is 11 mpg decent towing trailer

[johnkracing]

I just bought a new 5th wheel and made a trip got 11mpg, 1994 sc drw 7.3iditurbo e4od 4.10s pump turned up wastegate adjusted 4in straitpipe still have factory dp. 5th wheel is 34ft the setup weighs just shy of 18500lbs. I am pretty happy with the numbers since my old 460 dually got 11mpg empty what are your opinions
thanks
john

 

[The Warden]

The last time I checked, I saw 13 to 14 mpg pulling an unaerodynamic trailer, with the whole rig weighing about 14K lbs. So, I'd say 11 mpg (using U.S. gallons, not Imperial gallons) doesn't seem unreasonable with that much weight, but hopefully someone who's pulled that heavily can comment more definitively...

BTW, that compares to 17 to 18 mpg empty in mixed driving, and 20 on a highway run if I can keep the speed down to 55-60...

 

[chris142]

Man that's a heavy trailer! My boss had a 94 f350 dully with a 460 and it got 8 empty or loaded

 

[bike-maker]

I'm about 1k pounds lighter towing
My 5er and see from 10 - 12 mpg depending on terrain. Smaller tires (currently 35's) would probably help me out...

 

[Fozz]

I'd say that's pretty good, that's a heavy 5'r! Mine weights 11k and i have a lot of frontal area pushing wind and I get about the same.

 

[Agnem]

With double overdrive you could get closer to 13-14 on flat ground. The Lady Moose gets that moving 16K.

 

[rjglenn]

I hauled a tractor, harrow, kawasaki mule and a box blade on a 32' Elite gooseneck flatbead and got 6 MPG, so you are doing pretty good I would think.

 

[Dieselcrawler]

With 9000 behind me I get 11, so your good

 

[icanfixall]

Getting rid of the smashed down pipe will really help the engine breath better. The factory down pipes chokes off the flow of exhaust gas out of the turbo. So open it up. Also tell us what the timing is and how many miles are on the pump and injecters.

 

[OLDBULL8]

I only averaged 11.5 in 15,0000 miles with this rig on a trip to Alaska, that's a 99.5 4R100 4.10 with 126K miles PSD. Trailer is a 30ft., weighs 9500, total around 18K.

 

[johnkracing]

Thanks for the replys, IP and injectors have 115000 miles on them and are the originals. I'm not sure about timing haven't checked it yet and the downpipe is next on the list, tried already but I couldn't get the outlet housing off of turbo. I will try again and if outlet won't come off I will go with the existing flange instead of 3in but build 3in pipe for it. Next test will be when we move to new place and I move 48ft LQ racecar trailer with 2 cars in it.

 

[jaluhn83]

I see around 10-11 with my rig running 13-15k gross, but that's based on a combination of 2 different trips I make frequently - ~20 mile round trip with lots of stop and go and on and off freeway and ~80 mile round trip going up about 4000 ft and back with significant windy mountain road driving.

I'm also running a full moose pump and I'm certainly putting my foot into it pretty good on the hills. Might see a bit better mileage now that I fixed the exhaust leaks too.

I expect to see closer to 13-14 flat freeway towing and probably 18-ish empty. Haven't driven far enough to see for sure though.

 

[rjglenn]

How are y'all getting these great mileages? I get 12-13 empty, loaded is much worse...

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

How are y'all getting these great mileages? I get 12-13 empty, loaded is much worse...

thats pretty low.especially for driving on flat land in Florida.your killer may be the fast take offs needed down there to get out and get going without getting run over.not exactly good economy in that regard.
otherwise,i see she's got some miles on her.perhaps it's overdue for an ip,injectors and a timing check?

you can never expect to get the economy those running 2wd srw pickups can get with your dually 4wd (meaning cab n chassis with likely a flat bed which is less aero than a pickup) but she probably shouldn't be doing that bad,unless your running 75-85 mph out on the interstate with it or something.in that case,you'd probably be doing kinda good considering the 4.10's.so all things are relative i suppose.

i can hit 15+ with mine when running empty,but i don't hardly do it.iv got a little car that shoots me up over 35mpg when i just need to haul myself around.

 

[chris142]

I never see those kinds of MPGs either. I get 13.5 in town if I really watch it and maybe 14. 5 on the highway. my best ever was 15.7 on the highway but I never went over 55 miles per hour and had a massive sandstorm tail wind