I have a 2008 F-150 SuperCrew with the 5.4, 6.5 ft. box, towing package, and limited slip with 3.55 gears. I just bought a 30 ft. travel trailer that weighs around 5200 lbs. I live in St. Louis and I bought it near Cincinnati, OH. I have an Edge programmer and it was set on towing performance for the duration of the trip. On the way there I got an average of 17 mpg. On the way home it averaged 7 mpg! This is horrendous and completely unexpected. One thing I noticed was that the truck rarely shifted into overdrive on the way home even when on level highway. Would a rear gear change to 3.73s or even 4.10s improve the mileage and make it shift into overdrive? I'm concerned about the mileage, but another worry is in third gear, the engine turns at between 2,000 and 3,000 RPM. That can't be healthy for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated since this is my first camper.

 

Your 2008 F150 has a 4 speed tranny, with 4th gear being overdrive. You should be locking out 4th gear when towing heavy anyway. In 2009 Ford added a 6 speed tranny which made a world of difference in towing capability. That being said, yes, 3.73 of 4.10 gears would make a slight difference, but IMO not enough to warrant the cost of the gear change. The RPM's your are experiencing are no problem at all for the 5.4 engine. don't know when you plan to upgrade your truck, but if you can live with the 7 MPG until that time, you will be amazed at what a difference the next generation f150 can make in your towing experience. I tow a 7700# 5th wheel with a 2009 f150 with 3.73 gears and the 5.4 and 6 speed tranny, and I am hearing great things about the new eco-boost engine as far as torque. Hope some of this rambling has helped.

 

Funny thing. I was just at an RV show and was looking at a 5er that would be well within my F-250 capacity. It had a sign on it saying that it was 1/2 ton towable. I questioned that and the sales rep said that was true as long as the 1/2 ton was a new Ford eco-boost. The eco-boost has a tow capacity of 11,300 and this trailer as it was equipped scaled at 10,793. So it could be done, not sure how efficient it would be though.

 

I would check your math on the 17 mpg towing a 30' tt. I was lucky to get 17 mpg empty with my f150. 7 mpg on the way back is a little low but I've seen it with a good head wind...8.5 - 9 mpg was my usual towing with that truck.

 

My experience with pulling rv trailers with a 1994 F150 gasser and also a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee 318 cu" gasser was that the vehicles did not tow well in overdrive so I towed in the top gear before overdrive except in the mountains where I might tow in one gear down. Your mileage of 7mpg is probably in range for your load. If you are towing over 65 mph, this will lessen your mpg's dramatically. I live in Texas where people drive like idiots on the interstates and around the big cities so we generally try to stick to the right lane and follow an over the road truck that is doing about 2-3 miles under the posted speed - i.e. we normally tow at 63mph or 67 mph. It's amazing how much easier this is on your blood pressure and on a 300 mile trip it really only takes us a couple of minutes more to get there - oftentimes following the person who whizzed by me 50 miles back.

Not to preach too much but I will pass on a few things that are important for towing. I assume you have a pull behind and as such you should have an electric brake controller on the truck, extended mirrors, a sway bar on the hitch and torsion bars on the trailer. You should load up your trailer with whatever you carry and take it to a truck stop and weigh it on the truck scale. Costs $5-$10. Weigh it on two panels unhitched for determining the hitch weight and the weight on the wheels. Weigh it on one panel unhitched with the truck on another panel for total weight. Compare your results against the capabilites of the truck. Also check the carrying capacity of the tires on the trailer and the truck to make sure they have adequate capacity (I like to stay below 80% of capacity). It seems you have what we used to call "Vanity" wheels on the truck. Make sure they have the sufficient capacity. Also, remember with full fresh water, black and grey tanks, you are carring somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 lbs of additonal weight.

With regard to the trailer, if you are going to make longer trips out of state, ditch the tires that came on the trailer if they are brands you never heard of from China or Manchuria. I can't recommend Good Years because of two blowouts we've had (although Good Year did reinburse me for damage to the trailer and the cost of the tire arising from the blowout.) Make sure that you lube the bearings on the trailer as recommended in your owners guide.

I drive a 2003 6.0 diesel and we get between 10 and 12 mpg. Talking to other 6.0 drivers, this appears to be the norm. And yes, I was disappointed. Take care and good luck.

 

A 30' travel trailer that only weighs 5200 lbs? I think you need to pull that sucker up on a scale.

 

Slow down to 65 mph..that is probably the fastest you would want to turn with ST tires on that trailer.

I think your 7 mpg's is about ballpark.

Remember trailers are just like a brick wall going down the road.

 

When I had a 5.4, pulling a 30 ft trailer at 65 was usually around 7 and 5 with a 20 mph head wind. Higher rpms also when pulling so I think you are spot on. 17 empy? Not bad really.

 

I too question that a 30' travel trailer only weighs 5200 pounds. The published numbers for trailers are notoriously inaccurate. The only way to really know is to hit a CAT scale and see what the total weight of the rig is. The 5.4L is a good engine, but a 30' long, 8' wide box is a terrible drag and will just kill your mileage. As noted, headwinds will be a big additional drag, as will speeds over about 60 mph. 7 MPG is probably not that bad.

Mark

 

My 30' 5th weighs in at about 12k loaded!! Having one that weighs 5200 is missing a LOT of protection! Maybe 22'?

What's the make and model?

 

Yeah what he said ^^^^

Is it one of those ultralite trailers? My dad's 30 ft Keystone Sprinter weighs nearly 10k loaded up for a trip.

 

They way I understand it is he got 17 mpg on the way to Cincinnati to pick up the trailer, and 7 mpg on the way back with the trailer.

As for the trailer being 30 ft and weighing only 5200 lbs, it may be one of those ultra lite trailers. Still, as was previously stated, the stickers are not always truthful. I am currently looking for a trailer and found a 29ft ultra lite, and it too states it weighs "only" 5,200.

Jim

 

That's probably delivery weight - zero gear or water. What is the GVWR?

 

The 29ft I am looking at states dry weight of 5,969, and a cargo cap of 1,784, I see no GVWR listed anywhere in the ad.

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However, in my case, I would be using a Bronco to tow it, and it may be too much trailer. What caught my eye was the fact that it is listed for $16k, and the 19ft trailer I am looking at (also a new 2013) is 3k higher!

Jim