Towing with the Powerboost—very poor mpg

[F150Comfort]

Cobraman428 post 25. Thanks for your post. I have the 21 Limited PB truck and same travel trailer though the GeoPro model. 8 to 9 mpg on flat no wind 60 to 65 mph max. Will try out the 8-10 lockout for next trip. Should be a 900 mile two way Black Hills cross state trip so will have some opportunity to experiment. Have to ask, do you really have a 428 Cobra auto? What is it? Made the mistake of selling our 69 Boss 429 Mustang in 79.

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[MiquelCamo]

I tow a Lance 1685, similar to the OP but a bit lighter at 6K gross with 500 lbs of people/payload in the truck. I tow mostly in SW Missouri and NW/Central Arkansas through the Ozark "Mountains". These don't have significant elevation, but long hills are common. I use 92 octane and tow mode which by design locks out 9 and 10. I've towed 3,000 miles so far with MPG of 11.7 per the trailer info screen. I keep the boost gauge visible and feather off the gas when I can to lower boost. In normal driving in warm weather I'm getting 24 at 70 MPH and better in town, sometimes over 30.

 

[miniceptor86]

Like said, so many variables go into gas mileage. One variable you can control is if you are stressing out about it. It is what it is. The important thing is to notice any big deviations from what is normal for your particular situation. If you are monitoring the in vehicle read out do a few hand calculations to see how the two numbers agree. I have seen 6 and I have seen 9 pulling our 34ft travel trailer. I have seen as high as 22 unhitched but 17-18 is more the average for my driving conditions and technique.

 

[tsigwing]

I tow a Lance 1685, similar to the OP but a bit lighter at 6K gross with 500 lbs of people/payload in the truck. I tow mostly in SW Missouri and NW/Central Arkansas through the Ozark "Mountains". These don't have significant elevation, but long hills are common. I use 92 octane and tow mode which by design locks out 9 and 10. I've towed 3,000 miles so far with MPG of 11.7 per the trailer info screen. I keep the boost gauge visible and feather off the gas when I can to lower boost. In normal driving in warm weather I'm getting 24 at 70 MPH and better in town, sometimes over 30.

I always use tow mode and am pretty sure that it does not lock out 9 & 10.

 

[tsigwing]

I always use tow mode and am pretty sure that it does not lock out 9 & 10.

Was going to post a mea culpa after pulling my camper for a quick trip Thursday, as it indeed stayed in 8th. Then this morning coming home looked down (in tow haul mode) and was in 9th.

 

[Davexxxx]

Good thread.

For the OP ... There MAY be something to your thoughts about your truck not being as efficient as it should be. Not that I have any advice for that.

For everyday use, I use only tier 1, 87 octane. Most of the yr. that yields MPGs generally in the mid 20s (23-26) with an occasional trip yielding 30+. Moderately hilly terrain, at the 600' ish in general elevation. Mix of back roads / city / hwy. 65 - 70 mph is the typical max. Conservatively driven (most of the time ).

In winter temps, it goes down, with 20F, seemingly being an important temp threshold, to the upper teens (16-19 mpg). By happenstance, I was able to confirm that temp makes more difference than switching to winter blend fuel. Had a fresh tank of summer blend, with a surprise cold snap. Temp makes more difference than fuel. More even than driving style, unless constantly hotdogging it, or towing.

For towing, our camper is 11'4" tall, 8' wide and just shy of 30', weighing near 7.500lbs. Typical mpg is 8+ but a bad wind, or 70mph, can send that to sub 7 and in the mountains, to the lower teens (13-14 not rare)

When towing, I ALWAYS use tow haul. I've seen enough mixed reports about what gears that locks out. On mine, 9 and 10. I've messed with manually locking out others to stay out of boost but didn't log enough of an improvement to justify the hassle so, I just set the cruise and let the truck do it's job.

I do want to clear up some falsities I've seen mentioned. The hybrid system does work in tow haul, just differently than in normal.

It won't electric drive only (unless put in park) but it will give electric boost and regenerative braking works as well.

I saw someone mention not using cruise for engine braking, worrying that it overheats the brakes. On 2 western trips, once topping out at ~12K feet and one we're just back from, topping in the neighborhood of 9K+, both pulling the above mentioned camper, I used cruise the whole way and cannot relate to any brake overheating issues. The engine downshifts automatically and the PB's regenerative braking adds to that. When you're on the twisty mountain roads, that require turning into the next turn, before the trailer is done with the last, having as much happening automatically as possible, is a nice benefit. For the record, I have my trailer brake controller set at 6.5 and occasionally activate it manually for a few seconds at a time, if it suits me. Not that I've felt unsafe without doing so. Just sort of a check to assure continued operation and to help with short exit ramps.

On the first trip and most local type towing trips, I use 87 on the flats and premium in the mountains. This time, I used premium the whole way and question the utility of that, as I still got sub 7mpg on a couple legs.

More on the recent trip here.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...es-and-back-towing-in-the-7-5klb-range.38876/

 

[Spiffy]

Ford teamed up with Apple. Ford programs the truck to get worse mileage as miles tick by. 22 mpg the first 10k then 9mpg the next 10k miles. Just kidding....

I got great mileage when my truck was new. Now I get 18mpg empty and 9mpg towing my work trailer.
I have two other f150. 16 eco and 11 eco.
All three of my trucks get the exact same mileage. I have up giving a shit long ago. It is what it is. Becides I will chose the power from the turbos over milage. If I want milage I would have chosen the smaller motor.

I have a private two seat plane that gets better mileage. 22mpg at 180mph. Avgas is 5 bucks a gallon.
I often wonder if the milage would be better if the truck had dimples like a golf ball.

 

[DRP84]

Just returned from a 4 week road trip from NNY to Utah. 7000 miles total, 5400 towing a 7000# TT. Never had a tailwind, mostly headwinds or quartering headwinds. Always in T/H when towing. Used 87 or 89 octane top tier fuel. Trip avg was 12.9 mpg. Most towing days were between 10-11 mpg at 50-60 mph. No braking problems with trailer brake set at 6.5 to 7.0. On the I-70 return to Denver area on a Sunday afternoon (bad timing) I noted the transmission temp idiot gauge rise off the normal position on the stop and go climb to the Eisenhower tunnel, but it never came close to the red line.

Overall, very pleased with the PB performance as a tow vehicle. Small refrigerator plugged into a/c power in the back seat area and a/c power from the PB to the TT whenever we wanted or needed it. All the comforts of home except the sauna and the hot tub! Maybe next trip…

 

[pjstud1v]

Adding my towing experience here.

22 PB with a Livernois tune and intercooler plus an afe cold air intake towing a Winnebago 2301 BHS (30’ and ~7k)

I regularly see 10-11mpg cruising at 65mph. The tune and intercooler upgrade make a huge difference. I lock out 9 and 10 and manually downshift to minimize boost on hills.

 

[SlammedZero]

Adding my towing experience here.

22 PB with a Livernois tune and intercooler plus an afe cold air intake towing a Winnebago 2301 BHS (30’ and ~7k)

I regularly see 10-11mpg cruising at 65mph. The tune and intercooler upgrade make a huge difference. I lock out 9 and 10 and manually downshift to minimize boost on hills.

I was curious about that as well. I don't know that I would tune my truck (as I still have warranty), but I did think that upgrading the intercooler could definitely help.

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As for the rest of the thread.......towing is towing. You just lose MPGs. It's just the reality of it. Makes it worth it though when you get your camper set up, open a coldy, and enjoy your campsite.

 

[pjstud1v]

I was curious about that as well. I don't know that I would tune my truck (as I still have warranty), but I did think that upgrading the intercooler could definitely help.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the rest of the thread.......towing is towing. You just lose MPGs. It's just the reality of it. Makes it worth it though when you get your camper set up, open a coldy, and enjoy your campsite.

I think the intercooler did a lot more for towing mpg than the tune. Tune just helps when I need to merge into traffic.

 

[turbopilot]

I just completed a round trip from Prescott, AZ to Denver towing my 25', 7,300lb Airstream. On this trip I was testing my new Flated topper.

Here are my trip stats. Many variables to consider. For me, the bottom line using the topper for aerodynamic improvement is that I can cruise at 65 MPH at the same fuel flow I normally see with only a tonneau cover cruising at 62 MPH. Given the vast improvement in storage space and decrease in fuel flow, the topper is worth the investment pulling a trailer.

So far I have not noticed any change in fuel flow with the topper in place but not towing the Airstream.

July 29, 2025 Loves RV Stop, Wallenberg, CO to Mavericks Las Vegas, NM
Conditions: Early morning, No wind
Distance 159.3 miles
Duration 149.5min or 2.49hrs
Fuel Used 13.45 gallons
Average Speed 64.0 MPH
Average Efficiency 11.84 MPG

July 29, 2025 Mavericks Las Vegas, NM to Flying J Albu
Conditions: Mid morning, Headwind Southwest wind 10 mph last 1/3 of trip
Distance 128.3 miles
Duration 130.8min or 2.18hrs
Fuel Used 10.57 gallons
Average Speed 58.85 MPH
Average Efficiency 12.14 MPG

July 29, 2025 ABQ to Holbrook AZ
Conditions: Early afternoon, variable light winds
Distance 221.3 miles
Duration 224.1min or 3.74hrs
Fuel Used 16.09 gallons
Average Speed 59.17 MPH
Average Efficiency 13.75 MPG

July 29, 2025 Holbrook AZ to Prescott, AZ
Conditions: Late Afternoon Winds left quartering headwind around 15 MPH then headwind 15 mph last 100 miles
Distance 191.1 miles
Duration 200.9 min or 3.35hrs
Fuel Used 16.7 gallons
Average Speed 57.04 MPH
Average Efficiency 11.44 MPG

Trip Total
Distance 700 miles
Duration 11.76 hours
Fuel Used 56.81 gallons
Average Speed 59.52 MPH
Average Efficiency 12.31 MPG

 

[Snakebitten]

@turbopilot With your Flated topper, where's your Starlink mini now mounted?

 

[turbopilot]

@turbopilot With your Flated topper, where's your Starlink mini now mounted?

If you look closely in the image above you can see the edge of the mini sitting on the aft section of the sunroof just ahead of the topper. Of interest, no bug hits on the mini. And no bug hits on the raised portion of the topper. So the boundary layer air over the sunroof is hitting that topper just above the tapered area facing forward on the topper. Whole idea of the topper is to maintain laminar flow across the area above the topper to avoid any turbulence.

Everything I am working on to improve the coefficient of drag with the PowerBoost is included in the video below. Note the single biggest improvement in drag results in the aerodynamic issues around the bed. Second biggest not covered in the video is the transition area between the Ford and a tall trailer.

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