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Originally Posted by jbrandonwagner  I would like to hear what kind of fuel mileage you are getting when towing a load (and the size\weight of the load). |
Recently I have bought 2 new identical trailers, 28' high profile van trailers. I picked up each of them about 10 days apart. Each one was towed from Springdale Arkansas to Las Cruces New Mexico. The first trip I drove a Ford F-350 V10 at about a 70 MPH average speed and I got about 6.5 MPG (computed). On the second trip I took a 2005 Chevrolet C-3500 Duramax, I got about 8 MPG (computed) at about the same speed (maybe a little faster
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The Chevy had a performance advantage, but all in all both trucks performed well. Considering the 50 cent a gallon difference, the cost of operation was very close, possibly advantage gasoline, (I dont like it, but this seems to be reality).
I am involved in a family bussiness that has been utilizing 1 ton truck and trailer combinations since 1974, and all in all the numbers that you have posted seem reasonable to me, albeit I would expect to see your mileage increase slightly as the truck begins to break in.
There are a lot of claims made about mileage that I find difficult to believe because there is really no magic bullet, when towing trailers, it takes a certain amount of energy to do certain amount of work, with usually only small diferences due to certain efficiency issues and the related issue of emissions. It is my opinion that the main issue when it comes to fuel efficiency, is the driver and his or her driving habits.
You will hear alot about the weight that a truck pulls when trailering, but it is my opinion (and experience) that the primary concern is wind resistance. (ie: energy lost pulling a heavy load up a hill can be partially recovered going down the other side of the hill, energy lost to wind resistance is never recovered, (unless you always drive downwind
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If you want to drive 75 when trailering, (I do), you need to be willing to pay the price at the pump. For bragging rights I could have coaxed more mileage out of both of these trucks by moderationg my driving habits, but whats the fun in that?