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.

Oh yeah, already had my boats optimum speed figured out & yes, it's close to 3,500rpms. Cruise at about 22-24mph on the water

98 K2500 4x4 Suburban with 454- 8 to 9 mpg approx pulling the boat,about 11 on the freeway without the boat.
gets better gas mileage at 80 than it does at 55!!!!
just depends on your gears,transmission and powerband.

You're leaving out the most important aspect of towing...Wind direction.

This time of year the winds come out of the SE generally, especially the closer you get to the coast.

So going down you'd have a head wind and leaving you'd have a tailwind.

Last month I pulled my boat down and back. I pulled the same speed both ways with the a/c blowing cold. I burned a full tank going down and a half tank coming back. The difference was the unmerciful 20-30 mph head wind on the way down.

When pulling my RV the biggest factor is wind. If my brother and I caravan together with our RV's we'll leap frog and take turns in the lead while the follower drafts off the leader. Makes a huge difference in fuel economy.

I just made a trip to Sabine Lake with my 481 Ranger and averaged just shy of 15 mpg on the round trip (625 miles). There might have been 25 miles that the boat was not hooked up to the truck. I pull with a 07 Tundra 5.7 between 60-65 mph. Because of Alex, I had 10-20 head winds both ways which did not help the fuel mileage.

Ditto on both points

1998 GMC C1500 extended cab w/ 5.7 liter with 175k --I average about 17 mpg, but pulling my 18ft Triton it gets about 12 mpg. Im sure I could get a little better if I kept it under 70 mph, but I'm usually in a hurry to get to the lake.

I just made two trips with my 08 Dodge 6.7 diesel. I went to KC from Houston pulling an empty 24 foot fcar trailer and averaged 15.5. On the way back I had a 1973 Chevy 1/2 ton PU on that same trailer and I got 10.5 in the hills and 13.5 on flat ground pulling the truck @ 70mph. The second trip was going from Houston to Florida, and I was pulling a U-Haul Car Trailer with a 96 Mercedes E 320 on the back. Never got less than 13.5 pulling @ 70mph. I did put a hard bed cover on between tripsw and I think that helped me, especially with the consistency in mileage. The more I drive that diesel the more I like it. When it gets over 100k and the warranty is off, a chip will definately go in.

2010 Ford F-150 4x4 pulling 19ft Bass Cat. About 10 pulling it 70 to 75. I don't drive slower on long hauls so it really doesn't matter below that. Normal everday mileage is 16. Highway can go from 20 when absolutely milking it for mileage to 17 when driving normal. You can slow down to 60 and get good mileage of about 18.5 but I don't.

2004 FX4 F-350 Crew Cab Single wheel 430 Gears Auto. Empty or pulling 20' Ranger, 8.5 MPG. OUCH! Never since new has it got better.

2003 dodge 2500 heavy duty i average about 17-18 in city and while pulling my 21ft bass boat i get just about 15.5-16.5 on highway without any load i get about 21.5-23mpg

just pulled back a mastercraft X-star from virginia with a 05' duramax.

got about 17 mpg gallon hwy doin about 80 unloaded.

got about 10 mpg doing the same speed with the boat, 4600 lbs plus trailer

2007 F150 supercrew 4x4 with a 5.4 liter. City or highway around 15 to 16.
Towing a 21 foot pontoon around 10.

2002 Chevy Silverado 1/2 ton, small V-8 (4.8), 150K miles. Pulling the 20 ft Stratos and tandem trailer, it's been constant at 12.5 mph since day 1 and driving approx 65 mph (varies between 62 and 70 most times since I won't tow with the cruise on). Without the boat, 15 mph around town and to and from work (16 miles one way in and out of traffic) and 18-19 highway running cruise and 70 mph. Probably need to change the spark plugs since I still have the originals in, lol. Maybe that would help a little. Buying gas out away from town helps too as this 10% ethanol stuff tends to reduce your mpg as well. Be sure to factor where you purchase your fuel into your calculations.

F450 going from Ft. Worth to Jackson Miss. got 12.5 @65mph. pulling a 16ft trailer. With a 24ft goosneck and a JD 450 dozer in the throttle hard 3.5 cruise set at 60mph. 5.7mpg. Around town 9-10mpg. Not a very good truck for anykind of milage but will pull a mountain down.Auto 6.3liter 4x4 twin turbos. Will smoke the tires if you wish. And will haul the mail up to 82mph and then cuts off. 2002 6 speed 3500 Dodge w/56k 17-20mpg hwy. 15city 6.0 24valve one ton 2 wheel drive. Dodge 09 3500 4x4 automatic 12-15 hwy 10-12 city. Pulling gooseneck w/dozer @ 60 cruise set gets around 8.5. Wifes KR f150 gets 17 hwy 14city, all bells and whistles 4x4 auto. Divorce instantly if i was to hook anykind of trailer behind her truck lol.

my 2000 dodge 2500 4x4 6 spd 373gears ex cab short box 6'' lift on 37 12 16 i pull a stratos 201 pro any where from 80-90 still average 25mpg diesel by far will out pull gas i sold that for a 09 silverado and at .... well i get like 5-7mpg with it

I dont get near that on mine..05 one ton 4x4 cummins..but can still pull at 18/18.5 with 21ft Stroker..gas engines with no load will probably get about the same mileage as the diesels on the highway..the key word here is LOADED.

I usually get 20-22 combination highway miles/city driving to work 5 days and messing around on weekends. Pulled my new to me boat from Austin area last month. Filled it up after I picked it up and drove a couple hours around Austin area going to TPW and to my daughters in north Austin and then home in Arlington. Got 18 on that tank. Drive an 02 Ranger automatic 3.0 V6. Pulled the 16ft glass boat 65 or so during the busy part of the day, the 5 o clock rush hour in Austin and traffic back to the metromess.

Whats a 21ft Stroker weigh....800-900lbs?

I'm pretty happy with my 08 2500 even with that *&(&^(^(^%%$ Bluetech Diesel....
13.5 pulling my wife's car from Houston to FL and 17.2 empty....
I really believe that hard bed cover is getting me about 1 more mpg.
At that rate I'll get it paid for in about 2000 tanks of Diesel......

1200 lbs on the hull....1100 lbs on trailer..520 lbs on motor..probably around 3500 lbs with everything, maybe a little more...still pretty light compared to a Ranger or Skeeter at 21 ft

Dija put some ballast in that hull to get the 1200?
Strokers are pretty unique if you ask me, cause they really are not as light as most ultra fast boats.

No ballast...look on website 1200 lbs...still not heavy..but a little lighter than my Bullet was...takes the water quite well, and yes..we know the rest

Pulling my 20' Skeeter with the 07 Chevy Duramax at 70 mph I'm averaging 16.8. Only thing I've done is reprogram with Super Chip to Performance Tow and install K&N air filter.

Seems like no matter what I do, Old Black gets around 15.5 MPG.

She's a 1996 F-250 7.3L with an Edge Evolution tuner, APE Stage II intake, MBRP 4" exhaust. I use her to tow a 2000 16' Smokercraft.

05 Duramax 4 dr 4x4 high 18's-20 mpg empty, Pulling 38 ft fifth wheel around 10 mpg and 8 mpg with wind and 12 mpg with tail wind 16- 18 pulling boat (17.5 ' Lund aluminum). All calculations are hand figured and not from the liometer!!!! I find alot of people fib about fuel mileage.

I have 2010 FX 2 at 75 i get 13 pulling a zx225

I think that is the truest thing I have read on here, I think some of the folks on here quote the best they have ever seen as the average. I can guarantee you the only way a 2000 4X4 dodge with 37's on it is going to get 25mpg pullin a boat or empty is if its with the clutch in and rolling down hill.

Also my uncle used to tell me his '04 5.9 cummins got 15 pullin his 30 foot camper, but that was with half a tank pullin and the other half empty ridin round town, you gotta figure your stuff right.

matt