New F150 to tow 11,000

[Bertram65]

Wow, sorry to hear that. My 6 speed with 3. 73's tows our 14,000# fiver fine - even in the hills. It's a high profile (13' tall) unit, too. BTW, your final gear ratio (4. 10's and 48RE) shouldn't be far different from mine (3. 73's and NV5600)



I added the Quad for a little extra oomph. I never have it above the 60 hp setting when towing. We came out of Laughlin last summer (the climb towards Kingman, AZ is a long and steep climb). Even running at close to 23,000#, we were able to maintain 55 mph all the way up. We were pushing 1250°, but never over. Passed lot's of semi's and quite a few RV's.



Over 2000 miles in 9 days, and averaged 10. 96 mpg (hand calc) for the trip. That included the climb out of San Bernadino, CA on our way to Vegas. Plus over the hill in Flagstaff (I-40). And the long climb out of Needles towards Barstow.



I suspect you've got a weak engine or a transmission that's not hooking up. Either that, or your GMC was a monster.



Juan

What RPM were you at on those hills? My mileage towing is fine, around 12mpg.

 

[JRMora]

What RPM were you at on those hills? My mileage towing is fine, around 12mpg.

About 2200 rpm in 5th gear.



Normally on the highway (I-40 and I-15) we would run about 68-70 which is around 2000 rpm in 6th.

 

[RVTRKN]

Wow, sorry to hear that. My 6 speed with 3. 73's tows our 14,000# fiver fine - even in the hills. It's a high profile (13' tall) unit, too. BTW, your final gear ratio (4. 10's and 48RE) shouldn't be far different from mine (3. 73's and NV5600)



I added the Quad for a little extra oomph. I never have it above the 60 hp setting when towing. We came out of Laughlin last summer (the climb towards Kingman, AZ is a long and steep climb). Even running at close to 23,000#, we were able to maintain 55 mph all the way up. We were pushing 1250°, but never over. Passed lot's of semi's and quite a few RV's.



Over 2000 miles in 9 days, and averaged 10. 96 mpg (hand calc) for the trip. That included the climb out of San Bernadino, CA on our way to Vegas. Plus over the hill in Flagstaff (I-40). And the long climb out of Needles towards Barstow.



I suspect you've got a weak engine or a transmission that's not hooking up. Either that, or your GMC was a monster.



Juan

I can confirm your #'s for my trip to the pacific NW was the same on all passes except better MPG (16) due too lower GCVWR and lower profile and the quicker acceleration. There is no way the Tundra could keep up even if we load per HP to load weight. The NV5600 and 3:73 behind the CTD is the best combination of all makes including the over rated D/A. I hope my new 3500C&C with the G56 and 3:73 are just as good or better.

 

[RVTRKN]

More thought on the Tundra torque#'s, the RPM iis 4K plus or more, when the CTD is 1800.

 

[Bertram65]

More thought on the Tundra torque#'s, the RPM iis 4K plus or more, when the CTD is 1800.

That is what the numbers say, but anything less than 2000RPM and they can't hold a hill. There is a lot more to it than just the numbers, real world towing it what matters.

 

[RVTRKN]

That is what the numbers say, but anything less than 2000RPM and they can't hold a hill. There is a lot more to it than just the numbers, real world towing it what matters.

True, and I like 2500 RPM towing up grade so I could imagine what the RPM,s would be if the Tundra towed the same grade, but then it would have to down shift to 4th turning off overdrives and slowdown in the process



Tundra = 50mph = 4500RPM = 4th gear = 6 MPG = 6% grade. (12K GCVW)



CTD = 65mph = 2500RPM = 5th gear = 12mpg = 6% grade (16k GCVW)



Note that #,s are under allowable ratings and that the Tundra,s RPM would be a lot higher if towing at max ratings, and probably have to down shift to 3rd slowing down even more while my CTD would pull close to the same #,s at max weight. Running the Tundra at max rpm range just below red line would scramble the engine in a short period of time while you can max the RPM,s all day long on the CTD and the engine would thank you afterwords.

 

[georgej]

The problem with any gasser when towing is altitude. You lose so much power going up I-70 to Denver or even Denver to Colorado Springs which is about 5-6000 feet you'll have your wife begging you to get a diesel! :-laf