I just towed my 24' box trailer at 70-75mph and it would NOT stay in 6th and many times not even in 5th. This is a 5.7L 2 wheel drive. I ONLY GOT 7.5 mpg!!!! I was not using the cruise or tow/haul mode, just trying to feather the throttle on and off to get the best mileage. The trailer only weighs 6500lbs and there were no significant headwinds. Elevation flat. The best this truck got not towing was 14mpg! I don't drag race it around, this is without my foot in it. The mileage is not even close to the EPA. I know you never get the EPA, but 14 highway vs. 20mpg? That is crap.
Any ideas or suggestions? How to keep it in a gear? If I didn't love the truck otherwise, I would get a Duramax.
Join the club partner, I did not do much better than that with a trailer that weighed only 2000lbs. Get ready to be told that you bought a truck and should not worry about mpg. Just a quick heads up.
I did get some helpful responses about not using cruise control but I have not towed again to test it out.
I got better gas mileage pulling the exact same trailer with my 2004 Tundra. I am also bothered since the main reason I bought the new tundra was the 6 speed should produce a little better gas mileage while pulling. I felt like my 2004 was terribly underpowered and always running with high RPM's. I am sorry to say that I felt the exact same way with my 5.7. I felt like the RPM's were way to high.
If you find a solution let me know.
Just saw where you said that you did not use the cruise so forget I mentioned it.
SLOW DOWN! I got 13.5 mpg pulling a 23ft travel trailer that weighs 5800lbs. The key is to keep the truck below 2000 rpm and tuck in behind a tractor trailer.
My average mpg with my trailer was 11.5 on a 3253 mile trip from Missouri to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
Probably the only way to improve those numbers is to slow down. If I am not mistaken, highway mileage is calculated by the EPA at 55 mph. When I first bought my truck, I was averaging about 14 -15 mpg highway when I was cruising around at 70 -75 mph. After reading about all the people who were averaging 17 - 18 mpg highway, I slowed to down to 60 and found that my truck easily hit that 17 mpg mark. No way your going to get that towing, but you should still see a noticeable difference.
You should get better than that but using tow haul might help keep it in the right gear on and off with you foot can't help.
I pull my trailer 29ft 7,500 and get 8.5 to 9 and that's doing 65 and going up and down in elevation. I agree that slowing down might help.
on the highway without the trailer. in my are the speed limit is 60 then down the road it goes to 70 i go 65&75 and after about 65 miles of this i get 17.6 hope this helps.
I tow a 23 cc boat with twin outbaords and T-tops that weighs in around 7K full load (including trailer). I put it in tow haul mode so it holds gears a little longer and put it in 6gear selction (not auto mode), I also use cruise control as much as possible. I have done many long tows 1 @1,000 miles and 10 tows @ 190 miles each. I have found that the truck gets better milage around 60 MPH with this load (approx 10 MPG). If I go around 70MPH the milage goes down to 8-9 depending on the amount of hills. I have roughly 5,000 miles on the truck with close to 3,000 miles towing the exact set up listed above (weighed on a certified scale just shy of 13K total weight). You have 2 choices go fast and pay for it at the pump or slow down 5-10 MPH and get roughtly 10-20% fuel savings.
BTW the truck pulls the load like it is not even there. My old dodge 1500 sucked more gas with the same load @ 60 MPH, and got at best 7.8 MPG.
Also if you have bigger tires that would be costing you towing MPG, big time. That is the only reason I have not bought bigger tires and lifted my truck as much as I would like too.
You really need to check your tire pressure on the trailer and truck(low tire pressure definately makes a differance when towing). I run my truck tires @ 40-45 PSI when hauling a trailer. I also pump in new bearing grease every stop for gas in the trailer hubs.
I just towed my 24' box trailer at 70-75mph and it would NOT stay in 6th and many times not even in 5th.
Any ideas or suggestions? How to keep it in a gear? If I didn't love the truck otherwise, I would get a Duramax.
Box trailer = lots of drag. High drag at high speed = crappy mileage. Slow down to 60-65 in 5th and you will see better mileage.
As to the DMax, I just sold my 03. Granted, it had more torque, and did not shift as much. However, I tow my boat back and forth from Colorado Springs (where I live), to Pueblo, CO (reservoir). With the DMax, I saw around 11 MPG towing at 70 MPH. With the Tundra 5.7L CM, I got 10.5 indicated at 70 MPH. Now, the DMax would mostly stay in 5th, but occasionally would drop to 4th. The Tundra did shift to 4th, and a couple of times to 3rd. This is with cruise control set, didn't matter if tow/haul was on or off.
Would I go back to the DMax? Only if I had a monster trailer that I had to tow in the mountains a lot. For my 5,200 lb boat....NO WAY.
__________________
2007 5.7L Tundra CrewMax Ltd 4x4 in Radiant Red
Tow/haul mode is there for a reason not for something to look at. Put the thing in tow/haul mode then slow down to 65-70 mph and you should see some improvement. The truth to the matter is you probably shouldn't be towing anything that fast in the first place.
As a comparison, my dad's old 93 chevy 2wd 1/2 ton got 10 mpg steady towing a 20 ft box trailer with a car inside. speed was 65 mph, typically and it got the same economy across the whole country.
it had the 5.7 tbi rated at 210hp. the btu content in gas is going down ,if anything, and the only way to get better mpg is to make the truck more efficient and/or have less wind and rolling resistance. The box trailer takes the truck resistance out of the equation so it is just a fuel btu content vs. wind drag issue. diesels have a higher heat energy content, hard to top that from a chemistry standpoint. I think most truck motors are set up to have the most optimum bsfc from 55 to 70 mph for a typical load.
My guess is that you had an engine load issue. the tranny hunting for a gear all the time hurt more than running revs at a lower engine load with the tow/haul turned on. that and the comments about slowing below 70 mph.
Tow/haul mode is there for a reason not for something to look at. Put the thing in tow/haul mode then slow down to 65-70 mph and you should see some improvement. The truth to the matter is you probably shouldn't be towing anything that fast in the first place.
Exactly, not to mention you are towing a rolling brick that has no aerodynamics. It's a truck, so you should care little about MPG...even more so when towing.
__________________
2008 Honda CR-V EX AWD
2008 Honda Civic LX
All I know is that I would be wee wee'd off if I was getting 14 everyday and 7.5 when towing, truck or not. Part of the reason I with The Tundra was the claimed MPG with their monster of an engine. I'd be ticked if it wasn't accurate.
I currently get 16.5 mpg combined, with the best sitting at 19 mpg. When I tow, the low was 9 mpg and the high has been 14 mpg, that is with the same 5000 lb travel trailer just differing terrain. I am very very happy with those numbers.
The original poster has some sort of problem that should be addressed, but it could be any number of things by themselves or combined.
Too fast
Not using Tow/Haul
Bad fuel (use 87 from a top tier station)
Foot too heavy
Trailer brakes are rubbing
Wind drag Not keeping it under 2000 rpm as much as possible, (this is the big one!!!)
and
Heaven forbid, something with the truck it's self, but I highly doubt it.
__________________
Beer please! CBTMA (Member and Founding Father: Est. August 15, 2008)
Clicky>>> What The Heck is CBTMA
Unknown - "The biological purpose of pain is to prevent the recurrence of stupidity."
Thanks for all the help. I live in Arizona so when the road is flat, straight for 100 miles and there is nobody around, I don't see how 75mph is unsafe. I do run a proper weight distributing hitch with cam anti-sway, so occasional 75 is NBFD. I will try all the tips indicated and report the results!
I drove from Bend, OR to Denver, CO towing around 3800 lbs and using Tow/Haul mode. I averaged 14.5 mpg for 1700 miles and more importantly didn't drive faster than 65. You can get decent fuel economy while towing it just requires taking a little more time to get to your destination but add it up and you will save a lot on fuel if you just take your foot off the gas. GASP. Take your foot off the gas? Just tie a shorter piece of string between your foot and ba**s and you will ease up that mpg.
__________________
2007 Tundra CrewMax SR5, 5.7L, 4x4, Black with Black Interior, Black leather, TRD package, Cold Weather kit, Line-X, Moonroof, BFG All Terrain T/A KOs 285/65/18, SnugTop SnugLid SL, White LED instrument display with Yakima Rack and soon OME Lift, Expedition One Front Bumper, and Expedition One Rear Bumper.
Thanks for all the help. I live in Arizona so when the road is flat, straight for 100 miles and there is nobody around, I don't see how 75mph is unsafe. I do run a proper weight distributing hitch with cam anti-sway, so occasional 75 is NBFD. I will try all the tips indicated and report the results!
Something to keep in mind about that beautiful beast you drive is that 5th and 6th gear are both overdrives, so it wouldn't be uncommon for your tranny to settle into 4th while pulling a trailer.
I just towed my 24' box trailer at 70-75mph and it would NOT stay in 6th and many times not even in 5th. This is a 5.7L 2 wheel drive. I ONLY GOT 7.5 mpg!!!! I was not using the cruise or tow/haul mode, just trying to feather the throttle on and off to get the best mileage. The trailer only weighs 6500lbs and there were no significant headwinds. Elevation flat. The best this truck got not towing was 14mpg! I don't drag race it around, this is without my foot in it. The mileage is not even close to the EPA. I know you never get the EPA, but 14 highway vs. 20mpg? That is crap.
Any ideas or suggestions? How to keep it in a gear? If I didn't love the truck otherwise, I would get a Duramax.
You're better off with that amount of weight, to leave it in 5th & never go to 6th unless it's a long downhill descent.
I tow my 5er house trailer in 5th seq. w/ tow haul mode & it holds it pretty good in that gear. Until i come to a hill, and depending on the hill, it either goes to 4th or 3rd at 70. Plus i never use cruise control when towing.
Toyota's cruise is very touchy vs. the domestics. You set it at 70 & you'll do 70, the truck will not drop speed & it will drop to any gear needed. Too much shifting IMO.
I usually see between 9 & 11mpg pulling this trailer at 70-72mph. And we have a lot of hills here in Utah.
The only time i've ever seen 7.5 was coming back from Lake powell with the cruise set at 70 in a good head wind. The truck was in and out of 4th & 5th all the way. The best thing to do would have been to leave it in S-4.
Just my experiences though.
Those flat nosed trailers are the worst for wind drag.
Towing Mileage Horrible!!!! - HELP!
Linear Mode
