We just finished a 4 week 4500 mile trip to the Everglades and back. I have an F-150 with Eco-Boost pulling a 5000 lb. 26 ft. Dutchmen Lite. Even though we travel light the total TV and TT load was about 14,000 lb.The towing was fine, the occasional Semi wind bump and 35 mph cross wind gusts were annoying but not troublesome.My goal was to get 10 mpg at 60 to 65 mph. The majority of my driving was interstate. Unfortunately, both coming and going we had 10 to 15 mph crosswinds. Going down to FL I averaged 9.8 mpg. using 87 octane gas. Coming home I used 89 octane gas and got 10.1 mpg. (The owner manual mentioned improved performance with 89 octane.) However, with a 20 cents per gallon cost differential, if you do the math, the 89 octane cost more per mile.So, as had been posted on the forum before; a ½ ton pulling a 5000 lb. trailer can expect to get about 9 ½ to 10 mpg. at 60 to 65 mph. proved to be true.

Actually you did better then we did with our 2001 Chevy 2500HD with a 30ft trailer. At 65 and in varied terrain we averaged around 8.5 mpg. Same trailer with our 07 Dodge diesel we see 11.5 mpg with similar driving conditions over several years.

That sounds great. Your truck must be heavier than my 2010 GMC Sierra with the 6.2L. I weighted my truck and trailer on the scales and my combine weight was 14002 pounds. My trailer weight was 7342 and truck weight was 6660. Driving from Ohio to Yellowstone and back I averaged 10.8 mpg after a bunch of upgrades. I averaged around 9 before the upgrades.

You did good. We usually get 8.5-9, maybe 9.5 pulling our 5100lb trailer. Of course our Expy EL 4x4 is heavy, plus 5-6 people, and lots of frontal area. So we are at a total loaded weigh of about 12000lbs being moved by the venerable 5.4.

I used to get 10-11 mpg with our Passport 285RL (around 5000 lb.) towing with a Dodge Ram 1500 HEMI at 65 mph on the interstate. Of course, this was in GA and FL; no steep mountains, except in N. GA (and they're not that steep). Wind can definitely affect gas mileage. We always get slightly better mpg heading south down to FL than on the return trip. Even though it's not mountainous, there is a slight grade heading north from sea level up to the beginnings of the Appalachian Mountains. There always seems to be either a head wind or a crosswind, too on the trip back north.

Do any of you drive your TV around town, without trailer? What sort of mpg do you see then?I'm starting to think there is something wrong with my new Dodge. I'm getting 9.6 mpg towing nothing... 2013 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi

The elusive 10 mpg. | Good Sam Community

PUCampin
Explorer
Mar 20, 2014
GordonThree wrote:
Do any of you drive your TV around town, without trailer? What sort of mpg do you see then?

I'm starting to think there is something wrong with my new Dodge. I'm getting 9.6 mpg towing nothing... 2013 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi

It should not be that low unloaded. With the 5 of us our Expy EL weighs around 6900lbs. The 5.4 gets about 12 around town, and 16-18 on the freeway, depending on speed and terrain. Crusing 65 on flat land will yield an instanious 20mpg, but I never average that. Too many hills around me.
TomG2
Explorer
Mar 20, 2014
One or two posters have F-150's that get much better mileage than that pulling much heavier loads The rest of the half ton pickups are in the same range as the OP.
mustangglp
Explorer
Mar 20, 2014
You have look at it this way even though your paying 4 dollars plus for a gallon its still just a milk jug full no matter how much it cost! Your moving a lot with that milk jug full of energy?
jerem0621
Explorer II
Mar 20, 2014
DutchmenSport wrote:
No comment. Mine is diesel.

My Dad has a 13k fiver and pulls with a 03 Cummins Ram. He gets 11-14 pulling depending on the terrain and conditions.

Said the lowest he has ever got was about 10.5 and that was fighting a headwind in the Midwest.

Oh, he has pulled that combo tens of thousands of miles and those are not fluke or best ever numbers.

Thanks!

Jeremiah
APT
Explorer
Mar 20, 2014
rbpru wrote:

So, as had been posted on the forum before; a ½ ton pulling a 5000 lb. trailer can expect to get about 9 ½ to 10 mpg. at 60 to 65 mph. proved to be true.

Not just half ton, not just 5000 pounds. Any gasser towing any high walled RV seems to get 8-10mpg. The more power just means to downshifts less or accelerated quicker. But they all have to pull two sheets of plywood through the air which requires about a fixed amount of power and therefore fuel.

I can get 10mpg at 60mph. I usually drive faster and get 7-8mpg.

Gordon, are you locked in 4wd? That's the only time I get single digits non towing. Otherwise, 13mpg mixed winter, 14mpg summer, 18mpg non towing highway.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Mar 20, 2014
No comment. Mine is diesel.
naturist
Nomad
Mar 20, 2014
Suddenly the 14 mpg I usually get towing my TT doesn't seem so bad after all. I admit the Jeep and Trailer fully loaded together only weigh about 9,000 lbs, but it is a full height/full width/hard sided TT. But the Jeep is a diesel. Worst I've EVER gotten was one tankful just under 10 mpg, but that was towing into a 50 mph headwind (I'll never make THAT mistake again). Best I've ever gotten was a tad over 16. Musta been a fluke, as I've never matched it, although I have broken 15 on a couple occasions.
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Mar 20, 2014
We get between 10 and 11 mpg towing with total weight of about 9000 lbs. We average 60 mph mostly on interstates. Really haven't noticed any difference on 2 lanes or 4 Lane highways. Get about 17 around town w/o trailer mixed driving.
GordonThree
Explorer
Mar 20, 2014
Do any of you drive your TV around town, without trailer? What sort of mpg do you see then?

I'm starting to think there is something wrong with my new Dodge. I'm getting 9.6 mpg towing nothing... 2013 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi
xteacher
Explorer
Mar 20, 2014
I used to get 10-11 mpg with our Passport 285RL (around 5000 lb.) towing with a Dodge Ram 1500 HEMI at 65 mph on the interstate. Of course, this was in GA and FL; no steep mountains, except in N. GA (and they're not that steep). Wind can definitely affect gas mileage. We always get slightly better mpg heading south down to FL than on the return trip. Even though it's not mountainous, there is a slight grade heading north from sea level up to the beginnings of the Appalachian Mountains. There always seems to be either a head wind or a crosswind, too on the trip back north.

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