Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

[Cloudrnnr]

Just curious what kind of mileage folks are getting from different tow vehicles. I see a long (or a couple of long) road trips in my future and I am trying to decide which tow vehicle to drive. I've actually never towed anything as light as, say, a 16' SS behind any of my vehicles.

So...what are you towing, what are you towing with, and what kind of mileage are you getting?

 

[coolbri70]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

my 94 f150 with 4.9 5 speed gets about 10mpg towing my 68 18' larson:noidea:, the 97 explorer with 4.0 5 speed gets around 15mpg towing same boat

 

[1973Chieftain]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

My 2004 Duramax gets 16 mpg pulling any of my boats up to 55mph, and about 14 pulling my 24' Chief at expressway speeds (75 ish)

 

[redneck joe]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

15 mpg with the rig below, boat and trailer about 6000 lbs. The bass boat about 18 mpg. The 9,000 Bayliner cruiser about 10. Hwy speeds about 65-68 mpg.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

11.5 pulling my 28' toon 13.5 pulling the Starcraft 2005 Ford Expedition 5.4 v8 4x4 3.73 rear end I only get on average 14.5 anyeays. I did.get 16.5 pulling the 16ss,.4 hours back from Georgia

 

[dozerII]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

Well I've done a few long haul StarCraft rescue missions, I tow with an 02 GMC 2500 4X4 6 liter. The two 18 SS's and a 16SS I picked up I got 16-18 mpg and the SS201 I got 15-16. After picking up these long distance projects the most important thing I can tell you is buy and take with you a set of band new tires mounted on wheels pretty cheep when you can buy them at home on sale somewhere. Plus a pair of replacement hubs that have pre-packed bearing and seals installed. After two bad experinces the first thing I do is install these and haul home with peace of mind. (both bad experiences, the P/O said the bearings had just been done and the tires were in like new condition)

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

A HUGE plus 1 to what dozer said. Ive had the bearings come off on I40 at 60 mph its a gut wrenching sickening sound. Ive also.blown a questionable tire. I highly suggest taking a set of magnetic trailer lights and an extension cable for them..

 

[Cloudrnnr]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

Are wheel bolt pattern and hubs pretty standard for boat trailers, or specific to the trailer you are looking at?

 

[dozerII]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

Are wheel bolt pattern and hubs pretty standard for boat trailers, or specific to the trailer you are looking at?

Most all have 4.5 X 5 bolt patterns, if the trailer has 12"or smaller wheels and tires they will probably be a 4 bolt. So far mine have all been a standard size. I will see if I can find the size for you.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

I towed my 14' Falcon 200 miles with my '07 Prius. My average mileage was 40 on the hwy.

 

[barato2]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

towing the 18' Starchief back from Albuquerque, i got about 15-16 with my 2.7L 5-speed 4WD Taco, but that involved some bad canyons. i'd guesstimate that about 17-18 would be more normal for this rig. i get maybe 21-24 normally w/o trailer.

 

[budski]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

I have a 2008 Tahoe 5.3 4x4 I usually get about 16 mpg, with 16-18 foot boat at 60 mph anything above that speed maybe 13-14 mpg.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

I tow my 3000 lb rig( 22 ft lowe) with my 5.0 2011 f 150.....I get about 13-14 mpg...but I drive 65-75....if I can... and I don't worry about gas mileage....

bo

 

[Cloudrnnr]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

I tow my 3000 lb rig( 22 ft lowe) with my 5.0 2011 f 150.....I get about 13-14 mpg...but I drive 65-75....if I can... and I don't worry about gas mileage....

bo

Thanks all. My choice has been the Dodge 2500 4X4 Cummins--17-18mpg at 75mph, 11-12mpg@65-70 pulling a 7000lb TT with a campershell with kayak and 2 mtb strapped on top, or a Toyota 4runner V6 that gets 20mpg unloaded, but drops down to around 12 with a 3000lb uhaul. I haven't pulled a light load with the wind profile of a boat with either, but I'm beginning to suspect it is a wash.

 

[barato2]

Re: Tow vehicle-boat-mpg

fuel mileage may be similar but i bet the dodge will be working a lot less hard......the 4skinner has max towing cap of what, 3500#? or even 5000. i bet the dodge is closer to 7-10,000 so it won't even break a sweat hauling even a big Chief.