Gas mileage while towing

[Lon]

Assuming a newer CrewCab, what kind of gas mileage can one expect while towing a trailer? An estimate based on various weights would be fine.

[Black Toyo]

Towed my 4000# travel trailer for the first time. 65mph hwy, in 6th o/d with tow/ haul ON= 9.1 mpg. Going on another trip next week. I'm going to try it 5th, o/d OFF and see what I get. I expected better. My Tacoma got 9-11 mpg towing it in Drive (4th).

[Hippo]

I recently got back from a 5K round trip WA to So TX. Going through the mountain passes I was getting an average of 10 mpg. Near sea level or less than 1K elevation, I was getting 11-12 mpg.

I was buying the cheapest gas which almost all contained ethanol. I towed a 5K travel trailer with approx 500 lbs of equipment (payload).

[pirates712]

Don't forget that in towing, the surface area of the trailer can play a huge part in fuel economy, especially on the highway. A huge 5th wheel trailer at 3k lbs will result in worse fuel economy on the highway (assuming few or no large hills) than 6-7k lbs of steel on a low-profile flatbed. With a heavier trailer, once it's up to speed it doesn't take as much to keep it at speed as a trailer with low weight but high wind resistance. A heavier trailer will also help fuel economy when going down gentle inclines, as you can use engine braking more and save fuel.

[tomhole]

9 mpg towing a 6,000 lbs travel trailer @ 65 mph, 5th gear. If I slow down to 60 mph, it goes up to 10.5 mpg. If I run 72 mph, it goes down to 8 mpg.

[Ho_Hey]

Just towed for the first time 28" travel trailer on I-75 for a little over 200 miles and got 8.5 MPG running about 70mph 2007 Tundra Crewmax limited 4X4 truck has only 74K on it and it has a 3/1 ready lift with 33" on 20 " ProComp 6066's

[Ho_Hey]

If you bought a Tundra to haul a travel trailer alot you better go to a diesel

[Ra21V12eN]

Over Memorial Day weekend, we hauled our 24' trailer from Tucson to Show Low in the White Mountains. Tucson is 2500' and Show Low is 6500'. There are a couple of climbs that are just long pulls vs. a switchbacks.

In total I had three fillups and they were 10.15, 11.2 and then 14.17 which included 3 days of normal driving... where I generally get 18.

We'll be headed to California next month with our trailer and the Trip Calculator suggests we'll be towing for 1600+ miles. Ought to be interesting and can't wait to get out to the coast again!!!

I know we'll be climbing up into Big Bear (actually up and down that hill twice) and then out along the coast. We'll be hitting Morro Bay, Malibu and then San Diego before heading back home.

[WhiskeyMan]

Just got back from towing our new trailer for the first trip. Travel trailer is 33' long and 11' tall and weighs 7500lbs empty. So I figured we had loaded another 500lbs or so of stuff. So 8000lbs in trailer and 3 adults and 2 dogs in the Tundra. The truck pulled the trailer with NO troubles whatsoever! The downer was the mpg. I averaged ~7.5mpg. I normally avg ~15mpg in town/highway. We did have headwinds on the way there and a bit on the way back plus the elevation is 5000' here at home and 6500' where we went and a few 7000' passes in between. Like I said, that truck pulled those passes with no problem and would even accelerate up the hills! Awesome power!

2010 Tundra Limited, 4x4, Tow Pkg, Brushed Running Boards, Leer Shell, CIPA Towing Mirrors, Equalizer Brand Tow/Sway Hitch 14K

[Lon]

If you bought a Tundra to haul a travel trailer alot you better go to a diesel

A fresh perspective, I can appreciate that. Why a diesel? because of all the extra torque?

[Lon]

Does altitude really hurt gas mileage that much? Say 20% or so?

[dikkie]

Does altitude really hurt gas mileage that much? Say 20% or so?

one might think so, the higher you get, the thinner the air... therefor the engine has to work harder to "breath in" fresh air, which in turn leads to a higher fuel consumption...

i'm not that technical so perhaps someone with a better way of explaining this could fill in the gaps i ( most certainly ) left in the answer...

dikkie

[Leardriver]

Higher altitude improves fuel economy. The engine runs on less fuel because the air is thinner and the computer fuels less to make the A/f ratio correct. If all other factors are equal, a high altitude drive gives you better fuel economy.

[Crazy Ivan]

I tow a lot of boats. My Gen 1 Tundra gets about 8-10mpg. 10mpg on flat roads w/ ac off. Overpasses and mountains I get about 7.5-8 mpg.

As far as Gen 2, I had 5.7 CM 4x4. With that Tundra was hard for me to tow and get good gas mialage since it constantly looking for proper gear.


When I compare same boat towing I get about 250 miles on one tank Gen1 and about 200 on one tank Gen2

[jan kohlmann]

A fresh perspective, I can appreciate that. Why a diesel? because of all the extra torque?

Better MPG's when towing. Diesels are more efficient when towing heavy loads.

Yes they do have better torque too. I may end getting a Silverado HD diesel for the above reasons.