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2011 5.3 Towing 9 MPG!!

13K views 62 replies 29 participants last post by  JamesNobles 
#1 ·
I was pretty disappointed with my tow from Delaware to Minnesota. I drove 65 mph and was still averaging 9.2 MPG on the DIC. I was expecting a lot better MPG. The total weight of the truck and trailer was 9,480lbs on a certified scale. I do have 3:08 gears but geez....time for a gear swap!
 
#13 ·
CKNSLS said:
ofblong said:
Odd,

I tow with my 5.3 all the time. Usually with 5k lbs on the trailer. 14mpg.
You have an exceptional truck to get that king of mpg towing...exceptional!
Or people don't tell us they have a tuner, and a 2wd truck, in flat land.

Since you can have so much difference in truck setup, and terrain elevation, it's hard to predict the outcome of a MPG for towing. Or even for street use.
 
#16 ·
SilmarilS said:
CKNSLS said:
You have an exceptional truck to get that king of mpg towing...exceptional!
Or people don't tell us they have a tuner, and a 2wd truck, in flat land.

Since you can have so much difference in truck setup, and terrain elevation, it's hard to predict the outcome of a MPG for towing. Or even for street use.
4wd nothing but hills (michigan not sure there is any what you call "flat" land around). Stock truck. Now this was also before I started using E85. I havent checked my mileage towing with E85. my 2011 also got 20mpg country driving before E85 and 17 after. So with E85 I am going to have to guess that im down to 11 or 10 but again I only checked my towing mileage when I was using regular gas.
 
#17 ·
Greenbeast6.0L said:
2013sierrasle said:
That 5.3 is not happy. The RPM's need to be in the torque band to get any mileage out of it.
So are you saying that higher RPM's will get him better mpg's?
Yes. Every engine has a "sweet spot". Too low an RPM, the engine is lugging and working hard therefore burning more fuel.
 
#18 ·
Hold on, let's do the math- a gear swap might run him $2500 at least, which, depending on how many miles he drives every year, pays for a year's worth of gas. He'll never see the fuel savings pay for the gear swap.

Trucks = crappy gas mileage; trucks + trailers = really, really crappy gas mileage.
 
#19 ·
I get 15mpg on the highway empty in my 5.3l, like 10 when towing, if you wanted gas mileage you should've tried getting a prius with a trailer hitch
 
#20 ·
2013sierrasle said:
Greenbeast6.0L said:
2013sierrasle said:
That 5.3 is not happy. The RPM's need to be in the torque band to get any mileage out of it.
So are you saying that higher RPM's will get him better mpg's?
Yes. Every engine has a "sweet spot". Too low an RPM, the engine is lugging and working hard therefore burning more fuel.
So are we talking 2500rpm or does it just depend on the motor and gear ratio combo?
 
#22 ·
Just for S's and G's I had a "coal rolling" turbo spooling F250 that I was "towing" last night on the highway. I was around 75 to the governor multiple times and got 16.7.
 
#24 ·
I filled up my truck, drove 60 miles to the airport, basically drafting a semi at 80 for most of the way there, then continuously dusted the f*ord multiple times on the way back. and filled my tank back up for fun this am. 16.68. sarcasm here >>> """towing"""
 
#26 ·
I understand what your saying. My city MPG is like 13.7 or something like that. That is with all flat Florida roads and trying to stay with the AFM "working." I quickly realized after purchasing the truck I'm not going to be conserving fuel. Maybe the InTune will pick up 1 or 2 for me.
 
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