I just got back from a trip to Talladega, Al (for the NASCAR Race). It was 500 miles each way and I kept the rpm's under 2,000 with my speed, by GPS, right around 65-68 MPH. My TT is right around 10,000 pounds. On the way there I got between 8.5 to 10 MPG, hand calculated. On the way back it dropped to around 8 MPG. I know that running the 285's don't help and I do not expect to get 20 MPG, I just wonder if you all think these numbers sound right.

On the trip home it sounded like the engine was working a lot harder. I know I was lighter as all of my tanks were M/T plus the bed load was lower, all of the beer evaporated while I was there. LOL.

While running the hills it sounded like the engine was louder. Almost like the torque converter was not locked up, plus it did not down shift like I thought it should.

There are/were no codes, so I was just wondering what everyone thought of this mileage.

I did meet another member of DP while sitting in line waiting to get into the camping area. We both talked about how much we have learned from this forum.

Thanks in advance for any and all adice.

To me that sounds about right for that MPH and that weight... I know this will sound off base but if you slow down to and even 60mph you might see something really change in the miles per gallon... I tow my TT (in the sig) at 70mph and get roughly about the same as you but when I slow down just that 10mph it goes up to 12 or even better depending on the wind... Those darn things are nothing more than huge wind walls and as far as I`m concerned the weight is not near as big a factor (in that type of trailer) as the wind resistance is...

I figure you were heading into a head wind and that will account for alot of the change in MPG... No amount of or lack of beer can change that but remember...! (cans are lighter than bottles) :eek:

Thats what I get also with my 9k TT, with tow/haul on, and the same speeds. What really kills my MPG is any towns we have to go through with stop & go traffic. That baby really winds up getting up to speed.

Seems low to me and we tow in the west in mountains. 22.920 lbs
chevman

Thanks for the replies. I got my truck back from the dealership yesterday. I have a very good relationship with both the service advisers and the Diesel Mechanic. They could not find and problems but did reload everything with the latest updates. This mechanic is very good and I trust him. He has always invited me into the shop while he works on my truck.

I guess I will see how it goes on my next tow. I will be towing a 24 foot enclosed cargo trailer from FLA to PA and back to help move my brother down. I figure the load on the way back to FLA will be about 8,000 pounds.

I tow 9500lbs on a regular basis and don't see anything under 10mpg. 12.5 is my best and this is with 35 inch tires. My numbers are always hand calculated.

Did you notice if there was more of a headwind on the way back? That's the one unpredictable variable that makes my truck work harder and hurt my mileage.

Sounds crazy, but have you checked the trailer brakes? I had a brake that was dragging on a 1200 miles trip I took. Was a brand new trailer, so it was the last thing I expected. Killed my mileage and truck was really working. Had 2 tractors on it weighing over 10K lbs.

I get 8.5 to 9 with a 11,900 gross toy hauler.
On a semi windy stretch of the drive where the speeds a lower I can get 12. But as soon as I get on interstate set the cruise to 68 it goes down to 8.5 to 9.

No chip, just a turbo mouth piece and home brew cold air intake.

Have you adjusted 8% for the 285's? If not, multiply your odometer mileage by 1.08 before calculating the mileage. I pull 15K 102" wide all the time (Horse Trailer w/living quarters). I usually run exactly 2000 rpms, and I get 11.5 most of the time, unless there's a big headwind.

All of my calculations have been made with the mileage off of my GPS. I know that my speedometer is thrown off from the 285's.

As for the head wind we did have a pretty good one coming home which most likely hurt my fuel mileage.

I will be making another long tow in a couple of weeks, but this time it will be with 24' Cargo Trailer. I am guessing it will be right around 8,000 pounds and the trip is going to be about 1,200 miles so I will see how it does this time.

Thanks for all of the replies. This site is great!

I towed a very small pull camper with my 02 and I was left with a quarter of a tank of gas when I got to Port Aransas from San Antonio. On the way back it changed to used a 1/3 of a tank. The diff? Wind.