Well, I just filled up my tank after picking up the trailer and one camping trip. I drove a total of 122 miles and got 6.5 miles per gallon. When I pulled the trailer home, I was really impressed with how well my truck pulled it and how I had all the power I needed. Well no wonder I was making a lot of power! Looks like I am going to have to get out of the left lane and slow down a bit. I was really testing the truck to see what it would do, and how well it would pull, so I was driving quite hard. Truck kept up with traffic at 70-75mph no problem. I hope by slowing down I can get my numbers up to 9 or 10 mpg. Either way, I can't think of a cheaper solution other than not going. I could upgrade to a diesel or a newer truck, but my truck is paid for and I trust it. It would take a long time to re-coup the cost of a newer truck, just to save a little fuel.Edit: Thought my signature would appear, but it did not. I am towing a 28' Forest River Wildcat fifth wheel with a 1999 dodge 2500 with the 360 V-8 and a 5 speed transmission (not sure about differential gearing).

not throwing a stone but nobody should be towing at 70 plus mph , your puting every one in danger . and yes you,ll get much better mpg at 65 even better at 60.slow down cheat a oil guru out of some money.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will slow down. I don't mind buying fuel, the oil field supports my family.I don't mind people throwing stones, it won't hurt my feeling and I may just learn something.

Might also check your trailer tire ratings. Typical ST tire speed ratings are rather low at 65 MPH IIRC.

you sound like a great guy , injoy your rv and please lower the fuel bill just a little ,I,m a retired old fart and would like to make a long haul to AZ and I gotta go thru your state. nice country up your way. and yep we all learn some thing each day.

I had a 2000 ram with the 360....loved the truck but could not keep gas in it..lolPulled like crazy. I went thru three transmissions in 33,000 miles...dammm shame because i hated trading it for a GMC...

Just checked my fuel mileage | Good Sam Community

44 Replies

Atlee
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2013
And I bet if they are running ST tires, they will be complaining about the poor quality of the tires when the first one blows.

tragusa3 wrote:
I just got back from a 600 mile trip. If I saw 50 trailers on my journey, 40 of them were huge 5th wheels doing better than 75mph. I keep it at 62mph and passed one trailer while being passed by all the rest. People is crazy. :)
64thunderbolt
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2013
ib516 wrote:
I had a 2001 Dodge 2500, 360 gas, 4.10 rear, 4x4, quad cab, short bed (whew!) a few tow vehicles ago. It was tough as nails, never let me down, pulled everything I hitched to it, but it drank unleaded at the rate of 4 - 7 mpg when pulling the RV. I replaced it with a 2002 Dodge 2500, 4x4, 5.9L Cummins, 3.55 axle, quad cab, long bed, and that truck got 11-13 mpg pulling the same RV, and it pulled it much more effortlessly.

I get the prize for the most commas used in one paragraph :)

The very reason I swapped to diesel a long time ago. And the life span of the eng.
ib516
Explorer II
Jun 26, 2013
I had a 2001 Dodge 2500, 360 gas, 4.10 rear, 4x4, quad cab, short bed (whew!) a few tow vehicles ago. It was tough as nails, never let me down, pulled everything I hitched to it, but it drank unleaded at the rate of 4 - 7 mpg when pulling the RV. I replaced it with a 2002 Dodge 2500, 4x4, 5.9L Cummins, 3.55 axle, quad cab, long bed, and that truck got 11-13 mpg pulling the same RV, and it pulled it much more effortlessly.

I get the prize for the most commas used in one paragraph :)
64thunderbolt
Explorer II
Jun 26, 2013
I would have put them on my current trailer but, new wheels and the 614's was not in the budget at the time. I got 8 yrs out of them till the 1st failure. That's amazing here in this climate. It gets warm here. Forecast for the weekend is Fri-117, Sat-118, 112 on Sun.
NC_Hauler
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
....Hadn't thought about that Larry:) yeah, you got me:B
larry_barnhart
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
NC Hauler wrote:
larry barnhart wrote:
NC Hauler wrote:
64thunderbolt wrote:
That was a tongue in cheek comment

I took mine out to a deserted rd in the desert after some mods on the truck to see how it pulled @ higher speeds. I was alone with G614's on the trailer (13K) and shut off due to shaking knees @ 92 mph. Don't think I'll ever do that again. But the truck was still pullin and accelerating. It was solid as a rock. But like I said it was just me and nobody else was in any danger. I just wanted to know.

While traveling in traffic I keep it @ around 65, the truck & fuel guage likes it there. I just did a 3600 mile round trip from Phx to S Indiana. After I got out of NM I don't see how you could ever run any faster with all the traffic. Lots more back in the midwest.

:)
Yep when you figure the tires lose strength as they age and you have around 3500 extra lbs it seems like you could make a change and less stress but with 850 ft lbs of torque ya might just spin some rubber off the trailer tires.
chevman
Gotcha:B

G614's on a 13,000# 5er.... definitely a tire more than enough to handle 13,000#. That's the tire that came on my 5er with a GVW of 16,950#...

Jim the tires are rated for 15000 lbs and the reason I feel the same for us after the load on the truck it gives us a big margin. Total fifth weight for us is 14380.
chevman

Larry, I don't see anything wrong with it...I like it...Next time I get tires, I may move up to a higher load range myself. I think it's a good idea....
NC_Hauler
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
larry barnhart wrote:
NC Hauler wrote:
64thunderbolt wrote:
That was a tongue in cheek comment

I took mine out to a deserted rd in the desert after some mods on the truck to see how it pulled @ higher speeds. I was alone with G614's on the trailer (13K) and shut off due to shaking knees @ 92 mph. Don't think I'll ever do that again. But the truck was still pullin and accelerating. It was solid as a rock. But like I said it was just me and nobody else was in any danger. I just wanted to know.

While traveling in traffic I keep it @ around 65, the truck & fuel guage likes it there. I just did a 3600 mile round trip from Phx to S Indiana. After I got out of NM I don't see how you could ever run any faster with all the traffic. Lots more back in the midwest.

Gotcha:B

G614's on a 13,000# 5er.... definitely a tire more than enough to handle 13,000#. That's the tire that came on my 5er with a GVW of 16,950#...

Jim the tires are rated for 15000 lbs and the reason I feel the same for us after the load on the truck it gives us a big margin. Total fifth weight for us is 14380.
chevman

Larry, I don't see anything wrong with it...I like it...Next time I get tires, I may move up to a higher load range myself. I think it's a good idea....
larry_barnhart
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
NC Hauler wrote:
64thunderbolt wrote:
That was a tongue in cheek comment

I took mine out to a deserted rd in the desert after some mods on the truck to see how it pulled @ higher speeds. I was alone with G614's on the trailer (13K) and shut off due to shaking knees @ 92 mph. Don't think I'll ever do that again. But the truck was still pullin and accelerating. It was solid as a rock. But like I said it was just me and nobody else was in any danger. I just wanted to know.

While traveling in traffic I keep it @ around 65, the truck & fuel guage likes it there. I just did a 3600 mile round trip from Phx to S Indiana. After I got out of NM I don't see how you could ever run any faster with all the traffic. Lots more back in the midwest.

Gotcha:B

G614's on a 13,000# 5er.... definitely a tire more than enough to handle 13,000#. That's the tire that came on my 5er with a GVW of 16,950#...

Jim the tires are rated for 15000 lbs and the reason I feel the same for us after the load on the truck it gives us a big margin. Total fifth weight for us is 14380.
chevman
NC_Hauler
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
64thunderbolt wrote:
That was a tongue in cheek comment

I took mine out to a deserted rd in the desert after some mods on the truck to see how it pulled @ higher speeds. I was alone with G614's on the trailer (13K) and shut off due to shaking knees @ 92 mph. Don't think I'll ever do that again. But the truck was still pullin and accelerating. It was solid as a rock. But like I said it was just me and nobody else was in any danger. I just wanted to know.

While traveling in traffic I keep it @ around 65, the truck & fuel guage likes it there. I just did a 3600 mile round trip from Phx to S Indiana. After I got out of NM I don't see how you could ever run any faster with all the traffic. Lots more back in the midwest.

Gotcha:B

G614's on a 13,000# 5er.... definitely a tire more than enough to handle 13,000#. That's the tire that came on my 5er with a GVW of 16,950#...
64thunderbolt
Explorer II
Jun 25, 2013
That was a tongue in cheek comment

I took mine out to a deserted rd in the desert after some mods on the truck to see how it pulled @ higher speeds. I was alone with G614's on the trailer (13K) and shut off due to shaking knees @ 92 mph. Don't think I'll ever do that again. But the truck was still pullin and accelerating. It was solid as a rock. But like I said it was just me and nobody else was in any danger. I just wanted to know.

While traveling in traffic I keep it @ around 65, the truck & fuel guage likes it there. I just did a 3600 mile round trip from Phx to S Indiana. After I got out of NM I don't see how you could ever run any faster with all the traffic. Lots more back in the midwest.

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Just checked my fuel mileage

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