Fuel consumption too high?

Depending on engine size, gear ratio, terrain and your driving habits, 7 MPG would not be unusual and may be normal for you.

Rangers are not exactly a prime choice for towing, they are more designed for good mileage under no loads..

I have 2019 and 2020 F250s with 6.2 gas towing 7K lbs loaded and typically get low of 9.9 MPG to high of 10.2 MPG at 65 MPH.

Driving habits can make a huge difference in the mileage department, lower your expectations a bit and lighten up on the go pedal, your not going to be Mario Andretti with winning hole shots from stop lights when towing if you expect to get better fuel mileage.

My DW gets 13 MPG empty when driving and I can get 16 MPG driving, she takes the hole shots off the line and I ease on the gas..

Go light on the gas pedal when starting from a stop light, pretend there is a raw egg between your foot and the gas pedal and you don't want to break it. Let the engine and transmission work a bit easier.

Speed definitely makes a difference, 60 MPH will be much better mileage than 75 MPH (that is scary fast for towing, stopping that rig under emergency conditions at that speed may not end well for you) for mileage.

I would however be careful of going way too slow for the posted speeds. I know there are some folks on the forum that drive 58 MPH on roads posted 70 MPH.. That makes for a pretty hazardous situation when you have a large speed difference between vehicles on the same road. Around my area, roads posted 70 MPH, folks tend to be running 80MPH or a bit above that.

Hi,

I think the 75 is a typo.

Try 55 and see what happens.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

I think the 75 is a typo.

Try 55 and see what happens.

What would make you think higher speed combined with lower mileage is a typo?
Sounds proportionally correct…

And to all the wanna be state patrol speeding ticket writers, OP didn’t ask for your opinion on his driving speed.
Of course opinions will be given, mine as well, but omg. The creativity of the assumptions that some folks here make is impressive!

pianotuna wrote:


Try 55 and see what happens.

Driving 55 many places in the Western US, one better be thankful they are pulling a camper. As you might not even make it to the next town with a hotel in the same day!

Thanks for the input everyone! It has been very helpful.

I have a very small trailer, and I still get less than 10 mpg at 63 mph. Air resistance. It's like towing a vertical sheet of plywood at highway speeds.

I could get much better mileage at 55 mph, but I would die of boredom. Plus I would be holding up traffic.

At 75mph, that's great MPG for that truck...of course as people have noted, you are probably exceeding the speed ratings.

At 55 mph, my 2005 F150 (less than 77k miles) towing my 20' Nash I am blessed with 10-12 mpg; at 75 mph I am blessed with 8-9 mpg. And both the trailer and truck bed are fully loaded (water, food, beer, firewood, gear, tools, etc). When trailer is empty, add 2-3 mpg.

Highway mileage--my F150 routinely blesses me with 15-17 mpg (and that's with regular gas that's ethanol blended). Stop and go city driving I get 11-12 mpg.

IMO, sometimes that extra 10 mph (75 mph) is not financially worth it, even with an oversized gas tank.

I once towed a 21' 4000 lb TT with a V6 Nissan Frontier. Got 8.5 on my best day.
Moved up to an F150 5.4, 3.73 and started getting 10.5 mpg's consistently.
The frontal area on the MKE is whats killing your mpg's.
Slow down to 60 mph and you get better mpg.