Tundra 5.7 Owners

[esjay]

What gas mileage are you getting towing and how much weight are you pulling?

[esjay]

spoon059:

Well, that shows what I know, or don't know. I'm very familiar with the 4.6 if it is the same one that Lexus uses. I was told wrong by Toyota salesmen about the towing package if this is true.
However, 2mpg difference almost makes this a nonissue, especially since the 4.6 requires timing belt replacements. It is one very smooth and refined engine though, so I may reconsider it. Toyota has one of the most confusing websites when it comes to building a vehicle. I'll probably buy a Tundra, then two weeks later discover that a diesel Tundra is on the way soon. Yes, I have read the rumors.

By the way,we want a Limited and the 4.6 isn't even available in the Limited. The 5.7 is standard.

[12thgenusa]

guidry wrote:
I had a 2007 Tundra 5.7 and towed a 27' Prowler with one slide. Truck pulled good but was close to maxed out weight wise. I never had any real issues and towed across the country and averaged 10 mpg towing and 20mpg non towing. I got tired pulling over every two hours to get gas.

But . . . over 200 miles in 2 hrs or 10 mpg at 100 mph? Sounds good to me. 😉

Seriously, my 5er weighs about 8300#, GCW about 14,600# and I keep the speed to 65 unless the conditions or limit is lower. I have over 11k miles towing this combo and have averaged right at 10.5 mpg towing. You should do better than that.

[spoon059]

esjay wrote:
The 4.7 is still available in the Tundra, although EPA is only 2mpg higher than the 5.7. Toyota seems to push the 5.7 for towing, as it is the only Tundra engine that comes from the factory with a complete tow package, 7 pin hookup,etc. The 5.7 is a bit of an overkill for pulling a Casita, but who knows, we may get a larger trailer later (I hope not).

Nope, the 4.7 was retired a couple years ago. They now offer a 4.6 which is much different technology than the old 4.7 was. You can buy a 4.6 with tow package, 7 pin hookup, engine cooler, trans cooler, and trans temp gauge. Only difference between the 5.7 and 4.6 is final drive on the 4.6 is 4.1 as opposed to 4.3.

[guidry]

I had a 2007 Tundra 5.7 and towed a 27' Prowler with one slide. Truck pulled good but was close to maxed out weight wise. I never had any real issues and towed across the country and averaged 10 mpg towing and 20mpg non towing. I got tired pulling over every two hours to get gas. When I retired last year I got a Chev 3500 diesel and could not be happier! I was a Toyota guy til this Chevy. Tundras pull good but I wanted great.

[esjay]

The 4.7 is still available in the Tundra, although EPA is only 2mpg higher than the 5.7. Toyota seems to push the 5.7 for towing, as it is the only Tundra engine that comes from the factory with a complete tow package, 7 pin hookup,etc. The 5.7 is a bit of an overkill for pulling a Casita, but who knows, we may get a larger trailer later (I hope not).

[TECMike]

Esjay:

Perhaps you remember I responded to your recent thread regarding towing a Casita.

As a follow-up to my response to you in that thread, we have a friend that has towed 17' Casitas for many years with their Tundra. It is an older one with the 4.7L V-8. It is smaller than the current Toyota Tundra and has much less inside cabin space than the larger, newer generation 2014 Tundra.

Our friends always get between 12-14 MPG, towing 60 MPH, depending on wind conditions. This is first hand information as they often travel with us and filled up when we filled up.

The wind resistance on a Casita with its rounded frontal area, sides and back is MUCH less than a conventional travel trailer with a square frontal area. Kind of like a small Airstream.

Having towed travel trailers over 42 years, my wife and I have also found wind resistance, frontal area, and towing speed to be the single largest factors affecting gas mileage.

As I understand the newer Toyota Tundras has a larger 5.7L V-8 engine, so I have no experience direct experience with it. However, I would think your mileage would be close to the previous generation Tundra with its 4.7L V-8 if you towed at 60 MPH as our friends do.

Mike

[camp-n-family]

I'm towing a 31' @ 7800lbs and average 9mpg at 60-65mph. I can increase that to almost 11mpg by dropping to 55mph (with no wind).

As mentioned you won't see a huge difference with weight. The big changes occur with speed, frontal area size and winds.

You shouldn't have a problem achieving 12-13mpg with the trailer you mention, as long as you keep the speeds down and you don't have a heavy foot.

[Cyborgie]

We pull a 19' Scamp and once you put it in tow out goes the reasonable.

[otrfun]

Pulled a 5,000 lb. loaded trailer (7ft wide, approx. 9-10 ft high; flat, slightly slanted frontal area) with a 2011 Tundra 5.7 cross-country. At 55 mph, cruise off, flat terrain, no wind, and 50 ft elevation, got 13.0 mpg (12.0 mpg at 60 mph). Dropped to 11 - 11.5 mpg (at 55 mph) in the desert SW with more hills and wind. From my experience, 55 mph is the optimum tow speed if MPG's are a priority.

[rjstractor]

esjay wrote:
I will only be pulling about 3,000 pounds at 60-65 mph, usually on fairly level roads. What can I expect?

You should easily get your wished for 12-13, if not better. I towed my 6x12 enclosed trailer to California a couple of years ago with my gaz-guzzling 2500HD. The trailer was lightly loaded (maybe 2200 pounds) but has the aerodynamics of a brick. Running about 60 mph I averaged 12.5 for the trip, up and down the Siskiyous and the Grapevine. With a tailwind I averaged almost 15 on 1 fillup. A 5.7 Tundra should do better, the challenge will be keeping your speed down with that light little trailer! 🙂

[Ron3rd]

ewarnerusa wrote:
I'm subscribing to hear real world 5.7 Tundra numbers. I'm a Toyota truck guy, I'm on my 3rd one which is an '04 Tundra Limited 4x4, 4.7L engine, 4.10 gears. While I don't think anyone buys a truck to get good gas mileage, I feel like Toyota is really behind the curve on mileage. Mine sucks, 8-9 towing (which I know is typical across the range of gas engines) and 13-15 mixed city/highway. 17+ if all highway. If that's all the better I'm getting, what's the point of the small V8 and sub-1500 size? Newer domestic trucks seem to float around 20's for mpg on the highway and upper teens with mixed, but the 5.7 Tundra is known for being a fuel hog. My current truck is marginal for our towing needs so I'm going to be getting a new TV in the future and would like to stick with Toyota, but the 1500 diesels and/or Ecoboosts just seem like such a better deal for fuel mileage. To be honest I think I might be going with a full-size SUV for the next TV based on passenger hauling, I'm interested to see what the future holds in that category.

I pulled the trailer in my sig with my old 2000 4.7 Tundra and my 2007 5.7 Tundra and the mpg was about the same towing. Yes, mpg sucks but 381 HP and 401 Ft lbs of torque costs mpg. I agree that Toyota is way behind the mpg curve in technology compared to the big 3. For mpg, I like the new Silverado 5.3. Eco boost is great too.

[goducks10]

Can I reasonably expect 12-13mpg towing a slippery, 68" wide, single axle fiberglass 3,000 pound trailer?

I would think that would be easily doable. That trailer is only 5'-8" wide. Pretty close to the same width as the truck. 3000lbs is really nothing. If that trailer is fairly low then I see no reason you shouldn't get 12-13mpg or better.
If you have a canopy on I would think 14 would be doable as the trailer would be in the slipstream.

[ewarnerusa]

I'm subscribing to hear real world 5.7 Tundra numbers. I'm a Toyota truck guy, I'm on my 3rd one which is an '04 Tundra Limited 4x4, 4.7L engine, 4.10 gears. While I don't think anyone buys a truck to get good gas mileage, I feel like Toyota is really behind the curve on mileage. Mine sucks, 8-9 towing (which I know is typical across the range of gas engines) and 13-15 mixed city/highway. 17+ if all highway. If that's all the better I'm getting, what's the point of the small V8 and sub-1500 size? Newer domestic trucks seem to float around 20's for mpg on the highway and upper teens with mixed, but the 5.7 Tundra is known for being a fuel hog. My current truck is marginal for our towing needs so I'm going to be getting a new TV in the future and would like to stick with Toyota, but the 1500 diesels and/or Ecoboosts just seem like such a better deal for fuel mileage. To be honest I think I might be going with a full-size SUV for the next TV based on passenger hauling, I'm interested to see what the future holds in that category.

[spoon059]

esjay wrote:
I'd like to know real world mpg figures. Can I reasonably expect 12-13mpg towing a slippery, 68" wide, single axle fiberglass 3,000 pound trailer?

Honestly no. Its not so much the weight of the trailer, its the wind resistance from the front of the trailer. I have a 2010 with 5.7 and heavy E rated tires. I pull a 6500 lbs trailer and if I keep it under 65 I can get 10.5 or so driving up and down the level east coast. When the speeds go up, the mileage goes down quickly. When I pulled in the Appalachian mountain range, mileage when down to about 8 or 9 at those same speeds.

If you have a rounded front wall, you might get better mileage. If you keep your speed at or below 55 or 60, you might get better mileage. If you have a camper shell on your bed that reduces wind drag between truck and camper, you MIGHT get better mileage.

All that being said, 12 or 13 towing seems unlikely, but it could be possible if all the variables are in your favor. Unfortunately your low fuel light will come on after only 20 gallons, so even at 13 mpg you'll be getting that fuel light at 260 miles.

Honestly though, the 5.7 is a BEAST of an engine and will pull that trailer with ease.

On edit I failed to do the math. 68" is 5.5 feet wide, not an 8 foot wide travel trailer. You will have less wind resistance and its probably not as tall as a travel trailer either. With a small profile you should be able to get better mileage than if you were pulling a similar weight full size travel trailer. 13 might be very possible with the smaller profile of the trailer. Good luck.

[bgum]

If you drive 60 , in drive, tow/haul on, on the flat, no wind then yes you can expect 12 to 13 mpg with that trailer.