Crummy fuel economy
I towed a tag trailer 450 km down the highway at 55-60 mph and got 37 liters/100 km. (6.4 mpg). Can you get a Dodge or GM to go through that much fuel?
Forum Discussion
33 Replies
- Was the fuel you were running 'blended diesel' as opposed to straight #2 ? You will always get less MPGs anytime you are running #1 diesel (less BTUs in #1).
Old-Biscuit wrote:
YEP......
Jamestown ND to Dickinson ND roughly 200 miles.
Towing 5th wheel and was sweating whether or not would make it to Dickinson.
6 mpg or less...could see fuel gauge changing. 36 gal fuel tank
Course I was bucking a 35+ mph headwind
I can see 6 pulling some mountain passes. Wind resistance is a big deal. I pulled my 26' enclosed car trailer which is tall to Salt Lake with a car in it with no serious wind and got 9 mpg. The trailer and car weigh about 8k together. I get 9 mpg pulling my Fuzion TH that weighs 15K. Takes fuel to pull big air catching objects down the road, this has a much bigger effect than does the actual weight of what your pulling in my experience.
Jamestown, ND heading West is always bad. Just like Columbus, MT to Bozeman is bad maybe even worse for fighting wind.4x4ord wrote:
Tvov wrote:
4x4ord wrote:
At 75 mph I would have been pumping diesel but I kinda figured 60 mph was fast enough....The implement I was towing was fitted with 30.5 x 32 combine tires rated for a top speed of 25 mph.
I, as usual, am a little confused. You were towing something at more than twice the speed that its' tires were rated for? Why?
I had to tow the thing 280 miles, 25 miles per hour would have been painfully slow as well as being a nuisance on the highway. The tires were only carrying about 5500 lbs each, so running them a little over the rated speed wasn't a big concern.
I see farm implements moving on the highways around here all the time, but unless they are only moving them a couple of miles from one field to another, they put them on flatbeds and haul with a semi tractor.- 50 MPH with a 50 MPH headwind isn't much different than doing 100 MPH once you get up to speed.
naturist wrote:
Dragged our wee TT (about 5,000 lbs, but full height/width) into a 50 mph headwind across Oklahoma once with our little 2.8 liter Jeep Libby CRD (diesel) and it was all I could do to maintain 50 mph on the flat. But I did get 9 mpg! So, not a GM or Dodge, but also not 6 mpg.
When you are down to 9 mpg and 50 mph you're burning 5.55 gallons per hour. My 6.7 diesel is rated at 440 hp, so 2.75 x the size of yours. I would have to be burning 15.26 gallons per hour to be pushing my truck the way you were pushing that poor little jeep. 15.26 gallons per hour at 60 mph would mean just under 4 mpg. Poor little jeep.- What did the machine weigh as transported?
What is the max load capacity of the tyres? - I actually never considered what the law would say about transporting a piece of equipment like this down the highway. I suppose you're right... probably what I did wasn't legal. It could be moving it with a tractor would have been legal....Likely much more dangerous but legal.
4x4ord wrote:
It may have been a concern if something went wrong.Tvov wrote:
4x4ord wrote:
At 75 mph I would have been pumping diesel but I kinda figured 60 mph was fast enough....The implement I was towing was fitted with 30.5 x 32 combine tires rated for a top speed of 25 mph.
I, as usual, am a little confused. You were towing something at more than twice the speed that its' tires were rated for? Why?
I had to tow the thing 280 miles, 25 miles per hour would have been painfully slow as well as being a nuisance on the highway. The tires were only carrying about 5500 lbs each, so running them a little over the rated speed wasn't a big concern.
I seriously doubt that those tires were legal for highway use.... Probably said so right on the sidewall.moresmoke wrote:
Most farm equipment pulls hard just due to wind drag. Not much thought goes into aerodynamics...
Not much aerodynamic force at 3 miles and hour across a field.4x4ord wrote:
carringb wrote:
I imagine you must have had some really bad head winds. Or even cross winds. The effective drag from cross winds is almost as bad as head winds!
Yes, that is crummy, and is certainly worse than I AVERAGE with my v10 pulling my monster trailer. But mine has dipped down that far on occasion, when the winds are so strong I can't hold OD.
In this case no wind, level ground and not a lot of weight. Just a very big drag chute I guess.
I hope you had WD and sway control! :W
Most farm equipment pulls hard just due to wind drag. Not much thought goes into aerodynamics...
That said I have a hard time getting that low with my V10.
