Towing with the Powerboost—very poor mpg

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I lock out 8-10 while towing, big difference. I just did a 500 mile round trip (granted most of it was flat), and I got 10-11 mpg towing my trailer. But I also set the cruise to 68, and run 89 octane (or more, when towing).

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[Gros Ventre]

Keep mind that the Ford document on towing also includes a frontal area with a square feet limit. Weight makes a difference, but so does the aerodynamics of the load.

 

[tsigwing]

Cruise set on 66 yesterday pulling my 17’ casita on regular unleaded got 15-16.

 

[Star Lord]

Pulling my 33' Airstream Classic I get 10 to 12 mpg at 65mph using 93 octane. I can get 18 to 20 in ecomode when not towing but then I run 88 octane

 

[turbopilot]

I just finished reading Turbopilot’s report on pulling the new Lightstream Rv over on the Overlanding and camping forum. Very interesting, but what caught my eye was his mpg towing his Airstream at 62 mph.

So I decided to rant.

I just got my 3rd PowerBoost. My 21 and 23 PowerBoost yielded similar results. Yes, towing a 7,300 lb Airstream is very different than towing regular slab sided trailers. There have been several wind tunnel studies of Airstreams. For a conventional trailer they have a very low coefficient of drag.

First, you really have to mindful of the winds, temperature and your altitude when considering fuel efficiency. Because the PowerBoost is turbocharged you will see increasing MPG as temperature and altitude increases. It is all about density altitude. The higher the density altitude the better your fuel economy. For instance, moving through the air on a Summer day at 90F and 6,000', your truck and trailer thinks it is moving through air with a density of 9,500'. Your worst MPG will be cold days at sea level. So when you see MPG comparisons ask for all the variables.

I have driven my PowerBoosts and Airstream trailers all over the US. At sea level in the Summer time without any wind and flat roads I normally see around 11.5 MPG towing a 7,300lb, 25' Airstream. Out West on a hot day at 8,000', no wind, flat roads it is not unusual to see 13 mpg. At 62 mph, flat roads and no wind my PowerBoost will cruise at 62 mph with the Airstream without seeing any boost from the turbos. And that is key. Once I get any faster the turbos kick in and MPG degrades. Drive the truck to avoid boost and your MPG will rise.

The LightShip is a step forward. It has a totally slick aerodynamic surface top, sides and belly. Even the axles are recessed into the belly. In Drive Mode (canopy down) at 6,000' pulling the prototype around at 62 mph with a pretty stiff cross wind the LightShip/PowerBoost was getting 15.5 mph and the LightShip is an 8,300 lb, 26' trailer. The winds were blowing significantly so I never got to test the LightShip in calm winds. When the 20 kW LightShip electric motor was engaged the PowerBoost was getting its normal 22/23 MPG. With the LightShip powering itself there was no real sensation you were pulling a trailer. With the LightShip operating with TrekDrive on and the PowerBoost in NORMAL versus TOW/HAUL mode, the PowerBoost ICE was regularly shutting down while towing the trailer in city traffic. Running in this scenario was very efficient because both the PowerBoost and the LightShip were regularly doing regenerative braking in stop and go traffic. The tiny 1.5 kW PowerBoost battery would keep topping out at max SOC, while the giant 77 kW LightShip battery was taking all the juice regenerative braking had to offer and that is a lot slowing down a 8,300 lb trailer.

So your MPG will significantly vary by condition but the biggest variable is the aerodynamic coefficient of drag exerted by the trailer. Slab sided trailers are the worst and some are much worse than others.

 

[tmark]

I just finished reading Turbopilot’s report on pulling the new Lightstream Rv over on the Overlanding and camping forum. Very interesting, but what caught my eye was his mpg towing his Airstream at 62 mph. I have a 2465 Lance, not as slick as an Airstream but at 7200 lbs loaded and better aerodynamics than a lot of trailers I get dismal mpg even at 62 mph. In fact, I get dismal mileage period and am a very conservative driver. I typically exceed others in mpg when I’m driving. If I get 8 mpg towing I’m doing good. And when not towing I rarely get better than 18 on the highway. I know speed kills mpg, but Why does everyone get good mileage and I don’t? I’m wondering if something is wrong with the truck. When I first got the truck at 11,000 miles, I would seemingly get significantly better mileage solo. 20-22 mpg. Now it’s not unusual for it to drop to 16-17. Towing has never been good. I was hoping for 10+. No go. I downsized from a F350 and 16,000 lbs fifth wheel and got better mileage (I know it’s a diesel) with a setup over twice as heavy and sticking up 13 feet in the air! Big disappointment. I know the hybrid is of no value towing, but still I’m shocked at how bad my mpg is. I realize there’s so many variables that a diagnosis is near impossible on a forum like this, but this report caused me to again worry that my truck simply isn’t working as efficiently as it should. So I decided to rant.

My mpg goes from 22 to 15 with an empty utility trailer. I lose a couple with extra people in the truck. I get 8-9 towing a 4000lb toy hauler. With all of the braggadocio about towing capacity, it actually sucks when you put a load of any kind behind it.

 

[capkmo]

12.7 mpg with a 21’ coachmen clipper trailer. I don’t do anything special, just put the truck in tow mode and drive the truck. In my opinion the ”hybrid” part of this truck was meant for get up and go power not fuel efficiency

 

[N1KAW]

Very interesting thread...... particularly for someone who isnt a gear head.

I recently purchased a new boat trailer. Picked it up in Georgia from my home in Florida .

On the way up on the 600 mile trip I averaged 19-20 MPG in my 2022 F150 3.5PB Crew FX4 with just me, a full tank of gas (large tank), and an overnight bag. I'm a patient guy, not wanting to stress in nutso I-75 traffic so set the cruise control at 70'ish mph (which is slow for our nutso snowbird-itching-to-get-back-to-Michigan traffic) and chilled in the right lane. The truck was smooth at about 2,200rpm. Great ride.

On the way, towing an unloaded twin axle tailer weighing 1,100 lbs, my MPG plumetted to 11 mpg, which rather shocked me. I've loaded my truck with five LARGE men and bed full of their crap, EASILY weight over 1,000 lbs, and I'm still getting 16-17mpg cruising at Florida's "meh, call it 90" speed limit (EcoMode). Why the significant discrepency given a similiar GVW ?

Since I had HOURS to think about it on the drive home, I speculated that siince the trailer's electric brakes were plugged in, and I set up the dimensions of the trailor profile in the SYNC3, that the truck 'sees' a large trailer and adjusts the fuel/engine management accordingly. Ergo, throwing more gas at it. Which appears to be what several posters are saying.

ANYWAY, obviously I have nothing to add to this thread other than "Hmmmmmm?"

Sidebar: Our F350 7.3L dualy doesn't even seem to notice 16,000 tied to its ass...and still chugs along at 12mpg all day long. My old F150 V8, minimal MPG loss (2-3 mpg) empty vs loaded. Go figure.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Density altitude... As a CFI, I was wondering when someone might mention that...

 

[Cobraman428]

2021 PB Platinum towing a 2023 Flagstaff E-PRO 21' long travel trailer. Usually between 3900-4200 Lbs when loaded up. I lockout 8-10 gears, Tow Haul mode, 93 octane, Mostly have towed from Florida to NC mountains the past 2.5 years and now I have almost 6k towing. 11.3 MPG. I try to keep out of the turbos and downshift / upshift while towing through the mountains of North GA and NC. Keep it around 62 mph. This has been my experience towing with my PB.

 

[garyp]

I just finished reading Turbopilot’s report on pulling the new Lightstream Rv over on the Overlanding and camping forum. Very interesting, but what caught my eye was his mpg towing his Airstream at 62 mph. I have a 2465 Lance, not as slick as an Airstream but at 7200 lbs loaded and better aerodynamics than a lot of trailers I get dismal mpg even at 62 mph. In fact, I get dismal mileage period and am a very conservative driver. I typically exceed others in mpg when I’m driving. If I get 8 mpg towing I’m doing good. And when not towing I rarely get better than 18 on the highway. I know speed kills mpg, but Why does everyone get good mileage and I don’t? I’m wondering if something is wrong with the truck. When I first got the truck at 11,000 miles, I would seemingly get significantly better mileage solo. 20-22 mpg. Now it’s not unusual for it to drop to 16-17. Towing has never been good. I was hoping for 10+. No go. I downsized from a F350 and 16,000 lbs fifth wheel and got better mileage (I know it’s a diesel) with a setup over twice as heavy and sticking up 13 feet in the air! Big disappointment. I know the hybrid is of no value towing, but still I’m shocked at how bad my mpg is. I realize there’s so many variables that a diagnosis is near impossible on a forum like this, but this report caused me to again worry that my truck simply isn’t working as efficiently as it should. So I decided to rant.

I am running a very similar rig to yours; 2021 Lariat, Lance 2075 - I get in the ballpark of 8 mpg when towing using premium; I lock out 9 and 10. You could be ahead of me here, but one thing I learned was not to use cruise when going down a steep incline. It uses the brakes rather than shifting down. The result of brakes overheating on cruise is that the truck stops using cruise and coasts. This is not too pleasant when going down a curvy mountain road! Only happened once; I learned!

 

[PoorCredit]

towing is a drag- i have a 2024 F150 power boost gulps fuel when i tow .. save money when i am driving without.. like having a wife and a girlfriend on the side expensive but worth the money i love my trailer that is what i work for. God bless happy trails.

 

[DadBald]

'21 PB XLT here. I just did a 300mi trip with a 3500lb popup and bikes on top - 16.5 mpg there, 15.0mpg back. Going about 72mph on the freeway and about 1/3 of the way around 55mph on 2-lane highways.

I also have a ~20ft double axle box trailer I tow that's about 3500lb and it gets me about 13mpg around town and on highways (~55mph) empty. I only do city driving when it's full and I don't think that counts for this discussion ?

I use tow/haul mode for the box trailer. I just keep it in normal and use all the gears for the popup since it doesn't seem to care much that it's back there. The bikes on top in the wind are the biggest deal I think. Transmission temps hover around 190-200F and coolant temps hover around 200-210F. This is driving in Michigan where the potholes are bigger than any elevation gain we see.

 

[TheGoatman]

Tune it?

 

[HoustonScrew]

3.73 Powerboost
3.55 Ecoboost
3.31 5.0

that should sum it up for you.

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