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4x4ord's avatar
4x4ord
Explorer III
Mar 24, 2016

hooked onto the old stock trailer today

We have about a 1990 stock trailer that we have used for various jobs with various trucks over the past 26 years. Initially I hauled hogs with it using a 1980 all time 4 wheel drive Chevy 1/2 ton with a v8 350 cu/in engine.. The truck struggled with the load at times but it managed to get 14 miles per gallon on a 120 mile round trip that I made with it once per week.

In 1993 I pulled the same trailer with my new 1993 GMC 6.5 turbo diesel that my son in law now drives. The new turbo diesel 6.5 got 14 mpg. It is interesting that since my son in law resurrected that old GMC he put a Peninsular diesel under the hood and it can now obtain 16 mpg pulling that trailer.

In 2005 I pulled that same trailer with my new to me 2003 GMC Duramax ... guess what ... I got 14 mpg.

Well today I had it filled with scrap drywall and I hooked it up to my new Platinum and checked the fuel economy.... guess what... it got 12 mpg (all these mileage claims are per imperial gallon)
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  • 4x4ord's avatar
    4x4ord
    Explorer III
    Mar 24, 2016
    Half the miles are empty and half full as it is always used to transport something. Back in the day with the old Chevy 1/2 ton, through to the 6.5 Turbo Diesel the full load weight was usually about 11000# and empty 4500#. The weight of the trailer didnt seem to affect the fuel economy all that much. For instance we weighed the trailer full of furniture that the Peninsular diesel pulled when it delivered an average fuel economy of 16 and found it weighed 14000# and 4500 lbs empty. The load I hauled with my Platinum was heavy....My guess is 10000 lbs but again 4500 empty. We hauled 2 identical trailers one behind the other loaded to about 12000 lbs with cattle once. One truck was a '98 Dodge with the Cummins diesel and the other was the '03 Duramax. I can't remember exactly what we calculated the mileage to be but I do know that I was surprised when we discovered the Duramax out performed the Cummins by a little bit.


    Edit to change wrong weights.
  • SouthpawHD's avatar
    SouthpawHD
    Explorer
    Mar 24, 2016
    These HD trucks are generally heavier today than yesterday.

    That TFL Truck vid with the 2002 vs 2016 Duramax, the 2015 was around 1,000 heavier. Many more options and safety features really add up.

    So technically, fuel mileage would be improving if everything was equal.
  • 4x4ord's avatar
    4x4ord
    Explorer III
    Mar 24, 2016
    SouthpawHD wrote:
    These HD trucks are generally heavier today than yesterday.

    That TFL Truck vid with the 2002 vs 2016 Duramax, the 2015 was around 1,000 heavier. Many more options and safety features really add up.

    So technically, fuel mileage would be improving if everything was equal.


    I know when I bought my first diesel I was pretty diss appointed to discover that it got the same fuel economy pulling as did the 350 gasoline all time 4X4. Even so I ended up hooked on diesel.

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