Fuel Mileage Woes.....

[TnLRacing]

A friend of Mine has a 2002 2500 SRW with a auto and 4:10's . He recently towed his 28ft tag to Bristol and only managed a hand figured 9mpg the truck is only mod is a 5" exhuast... any Ideas... ?

 

[PaulG]

that seems to be about 3 mpg lower than normal. when i tow my 30' tag i get about 12-13mpg but it also depends on how i tow to. If you have a heavy foot off the line well of course it will drop. i also don't have 4:10's either. maybe try a box in it? i run the super chips adjustable one works good for me



what does her normally get, don't forget we're still on winter blend to which gives up less MPG

 

[Kirwin]

How fast was he towing? Speed kills milage. Also you can vary 1-2 MPG depending on how full you fill the tank. You can get another 5 gallons or so in if you do it slowly after the nozzle shuts off. This can have a big effect on a single towing trip. With a 12,500 lb trailer I get around 11 MPG at 55-60 MPH and 10 at 60-65 MPH and 9 mpg at 70 MPH. Both of my trucks have the higher rear axle ration (3. 54 or 3. 73) and manual trannies but the autos normally give just a little less at these speeds. I track every tank using an Excel spread sheet and these numbers are pretty representive of my towing experience. Empty I can get around 20 but thats another story all together. Hope this helps Ken

 

[klenger]

I get about 10 MPG with my 04. 5 and the same when I had an 04. 5 HO with 4. 10's. Your friend's milage isn't that far from normal. As mentioned, speed makes a big difference. The auto transmission doesn't help either. The 4. 10's don't hurt when you are towing, and may even help.

 

[bmoeller]

Was it windy? That won't help you any either.

 

[Beast2B]

I just started pulling a 29' tag, so I can't really comment on mpg yet, but PaulG mentioned adding a box. I can attest to a 2-3 mpg rise in economy after installing my Comp box. Mind you, that's running empty with a broad range of conditions, but my normal mpg was consistent at 16-17 before the box and 18-19 after (4. 5" lift and 37" mudders included)

 

[TnLRacing]

Thanks guys I will pass it along...