1. The EX is very finnicky with the heavier tow haulers. It has to be set up just right or else I am all over the road.

2. The 6.0 motor tows my 9.5k hauler well, slightly lacking in low end torque to pull smaller hills without downshifting. With 25-40 mph head winds it could use a little more power to hold 65-75 mph even on the flats. Once you kick it out of OD it accelerates fine, just wish it could hold in OD to hold speeds in headwinds and small hills.

3. Speaking of transmission, the one thing I notice with this AT is how it will not stay in OD, at the slighest hill if you give it just a little more throttle it just wants to downshift which killed my fuel mpg's! I know the 6.0 would pull most small hills without downshifting if you could keep her in OD while giving it more throttle. I wish I could lock into OD until I lost 10 mph or so and then it would downshift. Is there a programmer that will hold it in top gear to pull small hills and tow during those headwinds?? The tranny performed fine just wish I could control it more manually.

4. Fuel mileage: I know my Ex is running OK since it is gettin 16 in town when not towing and 17-19 on the highway when not towing.
What the heck is going on whith 6.5 mpg at the lowest and 8.3 mpg at the highest while towing a 9500lbs toy hauler?? Is this normal?? THere can't be anything wrong with the motor since it does better than most I have talked to when not towing?? On my whole trip to Iowa from AZ and back I never not 1 time got over 8.3 mpg. I checked my mileage at every single stop with a calculator??? Maybe it's just my hauler is a wide body hauler and weighs a lot?? I would like some feed back from those of you who tow 10k haulers...........

SUMMARY: Ex seems to be a great truck, more so when I am not towing. It is at it's best when just drving it around town with my family relaxing in it's huge cabin!! Towing with it is OK, I can't really say it's outstanding but it gets the job done.

 

My experience with towing is a 7000lbs TT. My set up is a WD hitch and sway control bar. I have pulled with crosswinds and head winds and my EX dose a good job pulling. I have even been pinched on the interstate with Tractor Trailers on both side what an experience the EX and TT pulled straight through. As far as the EX it a 2WD V10 granted it is no diesel. I have plenty of power to pull up hills with no loss of speed, my speed is around 65mph, I leave the overdrive off, and i usally get 9.5 mpg. Without the TT I average 15mpg. With my wife, 2kids, and 2 dogs loaded up we still have plenty of room and that is why I prefer the Excursion over our Expedition for towing.

 

Were you in Tow/haul mode or not?

 

scottman,

I know you don't want to hear this...but your low MPG's is directly tied to your high MPH's...it is a direct correlation that cannot be denied. Many of the folks that get the HIGH MPG's are driving UNDER 60...

I drive between 60 and 65 and averaged 7.82 MPG's over my near 7000 miles towing with my V10...slower yields better MPGs but I simply can't keep myself towing under 60!

As far as OD on your 5 sp...I assume you are using cruise control?...Many of my miles I don't use it and with my V10 I can "feather" the throttle to pull hills in OD...if I purely let cruise decide...then yes it will almost always down shift from OD...I know driving without cruise stinks but you can see what is coming up (i.e. the hills)...cruise only knows it is losing some speed and will do what it needs to maintain it.

Now here is just my opinion...with a 25-40 mph head wind...I would personally slow down to 60...you are bucking a pretty good wind there...slowing down a bit will raise MPG's a bunch.

I've noticed my MPG's pretty consistent with the V10...except when fighting a stiff head wind...wind resistance really BLOWS! LOL. Weight on the flats IMO doesn't much matter if it is 7500# or 10,000#'s...BUT throw in steep grades OR a stiff headwind and that's where the mpg's plummet.

Try a few hundred miles at 60-65 max...see how mpg's do...

Again don't take this as anything other then info...

Good luck and glad you got the handling figured out...

joe.

 

I agree with the speeds. I am hauling about 9000# also and am 34' long using an Equalizer hitch..On the freeway at 60 to 65,I get about 11-12 mpg ( hand held calculator) and pushing it up to the actual speed limit of 70+ it drops to 9-9.5 mpg..I also only have an AFE stage1 for an air intake and I know that that has helped my mileage a tiny bit...I am also going to be adding a 4" before the next big trip..
There are a lot of people on these forums that seem to fudge on their mileage,especially when they have all the bells and whistles added.. They aren't willing to admit that sometimes they don't always do what they say they do..I would love to see tow mileage of 14-16+ that some people say they are getting,but it just isn't so..Too many variables,like hills and slowing for a town,headwinds,weights of trailers(and frontal areas),etc.

 

My brother has an 05 Excursion with a 6.0L that is used to tow a 20 enclosed car hauler. It has an air intake, a 4" turbo back magnaflow and a Bully Dog Triple dog and it has definitely increased the driveability, towing performance, and decreased the downshifting dramatically while increasing MPG's. When he is towing, he sets it on the tow mode and forgets about it. The excursion has a huge 16" lift, with 40" tires and stock gears, and without the programmer, it loses 1.5 to 2 mpg's and cannot get out of it's own way. The last trip it averaged 8.5 to 9 MPG's towing the trailer.

I have another experience with a Bully Dog Triple Dog on a stock 2003 6.0L F-250. A customer had the tri-before you buy put in, pulled his 14' enclosed trailer to California and back and said that it would hold OD on hills now that stock power would automatically downshift on, and it increased his range by another 100 miles. He told me he was towing at 70 MPH in Utah and Nevada and 55-60 in California. He returned the next week and bought one. He has since sold his 03 and replaced it with an 06' 6.0L and said that since installing the Bully Dog on that truck, it has increased his mileage on the freeway empty from 17 to 21 when he is driving at 70 mph.

These are not made up stories, but customers coming back with no reason to lie, but tell me their experience(s). Driving styles vary so dramatically that no one can guarantee MPG gains, but we offer a 30 day money back gurantee if you don't like it, or it doesn't meet your needs. Let us know if we can help.

Chad

 

scottman,

It's all about speed and wind drag. Towing at 75 with a 30 mph headwind is effectively 105mph! I have a tough time believing any diesel could do much better than what you saw.

My V10 Ex will get in the mid 6mpg range in 3rd gear with cruise set at 70mph if there's a headwind. With tailwinds, no cruise, O/D on, and allowing a slowdown over overpasses, I've seen over 10mpg at 65mph. I tow a 7klb 28' low profile trailer.

I don't have any experience with diesels, but I can easily believe your mileage numbers under those conditions.

Doug

 

My Excursion tows beautifuly even though my dad say its a little under power we are planing to banks it this summer

 

With my old '01 V10 X, I got 11.3 MPG towing 5,600# open car trailer, but only if I keep the RPMs at 2K or below ... and that's through the Appalachians. I haven't towed anything with the '05 V10 yet.

 

I pulled from Myrtle beach to Northern Va. & running at 1,900 to 2,000 rpm's V-10 4x2 , 3.73 gears, i got 10.5 mpg pulling my 31' airstream. My Excursion pulls much better . Going to Pa. in the fall i got 8.5 mpg i was in a hurry ran 2,500 rpm's aprox. in other word i flew there . My Surb. only got 7-8.5 mpg pulling or not pulling 454 auto ,4.10 gears I'm glad it's gone !!! Wife is to she say's no more Squeaks & Rattles !!

Don

 

I'm about to go on a decent round trip with and without a 16' enclosed TT.....400miles without...800miles empty......then 800 full (approx 6k-7k???) I'll be going ATL to Ft. Walton Beach, FL to MIA back to ATL.

I'll keep acurate trip miles and fuel consuption for the sake of argument, I'll leave the Bully Dog on tow/haul/economy the whole trip. I also have GPS to verify mph & miles driven....I have stock tires & gears, the speedo is off by a few mph 80 on the speedo and 76.4 on gps that doesn't help.

right now acording to the lio-o-meter I'm getting 19.5 mpg @ 80 on a long trip (no TT obviously) if I back down to 70 it says 23-25 mpg......but of course this is not hand calculated.

I'll report back next week, I leave on Saturday.