Tow vehicle mileage

I can't find search, the board is new, and I am curious.

All I want to know is, what you haul with, what you haul, type of normal terrain, and MPG.

Example, '06 Mustang GT - tire trailer - flat - 22mpg I would rather a actual trucks/SUV.

The answer is, as always, Miata. Sorry I don't have a serious reply for you.

99 Land Rover Discovery II - most of my towing is boats from 2k to 4k, in rolling hills around New England. Non towing I get about 16 - full time 4WD and barnlike aerodynamics. Towing 2k at 70 it drops to about 13-14. Towing 4k it drops to about 11 or 12, but the boat have some significant windage, especially the big one.

http://archive.grassrootsmotorsports.com/board/viewtopic.php?id=32275&p=1

A while back I said:I had an '83 Suburban 4x4 1500 6.2 diesel with the 700R4 and even in good tune it was slow as hell completely empty (two passengers, no trailer) going up a mild hill, I can't imagine pulling a trailer on a mountain pass with that thing. My mileage was between 17 and 19 mpg no matter what. I converted it to run on veggie oil, then sold it and upgraded. I now have a '94 Suburban 4x4 2500 6.5 turbo diesel, much much nicer truck and way more peppy than the old Suburban. I just hauled an open dual axel trailer with our 24 Hours of LeMons Impreza, full set of spare tires, full set of spare suspension, 5 passengers, and probably another 300-400 pounds worth of gear, tools, clothes, etc. Driving between Portland, OR and Willows, CA there are a few pretty good climbs (mountain passes) that slowed the truck down to 40 mph or so. Our mileage for the trip was 13 mpg. The truck has been getting about 16 mpg on the highway (70 mph) empty, about 19 mpg on backroads (55 mph) empty, and about 14 mpg in the city (short trips, lots of cold starts, stop and go). Oh, and I've got slightly oversized AT tires with Alcoa alloys, 3.73 gears, manual wastegate controller, 4" exhaust/3" downpipe, and auto trans. I'm gathering up some components to convert it to burn veggie oil too, this time I'm using some nicer equipment and automating it too. Driving a fuel hog isn't so bad when the fuel is near free. In a perfect world I could buy a newer Suburban with a Duramax, but since they don't make that and I don't want to pony up the cash for a Duramax truck, I deal with the 6.5TD. It's not a perfect engine, but all things considered it's not too bad for a diesel and it's pretty tolerant of burning veggie oil (unlike many of the newer engines) so it works out well for me. I love having the Suburban, I'm not much of a truck guy, I like my stuff all enclosed and I find the space to be much more useable. It's not as much space as a van, but I like having four wheel drive, it comes in handy pretty often. I hope this helps.

That's stripped from the other thread, so it's actually a bit dated. There's a bunch of other info on towing MPG in there.

Bryce

I tow a Miata (surprise!) on an aluminum tandem axle trailer with my 2005 Toyota Tacoma four door. The truck has a 6 cylinder with the 5 speed automatic.

The truck averaged 22 without a trailer, but loaded with a lot of weight when moving my father from Connecticut to Florida.

When towing the Miata through the mountains of New Hampshire, mileage has has dropped as low as 14.

2000 Tundra, with an Opel GT on a single-axle open trailer behind. About 13-14 mpg, but I had to go over two 10,000' passes and we were cruising at 75. The truck makes 17-ish when empty in the city.

'91 Ford E350 Vambulance towing ~3500 lbs of spec e30 + trailer. I got 11mpg on the way back from Reno Fernley ... a mix of mountains and not. A veggie conversion is in my future.

1999 Isuzu Vehicross: AWD, 3.5 ltr v6, regular grade fuel. average 18 mpg hwy unladen, 14-16 mpg while towing, which is pretty good. In a recent trip (NY to FL, very varied terrain) I averaged 16 mpg, total tow weight was about 3800 pounds... I have towed 5k plus with this truck with no issues. These do not come with a tow package and require a custom made hitch, and are based on a shortened trooper frame.

95 Chevy C3500 Ambulance w/6.5 Diesel. I get 10 mpg intown, highway or towing. It just doesn't care

924guy wrote: 1999 Isuzu Vehicross: AWD, 3.5 ltr v6, regular grade fuel. average 18 mpg hwy unladen, 14-16 mpg while towing, which is pretty good. In a recent trip (NY to FL, very varied terrain) I averaged 16 mpg, total tow weight was about 3800 pounds...

That trailer sure looks familiar! I credit it's superior design and maintenance with the minimal impact on fuel economy.

My tow rig of choice is a '69 Dodge crew cab camper special 3/4 ton, 440 bored and offset ground out to 472ci running through a Spicer 5-speed OD trans from a duece-and-a-half and a 3.54 Dana 60. Engine runs off a vintage EFI system, an AIRsensors unit that uses a huge mass-air sensor and throttle-body. I get 14-16 around town and highway empty, drops to 12-14 pulling anything, and I do mean anything.

For lighter towing I use a plain-jane short bed, standard cab '90 Chevy truck with a TBI 350 and 5-speed. It gets @22mpg highway empty, 18 around town and about 16 pulling a car down the road on an open trailer. It's not nearly as nice to drive loaded, though, the shorter wheelbase and 200 less hp makes for more driver stress than the old Dodge.

'97 Trooper, 3.2 SOHC 24v automatic, 5000 pound tow capacity. I have a full deck tandem axle trailer real similar to NickelDime's but I think it might be a bit longer. I get 13 or so around town and 16-17 highway unloaded, when towing I get 10-11 at approx 70 MPH no matter the terrain.

I think I may scale down the trailer, mine is great pulls well etc but is built for something a lot heavier than a Jensen Healey or Spitfire. I think the thing weighs 1500 pounds by itself. If I can cut the trailer weight to 750 pounds or so, that would be nice.

The ultimate tow vehicle is a 4cyl diesel/turbo diesel '89-'94 Toyota Hilux. I don't know what the mileage is going to be like when towing, but when driving around it's pretty good and it can run on straight WVO! There was someone in here who had an E85-powered Hilux and Supra, he should be able to give you some info...

2002 Jeep Liberty towing my ZX2. Total about 3900 lbs. Anywhere from 10 to 14 mpg. Depends on roads and terrain.

Dad: 99 Suburban K2500 454 Vortec towing 9000lb camper. 10mpg highway. Not towing, 10 mpg highway . (Actually about 12-13)

My experiences: 98/99 Suburban K1500 350 Vortec. Towing 4000lbs enclosed trailer. 12-13 highway. 18 or so unladen

2002 Avalanche K1500 5300. Towing 3500lbs open trailer. 13-14 highway. 18 or so unladen

Was going to go with a diesel vice the Avalanche, but the difference in the cost of the diesel fuel offset the better mileage...

Mix of flat and mountainous terrain... more the latter than former.

Bill

'95 C1500, 350/5 speed towing a stock Miata on a 2200 lb trailer. I get 11 towing, 14 empty. I used to get 14 towing and 17 empty, but I switched from 235/75/15 to 265/75/15 tires. The $40 rebate I got from Goodyear was blown in the first few miles.

'04 E350 Clubwagon, V10, towing a Miata on an open trailer with a tire rack, Miata and trailer with tires, etc. weigh in at around 4500, figure another 1000 lbs. of tools, spares, and people in the rig. All up, around 12,000 lbs. The truck has no idea there is anything back there. If I could get traction (damn open diff) I could probably move my house off it's foundation with all of the torque this thing makes. To say it's under stressed is putting it mildly.

12 MPG. At 70+ with the AC set to "meat locker." Hills? What are these "hills" you speak of?

98 Lincoln Naviator towing a 20 enclosed car mate trailer, 2200 lb Miata inside. Down to PA 7.8 mpg Home from PA 8.9 mpg Do you think the tune up where we found #7 plug falling out of the motor will help?

1984 Volvo 245 Diesel wagon. 82hp, tow rating 3300 lb.

Will get 35+ hwy with a 2800lb trailer. If you're not in any rush.

Evan_R wrote: 1984 Volvo 245 Diesel wagon. 82hp, tow rating 3300 lb. Will get 35+ hwy with a 2800lb trailer. If you're not in any rush.

....and it's downhill both ways!!!

'88 C1500 305 V8 and TH400, don't know what axle.

15mpg in town. Never used a full tank on the road. Never used a full tank towing. Sorry.

95 Ford Powerstroke single cab long bed SRW, 4.10s, OD auto. 20-22 empty, 10-13 towing 10,000 lbs. I did have one tank that went as low as 8 mpg, but that was climbing from Phoenix to Flagstaff and making serious time. Foot to the floor for a few hundred miles going uphill will do that :)

98 Chevy 6.5, crew cab SRW long bed, 4.10s, OD auto. 18-19 empty, 8-10 towing 9000 lbs. That same truck dragged my 3500-lb boat around at 13 mpg which I thought was a little low.

04 Duramax, crew cab short bed SRW, 3.73, allison OD auto. Empty I've seen as high as 24 mpg. Towing 10,000 puts it squarely at 12-13.

And for the scary side... 86 Ford 460 gas F350 SRW. 9 empty, 6 towing 6000 lbs

88 Chevy 350 TBI, 3.73. 12 empty, 6-8 towing.

73 Impala wagon, 3.08, 454, TH400 auto. 9 empty, 7 towing 3500 lbs.

I've towed with a many more, but those are the ones that I actually have used a lot myself.

I drove a '96 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 318 and Quadratrac 4WD from Ontario to New Mexico and back. The way down was with an empty car hauler trailer (figure 1200 lbs) and back was with a Starion on the trailer (4200 lbs.) The truck used a dead consistent 14-15 L/100km through flat Nebraska, through the Colorado Rockies, in the desert, didn't matter at all. I think that works out to around 16 MPG? Wasn't too bad anyway.

I limited my speed to around 65-70 MPH on the interstates for most of the trip though.

J

2005 Ford 3.9 L Freestar minivan pulling 18', 2005 Econotrailer.

Last year, towing to the Pittsburgh VIntage, (with some good, semi-hypermiling) we got close to 20 mpg. That's with A/C mostly on and never with the automatic is overdrive (lock-up mode).

When I tow our (much heaveir) Escort GT (NASA racer) to Summit or Pocono the mileage drops to about 16 mpg.

I used to put my Spridget inside my old tow vehicle...an '88 GM StepVan formerly owned by the FDNY. (but that thing got like 8 mpg and had no A/C.)

97 GMC Safari with 230k miles 4.3 V6 auto no clue on rear gear. 20mpg unloaded, 1/2 city 1/2 highway. Im taking a 630mile trip tomorrow 1/2 unloaded 1/2 with 5k of trailer/car behind it. I will update with towing mpg when I get home.

This thread makes me feel pretty good.

'94 Chevy C3500 (2wd, SRW, 1 ton, reg. cab), 129k 350 TBI with a touch of advance, 4.10's, auto tranny, 245/75/16 E load range tires.

Goes ~15-16 all highway, 13-ish local/mixed on regular. Exploded off the line pretty good (for an old truck) with the timing advanced and running super. Only got about 11 though, too much foot.

Got <10 towing a 6x12 Uhaul with one flat tire (out of 4) in D :-P

'84 Chevy C3500 with a warmed up 350 and an SM465 (no OD)? 8 on the highway, maybe break 10 local. Ooof.