APT wrote:
8-10mpg for every gas engine for every TT. Pulling two sheets of plywood through the air is the equalizer.
I do think that the newer trucks get better gas mileage pulling a TT. I had a 1970 van that would get 11mpg unloaded on the flats at 60mph.
My 2014 1/2 ton pulling a TT will get 11.5mpg even in the foothills, and will hit 12mpg on the flats at 60mph (without wind). Serious mountain driving or headwinds will drop it to 10. I can get 9mpg any day of the week by driving 60 with a 20mph headwind (or driving 80, but that's inadvisable, and I don't do it).
When you're talking fuel economy near single digits, every mpg you gain is a serious improvement, percentagewise, in economy, and therefore at the pump.
For what it's worth, this is pulling a 6,500lb trailer; pulling up hills with a heavier trailer will decrease those mileage figures somewhat (on the flats, wind resistance is solely what "drives" the fuel consumption). Obviously every mph over 60 or 65 will have an increasingly large impact on gas mileage.
On a recent 2000 mile trip, I figure I saved almost $200 in gas by getting 11.5mpg instead of the 9.5 I would have gotten with my older tow vehicle. Over 50,000 miles of towing, that's $5k saved in gas alone. And the new truck pulls and drives better in every conceivable way.