Tow Mode & Gas Mileage

paulcardoza wrote:
Agreed willald, but I doubt that was the point of the post I was replying to.

True.

I only mentioned it, because I think its possible that the poster that thought purchasing more expensive gasoline helped him, may well have been that his improved mileage was NOT because it was one particular brand or another, or any particular octane rating, but because of less Ethanol content.

If you can get fuel without any Ethanol in it...Do so, you will see better mileage that way (although I don't know if it may be a case where it costs you so much more for that fuel, you may not save $$ in the long run).

Will

Agreed willald, but I doubt that was the point of the post I was replying to.

willald wrote:

paulcardoza wrote:
LOL! Old wives tale..... All gasoline is refined in just a handful of refineries these days. Branding is a farce and thinking one is better then the other is fantasy........

ken07734 wrote:
I personally use the best gas I can buy whether I'm pulling the TT or just driving the truck. I found that when you add it up the better gas actually costs less than the Regular watered down gas. It cost me a few dollars more but I get better gas mileage so mile per gallon I get more miles out of my money than using the low cost fuel...

paulcardoza: Before they started putting Ethanol in gas, you'd be right - Reality is you'd see very little if any difference in mileage by buying more expensive brands, or higher octane gasoline (unless we're talking about an engine designed for use with high octane fuel, but thats a whole 'nother matter).

However, now that they have started watering down fuel with Ethanol, if you can find fuel with ZERO Ethanol in it like is sometimes the case with high octane fuel...Yes, you WILL see better fuel mileage then. Has little to do with it being one brand or another, or being 92 or 89 octane vs 87, but more to do with there not being any Ethanol in it.

I know there is one station near where I live, that just started advertising that they offer fuel that is 100% Ethanol free. Next time I refuel, think I'm going to get a tank of that and see how it does.

paulcardoza wrote:
LOL! Old wives tale..... All gasoline is refined in just a handful of refineries these days. Branding is a farce and thinking one is better then the other is fantasy........

ken07734 wrote:
I personally use the best gas I can buy whether I'm pulling the TT or just driving the truck. I found that when you add it up the better gas actually costs less than the Regular watered down gas. It cost me a few dollars more but I get better gas mileage so mile per gallon I get more miles out of my money than using the low cost fuel...

paulcardoza: Before they started putting Ethanol in gas, you'd be right - Reality is you'd see very little if any difference in mileage by buying more expensive brands, or higher octane gasoline (unless we're talking about an engine designed for use with high octane fuel, but thats a whole 'nother matter).

However, now that they have started watering down fuel with Ethanol, if you can find fuel with ZERO Ethanol in it like is sometimes the case with high octane fuel...Yes, you WILL see better fuel mileage then. Has little to do with it being one brand or another, or being 92 or 89 octane vs 87, but more to do with there not being any Ethanol in it.

I know there is one station near where I live, that just started advertising that they offer fuel that is 100% Ethanol free. Next time I refuel, think I'm going to get a tank of that and see how it does.

LOL! Old wives tale..... All gasoline is refined in just a handful of refineries these days. Branding is a farce and thinking one is better then the other is fantasy........

ken07734 wrote:
I personally use the best gas I can buy whether I'm pulling the TT or just driving the truck. I found that when you add it up the better gas actually costs less than the Regular watered down gas. It cost me a few dollars more but I get better gas mileage so mile per gallon I get more miles out of my money than using the low cost fuel.

Not sure if anyone else has experienced this as well?

I personally use the best gas I can buy whether I'm pulling the TT or just driving the truck. I found that when you add it up the better gas actually costs less than the Regular watered down gas. It cost me a few dollars more but I get better gas mileage so mile per gallon I get more miles out of my money than using the low cost fuel.

Not sure if anyone else has experienced this as well?

Well darn. I was hoping y'all would say we'd gain about 10 mpg. LOL!

We're pretty much resigned to the bad mileage and have learned it doesn't seem as bad if we fill up before we get to 1/2 tank.

Sort of a side note, we saw gas prices all over the place. Lowest was in south central KY at 3.32. We stopped along I 64 at a Loves where it was $3.35. Prices were as high as 3.59 coming back and 3.65 going.

When I am in Tow Haul Mode it eliminates the 6th gear. If yours is the same you might try towing without THM and see if it shifts into the highest gear for best mileage. If it still won't go into 6th gear then I would keep it in THM for the additional benefits.
However, what you don't want is for the transmission to be shifting between 5 and 6th gear frequently. Low mileage is cheaper than a blown transmission.

..What 'downtheroad' said. :)

Seriously, when you're moving basically a huge aerodynamic 'brick' down the road, you're going to use up a lot of fuel, whether towing a car or not. No real way around it, Just the price you pay for admission here. Your mileage indeed sounds about right for a MH on the Ford V10 chassis.

We have a Georgetown MH, also, although ours is a bit bigger (see signature). Ours is built on same chassis as yours (Ford F53), and only one year newer, so drivetrain is probably 'bout identical.

I've experimented with the tow/haul mode you mentioned, and most of the time, I just leave it off, whether towing or not. It will have very little if any effect on mileage. Main thing I've noticed it does, is forces the transmission to downshift more whenever you get off the gas pedal, allowing for more engine braking when going down a hill. I actually found this a bit annoying most of the time, as it made the engine 'brake' the MH more than I wanted, and caused engine to rev more than necessary. Shift points when accelerating are probably changed a little as well.

Only time I turn on tow/haul mode, is when we're coming down mountain passes, where we want that extra engine braking. It stays off the rest of the time. To answer your specific question, though: I really doubt towing mode has any effect at all on mileage. Mileage with a rig like this is going to be bad no matter what you do, haha. :)

KarenS144 wrote:
...our gas mileage is pretty sad (under 8 mpg).

Welcome to driving your house around and towing your car.
Honestly, your mileage sounds about right. I don't think there is much you can do to make any significant improvements. (except maybe drive slower).

Once we realized that good mileage and RVing aren't going to happen, we started to relax and have more fun.