Best towing vehicles for best MPGs

Trailer magazine got 16mpg with the new Colorado diesel pulling a Lance. Truck is $42k. I get 10mpg overall pulling our Dart. The Nissan is paid for, probably worth about $8-10k as a trade in. I can buy lots of premium for $30k.
Do I wish I got better mileage? Hell yeah. Am I overly concerned about it? Nah. We enjoy the travel and adventure too much.

2013 VW Touareg Common Rail Diesel TDI Sport AWD full time, with 8 speed Aisin Transmission.

33-36 MPG highway interstate at 65-70 mph

16.5 to 19.5 MPG towing about 4400# wet of 21 foot Palomino Gazelle G210 Travel trailer at 55-58 MPH. MPG's are consistent in summer time, towing from Southern California to Yellowstone, or Montana on the Madison river. 4 years running.

Before you question my numbers, call me a liar, or say I am full of bullcr*p, here's a Log of every mile and every fillup.

My 2013 Touareg TDI Fuelly log

TDI VW Toureg V6 3.0 17mpg city 25mpg highway with 7700lb towing
Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD 17mpg city 24mpg highway with 7600lb towing
2005 and 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD 21 mpg city 27mpg highway with 5000lb towing

Add MB CRD whatever for mpg and towing



Not one gas whatever

Most people quote the mileage they get on a flat stretch of road or the average for an entire trip.

My average towing mileage for an entire 6000 mile trip from IN to MT was 9.9 mpg.

The best tank full I have ever gotten was 11.7 mpg; it must have been downhill with a heck of a tail wind.

The worse tank full I ever have gotten was 7.1 mpg bucking a nasty head and cross wind all day.

The newer TVs with their wiz-bang electronic lets you reset after each fill up, which the DW record in her journal.

I also track total trip mileage which include both towing and non-towing combined.

So, when I plan a trip I figure 10 mpg: if I get 10+ yippy, of I get 8 – 9 mpg Oh well.

Gas is generally low on my priorities, otherwise would have bought a bigger PUP.

With all the statements of MPG obtained... I have a bridge for sale!

Hp, Torque, Weight is what everyone bases MPG on. That's a start.

Road conditions, weather and driving habits are some of the largest factors that no one places into the equation.

MPG on any vehicle is nothing more than a reference number.

For a year, I had a F150 Supercab, 4x4, with 5.4L engine and pulled a Hi-Lo. It was a hard sided trailer but the top dropped down when traveling. Something like a box of velveda cheese. I then changed trailers to a regular high wall hard sided trailer, Koala 21CS. I lost about 1.5 mpg after changing trailers.

Now I have a different F150, the one that shows in my signature. Gas mileage between the old F150 and new F150 is about the same, between 9 and 10.5. The difference is the new F150 is a much more capable truck, since it has a better engine and HD pkg.

Zebedee wrote:
What are some of the best current and past trucks/suv that allow for maximum MPGs when towing (for either smaller or larger TTs)?

One final thought, on a 2000 mile trip at 10 mpg you burn 200 gallons of gas. At 12 mpg you burn 167 gallons. About 33 gallons less.

What are you willing to give up for an extra $100.00 at $3.00/gal. gas.

PAThwacker wrote:

Supereri73 wrote:
I just got back from a little over 900 miles round trip. Lot's of up and down with about 100 miles of non-towing mixed in.

I got 9.5 towing the truck and trailer in my sig. The trailer was loaded with a 4 seat RZR, 160 gallons of water, full fuel station (40 gallon), 4 people in the tow vehicle, and full off food/clothes/electronics/firewood for 8 days of camping. We were right at 15k in the trailer plus around 9k for the truck. So ~24k total.

I set the cruise control on 65 and just sat back. It was very windy on the way out as well. I hoped for better, but the truck is brand new. Maybe once it gets broken in it will improve slightly.

This setup ^^ over $100k in recreational camping. A budget for BLM, desert, and national parks out west.


I spent $25k for state park camping in PA NJ and New England. No razers or the like aloud for that demographic

Oh great, thanks. I tried not to add it all up but now that's out the window....;)

We initially bought a nice smaller used toyhauler. We used that for a little over a year to see if it was something that was going to stick. It did, so we went out and got exactly what we wanted. We bought the trailer on 11/10/15, it was in the shop for 2.5 weeks with an issue, and I've already used it for 14 nights. We'll be in it for two more this coming weekend. We've been using it exceptionally heavy so far, but I've used it 25% of the time I've owned it to this point.

I try not to look at it from a strict dollars and cents perspective, because it doesn't make sense, but as a family activity it's a great investment.

Lynnmor wrote:

Supereri73 wrote:
I hoped for better, but the truck is brand new. Maybe once it gets broken in it will improve slightly.

That is a relic from the past. Modern engines are built to closer tolerances now, partly because of emission controls. Maybe slightly more friction for a hundred miles till the rings seat. Don't expect any measurable improvement after that.

You're probably right, just wishful thinking I suppose. In the long run I guess I'm not that worried about it. Most of the camping we do during the winter is within 30 miles of the house. Summer means trips up the hill to the Flagstaff area, but that's a lot of climbing so the mileage is going to be low no matter what.

I another forum I visit a member did 7800 cross country trip on a Lexus hybrid towing a small popup they were a family of 5 . His calculated value was 18.1mpg for 7800 miles with alot of mountains