Fifth wheel mileage question

You’re driving habits will also dictate the MPG you get..

I can tow my 16,000 pound fiver and get just shy of 12 MPGs and the very next trip get just under nine to the identical campground.

Wind, speed, acceleration, all will alter your numbers

Weight matters more as to the overall build quality.

Yes I wondered if it made much fuel mileage difference between lighter rigs or heavier rigs. it doesn’t sound like much. Pretty much get the one with the floor plan you like and drive.
Didn’t want to be surprised and find out I’m getting 7-8 MPG….??

Speaking from over 44,000 miles towing fifth wheels with diesels: on the flats, once you get it rolling, it's wind resistance (think pulling three sheets of plywood through the air at highway speeds); in the mountains, weight really comes into play. Significant headwinds or tailwinds and all the above go out the window. When we upgraded our rig 2-1/2 years ago, the GVWR (and actual weight) of the trailer increased from 13K to 15K lbs. Overall there was about a 1.5 MPG difference coast-to-coast in all kinds of conditions. With both trailers, I saw mileage as low as 4.5 MPH (45 MPH headwinds)/8 MPG (6% grades) and as high as 15 MPG (45 MPH tailwind in the Central Valley in CA). Bottom line is, it just depends.

On the other hand, not many people buy large RVs and worry about fuel mileage.

Rob

IMO, towing with the diesel, the weight will not make much difference. The height diff will make about the same diff as the weight.

Also if looking at GVWR sticker to compare, that may have more to do with axle/spring size, such as comparing 4,400 rated axles to 5,200/6000 axles. The beefier axles/springs allowing a higher wt rating, rather than actual scaled wt of the various trailers.

Jerry

I'm not an expert, but I think it's a little of both. Before we purchased our FW we had a 32' Komfort TT, 8 - 9k fully loaded that we towed with an F250 6.8L gasser. Got about 12 - 13mpg. Same truck towing the 13k fully loaded FW in our signature, 7, yes, 7mpg. Fast forward - same FW, different TV, 2011 F350 diesel dually, long bed, 12 - 14mpg.