truck camper mpg vs. fifth wheel

[pinesman]

Good morning,
Sometime in the next few years I am considering getting a truck camper. We had an ancient small one years ago before going to travel trailers and fivers. I love my 38' fifth wheel and do not plan to get rid of it but I have been thinking a truck camper would get us into a lot of scenic places that trailer will not go. I know what pulling my trailer does to my mileage but what does a truck camper do to it? My trailer basically knocks off about 5-6 mpg compared to no trailer. I would probably be looking at one of the larger truck campers fitting on a gmc 3500. Thanks

[gitpicker2009]

I always seem to average about 11mpg with an Arctic Fox 1150 on my Sterling 4500 dually. It's all about wind resistance and thus speed. Cummins did a massive multi year study for big rigs and determined that up to about 50mph almost all power was applied to setting the weight into motion. Above that it was almost exclusively about overcoming wind resistance. They determined that that the magic number was about 62 mph. Above that and you start getting such drag and resistance that you are wasting energy. I set the cruise at about 62, relax and enjoy the scenery.

[nomadictxn]

Grit dog wrote:
^ Yeah, but the wind resistance on a big TC is gonna kill mileage.
If you haven't hauled one before, you wouldn't understand.
I lose 5-6 mpg with the camper easily. I get about the same mileage with the camper and a 6000lb trailer behind it.
OP can expect similar mileage with a TC as with his fiver.

And who gets 19mpg out of a 12 year old 3/4 ton gasser? Must be out for a Sunday drive every day of the week! Lol

I have achieved on a few occasions right at 17 mpg with a 6spd. 3.73 geared 2011 6.0. My commute to work I can get 16 with very little stop and go traffic. I purposely try to stay off brakes and use very easy acceleration and never go over 65. So yeah, I don't think any one can get 19 mpg with a 4spd. 6.0.
I usually get about 10 and sometimes 11 with the 3500 lb. TC on board.

[Yukoners]

MWJones wrote:
My personal experience is:
2004 Silverado 2500 6.0
60 miles per hr.
Truck only 19 mpg
Truck camper 11 mpg
Pulling a 36', 10000lb TT 8 mpg

PS: TOWPRO - MPG is MORE than wind resistance. It is also about weight!!! To prove it, pull your trailer LOADED and check the mileage and then pull it EMPTY under SAME conditions and check the mileage. There will be a difference!

To the OP....exactly what MW says:)

[zb39]

I have pulled a 5th wheel and hauled the same TC with both my 2011 and my 2016. I get about the same MPG with either. About 11.7 according to the computer with both.

[Artum_Snowbird]

I doubled the weight when I went to a fifth wheel. Mileage dropped about 1 mile per gallon.

The biggest difference for me was the extra weight to get going, and the extra weight going downhill. Long downhills were suddenly very slow compared to the lightness of the truck camper when all I could use to slow me was the transmission.

You may also find you drive a bit faster with the T/C because it just feels better, lighter, quicker.

[Grit_dog]

^ Yeah, but the wind resistance on a big TC is gonna kill mileage.
If you haven't hauled one before, you wouldn't understand.
I lose 5-6 mpg with the camper easily. I get about the same mileage with the camper and a 6000lb trailer behind it.
OP can expect similar mileage with a TC as with his fiver.

And who gets 19mpg out of a 12 year old 3/4 ton gasser? Must be out for a Sunday drive every day of the week! Lol

[Bedlam]

The question about weight can be whole long thread on its own. I found towing steady speed on a flat highway, I get the same mileage with a full or empty trailer. Add stop and go traffic or elevation changes to your drive and the weight will make a difference.

[MWJones]

My personal experience is:
2004 Silverado 2500 6.0
60 miles per hr.
Truck only 19 mpg
Truck camper 11 mpg
Pulling a 36', 10000lb TT 8 mpg

PS: TOWPRO - MPG is MORE than wind resistance. It is also about weight!!! To prove it, pull your trailer LOADED and check the mileage and then pull it EMPTY under SAME conditions and check the mileage. There will be a difference!

[Bedlam]

On flats, you get about same mileage as pulling the fifth wheel due to the high profile. On varying elevation, you will get better mileage due to less weight.

[jimh406]

There are a lot of variables including actual wind, the speed you travel, how steep the roads are, the height/width of the camper/trailer, the weight of the camper/trailer, the gearing, and the engine type.

From what I've read, most people get somewhere around 6-12 with larger fivers and 8-15 with truck campers. Quite a large range! Perhaps, one of the guys here who have both will give you their mpg with each to make this more comparable.

It might help to give more details about your truck (year, engine, gearing) and what model truck campers you are interested in. You could also search the archives (posts over a year old). I'm sure there have been a lot of MPG threads in the past.

[pinesman]

Thanks. A little help from the wife driving is part of the reasoning also. We did a 7500 mile trip out west this summer and even though my wife and daughter both pull trailers around home where we know the roads, I wasn't very comfortable with either pulling on unknown roads. We might go 100 miles on wide open roads then go through congestion where I was not comfortable with them driving. I would feel a lot better if she was just driving the truck with a camper on the back rather than pulling the 38' whale behind her.

[towpro]

MPG drop towing is all about how much wind you are pushing. My truck camper moves almost as much air as my 5er. But the truck camper don't have the rolling resistance of towing a trailer. If your 5er cost you 5-6, I expect the truck came pr maybe in the 3-5 mpg loss.

but if your truck is properly setup, I feel my truck with slide-in camper is much easier to drive, more comfortable, and I can drive it much further before getting tired.
plus my wife says she can drive the truck with slide-in camper where she will not even move it with 5er attached. She did drive my 2002 dually with camper loaded home from Georgia once (700 miles) but she has not had a chance at the new one yet.