*Truck and Towing thread........ask your questions here.*

[dmaxphil]

I'm driving a 2012 Dodge mini van and pulling a golf cart trailer, getting about 17 miles to the gallon.

lol

View attachment 138307

Sweet rig! No worries, it's not squatting any worse than any other Dodge 2500/3500 I've seen on the road.

 

[Teamubr]

I'm impressed Melissa. 4 people, all their stuff and a month's worth of things.

Nice job. And I get 17 mpg... If I keep it at 65, completely unloaded... without a head wind.

j

 

[bama_ed]

Here is my lashup (since we're doin' pix and all):



I put in a customized whatchamacallit and the trailer has a one-of-a-kind thingamabob.

My 2005 Suburban 1500 LT (180k miles) is my daily commuter vehicle and I get 18 on the highway and 15 in the city and 15 towing at 65mph.

In particular I love making the drive between Lake City and the Turnpike on I75 to/from WDW. I rubberneck in both directions at all the trailers, RV's, and tow vehicles (and even towed vehicles).

 

[tiggerdad]

I'm driving a 2012 Dodge mini van and pulling a golf cart trailer, getting about 17 miles to the gallon.

lol

View attachment 138307

Hey, nobody set any limits on this thread so, if you pull with it, fair game!

 

[PaHunter]

Hey, nobody set any limits on this thread so, if you pull with it, fair game!

No limits and actually seemed that maybe a wealth of knowledge could be shared and have a central place for truck and towing questions or information.

 

[peg110]

My truck is blue. Bama Ed

So is mine... (more about that in a minute).

So I used to have an F-150 XLT 5.4 Triton V8. It was actually my "FIRST" Truck. It was the "Super Crew" Cab (which is what Ford calls a Crew cab at that level). I bought it to better tow our 27' TT. The truck is regular gas and 4WD (I live in NE PA, don't know why ANYONE up here would buy a 2WD, but hey, that's me). I got about 15 MPG around town and about 22 MPG on the highway. I figured with towing that I would get about 10ish MPG since to the Fort it was mostly open highway. Boy was I wrong. I got about 5 MPG. The truck towed it fine but there was some minor struggles on steep hills. The funny thing is, that I felt like a big truck when towing. (My previous Commuter vehicle was a Jeep Cherokee and my previous TV was OLDER Suburban). So while I felt I was "Big" in my truck, I got a RUDE awakening when we spent the night at a truck stop.

We got up the next AM and I went to take our Dog for a morning walk. I was forced to take a picture of what I saw.


I didn't feel so big now.

Alas.. that was in 2012. In 2014, the DW suggested that I upgrade the truck. I was like "SURE". SO we now have a Midnight Blue F-250 SRW V8 4WD Super Duty Crew Cab (now they call it a regular crew cab.) with the Short Box (6.5') Lariat. A little bigger, lots more bells and whistles and I love it. It Tows much better then the F-150. Around town, though, I get about 11 MPG, Highway about 15 MPG, and towing I get about 9 MPG. What I don't like is the MPG (any of them), the Payment (lots of money that I don't want to spend), Maintenance costs (oil changes, lube, tires, etc... all much more expensive), insurance costs (much higher), registration costs (went from $36 for a car, to $56 for the 150, to $158 for the F250). I wish I had a small commuter car and I'd be much happier. Still, without any mods (should I consider some?) I am very happy with the truck. It's a comfortable drive, and a comfortable tow. Most importantly we feel safe.

The safe is important. We didn't realize how much until about 2 months ago we got rear ended (in the truck only - No camper) while stopped at a red light and we had only had minor damage (about $2k worth) to our bumper and hitch. Unfortunately, her car was not in very good shape.

So I have a question, why does it seem like my truck gets sub-par MPG compared to what others are posting? Is it because I am Gas and not Diesel? Is it because I am 4WD and others are not? Is it MODS? I'd be happier if I could get more MPG.

 

[dmaxphil]

Yes, the short answer is... Gas vs Diesel. Plus you probably have the 4:10 rear. But todays stock diesels get much worse MPG than before, which is why so many go through the various mods - once the warranty period is up. In my 2003 Silverado diesel I got around 22 mpg chipped with upgraded exhaust.

 

[dmaxphil]

Failed to mention - with my Tundra, is was not uncommon to get 5-7mpg towing anything larger than a lawn chair. 14 around town.

 

[peg110]

Well here is the Window Sticker for it.

 

[Teamubr]

So I have a question, why does it seem like my truck gets sub-par MPG compared to what others are posting? Is it because I am Gas and not Diesel? Is it because I am 4WD and others are not? Is it MODS? I'd be happier if I could get more MPG.

It's the difference between a gasser and a diesel. Diesels get great fuel mileage and make HUGE amounts of torque (what you want for towing) compared to a gas engine.
Your F250 probably weighs around 7000 lbs. My old F250 2WD diesel weighed exactly 7000. That's a lot of weight for a gas motor to get moving every time you want to go. My F350 dually 4X4 weighs 8400 lbs with me in it. It makes a little more HP that your gas motor (440 vs 385) but more than twice the torque. 860 vs 405
With diesel costing $0.20-0.30 per gallon more and the diesels being an $8,000 option, it's hard to make the math work out unless you tow a lot. But there is something for standing on the gas and getting pushed into your seat like a 747 taking off. Once the boost comes up, it just doesn't let up until you are over 80.

j

 

[dmaxphil]

Well here is the Window Sticker for it.

View attachment 138394

3.73. Well then, be thankful you don't have the 4.10

 

[Flametamr]

Picked up my camper from the dealer getting the air conditioner replaced that quit at the Fort last month. We met a nice couple from Biloxi MS there. They had an Open Range fifth wheel like mine towing it with a Ford F150. So I bothered him to ask about his truck. He has the 3.6 Eco Boost twin turbo V-6. Towing he gets around 10 mpg. He said he has tons of pickup and has towed it up into Virginia and such through hill country. I had looked at those trucks before. I may give it another look before I go with the diesel. They get about 26 mpg on the highway not towing. But obviously if I ever upgrade the camper I would have to go with a diesel.

 

[dmaxphil]

2004 Ford F150 w/ 5.4 Triton V-8. Gets 15 to 16 on the highway and 14 around town. Towing the 2015 Open Range 315BHS it gets around 8 mpg. We just traded up 4 months ago from a Bullet bumper pull. The Fifth wheel pulls much easier going down the road. My truck seems to have the power for it and will easily tow at 75. Obviously it is a strain though and being right at the weight limit I feel like I really want to make the jump to a diesel. The problem is my truck is paid off and I'm really enjoy not having a payment. I love my truck except being limited on towing.

Have you replaced the tires on the OR with LTs? If not, any tire issues going 75 ish?

 

[hstrickland]

Love this new thread! Especially my lurking husband...

 

[Flametamr]

So far no problems. Don't think it has the bad brand of tires. But I will have to double check the brand and update this post soon.

 

[Teamubr]

Since the topic moved to tires, anybody that's towed for a while have recent experience with Goodyear Marathons? They used to be my go to tire, but a few years ago I started exploding the sidewalls and had several with big bubbles in the sidewall. At first they said I was curbing them and damaging the sidewall, but I did have a number of them replaced under warranty after they couldn't find any evidence of damage. Ever since I have switched to something I can get a load range E trailer tire in a 14 in rim. Goodyear doesn't (or didn't) make an "E" tire in a 14 inch. The tires on my 5er are 3 or 4 years old now and I will probably be replacing them next season. We always have put trailer specific tires on all the trailers. Our tire dealers have talked us out of putting LTs on.

j

 

[dmaxphil]

Since the topic moved to tires, anybody that's towed for a while have recent experience with Goodyear Marathons? They used to be my go to tire, but a few years ago I started exploding the sidewalls and had several with big bubbles in the sidewall. At first they said I was curbing them and damaging the sidewall, but I did have a number of them replaced under warranty after they couldn't find any evidence of damage. Ever since I have switched to something I can get a load range E trailer tire in a 14 in rim. Goodyear doesn't (or didn't) make an "E" tire in a 14 inch. The tires on my 5er are 3 or 4 years old now and I will probably be replacing them next season. We always have put trailer specific tires on all the trailers. Our tire dealers have talked us out of putting LTs on.

j

Here is my last Marathon. While they are better than the garbage the manufacturers put on, I will never buy again. I was going to upgrade to 17.5's and go to a higher rated tire but ended up going with a similar spec Maxxis tire. Time will tell.

 

[Teamubr]

Here is my last Marathon.

Yep. That's what mine looked like. We originally had them on the toy hauler and the car hauler too, although those were bigger and E rated. Run 12 ply commercial trailer tires on the race trailers now and I have Kumho "E"s on my 5er. They seem fine, but 4 years is about all I trust trailer tires.

j

 

[bama_ed]

My mechanic (who is also a Goodyear tire dealer) has been servicing my family fleet of 5 vehicles and 1 popup for 25 years. (25 yrs ago, though, we were 2 cars only). Based on his track record i trust him implicitly.

Last time i bought some trailer tires on my old Jayco popup, he got me some Goodyear Marathons but commented that they were being manufactured in the USA again after having been off-shored.

Its been 2 years since i bought my Aliner and the tire purchase was 3 years before that. So don't get hung up on a brand because the tire brand name could move between continents.

Just sayin'.

Bama Ed

 

[dmaxphil]

Yep. 4 is about all they are good for. I run 65mph or lower now to be safe, since that's all ST tires are rated. If these give me trouble, I'll be upgrading to 17.5" H or J rated.