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jdc1's avatar
jdc1
Explorer II
Jun 12, 2022

TC and MPG

I just sold my 5th wheel. With diesel fuel topping $7/gallon here in California, I can't see pulling a trailer at 12mpg. So, the question I have is....what can of MPG can I expect to get from my 2000 F350 7.3 if I decided to get say a 10' camper? With my 27' 5th wheel I averaged 12mpg. Without about 17mpg. 3.73 gears, automatic, 165k miles. Unchipped.
  • Averaged 10.2mpg on a 5.5k run this spring from SD to NC and back.
  • Won't be much better especially in the wind.
    I have been driving a Ford 7.3 diesel for the last 20 years.
    I added an AFE air cleaner, 4 inch exhaust and an SCT tuner.
    Best mpg is 23.8 mpg.
  • Bedlam wrote:
    It is the frontal area of the camper hurting mileage more than the weight.

    Agreed. When Arctic Fox designed a taller camper my mileage dropped one mpg.
    For comparison, I had a AF 1140 and an AF 1150
    Even though the 1140 was heavier than the 1150, the taller 1150 gets worse mileage.

    As usual, the biggest factor affecting mileage is speed.
  • Just returned from a 3,000 mile round trip from Houston area to Richmond Virginia. Averaged 9-10 MPG pulling 40ft 5th at 17,000+ pounds.
    IIRC I got around 12 MPG with the Bigfoot.
    2018 RAM Cummins, Aisin, 3.73.
    Pin weight of the 5th and Bigfoot weight is very close...4,000+.
    edit add: Since you have already sold your trailer, I would wait a bit before I jumped back into any kind of RV. I'm thinking fuel prices are not going down anytime soon. Let's see what happens after November this year and 2024.
  • We have a Northstar 12STC on a 2022 Ram 3500 diesel dually. Just got back from 450 miles around the "mountains" of central Pennsylvania. The truck/camper combo weighs 13,700#, and is 11' 6" high. Averaged 12.7 mpg.
  • lol, just finished 8 weeks; came home early for reasons other than fuel. Averaged 7.4 mpg.

    I run a bit heavy, but even truck and camper alone, I'm in the 9's on a good day.

    We all despise paying for the high fuel costs, but it's what my neighbors wanted apparently. In the big picture, it's a bump. The rest of inflation added on is the elephant in the room.
  • It is the frontal area of the camper more than the weight which effects your mileage once on the highway.
  • I hate to break it to you, but from what people have reported, your mpg will be about the same as a fiver if you buy a basement model high profile TC. There are some MPG threads in the archive.