[Frontinator]

Thanks for the kind words. Looks like your weight distribution is better.

 

[Frontinator]

Towing from KS to AZ, best estimate with my assumptions is about 5500-5600lbs.

I filled up at stops when it looked easy to get in/out, not crowded, and check straps. The MPG is interesting but is secondary.

Cruise was at 64 but I forgot to get the truck data for "average". A few times faster or slower but that was my default

1st fill 169miles
Some town driving and two remote starts. Windy! Fairly flat
12.06mpg


2nd fill 47.3miles
Less wind speed but full on at front, some rolling hills now for minor downshifts
12.92mpg

3rd fill 180miles
No wind, fair bit of rolling hills and downshifting. Once at 6k!
14.11mpg

Wind is the killer more than load in this scenario. You TT guys probably have it worse.

 

[RyanD1966]

Cruising speed is obviously the key!
What happens at a continuous ~80mph?

Hahahahaha, if the 3.8 is anything like the 4.0, it'll, drop at least 3 to 4MPG, I can get 19 to 20 at about 55MPH steady on flat ground, no wind, but at 80 and some hills, try about 15 to 16 on a good day.
Wind is indeed the killer, aerodynamics play into this truck most of the time much more than cargo or GVWR.

 

[Frontinator]

Your flat road mileage isn't that great to start with. Curious what rpm would be at that speed. The advantage for 3.8 is with the trans, I would think less so for engine.

There are no stretches long enough without traffic here to maintain 80mph to actually get a number. Too many slow downs or even acceleration required. Not to mention towns and construction. Best I could do is mix in some 80's.

Towing I've just let cruise decide, but suspect manipulation of throttle without cruise would be more economical. Some of the downshifts could have been avoided.

 

[Frontinator]

At the flyingJ in Lordsburg. Towing is going great, getting used to it.

Mileage updates:
155miles 11.393g
184miles 12.04g
106miles 6.133g

 

[Frontinator]

Oops. Quick stop for Dwayne's Jerky!

 

[Frontinator]

214.1miles 11.418g

Home! Success! Trailer unloaded on Monday

 

[HPRob]

214.1miles 11.418g

Home! Success! Trailer unloaded on Monday

Good trip log. Glad you got home without incident. Now to air the truck out for a few days from all the jerky farts.

 

[Frontinator]

Below are the return fuel stops while towing. Total weight on all axles is 10,500. Max grade via flattestroute is 4.6 (truck says 5 due to rounding), and just over 5,000ft in elevation change. Not bad! Downhills certainly helped offset the climbs. More than a few times I hit 6k rpm but 4.5k was more common.

I chose this way due to the time spent on the uphill then downhill and the road type vs going through Flagstaff (and potential weather). Just didn't trust the trailer brakes enough for an even steeper grade. Other than the 10 highway, its a MUCH easier drive with less traffic. My most white knuckle moments were on the 10 in Phoenix. I swear the roads are narrower.

As a newb, I kept spare fuel with me as I would pass some stations if I didn't like the idea of navigating through or would require reversing... I kept that to a minimum. Didn't use the fuel but don't regret having it. Since I stopped often for breaks, food, or just to check straps it was easy to fill up when convenient vs maxing each tank.

Speed. Mostly cruise was 64mph but there are certainly times with more or less. Set at 66 most of the way from Tucson to Phoenix but the last 20 miles or so had too much traffic for cruise at all and speed fluctuated.

If you plug in google map time stamps you get close to 60mph average. Note: Google does NOT log your actual speed when moving nor will actual miles match other measurements, it is at best an approximation of what one would have to average between points ignoring other variables - but "hey" I was already in maps poking around so I'll share it.

	Miles	Hours	Avg speed
3/17/2023​	349​	6.1​	57.21311​
3/18/2023​	557​	9.33​	59.69989​

Date	Location	Gallons	Miles	MPG
3/17/2023​	Fowler KS	14.01​	169​	12.06281​
3/17/2023​	Liberal KS	3.66​	47.3​	12.9235​
3/17/2023​	Logan NM	12.755​	180​	14.11211​
3/18/2023​	Corona NM	11.393​	155​	13.60485​
3/18/2023​	Las Cruces NM	12.044​	184.4​	15.31053​
3/18/2023​	Lordsburg NM	6.133​	106.2​	17.31616​
3/18/2023​	Eloy AZ	11.418​	214.1​	18.75109​
	Totals/AVG	71.413​	1056​	14.78722​

 

[Grampy Matt]

Wind is indeed the killer,

you got that right, I towed my camper from Walla Walla Washington through the Columbia River gorge, with an intense headwind and got 7 mpg

 

[Frontinator]

Didn't have level spot so "squat" differs a fair bit on each side. I forgot to measure before towing... will have to measure from the same spot later

 

[Frontinator]

Finally had a moment to enter the non towing info. There was actually about 20 miles towing to collect the vehicle and some runabout prep stuff.

I had started out noting what my display showed for mpg but didn't bother after a while. Ditto for the displayed avg speed. Works out, gives a space for added notes.

As with towing data, I opted to total the fuel and mileage then calc vs taking the average of averages.

Date	Location	Gallons	Miles	MPG	Info MPG avg	Info MPH avg
3/10/2023​	Gallup NM	13.934	300	21.53007	24.2	64
3/11/2023​	Tucumcari	11.61	312	26.87339	26.8	62
3/11/2023​	Hooker OK	9.546	185.5	19.43222	25.4	60
3/13/2023​	Newton KS	14.521	280.7	19.33062	24.4
3/15/2023​	Newton KS	9.018	143.5	15.91262	20m tow, 40m trailer	Windy! Can't hold higher gears even without trailer
	Totals/AVG	58.629	1221.7	20.83781

 

[Frontinator]

Squat numbers. tried to park in the same place. This is with sumo springs

Empty	Loaded	Difference
35.313	33.563	1.75
34.813	33.063	1.75