Fuel consumption too high?
Hello, I have a Ford Ranger 2019 that does 18-21mpg on the highway at around 65mph. I have just purchased a GD 17MKE which is a 21', 6400 GVWR, travel trailer. I expected to go from 18-21mpg not to...
Forum Discussion
valhalla360 wrote:
Aerodynamics can be pretty hard to predict.
Pulling a 28ft mid height 5th wheel, averaged 12mpg
Pulling an empty 8ft enclosed utility trailer got the same. Smaller sample size but the brakes weren't dragging and nothing else appeared to be wrong.
Only thing I can figure is the aerodynamics are smoother with the 5th wheel where the wind comes off the truck cab and immediately goes up the front of the trailer. With the utility trailer it drops back down and hits the front of the utility trailer adding more drag.
Yep - Distance between the trailer and tow vehicle is major factor.
Theoretically, fifth-wheels should have significant aerodynamic advantages over their bumper-pull counterparts of comparable length and weight.
However...
In the real world, this advantage is negated by the much greater height of the average fifth-wheel.
