Welcome to wind drag.
Flat ground, steady speed, weight really doesn't matter.
What you are fighting is wind drag. Sounds like you have a trailer that is perfectly (mis)matched to the trucks aerodynamics. Toss a camper shell on the truck and thing will probably be great.

 

Welcome to wind drag.
Flat ground, steady speed, weight really doesn't matter.
What you are fighting is wind drag.

If it's wind drag, it'll get a lot better by driving just a little slower.

 

Hmm ... could be. It's a V-nose trailer. I do have a tonneau cover, but yea a fair chunk of trailer sticks up above it.

I've also heard that the intake sheds some low end torque. Might try ripping that out.

 

I agree it sounds like wind resistance. I've been tossing the idea around about getting a cargo trailer. I think I'll go for the v-nose style if I do. Thanks for posting...I've been wondering about towing one of those.

edit: oops just noticed you said it was v-nose. I would have thought that would have helped a lot...? hmm

 

i have towed a flatbed trailer with 5k on it and I have towed a empty cargo trailer before, and the loaded flatbed pulled easier than the empty cargo. wind resistance sucks!!!

 

i towed 7.3k (over the max for the truck i found out after, didn't think it was that much when i started) for 1550 miles and had better then that average 70 mph sometimes 80 sometimes 60 due to wind but got 12mpg for the whole trip, with 33"s, only bully dog tune, topper would help a lot by getting that blunt force drag off

 

Towed a 1500 lb trailer, Pulled GREAT. You do have to anticipate your shifts (manual).
Also The Rolling plains of north dakota don't help the MPG's when towing, Uprev performance tune when towning dosen't help the mpg's either.

 

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Any ideas guys?

Next time be sure to release your parking brake

 

Best advice I ever got was "See those old guys in the far right lane towing that big ol trailer and going real slow? They know whats up."
Aerodynamics is why I love our pop-up tent trailer. Remember, the harder you pull, the worse the resistance.

 

solid advice.
The only guys I know that run the speed limit while towing are running class 8 rigs.
Even if you have a 1 ton diesel, pulling an enclosed trailer will kill your fuel mileage.

Ive run my gen 1 at highway speeds while towing an empty flatbed.

 

Turn the OD off.

 

Regardless of the trailer weight, you are pulling a "wall" behind you. You know how it feels when you stick your open hand out the door window at 70 mph? Now multiply that by 1,000 times+...

 

Yes.. the parking brake was off.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. But... the person I was towing the trailer for pulls it with his 2006 camry with barely any issue. I was hoping that I would barely feel it behind the truck.

I have a scanguage and doing 100 km/hr (aprox 60mph) I'm using 99% engine load with overdrive on. Turn OD off and I'm at 92 LOD but the MPG gets even worse 8-9MPG.

I guess I just really expected more from my truck that I love so much! Maybe in the spring I'll invest in a cap that helps out as I was planning on having to tow this particular trailer semi-regularly.

Or maybe get into a new pathy with the new 3.5 in it....

 

Where is the highway you were towing on?

 

Ontario, Canada... suburbia. Flat highway, no traffic. It was raining and a little windy though.

 

I was gonna ask to are you on flat ground , hilly, or mountanous. Ive pulled way past acceptable weight. I pulled the race car and trailer thats 1500#empty tandem, 3200# race car. Had my 5500# 87 Suburban on trailer too. pulled Bobcat skid steers on tandems, ditch winches and full implements. enough lumber to frame out my 14x20 2 story cabin. the only issues Ive had is braking when I pulled the bobcat without trailer brakes. that was fun. That truck has pulled a Combined 13,000+ pounds with truck trailer and skid steer. otherwise I thought the truck did very well for what it is. I worked it like it was a 3/4ton with a diesel. Definitly knew everything is back there but come on, its less than a half ton truck cap.

 

That sucks it tows a cargo trailer so terribly! I've got a 1500-2000# pop up that I tow and I couldn't be happier! like it's barely there and I get 17mpg. I'm in CO so I've got High altitude to deal with

 

Back in July I towed a 2kip '68 datsun roadster on a trailer that probably weighed more than the car, and I thought it did really well. I have a 6 speed though and kept it in 5th on the highway the whole time. Gas mileage was pretty good too!

 

Could there be something wrong with my truck? Everyone else seems to be able to tow with no issues. Any ideas on what to check?

When I originally got it I posted saying that it was getting kinda crappy mileage. (15mpg in 75% city 25% highway split). I got used to it now.. maybe I'm missing a piston or two lol.

 

Like others I tow as well with my Fronty. Weekly I tow a trailer with two stand up skis that has a box on the front, spare tire, tools, etc. Probably around 1100ish total and I don't even notice it on the highway.

As for mileage I average around 17. That's combined with my 100 miles towing on the highway, and the rest of the tank being city / light offroad.

Since it's not a cargo trailer I can't really compare, just giving my experience.

 

I get 15.5 with mix city/highway not towing anything and I don't drive it hard. Definitely need to find someone else that tows something similar.

 

if you go too fast a speed for the load, the truck is gonna downshift into 3rd. mine does it unloaded if Im in the mountains. Try slowing down and definitly dont tow in overdrive. The clutch packs in overdrive are smaller and the load increased in overdrive with less gearing. This is why its not recommended to tow in overdrive. I remeber when I USED TO get 15mpg, ah the "good ol days"

 

Wind is the devil when towing a box behind you. I towed our 19' travel trailer from Florida to Washington state this summer and the truck was fine on level ground at 65mph. Add a 10+mph headwind and it would spend most of it's time in 3rd gear. I cursed the headwinds every time they came up. Even a cross wind would create additional drag. I got used to it and when it was windy I just kept it at 60mph or below and enjoyed the view. Despite that the truck performed well and got us all here in one piece. And I averaged around 11mpg all the way across.

While a full size truck maybe nicer for towing I really enjoy having a smaller rig in the woods. Trying to get a full size truck around some of the trails around here would be a challenge not to mention the beating the sides would take. Life is full of trade offs. It could be worse, you could be driving your friends Camry.

 

which brings up another point. your cruise will shut off if it cant keep a steady speed and drops too far. I get reminded of this everytime Im in the mountains and cruise disengages. Always makes my stomach sink thinking something happened for a second till I remember.

 

4WD + K&N Intake + Heavy Right Foot + Tall Trailer = Poor Gas Mileage

 

xkusion, how did the truck pull the trailer from a stop?
The only thing I have towed so far is my jet ski which is 746 lbs dry weight. Add a full tank of fuel , oil ,and the trailer , and its probably a little over 1000lbs. Now pulling this on the hwy is a breeze cause there is no drag like a cargo trailer. Getting the load moving was effortless as well.

 

Air resistance is squared. If you are going 60mph, you will have 4x the air resistance than if you were going 30mph.. So slowing it down just a little will make a huge difference

 

Im guessing OP has a vq40?
If he has the 4cyl, that would explain alot.

 

He has a 12 PRO-4X so def a VQ40.