Tow Haul Mode
I have a F350 4x4 long box diesel. I always used tow haul when I towed our fifth wheel. We have now downsized to a tow behind TT. The friends we camp with have TT and they never use tow haul beca...
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I did a test last weekend. Heading to the camp ground tow haul on 11.6 mpg
Heading home tow haul off 10.4 mpg. I could definitely hear and feel the transmission shifting a lot more.
So many factors come into play with MPG which is why most RVers never even bother. Terrain, weight, wind, traffic, speed, etc. Some fella at a gas station once asked me what kind of mileage I got on my class A. I said; it gets great mileage for an apartment.
We've been tracking our travels with a spreadsheet that goes back to 2007. It includes, miles, travel hours and MPG for the day. It then pulls the data over and runs a long term average. I also make notes on driving condition as a strong head/tail wind, was the drive hill with a lot of elevation gain/loss...these can have a significant impact on MPG (I've had it vary from 7.5mpg up to 16.8mpg).
For planning a long trip, I generally assume a bit less than the long term average. This gets used for general budgeting purposes.
For daily driving, I can get a pretty good idea of impacts on range based on the wind forecast and how hilly the route is. This is useful to determine if I need to fill up before we hook up.
This SOUNDS way too much like work ! ! ! Get in and rock and roll..... I know my truck, I know when the 48 gallons is getting low, and if traveling to parts unknown, I usually scope things out ahead of time on goggle maps around the mileage I usually need to refuel . . .
I wouldn't say RVers never bother, I know very few that don't track their milage. for me I realize it is going to varry but not by much it is in a general range and if it goes out of that range for no aparent reason I know to start looking for somthing wrong like a wheel berring or what not. plus I am always looking for ways to improve milage.
Good point. I don't track mileage in my RV or any car for that matter or chase price at the pump. I am going to need fuel either way and I know my vehicles well and have enough warnings bells and alerts on them to tell me if there's an issue. Your mileage may vary - pardon the pun.
My overarching point was, I doubt Tow haul mode affects mileage much, but rather the other 100 other variables that can impact RV MPG. The only way to really know is to replicate the identical conditions and perform the test over and over. Hardly worth the effort.
