towing mpg
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Elder User
Joined: Nov 2013
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From: Manteca
So just out of curiosity I wanted to see what you guys are getting for mpg when towing. I was just trying to get some kind of ballpark about what I might be getting when I am loaded or towing. Most of the time I will have my cab over camper which fully loaded is just under 2k, vehicle specs: 85 4x4 C6 3.55r&p 6.9l banks non gated turbo, 35" meats, RCLB. Pump and sticks are fresh
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Joined: Aug 2010
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From: Northern Arizona
My truck is 1986 F350 CCLB 4x4 4.10's manual 4 speed with Gear Vendor Overdrive. Empty it runs 17 mpg all day long, when towing our 28 foot travel trailer or loaded 14 foot flatbed it drops to 12-14 mpg depending on the terrain. Worst I ever got was 10, really heavy load on mountain grades running on California fuel. Truck ran great but economy was terrible. Started getting 12 again (same load) once I filled it with Arizona fuel. IDK what the difference is but even the smell is different.
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From: Manteca
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2013
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From: California
I don't think your truck will even feel the 2k pounds. I had 1600-1700 pounds of wine in my truck last week, and my truck felt exactly the same as if it were empty. You might feel the wind more, but I don't think your motor will care at all.
I got just a hint under 15 MPG towing a U-Haul trailer with a '91 Explorer on it, somewhere in the neighborhood of 6k pounds (2k pound trailer, I think the explorer is 4k pounds). It was noticeably slower with the Explorer on board, but once the Explorer was dropped off and all I had was the trailer, the truck didn't feel the trailer at all.
Unloaded, I get around 11.5-13mpg depending on how generous my truck is feeling. Not sure why my MPG was so much higher while towing that load, but hey, I'll take it.
My truck is probably due for an IP though. Runs like a champ, but my IP / injectors / etc are all original, just hit 299k miles the other day. It hasn't even had the timing adjusted. If I got all that done, I'm sure my MPG would go up quite a bit
I got just a hint under 15 MPG towing a U-Haul trailer with a '91 Explorer on it, somewhere in the neighborhood of 6k pounds (2k pound trailer, I think the explorer is 4k pounds). It was noticeably slower with the Explorer on board, but once the Explorer was dropped off and all I had was the trailer, the truck didn't feel the trailer at all.
Unloaded, I get around 11.5-13mpg depending on how generous my truck is feeling. Not sure why my MPG was so much higher while towing that load, but hey, I'll take it.
My truck is probably due for an IP though. Runs like a champ, but my IP / injectors / etc are all original, just hit 299k miles the other day. It hasn't even had the timing adjusted. If I got all that done, I'm sure my MPG would go up quite a bit
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Joined: Feb 2013
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sorry I missed the 2k load, on flat @ 65 ground with my 30 flatbed empty about 6k or 13k all together I can get 13mpg with 93 in my sig. my idea of loaded it 20k+
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Lead Driver
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wind resistance is a biggie. But my last trip grossing 17k and change, i got 10.5-11 with some pretty big grades doing 67
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Joined: Nov 2013
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From: Manteca
Great thank you guys for all of your input, much appreciate it. I will know for sure what I am getting in the next week or two when I decide to go camping for the weekend :-) honestly figured I would probably get around 10mpg, I've been happy with 16 empty
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From: Kuna ID
I was pulling a 1973 25' camper full of gear and a load of wood in the bed through the mountains riding the redline and still pulled 11mpg. That was my first heavy trip with my diesel and I was thrilled because my last truck which had all the same specs(gears/tires/trans) but a 460 would barely get 11mpg unloaded.
Old setup, 460/5spd/4:10's probably got 5-6 mpg with this load. With two fuel tanks, I used one tank to get there and the other tank to get home.
New setup, 11mpg. IDI was quicker too, took about 30 minutes less to get to my camping spot. The IDI used one tank of fuel for the whole trip.
Old setup, 460/5spd/4:10's probably got 5-6 mpg with this load. With two fuel tanks, I used one tank to get there and the other tank to get home.
New setup, 11mpg. IDI was quicker too, took about 30 minutes less to get to my camping spot. The IDI used one tank of fuel for the whole trip.
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