Gas Mileage towing a fifth wheel

My husband and I are seriously considering purchasing a Heartland fifthwheel in the near future. With gas prices rising, we are trying to get an idea what kind of gas mileage we will get. We have a 2001 Ford F250 diesel 7.3 liter engine. We are looking for a fifth wheel in the 10,500lb dry weight range. Some folks have said there is not much difference with or without a trailer unless you are climbing mountains.

Any information and experiences with gas mileage will be greatly appreciated for these two newbie's.:confused:

bikerchick
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
I had a 99 Ford F350 SRW long bed with the 7.3 diesel. Towing I got 10 mpg average and non-towing 15-16 mpg. That is without a head or cross wind. I did get 5 mpg with a 30 mph head wind once. I now have a 2010 F350 Ford dually long bed 6.4 diesel and get 7.5-8.5 towing and 14 non-towing. Both trucks had the 3.73 rear axle.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
With our current TV and Horn...a good average is 10 MPG towing. The TV gets an average of 17-18 MPG non towing. The combo weighs in at about 22K. Our last LONG trip to Montana we averaged 11.7 and it's all up hill to Montana from California. Your mileage will vary depending on road conditions and speeds.
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
Our Silverado D/A gets around 14-16 unhitched and 10-12 hitched. I have also towed with a gasser and with my experience, the diesel mileage drops much less than the gasser will when hitched up.

Good Luck!
 

Boca_Shuffles

Well-known member
With our current and prior diesel, we got:
11.7 at 55 mph
11.0 at 60
10.3 at 65
9.8 at 70
8.9 at 75

Therefore, the faster you go, the more expensive.
When someone tells you their mpg, ask what their speed was.
 

WilmanJim

Well-known member
Fuel mileage depends on a number of factors.
How you take off ?
Towing weights ?
How fast you drive ?
The terrain you are in ?
The fuel you get ?
Mother nature and those dreaded headwinds ?
How you maintain your vehicle ?
etc. etc. etc.

We have been full timing for almost 8 years now and have towed over 160,000 miles since then and so far we have averaged 9 mpg and around 58-62 mph.
The first Four years was with a 2002 F350 CC Dually V-10 4:30 gears averaged 8.6 grossing 21,870 and the last 4 years have been with a 2006 F350 CC Dually 6.0 4:30 gears averaging 9.4 grossing 24,250.

Diesel is much better in the Mountains which is where we are a lot.

I would say if you figured 9-12 mpg you would be close for an average.

Travel Safe and Enjoy this Beautiful Country.

Jim

Bottom Line is if Fuel Mileage is your concern then this is not the Lifestyle you want.
 
Last edited:

Clark

Member
There are a number of discussions on this throughout the forum. I have a Bighorn 3055 in the weight range you are interested in. On the road weight is about 12,700 lbs and I pull it with a Chevrolet 2500 diesel with a 3.73 rear. I usually pull around 60 mph and have varied from 8.5 mpg climbing into Denver from Kansas with a 20 mph front crosswind to 13 mpg on level ground (for example I-95 on the east coast). Moderately level road on the interstate I can expect 11 to 12 mpg fairly consistently. I have been very please with 5th Wheel towing/backing/turning when compared to what I see with travel trailers. Good Luck.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
We had a 33ft 5th wheel with 15" tires and now we have the 38ft Big Country that is 4K heavier, other then feeling a bit more weight in the hills the mileage with the BC is much better. I am convinced that the tire pressures and alignment make much more difference then any other factor. The lenght or weight hardly make any difference if you have better axles, as long as it's the same manufacture of trailer. And Heartland trailers are known to tow well by the transporters, as I was told when we bought ours.
I was told one day that a longer trailer is only full of air and space compared to shorter trailer and it does make sence to me.

Most diesels will tow economicaly compared to Gas by a factor of 30%, because diesels have more energy and efficiency then gas.
 

TandT

Founding Utah Chapter Leaders-Retired
My present trailer is around 10,000lbs. I get 13mpg in the hills and average around 15.5mpg overall. I have gotten as much as 17mpg towing on all flat land. 22mpg running empty under 1900rpms. Please see my signature for details. Also 3.73 rear end ratio.. Good luck!
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
How can there not be a difference in mileage when you're pulling a 13 foot high 8 foot wide slab behind you...My mileage drops between 4 and 8 mpg when towing depending on the speed, wind and terrain. But then if the fuel mileage was a concern I could always drive Mom's car and stay in a motel...The bottom line is it's all worth it to me no matter what the fuel costs.....Don
 
My wife and I traveled 10,000 plus miles 2 years ago and 10,000 plus this last year. Somedays we got 14 mpg and somedays we got 9 mpg. I did an average for the whole trip and both times it averaged out to 11.3 mpg towing. I try never to go over 60 mph even tho sometimes it creeps up on me to about 65 mph. When I travel without the 5th wheel I get 20 to 21 on a long trip and about 15 around town.
 

Buford445

Well-known member
Towing I'm getting between 8 and 9 whether it was my 8000# old 5'r or my new 12000# 5'r and 13 to 16 around town and 17 to 19 Hwy ( All Hand Calculated )
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Pulling our Elk Ridge (37ft) from Southwestern Colorado to Dallas, Texas we averaged 10mpg with our 3500 GMC dually in 4-wheel drive.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
My husband and I are seriously considering purchasing a Heartland fifthwheel in the near future. With gas prices rising, we are trying to get an idea what kind of gas mileage we will get. We have a 2001 Ford F250 diesel 7.3 liter engine. We are looking for a fifth wheel in the 10,500lb dry weight range. Some folks have said there is not much difference with or without a trailer unless you are climbing mountains.

Any information and experiences with gas mileage will be greatly appreciated for these two newbie's.:confused:
bikerchick
A 7.3 that year will get about 9-13 mpg towing your loaded weight of 12K plus.
 

tsmith

Member
We have a 2010 RW395 and use a Ford F-350 6.0L Diesel. We average 11 MPG with the toy hauler loaded with 2 quads, water tanks full and gasoline tank full.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
We range from 8-13 mpg depending on the wind and road. About the same in all the trucks although the Ford 6.7 appears to be going to average closer to 13 mpg. Side wind knocks mileage the worst and then a head wind is next. Keeping the speed down to 65 or less as the other poster noted makes a big difference.
 

skyguy

Well-known member
We have a similar vehicle, and will continue to use it until the wheels fall off. Many folks still consider the 7.3 the best diesel Ford ever sold. I installed after market gauges, then an aftermarket digital tuner. The gauges and tuner gave me more feedback on my driving habits, and now I try to stay around 65 MPH. I will average 12 MPG towing our 3670 if I stay around 65. Next on my list is a bigger/better transmission cooler, the next model has a 20 row cooler vs the present 6 row cooler, and should drop the tranny temp by about 20 degrees.

Also one of the options in the DPtuner setup is an exhaust brake, which works the same as the $1000 exhaust brakes, only this cost $50. See our sig for details.

Al
 

hoeboe

Member
Our own experiences towing:
Previous truck was a 2002 Dodge 4.7l quadcab and we towed a KZ Spree 324BHS- a 6500lb (loaded) travel trailer. I towed this once to a park and got 8mpg with a texas tail wind and 6mpg bringing it home. Traded the truck immediately after white knuckling home for a 2007 5.9l CTD Mega cab (2WD, 48RE & 3.73 axle) and it was night and day better! I averaged 11-13mpg towing over 3 years and probably 8000+ miles. The CTD empty gets me 18-20mpg on my mixed commute and will drop to 16mpg when DW drives it around town.

We just upgraded to a 2011 Elk Ridge 34TSRE- over 12k lbs- and just returned from a 1800 mile roundtrip from Dallas-->Atlanta. Average mpg was 10-12mpg, traveling no faster than 65 (except rarely to pass). I couldn't be happier! Biggest way to get the mpg is to keep it slow-it starts to drop like a rock above 65mpg!
 

hoefler

Well-known member
We ran 3200 miles from SW Mo. to Orlando Fl., to Key West, to Cape Canaveral, to Tunica, then on home. Had the 2010 Ram about 6 weeks and 3,000 miles when we left. Driving the speed limit posted on the interstage and 2 lane highways. The trip average was 9.7 mpg hand calculated. The best was the stretch from Homestead to Key West almost 13 mpg. The worst was on the way to Tunica, had one **** of a head wing, we were getting 7.7 mpg. We had less than 100 miles with out the trailer. I am pleased so far since it was not broke in when we left for our trip. We are looking forward to going to Pikes Peak this summer, if it isn't broke in before the trip, it surely will be when we get back.
 

TomMar

Retired Texas-South Chapter Leader
Our milage runs about the same as others have stated, but IMO sleeping in my own bed and having my own amenities counts for a whole lot of MPGs, even with fuel prices going up. There was an article in the local paper a couple of years ago, when fuel prices were about maxed, that stated "a trip 400 miles from home, in an RV was still cheaper than getting there by other means and renting a hotel and eating out every day". I'm sure someone could try to do it cheaper but you need to look at the full picture when buying an RV. Good luck on your choice - ENJOY ! !
 
Top