15 mpg towing a TT with a gasser is just fantasy based on my experience.
Capn RonB asked - Question, Is there any difference between brands of truck? Do Chevys ride better than Fords or Dodges? I drove a Dodge the other day that was very truck like without the trailer. My brother-in-law's Sierra seems to ride pretty good. Does it matter how the trucks are equipped?
I think ride quality is pretty subjective. Try them all and see which rides best in your opinion. Then try it towing your trailer if the seller will let you. It would be nice if the truck is equipped with a tranny cooler, but no deal breaker since it can be added pretty cheap at any point. It is important to select a truck with a good axle ratio for towing. Also get a large enough V8. Take a look at the Trailer Life towing guide for the model year truck you are considering. It will show you the tow ratings for the different engine and axle ratios. If you get too small an engine, or an axle ratio to get the best non towing mileage, it probably will not tow as well and get poorer mileage towing. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Mark and Linda wrote: My 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LS 5.3 V8 gets about 21-22 on the highway running just below 70 MPH. When towing our 25RS Puma I get around an avg. of 13 mpg. running between 55-60 in D with the tow option selected. Time you add vehicle gas, plus what a hotel room would cost...you are doing okay, pulling your tt.
Thanks Mark or Linda
That's what I was looking for. I have a friend that has a full size truck camper in the back of his Silverado 1500 LS 5.3 and gets around 15mpg provided he keeps the speed down to 60 or less. Your experience seems to confirm what he was telling me.
We towed our first 19' Pioneer TT with our beloved 99 V8 Mountaineer. It was not a good tow vehicle. It got 8 MPG towing and seemed to be struggling all the time. Semis pushed me around on the freeway and stopping was always an adventure. When shopping for a proper tow vehicle, a Ford Service Advisor took me out in the shop and showed me the difference in the size of truck components, mainly brakes, suspensions and rear ends. At that point my choice was obvious to me, I needed an F250 Superduty. I later found my truck used with only 33K on it with a V10 and 2WD. It gets about 12MPG empty and 9-10 pulling our newer, heavier TT. The biggest improvement was in how much easier it towed the TT. We took a cross country trip for a family reunion and never had a moments worry. It was a great choice for us.
TV preference is a very personal thing. My recommendation is for you to look at all the major brand trucks with an eye towards their medium duty lines, usually 250s or 2500 designation. Find the one you like and buy it. For your TT you may even like the "heavy half ton" pickups but for just an little more dollars, the 3/4 ton gets you so much more. I liked the idea that my vehicle was built to tow and not straining and wearing out expensive parts like engines or transmissions. The added safety was a no brainer.
While having a dually diesel would certainly fix the problem you articulated, I think it is waaay overkill for your situation. Add in the dollar premium to purchase and additional amintenence and you'd be paying a lot just for better gas mileage. Not bashing dually diesels, they have a place in the RV towing world. I'm just saying in your case it would be money not wisely spent.
1999 F250 XLT Superduty Supercab 2WD, V10 pulling a 2006 Keystone Cougar 243 RKS
Oh yeah, the wife & Beagle come along too!
The only folks getting good gas mileage are the ones that are pulling the POPUPs. Its the wind resistance for sure... This along has kept me from going anything bigger haha... My F150 truck gets the same gas mileage whether or not I am pulling my 4200LB loaded POPUP trailer.
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - PM me Roy and Carolyn
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Mark and Linda wrote: My 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LS 5.3 V8 gets about 21-22 on the highway running just below 70 MPH. When towing our 25RS Puma I get around an avg. of 13 mpg. running between 55-60 in D with the tow option selected. Time you add vehicle gas, plus what a hotel room would cost...you are doing okay, pulling your tt.
Thanks Mark or Linda
That's what I was looking for. I have a friend that has a full size truck camper in the back of his Silverado 1500 LS 5.3 and gets around 15mpg provided he keeps the speed down to 60 or less. Your experience seems to confirm what he was telling me.
Do you know what your rear gear is? Thanks,
Ron
Don't expect to get more than 10 mpg towing a TT with a any gas engine.
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A 3/4 ton truck for a roughly 3500 lbs. TT that's 7 1/2' X 23' tongue to bumper??? Seriously!! A bit overkill IMHO. Any 1/2 ton pick'm up or full sized SUV will be more than up to the task and get better than 12 mpg highway without the TT.
Capt RonB, if you are looking for comfort and a decent daily driver. The scale would tip toward an SUV, if you want a truck then of course a P/U truck. If you have a growing family a truck crew/extra cab would be a minimum and an SUV can seat up to eight if the little ones ever want to take along friends (and they will) on your excursions. Just something to consider down the road, one mans opinion.
I went back and re-visited your OP and actually your Sienna van wasn't do'n to bad. 9 mpg I think you will find is right about average when towing, there are exceptions of course as you point out with your original TV.., that however is not the norm as you are seeing with others that have posted.
Towing with your Sienna in 4th is also pretty much the norm for many vehicles (not the diesels) that are towing near their max tow rating. Also towing at 60 mph is a good thing as the tires on your TT are only speed rated to 65 mph.
If you are definately gonna get a new TV then shop wisely. If you wanna save yourself and your family some $$$, your Sienna is doing as your say O.K. if you have the patience. Probably your best savings all things considered (no additional $$ spent on a new TV) on a trip from say Tampa to WA.
* This post was
edited 08/04/12 11:54am by E&J push'n wind *
Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know much, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.
We had a 23.5x7.5ft. "lite" TT, and with a 5.3L xcab silverado, could usually get close to 11mpg at 60mph or less. With the 3.42 it would only run in 4th under optimal conditions; I expect the new 6speeds are better in that regard.
I can't see towing a trailer like you have without WD hitch on the trailblazer, and I'm not convinced the problems with the setup can't be fixed.
The success you had with your previous trailer was due to aerodynamics.
I`de kill for 9 mpg!!! You are expecting way to much!
And yes you need a WD hitch. it takes time and patience to get the hitch dialed in. You may even have insufficient tongue weight. you need around 13% hitch weight to tow properly. 13% of 3200lbs is 416 pounds, lets say 400lbs of toungue weight. What size WD bars are you using 600lb bars max! with that light of toungue weight you don`t need much tension to make them work properly. you should only need to tension the chains with the snap up brackets by hand. I think you are actually removing weight form the rear of the trailblazer with the WD bars. trust me I ran into this myself with a TT with a light tongue weight, the truck felt squirrley if I set it up the way the manual suggested, that is why I say it takes a while to get the hitch dialed in properly. and to top it off a Trailblazer is very soft in the spring dept. and the shocks are desigen to ride like a boat! go back to the WD hitch and spend some time playing around with various adjustments and make sure the tongue weight is sufficient!
Good luck!
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dodge guy wrote: I`de kill for 9 mpg!!! You are expecting way to much!
And yes you need a WD hitch. it takes time and patience to get the hitch dialed in. You may even have insufficient tongue weight. you need around 13% hitch weight to tow properly. 13% of 3200lbs is 416 pounds, lets say 400lbs of toungue weight. What size WD bars are you using 600lb bars max! with that light of toungue weight you don`t need much tension to make them work properly. you should only need to tension the chains with the snap up brackets by hand. I think you are actually removing weight form the rear of the trailblazer with the WD bars. trust me I ran into this myself with a TT with a light tongue weight, the truck felt squirrley if I set it up the way the manual suggested, that is why I say it takes a while to get the hitch dialed in properly. and to top it off a Trailblazer is very soft in the spring dept. and the shocks are desigen to ride like a boat! go back to the WD hitch and spend some time playing around with various adjustments and make sure the tongue weight is sufficient!
Good luck!
THANKS
I haven't totally given up on the WDH The hitch is a 600lb E2 Trunnion Bar set-up which doesn't use chains but I can tilt the head and raise or lower the brackets.
My next attempt at tuning the system will be after I raise the trailer a bit. I ordered a lift kit from Gulfstream. The 19ERD ground clearance is so low that with the Trailblazer I had to get an 8 inch drop tow bar. When I get it set-up (wheel wells measure within specs) I have 3 inches of ground clearance left at the tow bar. The rig looks level, etc but that is unacceptable ground clearance.
I can control the hitch weight by the forward fresh water tank. I can carry water if I need more hitch weight.
With the WDH set up the rig weighs as follows (CAT Scale)
2600lbs on the steer axle
2760lbs on the drive axle
3220 on the trailer axle
Didn't measure hitch weight or trailer alone. Note that this is a single axle trailer.
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