Just drove down to Freeport & back and did some experimenting with speed & fuel economy. Towing my boat with my V6 Explorer, I was getting 12.6mpg at 68-70mph on the drive down. On the return trip, I slowed it down to 55mph & got 17.1mpg. This is the same vehicle that I can squeeze 26.5mpg highway on long road trips when I cruise at 55mph without towing anything. But my normal commuting mileage - back & forth to work, grocery shopping, etc - is 16-18mpg.

Granted, nobody likes to be stuck behind a slow-moving car on the highway, but it seems that drivers have patience when they see a vehicle towing a boat or other trailer ... not so much when you're just ambling down the road in the family car ... so long as I stayed in the slow lane, there were no problems and not one single finger flipped at me.

My next trip down to the coast with the boat will be in August or September. Gonna try doing the drive at night with the cruise set at a steady 2,000 rpms, which translates to 52mph when towing with O/D off. At night, I can likely manage without A/C, or at least have it on a very low setting, and there shouldn't be any big city rush hours to get caught in traffic. Will be interesting to see the results.

What kind of towing mileage do others on here manage & what highway speeds are you comfortable towing at - high or low end?

I can get 20 towing my boat with all my gear in my 200 f250 with a 7.3 diesel. The more i slow down the better my economy is. also i accelerate down the hill and let the speed take me up the hill. I save alot of fuel like this

cypress, what speed are you doing to get 20mpg?

60. I have a 6 position chip, aem cold air and a bully dog 5 inch exhaust. 373 rear end.

Dang, that's impressive, my 2000 7.3 with Bully Dog 6 pos flip never got more than 19 and that was going down hill!!

52 is too slow at night. Some drunk can run up on you in the dark. Drive closer to the traffic flow speeds. I drive no slower than 59-60 at night.

I dont pay attention to gas mileage when towing because i dont tow for more than 30min at a time and most of that is not on the highway . When not towing, i get around 13 mpg around town. I live 2 min from work and most of the time never get over 45 mph. My F150 has the smaller 4.6L V8 that gets good gas mileage on the freeway, but I hardly ever have to drive on the freeway.

When i am pulling a flatbed trailer, boat trailer, or cattle trailer, i never go over 60 mph. If the speed limit is 70, and im towing, i go 60. I really dont give a chit if people get mad at me going slow while towing, because im the one that has to worry about stopping that load behind me if some other dummy pulls out infront of me.

Towing, I have a 07 Tundra, DC, 2wd, with the 5.7. I tow a 19.5 CC with a single axle trailer. While towing 55-65 I usually get around 15 MPG. When not towing on the road at 65 I get around 20 MPG, but increase that to 75 and it drops to 18.5 MPG. I have been very pleased with the Tundra.

Jim

I think I get ~10mpg. 2000 F150 and 18ft boat @75mph.

Just made the trip to Freeport myself this weekend pulling my little 16' bass boat behind the wife's Nissan Xterra. Not towing she usually gets about 16-17 mpg. Towing the boat and keeping with the flow of traffic (68-73mph most of the time), I got about 13-14mpg this weekend. Not bad considering the speed I was running.

I don't typically slow down much when towing the boat or other small loads. I just keep more distance in front of me for braking, but most other driving habits remain the same. And yes, I anticipate hills, speed up down, and let the speed scrub off going uphill. Saves wear on the truck and fuel. Larger/Heavier loads, yes, I will start really changing my habits, but those changes are mainly in observance of safety. Fuel mileage deteriorating while towing anything is an accepted evil for me.

In my 2008 F250 with the 6.4 powerstroke I get 13 just driving around town empty, towing a 31 foot TT I get around -8, towing the 21 foot CC I get around 10, and this is running at 70mph. The best I have seen was 14.5 empty with the cruise set on 80 until the tank was almost empty, I might have got better mpg if I slowed down but the truck is very smooth at 80 and never has to downshift.

Pulled our flatbed to the ranch this weekend which weighed around 5k and had 2k of feed in the bed of the truck. Got 16mpg going 65. Driving a 2010 1 ton 4x4 dodge with cumins and 6 speed manual. From what I have seen that is about what I get empty as well on a tank over a whole week comuting 30 miles to work 1 way a day too.

matt

5.9 Cummins one ton 4x4, auto..single rear wheels...18.5/18.8 pulling boat at 70 mph..also my whole rig probably doesnt weigh 3000-3500 lbs..i dont even use the tow haul..a little overkill probably..but it does very good

Did another long run - this time towing an RV trailer to Mustang Island. Found out how much difference the A/C makes on the fuel economy. Got 8.5mpg on the drive down during daytime & 10.5mpg on the drive home at night. This was with a Dodge dakota V8 & the trailer was about 6,000#. Speed was a constant 60mph on cruise control.

Just might get that magic 17mpg if I tow my boat at night next time at 60-65mph

yeek

Zeek,
I tow with a similar Explorer, I found I can get an extra mile per gallon towing with my boat covered. I usually get 14 towing between 68-70. 16 is the best I have gotten at those speeds but that is when I can find real gas not ethanol.

Hey Zeek,

Most likely you have a head wind going down and a tail wind coming back. Wind can make a big difference especially with high profile vehicle. I would not get too excited about you MPG without the A/C until you factor out the wind.

Gotta lose the obsession with Towing MPG. You're gonna get your rig rear ended,some night,while Hyper Mileing at 35 MPH.The mileage is what it is. Be safe.

I have a 99 Suburban with a 351 vortex, I pull a ranger 205 to alot of tournaments. Without the boat I get about 18 mpg at 70 mph and at 2000 rpms. When I have the boat on I do around 65 at about 1800 rpms and I get around 15 mpg, if not in hilly country.

Now if I go over 2k rpms, with the boat on I go to about 12 mpg.

My 2010 Tundra is horrible on gas, towing or not! It's the best truck I've ever owned, gas mileage is it's only downside!!

pulled my 519 ranger..200opti,,,tandem axle...6000 miles last year avg,,was 12mpg with 2008 z71,,,5.3 ext cab ran avg of 70 - 75mph

I guess from reading these responses that my simplest 'fix' on mileage is to just drive 60-65 and be happy with 15-16mpg

'03 F150 FX4, 160k+ miles, towing a 20' champion, i get 9-11 mpg.

but i don't tow slow. 75-80 mph avg. if you're not first, your last...

Right. You gotta "Tow with the Flow" to be safe.

That's my driving speed day or night on the highway. Save gas, and no risk of a ticket.

You'll also be able to discover when driving your boat on plane there is a way to get more mileage from your motor if you don't run all out, I have a Mercury 175, and for me it is about 3500 rpms.