Fuel mileage 5th wheel vs travel trailer

Just think of the mileage one could get with a fifty foot, 20,000 pound fiver. At least 20 mpg. Anyone top that?

the fith wheel should get better milage due to less of a low pressur zone behind the truck. with a trailer you have two full blowen low pressure areas (one behind the truck and the other behind the trailer both causing drag as you drive. with a fith wheel the front one is reduced therefor less drag. if your truck is a short box you would get even better milage with the 5th but its up to you if the dealing with a sliding hitch is worth it.

I had a 29 foot 8000 lb trailer and I got about 12 mpg, then I got a 39 foot 14000lbs 5th and I went up to 16.5 mpg.

Steve

I towed a flat bed trailer loaded with 7,000 pounds of castings and got worse mileage than towing my travel trailer. Of course I was driving 75 mph instead of 58 mph with the TT. One was for work and one was for play.

FIRECHIEFBUBBA wrote:
To answer some of the questions in this topic. The truck has a cover on the bed to keep wind drag down. The first trip out was a 300 mile round trip to a campground we go to couple times a yr. With in the same state of Michigan. Speeds of 62 to 65. Mid grade gas. All same factors that we did with the 5th wheel. My thought would have been with less weight-1500 pounds and lower trailer, better gas mileage. I have to wonder if the difference being hitch over the wheels sets up different than just dragging it behind you. Leaving for 2500 mile trip next week we'll see what this shows..

I watched a show once (mythbusters?) where they illustrated that truck bed covers actually make MPG worse. Something about an open bed creating a "ball" of air that forces air up and over as opposed to a covered bed which created more down force. As far as MPG trailer vs a FW, I would guess MPG has more to do with the Tow vehicle, terrain, wind, and driving habits than splitting hairs about which type of condo you are pulling - lb for lb of course.

Towing this all aluminum snowmobile trailer 7x23 ft v-nose, mileage is same as my FW, about 8-9 mpg. Sled trailer is only 2,200 dry wt, with a GVWR of 6K. Loaded with 3 mountain sleds and gear about 5K. In comparison my FW is about double the weight. Only time the sled trailer gets better mpg, is with a strong tail wind.



Jerry

I can change my mileage 5+ mpg (from 15-20) on the same ten mile stretch of road, if I want to. MPG statements on the Internet are subject to some degree of doubt.

To answer some of the questions in this topic. The truck has a cover on the bed to keep wind drag down. The first trip out was a 300 mile round trip to a campground we go to couple times a yr. With in the same state of Michigan. Speeds of 62 to 65. Mid grade gas. All same factors that we did with the 5th wheel. My thought would have been with less weight-1500 pounds and lower trailer, better gas mileage. I have to wonder if the difference being hitch over the wheels sets up different than just dragging it behind you. Leaving for 2500 mile trip next week we'll see what this shows..

time2roll wrote:
3 mpg seems a bit much to lose. From 12 down to 9 mpg is 25%. I think speed, wind, terrain might also be an issue. See how next trip goes.

Who gets 12 mpg towing almost 10,000 with a gasoline fueled tow vehicle? "gets less gas mileage by about 3 mpg". Probably lucky to get 8 mpg which resulted in 5 for the travel trailer. Since we don't know the route or even the average speed, simply saying 40% less gas mileage is meaningless.

3 mpg seems a bit much to lose. From 12 down to 9 mpg is 25%. I think speed, wind, terrain might also be an issue. See how next trip goes.

rhagfo wrote:
The total package is less aerodynamic, the 5er has smoother air flow than a PU and TT.

True story, can't fool physics.
And there could be other more subtle differences that contribute to fuel mileage as well.
However I seriously doubt 3mpg difference simply due to the trailer.

I don't get 3 mpg different or anywhere near that much between hauling the TC. TC & 6klb boat. Boat by itself, or 32' v nose enclosed trailer.

What can and sometimes does make that magnitude of difference though is ground speed, terrain, altitude, fuel type and wind speed/direction.

Caveat, I'm not an obsessive fuel mileage checker. Generally I may flip to the mileage screen during a trip, say, "Yup getting bad mileage..." and flip it back to the compass/temperature screen.






(Watch your language please.)