I just took a thousand mile round trip the past couple days. I was towing a 1700# deck over trailer with 3 quads on it, and the bed of the truck filled with all of our gear, food, clothes, etc. I fugured 3500-4000lbs total with everything. The best I got for mpg's was 9.4 on the meter running 70-75 mph. Its a 08 job 3 quad cab, short bed, srw, with 3.73s and 20" wheels. I did have some hills to deal with as I was in SW West Virg. but this seems low to me. I was taking it easy as I could but was seeing 20-30psi on the boost gauge while cruising. Does this seem right? Not sure cause everyone seems to be all over the board with the mpgs. Any info would help and I DON'T drive it like I stole it. Thanks

 

Rolling terrain, trailer, equipment in the back, and travelling 70-75MPH. Sorry to say it but it sounds about right with these thirsty beasts. Like you mentioned.... the MPG's vary widely even with trucks that are very similarly equipt.

 

driving 70-75 mph that is about what you are going to get based on my experience. anything over 60 mph towing and you see a significant drop (like 2 mpg).

charles

 

I take it you came from a Dodge...Ram? Quad vs Crew Cab. I would think that is a touch low but there are so many things that effect mpgs.

How many miles on the odo?

 

No, came from a 04 F150, just had quads on the mind cause thats what I rode all weekend. A little over 15k on the odo.

 

That sucks. Most of the way down and back the speed limit was 70. SE PA to SW WV and back.

 

seems a bit low for having 15K on the truck for the wt. You could try a cetaine booster. May just be some bad fuel.

 

I have flatbed towed over 10K and got over 11 before..a few times.

 

I just thought with cruising the highway I would do better, 10+ hoping for 13. Hate to see what it would be if I was pulling 8k or more. How much would I gain if I put the Spartan tuner on. Think it would be worth the risk of the warrenty. I have read plenty of post about this but this milage thing is killing me. Love the truck though.

 

If I took it to the dealer would there be anything they could check out, is that worth trying. Dealer isnt that close so dont want to waste a trip.

 

Without a check eng light or driveability concern you would be hard pressed to get them to look at it.

Are the tail pipes clean? I think maybe what you need to run that thing hard, like a real heavy tow for several miles maybe. For now see if some ceteane booster would help.

I seem to hover around 9-10 pulling on average all last summer.

 

If MPGs concern you speed is your enemy...this is especially true when towing! I almost never go over 65 while towing for this reason.

If you have an open trailer with a low profile load I can see 12-14, but if you're hauling stuff that will catch the wind lower is definitely possible. I haven't gotten above 9.5 with my trailer, loaded or empty. At highway speeds weight doesn't matter nearly as much as wind resistance.

I'd get better MPGs towing 12,000 lbs on a flatbed trailer than I would towing my empty 3,500 lb 24' enclosed car hauler. You're paying to push that much stuff through the wind at 70 MPH...and that takes lots of energy!

I would NOT take it to the dealer unless you have some evidence that something's wrong. Without a check engine light or some other symptom there's not much they could do for you. They may even charge you for diagnosis because they aren't likely to be able to collect anything from Ford if they can't fix anything!

And before you consider spartan-izing your truck ask yourself this question. "Do I have $15,000 laying around to cover an engine replacement?" If the answer is yes, by all means go for it. If not, you should re-think your priorities. You think getting 9-10 MPGs is bad? Try owing the cost of a brand new Focus to your service department just to get your truck back on the road!

 

Good point Crazy. Dont have that kind of money laying around. Guess this is what I will get for mpgs.

 

One thing you might check is your air filter. I seem to loose about a mile per gallon when mine starts to get dirty. By the way 9 mpg is what I get pulling my 5th wheel at 60mph. 08 F450 with 4.88 rear.

 

That seems to be what these rigs get. The V-10's do about as well towing. They just don't have quite as much power.