Re: [VAL] Gas mileage

["Mr. Joy H. Hansen" <joytbrew@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi John,

I'm not qualified to give you a lot of information, but I do have a few
experiences that might be related to some of the questions you posed.

First, I tried towing with a conversion van with the 351 V8 and got less
than 10 mpg keeping the speed down between Dade in Florida to southern VA.
Decided from that experience that I couldn't tow with the van.  The trailer
is a '69 Airstream Safari, not all that heavy (5800#s).  You might imagine
that the
wind resistance is substantial for the hightop van in the first place and
the trailer didn't add all that much.  Combined with weight, the fuel
economy dropped more than 30 percent and the engine was labored.

So, I studied the issue and finally got an '02 tow vehicle to my liking, the
F250 Power Stroke diesel 4X4 crew cab with the short bed.  The usual highway
fuel mileage for this HUGE truck runs 18-19 mpg.  Towing My trailer over
many thousands of miles, the fuel efficiency drops to 14 mpg.  Heavy pulls
in mountains drops it to 12.  Pulled a covered utility trailer over the
Grapevine in Southern California that I recall has a 6 to 8 percent grade
for many miles.  The truck, trailer, personal gear, passengers, etc. had a
gross of near 15K pounds.  The turbo maintained 60 mph up and down the
grades with the AC going full blast.  Never had a problem with overheating
though I didn't need to test it for additional pulling power (I didn't want
to tempt fate by traveling any faster).  It never seemed to lack pulling
power and my rear ratio is something like 3.7:1 and not the taller 4.11:1.
Those owners with the 4.11 around here talk about 12 mpg as the non-towing
usage.  If the power isn't enough, there are chip sets and other accessories
that can add hundreds of horse power and torque to the engine.  I doubt that
any gas powered tow vehicle could match the power of the diesel under the
Grapevine conditions and not overheat.  Well, I don't know about "monster
truck engines".  :)  BTW, I tow on the level in overdrive and drop out
before I reach a grade so the transmission doesn't shift down under max
load.  Maybe 50K miles isn't all that much, but so far I haven't had any
towing related engine, transmission, or drive train problems. It's possible
that the F350 has a beefier system and might prove a better tow vehicle.
You pay a price for a big truck like this as it is a truck and rides like a
truck.  The price you pay for stability and handling while towing.

You can tell that I believe in overkill as it relates to the tow vehicle.
Better safe than sorry.  So, I also use the Hensley Arrow hitch.  Can't tell
if the hitch, trailer brakes, and truck brakes saved my bacon under
emergency conditions as what seemed to be an emergency melted away.  I think
what everyone knows is that there's a longer unit waiting for you just
around the corner.  I'm sure that my 23 footer will lengthen to a 27-28
footer in the near future.

I realize that a couple of years has brought great improvements to the Dodge
and GM diesels that have performance similar to or better than the Ford.
The GM Izuzu diesel, Allison tranny, and the 4 wheel steering sure makes a
guy want to give it a test pull! :)   Ford's new integrated trailer brake
control system is just one of the great improvements now available.

Based on my experiences, I'd not want to purchase a gasoline powered puller.

I might guess that the frontal wind resistance is responsible for a lot of
the lost mileage as your vehicle might not have the reserve power to handle
the load.