hey everybody

looking for ideas about mpg. 600HO, towing a 31ft, 6500lb trailer with WD hitch and getting under 10mpg in the right lane cruising at 65mph. 23,000 miles on engine...running synthetic oil. what gives???

thinking a new exhaust/intake may help but truck is already plenty noisy at highway speeds.

 

Cold weather, Wind, Bad fuel, up hill both ways . Could it be any of those?

 

Try going about 6 or 63 and see if that is any better. I assume it is a tag trailer and if so that is a mighty big "sail" you are towing down the road. At 70 I was getting 8 or less and now I tow around 63 and get about 11 or so.

 

About the same here, towing that is. I have 2 tag trailers, 8-10K enclosed car (big flat front) and a 30 ft camper that's around 8k or so. About 9.5 towing at 75mph. Never tried towing slower but my past 3 gas trucks never got better than 6 towing the same trailers and would not hold 75 and even had trouble getting to 75 sometimes. Overall I am very happy with darn near 2 times the mileage under the same conditions (and not slowing on the hills).

 

I guess I wasn't doing too bad towing 10K and getting 7 at 70mph (strong headwind/mountains) and 11 at 60, but I am still going to take it in and get the boost pressure checked as I don't seem to have the power. I might have a cracked intercooler or some loose clamps. A couple are ridiculous to get at to tighten so I will let the dealer worry about them. You might try the same.

As far as a weight distributing hitch, I don't think they are necessary with a Cummins up front. These trucks are so front heavy that 3000# on the rear bumper makes them handle about right. I just hauled 14k on a bp trailer 1200 miles (never have used a WD hitch on any diesel I've owned) and it handled great, even on the black ice.

 

Buddy of mine pulls a cargo trailer several times weekly.(03 2500 48re 3.73 gear 2wd)He always used a standard lenght hitch.Short one bought at Wally World or what not.A few months ago he for some reason switched to his old weight distrubution hitch without the brackets etc.Its maybe a total of 6 inches longer.His fuel mileage went up easily over 1 mpg towing.He thought it a fluke(head winds/fuel etc.) He then has started swapping from the short to the long.He says no fluke.The longer hitch always gets the better mileage.Maybe with trailer somewhat further back it channels the air differanty???

 

I pull a 33 ft. Sprinter TagAlong that is 10,000 lbs. And I get 10.5 at 65.

 

Guys, I get 11.8 handcalculated towing a 33k combined weight at 68mph over a 4 day trip that I normally do sometimes 4 times a month. Before the TST I got 9.8 because I was always shifting to 2nd or 3rd on the grades and hills. This is a gooseneck enclosed 48' though. If I go 60 I get 12.5mpg and If I go 75 it drops to 10.2. I drive alot by boost though and don't mind if I hit the hills at 80 and top them at 60. If you drive on cruise in hills you tend to lose about .5 mpg at all speeds. ks

 

abc...interesting concept about hitting the hills. It sounds like I'll have to deal with the mpg as is...however, the bottom line is that I freaking love towing with a diesel truck...especially one with the cummins

 

Icerider, I get 8.5-9 @ 70 w/29' TT.

Just got a dealer flash for poor mpg week or so ago.

before flash:14-15 empty(rural & small town)
after flash: 17-18.5

Have not towed since flash.

 

I get 10.5 mpg towing my 4000 lb. boat plus gear and family. I'd hate to see what I'd get if I towed double that weight.