Miles per gallon thread.

[Av8orLou]

I got about 10.5 mpg last weekend pulling my 2000 290B with my 2007 GMC Sierra 1500 (5.3) SLT Z71 4X4, traveling 65 mph on cruise control. We were traveling in the Hill Country of TX.

 

[Antares]

10.2mpg average with the setup in my signature on our first trip. I had a 16' and a 9' kayak loaded on top of the TV.

TV alone gets 15.7

 

[ckindle56]

2008 Towlite 22T
3800 lbs loaded
2005 Nissan Xterra
4.0 V6
with WD hitch
14 - 15 MPG

 

[RichR]

Overall average, 13 mpg.....That was with my '07 Tacoma.

Now I have the 2012 F150 4X4 SuperCrew with EcoBoost. My last road trip across the mountains of PA on I80 was 15.1 MPG.

 

[FHILO]

Mileage,well ill tell you the story & you tell me.i went from upstate N.Y. to like 20 min. so. of Boston to buy my Hi-Lo. Which is a 1978 - Bon Voyage - mod.#2278-21' -4000 lb. (unloaded as it was)- it took me just a hair or two under a 1/2 tank of reg. gas.On the return trip with my new found Hi-Lo in tow. i arrived home right on a 1/2 tank.So it cost me a hair or two more in gas to tow the Hi-Lo 200 miles.Round trip 400 miles with an 1/8 of a tank showing to spare . I have a 30 gal. gas tank on my TV.Which is a 1996 -Ford -Bronco XLT - 351 CUBIC IN. engine - automatic - 4x4 with manual lock out hubs,everything but the hubs is factory- no lifts ,big tires etc.the Hi-Lo sets about 10" lower than the Bronco's roof top :0) & tracks beautifully behind the Broncne more thing ,almost all the driving was on the thruway/turnpike.So no up & down big mountains but the Bronco's tow package include a button for a lower towing gear for those situations.Fhilo

 

[Banjones]

Hey Ya'll, we're pulling a 2004 17T with a 2005 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, 4liter V6, automatic,and getting about 15 mpg.

 

[Rolff]

I have a 2004 Dakota with a 4.7 Hemi and a '95 21' Towlite. The Dak normally gets 17. I had the TL fully loaded with extra stuff for some RV property and from my house up Parley's Canyon on I-80 I got 6 mpg. Well it is 13 miles of 5 and 6% grades rising 3000 ft - it made me gulp though. Over the next 130 miles going over 2 more summits it averaged 12.5.
I saw an article in a Trailer magazine about a fuel efficient combo of a Ford F-150 and a Jayco Feather Sport. They said it would average 9.5 mpg. To me it shows how much you save on fuel with the Hi-Lo.

 

[Polarice]

2010 Toyota Tundra with a 5.7 liter v8. It is the Flex Fuel model.
2007 Towlite 19t
12-13 mpg moving 68-69mph
17 mpg not towing

I get about the same mpg pulling a 2 place enclosed snowmobile trailer.

 

[raysnuffer]

2008 Towlite 19T
3800 lbs loaded 2600 Unloaded
2005 Ford F150
5.4liter V8 300 hp with sway bar
14 MPG at 55 mph

 

[jaypam]

1983 18 classic

I just traded for a 1983 classic hilo It is 18ft on the title. I towed it home 50 miles with my 2011 F150 4x4 SC and got 14.9 MPG...Same mileage I get hauling my little 5x10 flatbed with a golf cart on it..I was definately pleased as with my old 22 ft 5th wheel I took a 6-7 MPG hit.

 

[goldman]

I have a 2207 classic that I tow with a 2005 Dodge 2500 diesel, 6 speed manual and I get 20 mpg. I try to drive 60-65 mph. I take it easy and drive like there is an egg under my accelerator foot. I do not like giving my gas money to the greedy oil people. Right now, I have the diesel parked in my garage, my camper is in it's garage and my little Honda is only used for grocery runs. This is how it will be until I figure out how to make white lightning that will power my diesel engine. Some day, somewhere, some intelligent person will invent a fuel that will be cheap and plentiful, that will not be petroleum based and will put OPEC out of business. I hope that I live to see that day. Amen!

have you heard about hho systems,get a good system get good mileage.works great on diesel's.

 

[captbobster]

2207 Classic loaded to 7000lbs
2011 Sequoia with 5.7 six speed
13 to 16 mpg at 50 to 60 mph

I have done some tests and at 45mph in 5th gear I can get 20, so I know I can stretch it if needed, like towards the end of the month before my check is in the bank.

 

[NDgent]

You might want to read the following before you invest in HHO system:

"We've had our share of posts on on-board hydrogen-generating engines over the past few years, and I'm sure there will be many more. The truth is that water engine hype will always need to confront reality from time to time. When it does, the results are not pretty. Coast To Coast AM wasn't fooled, neither was Popular Mechanics.

We weren't either. But, because this particular hydra has a lot (a lot) of heads, Popular Mechanics has partnered with Dateline NBC and an EPA-certified lab to bust the myth once again that burning the hydrogen in water in your engine will triple your MPG.

The details are over on Popular Mechanics, and you should head over there to read the whole thing, but the short version is that PM senior automotive editor Mike Allen has done his homework, and none of the HHO systems work as advertised. None.

We'll crib just one piece of math from Allen's article: onboard hydrogen systems change much less than one percent of the air needed in the combustion process to hydrogen. And that means that it doesn't boost your MPG by 300 percent. PM and NBC spent over $1,800 to prove that HHO systems don't work. You can just read the article."

Why Water Won't Improve Your MPG: A PM and Dateline NBC Investigation - Popular Mechanics

 

[Atlee]

I just got back from a trip to Orlando, Fl. We have a HiLo 2209T Towlite. Our TV is a 2005 F150 5.4Triton V8, 3.73 rear end, Supercab, 4x4, 6.5ft box, and tow package.

We drove 1,395.8 miles and used 117.1 gallons of gasoline. We averaged 11.916 MPG. I'm a tad disappointed with that. I averaged about 1.5 miles per gallon less in 2005 when I pulled a 21 foot R-Vision Traillite.

I had the following readings by tank full. 12.791, 12.362, 11.692, 11.120, 10.841, and 12.854.

I really don't understand the next to last one. Usually if one tank reading is abnormally low, the next one or the one before would be abnormally high.

We got hit by the front edge of the tropical storm that hit near Jacksonville. On the plus side, at no time were we pushed around. The truck and trailer worked well together. There was no swaying whatsoever. The tail never, ever tried to wag the dog. Almost all the time, I was able to use only one hand on the wheel, the combo handled so well.

If I had been driving my old '96 Class B Roadtrek built on the old '95 Chevy chassis, it would have been a white knuckle affair.

I am using the new fangled Andersen hitch. Not sure how much that may or may not have positively affected the handling.

 

[sam-HILO]

Trip to Florida

Glad to hear you hada great towing experience. From watching the National News it looks like you got out of there in the nick of time.

 

[jcurtis95]

Mpg

I am really pleased with the mileage we get from our Ford 3/4 Ton 4x4. I just replied to Sam today by Private Email of our recent return trip from Oklahoma to Fredericksburg pulling our fairly well loaded 2406 T and a heavy load of convention glass and misc in our Raider Camper Shell. I changed the power chip setting several years ago and have gotten great mileage ever since.

"Ending on a good note, on our 500 mile return trip to Texas, with a loaded Hi Lo, and at least 800-900 pound payload inside our large Raider Camper Shell, I got 16.9 MPG with no headwind and no tailwind with a mix of variable terrain, flats, hills, etc. I am changing the oil this week and have around 5300 miles on the last change and oil is still clear like it has half that mileage on it with no oil added during those miles. Not bad for a truck approaching 199K, eh?"

Ford really messed up when they changed from the 7.3 Power stroke Diesel after 2003 /4? I get around 21+ when not pulling the trailer if I hold it around 65MPH. I had thought about trading in for a smaller truck but from what I have heard about mileage, I just can't bring myself to do so.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T 2000 F250 4x4 7.3 L Diesel Extended Cab

 

[IdahoVandal]

Just picked up our new 1985 Hi lo 21'

Received 16mpg with my 2005 GMC Sierra 5.3l running between 63-67 mph

I was pleasantly surprised. I used to tow my father-in-laws conventional 24' camper and would only get 10-11mpg

 

[Atlee]

Anyone have an idea what could have caused a constant decline in MPG going to Orlando that I reference in my earlier post?

I drove a steady speed on the interstate, and never cruised at 65 or better. Tried to stay between 60 and 63, and usually did. The only times I hit 70 or better was when I was getting back on the interstate. But just as soon as I either cleared traffic, or traffic cleared me, I settled back to 63.

Now that I think about it, it could be I took it out of overdrive a lot in Florida. Even though Florida is flat as a pan cake, the interstates have lots of rises that caused the transmission to drop down to drive. In most states, there is a mix of interstate bridges and surface street bridges. It seems in Florida, only the interstates have the bridges that cross surface streets.

 

[RCREYES]

I found out that you get way better gas mileage when you remember to take your TV out of 4WD after almost getting stuck in the mud. I hope I don't make that mistake again!

 

[sting32]

Anyone have an idea what could have caused a constant decline in MPG going to Orlando that I reference in my earlier post?

I drove a steady speed on the interstate, and never cruised at 65 or better. Tried to stay between 60 and 63, and usually did. The only times I hit 70 or better was when I was getting back on the interstate. But just as soon as I either cleared traffic, or traffic cleared me, I settled back to 63.

Now that I think about it, it could be I took it out of overdrive a lot in Florida. Even though Florida is flat as a pan cake, the interstates have lots of rises that caused the transmission to drop down to drive. In most states, there is a mix of interstate bridges and surface street bridges. It seems in Florida, only the interstates have the bridges that cross surface streets.

what's the TV? temperatures can affect it, as well as gas "quality" I know when I buy gas locally, at my favorite station, and it is ethanol free. when I fill the tank on my work car, I can get dang near 400 miles to the 12/13 gallons I use. If I fuel up any other station, on cheaper grades (usually since it might be 4-12 cents cheaper, I get tempted to do so) I lose more than 60-70 miles per tank of fuel. My car is an older Mazda 626 5spd 4cyl, consitantly gets just about 29, sometimes if I drive careful, I get 32.

My TowVehicle is diesel, dont see big variations, except for the higher speeds decrease mpg.

Most of the time, since I live in Kansas, whichever direction I am going, Im facing a helluva headwind*

*is an old truckers joke about Kansas.