towing gas mileage

I want to buy a heartland sd 3100es fifth wheel. Found a great deal! What kind of towing mileage will I receive with a 2004 silverado 2500, 6.0L motor, 4X4, regular cab longbox. I will be going all over because I travel for work. All help will be greatly appreciated. What kind of mileage in mountains, windy, and ideal.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi Traveler1891,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions and that's what we are here for, to help any way we can. I have an 04 duramax, 1 ton dually and towing a 3055 RL Big Horn I get between 10--12.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

rebootsemi

Well-known member
Pull a Sundance 3000RK with 07 Dodge 6.7L, 6spd auto, flat ground I can get 12.5 running 60 to 65 mph, mountains it gets down to around 10 to low 11's. Just got back from trip down to Calif and average came out to 11.6 mpg.
 

SilverRhino

Well-known member
I tow a Big Country 3250 with a Dodge CTD 3500 4X4 Dually.......Trip we are currently on.....12.5 mpg. This trip has all been within Texas....When I tow in New Mexico or Colorado I usully get between 11 and 11.5 mpg.

My towing is done between 60 and 62 mph......Truck seems to run it's best in that range.
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Based my experience with a 03 2500 with 6.0 L u may not be happy with your mileage. I averaged about 7.6 to 9.2 depen ding where I was pulling. Depending where your pulling u will be running some high RPM s. I switched to 07 Dmax.. Much better.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Gas mileage is an elusive thing. If your pulling a trailer up the mountain, is 5mpg good or bad. 10mpg going down the highway. 7mpg on the highway with a 25mph head wind.

In most ocassions if your pulling on the interstate 8-10mpg is pretty good. I have a 45gal aux tank and a 38gal OEM. I normally only travel 250 miles or less. But this Monday I will have to travel 368 miles back to Melissa TX. I should make it all the way without having to stop for fuel. My question would be do I have enough fuel to get to my destination regardless of the driving conditins.

I helped a man and his wife pulling a trailer to Amarillo and was stopped out of gas along side the road. He made the trip on a full tank many times but this time the wind was very strong. I was getting 6mpg (mileage idiot said so it gives me at least an idea). Glad I had 70 gallons.

If you have a full length bed put in an aux tank then when you travel keep if full when you leave.

Please don't take this wrong. All I am trying to say is, it doesn't make any difference what you think your fuel mileage is, it is important what you get on each trip and can you make it to your destination.

Your 2005 TV should tow the SD easily and you could get 10-13 mpg on a good easy trip.

BC
 

caissiel

Senior Member
There is a neighbour here that took his trailer to the dealer for warranty work, 30 ft 5th wheel SOB, and 2011 GM 6.0L standard box, he said he used a tank of gas for 120 Miles. I just did 295 miles with 22 Gallons with my F250 Diesel in Maine coming back from Florida with my 3500RL.
Size of the trailer is not the trouble, its the big front wind drag that makes the difference but most 5th wheels are the same. I towed a friend's 26ft TT trailer and It felt realy light but again at 40/50MPH the fuel consuption of my truck was as much as towing my BC.
The heartland trailers are great for towing and I am sure yours will tow very well.
 

Snakebite

Member
My tow vehicle is a 2004 Chevy.. HD 6.6L Duramax, 4X4 Ex-Cab, Allison Xmission, exhust system, opened up air system and power programer.

I pulled my last 5th wheel, a 31' high profile unit, close to 60K miles from coast to coast and border to border. My overall average was between 11 and 12 mpg. I try to keep my hiway speed in the 60 mph range. I have pulled my new 5th wheel, a 2011 245 RL (26' Sundance), about 1,000 miles and am seeing an average of 15+ mpg! Of course this unit weights MUCH less than my old one, and is more areodynamic. My 04 Duramax has always done a good job on fuel economy, better than my friends later model.

Snakebite
 

Gary521

Well-known member
I m pleasantly surprised to see the forum members completely honest about towing mileage. Many times around the RV park, the discussion of towing mileage comes up. This has got to come close to fishing stories. If anyone tells you that they get more that what the forum members have stated here, it's the big one that got away.
 

timbuktu

Active Member
Gas mileage is an elusive thing. If your pulling a trailer up the mountain, is 5mpg good or bad. 10mpg going down the highway. 7mpg on the highway with a 25mph head wind.

In most ocassions if your pulling on the interstate 8-10mpg is pretty good. I have a 45gal aux tank and a 38gal OEM. I normally only travel 250 miles or less. But this Monday I will have to travel 368 miles back to Melissa TX. I should make it all the way without having to stop for fuel. My question would be do I have enough fuel to get to my destination regardless of the driving conditins.

I helped a man and his wife pulling a trailer to Amarillo and was stopped out of gas along side the road. He made the trip on a full tank many times but this time the wind was very strong. I was getting 6mpg (mileage idiot said so it gives me at least an idea). Glad I had 70 gallons.

If you have a full length bed put in an aux tank then when you travel keep if full when you leave.

Please don't take this wrong. All I am trying to say is, it doesn't make any difference what you think your fuel mileage is, it is important what you get on each trip and can you make it to your destination.

Your 2005 TV should tow the SD easily and you could get 10-13 mpg on a good easy trip.

BC

We also have an aux fuel tank in the bed of the truck which provides an extra 75 gal of diesel. After our first trip with our 5er, we almost ran out of fuel bc the truck stop we stopped at closed all their pumps due to water in the fuel. We barely made it to another truck stop, and when I say barely, I mean barely, coasting in on fumes. That was not a good fuzzy warm feeling driving down the interstate not knowing if we were going to make it. We were debating getting an aux tank before that, but after that experience, the wife said as soon as we get home, to order it. Now I can carry 104 gal of diesel total and we can drive from Central Cali to SLC, UT on one tank and not have to worry about fuel. The aux fuel tank is by far the best mod I've made to the truck! I highly recommend getting one. And to top it off, since diesel is $4.50/gal here, I actually filled up nearly four months ago when it was $3.30/gal and I still have 86 gal left. Def saved me lots of money! And the rest of the fuel should last me until Fall as long as we don't go on long trips.
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Aux fuel tank best investment I have made related to RV. I got the Titan that replaced the OEM.52 gals much better than OEM 26 gal. I know how it is to be running on fumes.
 

Snakebite

Member
Yep.... I too have an auxilary fuel tank. I have a combination 50 gal/tool box tank. It sure makes it nice. I can wait until I find a easy IN-OUT fuel stop. I also use Frantz toilet paper fuel filter on my Duramax.... It works great... I've cut open the factory filters, and found them to be totally clean..... the roll of toilet paper does a really good job of filtering.

Snakebite
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
A blunt answer to your question. It will not be very good. The 04 6.0 engine does not have that much torque and will be reving pretty high to pull that coach. The 8.1 would have more power but really uses fuel. You best bet would be an 06 or newer 2500 with the Duramax. You might be able to pick one up fairly reasonable. I get between 10-12 MPG with my 07 and weighing in at 22K loaded. BTW, I just priced a 2011 2500......all I can say is WOW!!!! I was offered $27K for mine on trade.....so that that might be a starting point for you to look at for a $$ amount for a purchase of a bigger truck. All JMHO
 
2011 Sequoia 5.7 Flex Fuel - North Country 24RKS - 6500 lbs. 9 MPH Towing (60MPH) 17MPH Non Towing.
Wind makes a big difference. As far as refueling, I find we are ready for a stretch and bio break about as often as we need to refuel. Hope this helps.
 

handva

Active Member
We are getting about the same milage with a 96 Dodge while towing, about 9 mpg @ 65 mph. With a 35 gal tank we are going about 220 miles and putting in 24 or so gallons. Still haven't taken the tank down to bone dry, the most I've put in it is 29 gal.
 
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