Towing and fuel mileage

Just wondering what you average for fuel mileage while towing? I know that can vary widely depending on conditions but just curious what you guys get and what are you towing?

My 14' Tacoma, 2WD, gets about 16-17mpg around town and about 20mpg unloaded on the road.

I picked up a camper not long ago. About 18' long. Roughly 3500 pounds ready to go camping. Bikes in the bed and 4 of us in the cab. Last trip was short, about 160 miles round trip. Half back roads around 60mph and the other half was interstate around 70mph. Pulling in 4th gear and easy on the gas pedal. Truck only returned about 10.5 mpg. I was not expecting great mileage but I was thinking I would get a little better than that.

Any simple mods that can increase fuel mileage?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/your-towing-mpg.70524/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-gas-mileage-you-get-towing.239651/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-improve-mpg-while-towing.149305/

I would assume the taller/wider the trailer is the more drag. So the slower you go the better the mpgs

 

10-12 is about right, and there isn't anything you can do about it.

 

Never pulled a camper specifically with my old Tacomas; what I towed probably cut the air a lot better. But the numbers you're getting do not surprise me at all.

 

Sounds about right. Cut your speed to 55-60 and that is about where you will get the best MPG.

 

I just regeared and have run one full tank of gas through it. My milage is staying at 17-18 mpg without towing. Still breaking in the gears and have not pulled the trailer yet.

 

Ovtune 91?

 

I get 10 in the mountains, 12 at lower elevations if I keep it close to 60mph.

23ft and 4,500lbs dry (tow weight is about 5,200lbs).


With the 2,000lb boat I don't see a difference in mileage.

 

I personally wouldn't be towing anything at 70mph. That's too fast.

Slow down to a reasonable speed and that may help fuel economy but 10mpg is pretty good considering it's a mini-truck. If your expectations were higher you had unrealistic expectations.

There are no simple and cheap mods that can be done to improve fuel economy. Only very expensive ones that may marginally improve economy. Like a supercharger to help your power when towing.

 

I got about the same last week pulling my teardrop.

 

I was right around 10 all year pulling either a 6x10 V nose cargo trailer or my Salem 180RT toy hauler. All flat Michigan roads averaging 60mph

 

4300lb dry weight. Weight distribution hitch, brake controller. Pulled like a champ through the mountains on a four hour trip. Gas mileage was in the 10-11 range. Love it.

 

Towing fuel consumption increases are very strongly influenced by the shape of what you're towing, and the speed you are towing at. Weight is not so much of a concern except when you're doing a lot of stop-and-go traffic.

Simple, but not recommended.... amputation of your legs.

 

I pulled my dads 18 ft Sportsman. 146 mile round trip and i got 10.1 mpg. 2014 Taco 4x4 4.0. Everything stock on the truck. Northeast Ohio so there's not too many hills until we got close to the camp. Everything else was all highway. Kept it about 65 mph and was easy on it. I was expecting more too initially but after reading posts on here, I'm realizing I was in the ballpark too.

Not much you can do other than getting a bigger truck that doesn't have to work so hard to pull the weight.

 

Seems any significant weight gets these trucks into the 10mpg range. Same with my friends Tundra (1st gen v8). I get ~10mpg pulling my 22' Whaler.

 

sounds about right OP.

I know @snowsk8air2 managed to pull a sub 5mpg once in his truck towing his trailer.

 

Yep, 4.5mpg towing around 5500lbs at 80mph uphill with a supercharger.

 

Well I guess Im in the same range everyone else is in then. Not too concerned about it, more curious than anything. The truck actually pulls it just fine. I really have no complaints at all with how the truck performs pulling.

 

This has to be some kind of a record

 

A 10 mph reduction in speed would have brought him into the teens. Anybody can burn more fuel if they really want to. For example, he could have gone back down that hill and climbed up it again, then he'd be into the 2's.