Gas Mileage pretty bad pulling a trailer

[Snakebitten]

That was kinda my point.
It's physics.
2.7 L
3.5 L
5.0 L

Still requires similar amount of energy in a gallon of gas to do the same amount of work, all else being equal.

And that video shows once again that the 2.7 can punch with the Coyote. It's an amazing motor.
Ecoboost F150's have proven they can pull a wagon.

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[GEN14OWNER]

If I REALLY behave… can pull 28+MPG out of my 5.0 RCSB. But that’s freeway driving with a lot of pissed off people.

I average 20-22.

Pulling my trailer, 15-18.

 

[FORDTEXAS]

I average 10 - 12 MPG's in the city pulling a 5X10 single axle weighing roughly 3000 pounds.
I also happen to own the V8 running on 35's Lol.

 

[UGADawg96]

PB towing 6500lb TT
@ 55 mph = 10 mpg
@ 65 mph = 8 mpg

 

[Aron]

Taking a 2 week trip pulling a trailer with the 2021 F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost. Picked up in Minneapolis and heading to Montana and then return via SE ND. Anyway first day pulling a trailer on this trip. Slightly uphill most of the way and cross or head winds at least half of the way. Gas mileage was pretty low, avg 7.3 mpg and this is with speed avg between 58 and 63 mph. Pretty disappointed. Not sure if there is anything I could do to improve mileage. Trailer length is 23, weight is 4400. Not using a WDH. Any suggestions?

At highway speeds, the wind resistance of travel trailers are much more impactful upon mpg than the weight of the trailer. The headwind is the real mpg-killer here, making it seem painfully low.

In general, I’ve been able to average 8-12 mpg with my ecoboost over probably 30k miles of towing a 6500lb travel trailer. From what I’ve read, most engines (even diesels) all get about the same mpg when towing these types of enclosed trailers. That’s just the nature of dragging a big sail behind you at highway speeds.

Now, you can improve things a bit, but not likely huge gains (say 10-15% improvement). As others have mentioned, try to keep your transmission out of the overdrive gears to limit how much power is being generated by the turbochargers, which are very thirsty. Also, keeping your speed lower will reduce wind resistance dramatically, but that might not be feasible with your trip constraints. It can feel painful driving down the interstate at 55 when everybody else is passing you by doing 70-80, but it will significantly improve your gas mileage.

 

[Who are you]

21 Powerboost 4x4 SCrew

Empty 14-17 MPG
w/ empty Trailer (Enclosed wedge front 3500 lb dual axel) 9.0 MPG
w/ 2500 lbs loaded in same trailer 5-7 MPG.

Worst truck ever bought. Ford still being D**** about a buyback. Really just need to get a lawyer but kept hoping they would do the right thing and not be difficult
@Ford Motor Company

 

[Hullguy]

Not surprised. Left my DOA Duramax Colorado in Pueblo, Co., and immediately towed the Lance almost exactly 1000 miles home. About 8.7 mpg as I recall. That would be downhill.

Towed my Lance 2375 3200 miles this summer. Averaged 10.1 mpg overall. But towing to Buffalo from Boston was brutal! 8.5 mpg with a 35 mph headwind?

 

[sbreech]

2.7 3.73 Supercrew with hard tonneau (mods in signature). Camper is a ‘21 NuCamp Tab 400. When we travel, we have about 400 pounds of stuff in the bed, 300 pounds of people, 35 pounds of dog, and in the camper, 300 pounds of stuff.

not towing and just myself driving mixed highway / city, the truck says I’m getting 26.3mpg, but I calculate 24.7

towing from Ohio to Pigeon Forge (through Jelico), truck said 16.3, but I calculated 14.9. I usually do speed limit, so a lot of those miles were 70mph. I keep my trailer tires at max recommend, and also increase my truck tires from 35 to 40psi when towing.

 

[notabot]

So if the Ecoboost gets 9mpg, how much does a V8 get?

My V8 Dakota (RIP) got about 6 towing anything and 13 unloaded.

 

[Mosey]

Mosey, so what are you getting by locking out OD? I would think tow/haul mode would operate pretty much that way.

From what I have read, and observed driving my wife Mustang (2.3L EB), when in boost the engine management computer lowers the AFR quite a bit. I have seen the Mustang running as low as 13:1. I am not sure why, only that it does.

 

[notabot]

This info might be timely! I wanted to see "best case" scenario yesterday, with a 260lb dirt bike on a hitch rack.

FWIW - This is me driving in granny mode, truck set in eco mode. Saw highway speeds and in-town stop and go:

Truck: 21 PB SCREW 4x4, stock suspension and tires

 

[KBKEITH]

Towing is going to work both turbos pretty good. Can’t expect good mileage when making good amounts of continuous boost.

 

[powerboatr]

just a little perspective from my old rear
my 2022 3.5 4x4 331 gears, stock tires gets 19 right now at normal texas speeds that range 50 to 80 , with most around 60 mph and highway at 75 plus. best mpg i have seen is 19.5
recently towing the 3600 lbs of rock with 2k lb trailer at 60 i got 14 mpg on the dash thing

my previous 21 f250 4x4 331 gears, stock tires towed the same trailer last april with 5600lbs of rock . got 17 mpg at 60
empty at highway speeds it ranged 19 to 23 yes 23 at 77 mph

the bus weighs 32 to 42k at loaded and ready, its 8 feet wide and 12 feet tall. at 65 it gets 7.2 mpg
its only ever got to 8 once.
WIND is a killer it will run 75 but the pay back is 5 mpg this is with a 8.3 cummins 350 hp 1100 ft lb tq 6 speed

the 3.5 tows very well and has a wide spread of things it can do
if i was towing a travel trailer a whole lot, i would have the 250. but occasional towing the 3.5 fits the bill perfect
energy density is the same for all f150 ice engines so other than tq , all 3 are fantastic


biggie for us is the 2022 kr rides SOOOOO much nicer than the 250, the 250 rode really well,
BUT .. it was still harsh at times, its built to be loaded and we just didnt load it and or have a need for it any longer.

and none ride as good as the bus.

but wind resistance and frontal area are the biggest factors to mpg towing.
i tow at 65 or less, and ride the ride lane.
good thing is we all have the power to run whatever speed we want and the return is slower = better mpg, faster = less mpg so we get to choose
i try not to get in a hurry when we go camping, but others have time constraints and tend to get there quicker.
i say do whatever gets you comfy and happy and safe
i have found, like many others its gains pwer and mpg if we lock out 9 and 10 and let the eb breathe . lugging the engine is never good, it may turn slower but its eating fuel and generating more heat ..towing

 

[Xchevyguy]

From what I have read, and observed driving my wife Mustang (2.3L EB), when in boost the engine management computer lowers the AFR quite a bit. I have seen the Mustang running as low as 13:1. I am not sure why, only that it does.

I was asking what kind of mileage you get by manually locking out OD, and if that is somehow different than how tow/haul operates. As far as AFR and 13:1 reference, could you put that in plain English for a simple guy like me, please?

 

[Xchevyguy]

Air to fuel ratio. I get it. But is there a real world difference in mileage by locking out OD versus letting tow/haul operate as designed? The truck was new (to me) at the time and I guess I was paying more attention to the gas guage than what gear it was in. Was sure the mileage would be less than the "Not-so- Duramax", but wasn't expecting single digits.

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