We just bought a Jayco 24' travel trailer, weighing 3800 lbs, put on class lll hitch and have electronic brake controller. Never towed trailer before this. The trailer was empty and really no wind the 99 expedition seemed to only get 3-5 miles to gallon ate up 25+ gallons in 90 mile trip. Would not ever go into overdrive even on flat wide open roads. Does this seem right? please help planning 3000 mile trip and cant imagine how much gas would be burned if trailer was filled with water,propane and items.

 

What Motor do you have? Is It a 4x4 or not? What is the state of tune? Meaning has it had new plugs, filter, oil changed, etc...How many miles?
How does it run on its own? do you have overly large tires on it?
Etc..
Just a little info to go from is all thats needed, thanks!

Ron
99 XLT 4.6

 

ktmguy makes a great point. If you happen to have the 4.6 L coupled with the detestable 3.55 rear end, then you've got serious towing problems. But even with that combi you should still get way better than 3-5 mpg. 3800 lbs is not a reall heavy load.

Cody

 

We have a '99 eb 5.4 with the towing package and get 8-10 with the O.D. off. I've heard many times about burned up trannys because overdrive was used.

 

Something is badly wrong with that kind of mileage. I tow a 8'wide, 27ft long, 5280lb travel trailer with my '97 5.4L, 4x4, 3.73 rear end, 17" wheels, factory towing package. The worst mileage I ever got was 8 mpg going 65 mph into a 40 mph head wind uphill into CO. Downhill or on the flat with a slight tail wind I have gotten 12 mpg at 60mph. This with the vehicle mileage over 100K.
Bad plugs, too heavy oil, dirty air filters, under inflacted tires, dragging brakes, poor axle or wheel alignment and more could cause such bad mileage. Go over your truck from stem to stern and find out what's wrong.
Hope this helps.

 

The factory manual says not to tow in overdrive, and they are right. It will for awhile, but the trannly will heat up even if it's not hunting, then the OD light will flash on and off, the tranny will go into "emergency, make it home no matter how rough it shifts" mode, and you better stop and let it cool down with the engine off. I know having tried it more than once. Turn off the OD when towing and it's no problem. Gas is cheaper than trannies, or possilbe long distance tow jobs AND new tranny work.
Hope this helps.

 

Holly crap guys, I tow my Coleman camper all the time and never taken it out of over drive. In fact, I've only had to turn off over drive once going up a slight incline(really long) I've got a 97 Expy 5.4L 4x4 with a K&N intake and Flowmaster Exhaust. Don't know if that helps me any, but sounds good and gas milage isn't that bad, average about 12 towing.


Big Mick

 

Wreyn,

I drive a 99,4X4 Expy,4.6L all stock, 3:55 gear ratio.

I just purchased a 96 Catalina lite 24ft TT, 3700 lbs. dry. Brought it up,200 miles, mostly flat terrain, some inclines, pulled it out of O/D, used between 1/2 and 3/4 tank of fuel. No problems,

Interested to hear, how other 4.6 L Trailer Towers are coping with performance issues, or how to increase torque, in a reasonable price range.

Thanks.

 

The frontal area of the trailer will make a huge difference in the towing behavior, maybe even more than weight. All the Jayco's that I know of are pretty wide and tall, creating a lot of drag. Since you said you had to put on a class III hitch, I'm guessing that you did not have a tow package, and you probably don't have the best gear ratio for towing. I would not use overdrive to tow a full size trailer. 97expy5_4 can tow his Coleman in overdrive because it has a lower profile. I wish the towing guides would put more emphasis on frontal area, because the salesmen will only talk about weight. There's a big difference between a flatbed with 5000lbs. of cement and a travel trailer.

 

Front area is a huge concern when towing, especially against a head wind. My '97s manual says the limit is 60 sq. ft. My latest trailer is 57 sq. ft.. There's a mathmatical rule about force required to overcome air resistance relataive to frontal area as speed increases. If i remember right, it requires force to be increased in the ratio of about four times for every unit of speed or frontal area. Anyway, I used to tow a small camper and forget it was back there. I certainly can't now with the bigger, heavier trailer. I just adjusted my attitude and speed, which cost me nothing!