect of such poor mileage.

Maybe I should get a real truck? I know someone with a new F150 V6 Ecoboost and he raves about it. He is pulling a much larger trailer and gets 20 mpg towing! (Sigh) I must suffer from "F150 envy" I guess.

 

[Davidm53]

Think all the V8s have the 3.55, with or without the tow package. The V6 package has the 3.73, 3.55 without it.
I don't tow with mine, not sure how to help with the mileage, but it's discussed all over the forum.

 

[joecrna]

9 mpg towing seems about right. Maybe a little low for that trailer. Ecoboost or not, 20 mpg towing anything, Id have to see and do the calculations myself. its just noyt going to happen.

 

[EX-SV]

Overall mileage on my 07 Explorer V8 (not towing) is about what I expected. Average over last 18K miles of suburban/urban driving has been 15mpg. Sure that's a bit mediocre, but it's a 4wd 5000 pound truck.

20 mpg towing claims are just that, undocumented claims.

 

[JDC81]

I get about 9mpg when towing our Startcraft Travel trailer with or without the hypertech econ program, sucks but it beats getting a new vehicle to save $$ on gas. To get an ecoboost f150 you'd be spending around $35k im guessing, and how much would you save in gas per year? and i'm not sure about the 20mpg while towing, the other sites ive been on owners have reported 8-12mpg while towing depending on what their towing etc....

 

[NORDFORD]

Economy while towing is a myth

My uncle has an ecoboost. It gets 21-22 empty on the hwy. Towing it goes down to 15 or less depending on the trailer.

The V8 explorer is not designed to get good MPG. Mine gets about 11 around town and 17 - 19 on the hwy.

 

[willied]

Like the others said, no one gets 20 mpg in an F-150 with a decently sized trailer. I mean, I could see 20 mpg on the highway with an empty jet-ski trailer, but otherwise it's just not going to happen.

 

[bojans]

My experience has been doing better than 12mpg with more than 3,000 lbs behind you requires a diesel.... And yes, that includes an experience with an Ecoboost.

 

[htrdlncn]

On the offshoreonly.com boating board there is a huge thread on the eco boost, consensus is 18-21 empty 9-13mpg towing depending on land and terrain,
Speed is a big factor when towing,way too many people tow at the same speed they drive which not only sucks down fuel but puts a big strain on all the compenents, I usually tow at 5-10mph below the max speed limit and get 2-3mpg higher than if i tow at the limit,most people I see are flying down the highway towing over the speed limit which is why they need huge trucks and why the suck down so much fuel,Im poor so Im not in a hurry to waste money!

 

[2TimingTom]

While I have the SOHC V6 with 3.55 gears ('97 XLT), this may be like apples and oranges, but while towing my Jayco popup, I've seen anything from 10-15 mpgs. The 10 mpg haul was going deep into the mountains against a seriously nasty headwind.

Like mentioned above, it's really all about conditions.

 

[thebrakeman]

Correct about '06-'10 V8 keeping the 3.55 gearing with or w/o the towing package. That's due to the very low 1st gear in the 6-speed trans. The V6 keeps the older 5-speed auto, and therefore gets the 3.73 gearing when you opt for the tow package. Of all combinations, the V6 with tow package is probably the worse for gas mileage, towing or not.

Keep in mind that towing is likely no more than 5% of your actual mileage. I get about 16mpg loaded but not towing on the expressway, and, and about 8 mpg towing our 27' hybrid on the expressway.
(16 * 0.95) + (8 * 0.05) = 15.6 mpg weighted average
So even though towing cuts my gas mileage in half, it only pulls my average down by 0.4 mpg.

When you're towing, don't sweat it.

If you were going to have a significant amount of towing (like 30% or more), then yes, you might consider a different tow vehicle.

PS - The biggest factor to poor towing mileage is wind resistance. The guys towing popups won't see near the effect as a full height, even if they were the same weight. There are now big 4000 lbs high-wall popups as well as full-height trailers less than 4000 lbs. Trying to pull a barn door at expressway speeds is tought.

Don't sweat the gas mileage when towing unless you do it a lot.

 

[TexasArmadillo]

LoL, I was always wondering why my gas mileage was crap. I totally missed the fact that I had a 3.73.

 

[Davidm53]

I have the 3.73 also, and not concerned about towing.
Might check on swapping to a 3.55, someday.

David

 

[Explorer_PL]

From what I see on rv forum, the ecoboost in new F150's get close tp 20 mpg while towing, more when empty.

 

[vulturerick]

Gas Mileage

LOL! Take your foot off the gas!

I have an 06 Eddie Bauer with the SOCH V-6.

I get approx 25 mpg on the highway traveling at 65mph or lower. Any speed higher than that and it drops to 22-23 mpg. When towing it drops to 13-14 mpg.

Turn off the cruise control !! ..... especially when towing.

I noticed I get best milage when using my foot (versus cruise control) to drive. The cruise control makes the truck downshift a lot - especially when going uphill. I find that when driving without the cruise I can let up enough on the gas to stop the transmission from downshifting so much.

 

[willied]

From what I see on rv forum, the ecoboost in new F150's get close tp 20 mpg while towing, more when empty.

I would take that with a grain of salt, as it's only rated 22 mpg on the highway, unloaded, without the lower gearing.

 

[thebrakeman]

I do not believe that an Ecoboost F150 would get 20mpg while towing anything full-height. Popup? Maybe.

Keep in mind that people could be reporting instantaneous mpg, as reported by a trip computer. You need average mpg to be realistic.

 

[2TimingTom]

Keep in mind that people could be reporting instantaneous mpg, as reported by a trip computer. You need average mpg to be realistic.

I'd put money on this being the case.

 

[EX-SV]

I'd put money on this being the case.

Same here.

 

[bojans]

I towed a ~ 4,000 lbs boat with an F-150 Ecoboost 250 miles mostly highway averaging around 70. The truck had huge power, towed great, but returned ~ 11mpg. This was from Illinois into Wisconsin, no huge hills and I wasn't beating on it. The return trip (unloaded) gave me 20mpg.