Rather than edit my 1st post about our trip to Orlando for the 3 or 4th time, I'll do a new post in the thread.

I was right the 1st time about what caused the really bad mileage on one of the tanks of gas.

As a refresher, 1st tank was 12.791, 2nd tank was 12.362, 3rd tank was 11.692, 4th tank was 11.120, 5th tank was 10.841, and the 6th and final tank was 12.854.

It was the 5th tank where I was battling the 35 to 40 mph headwinds caused by the tropical storm. Sometimes the winds were so strong, they caused the truck to downshift out of overdrive.

The 4th tank included a lot of city driving in Winter Park and Orlando, FL.

So I'm more pleased about the results now than I was before.:)

Mileage, 1702T, Ford Ranger, V-6
 

My 1702T weighs about 3500 lbs. Tow with Ford Ranger, 2001, with V-6, everything standard. Average agout 45 mph and try to stay away from fast driving. Mileage is 17-18 mpg

volkswagon Touareg SUV 6 cyl
 

Towing our 27t from Reno to Oregon coast and back, over several mtn passes, we got 12 MPG, versus our normal 19 for the same trip. The VW is a great tow rig, but with a 6 cyl it is about at the limit power wise for towing a 5000 lb trailer (it is rated to tow 7700 lbs).

On a shorter trip (250 mi), we got a similar 12 MPG, again over mtn pass.

Reno

2012 Expedition e/l pulling 2510H
 

My initial pull of 200 miles with a new Expedition EL, 5.4 V8, 3.73, tow haul 6 spd auto with 18" tires averaged 12.4 on the truck mileage computer. The 200 miles was approximately 120highway and 80 miles country up and down roads through several small towns. The truck averaged 16.1 on the trip down. The trailer was empty but the truck was not.

Last weekend I drove 200 miles with overdrive off on interstate running about 65 with wife and dog and gear. I got 9.6 mpg. On way home I left od engaged and did not exceed 60mph. That cost me 20 minutes travel time but I averaged 13.7 mpg. I will trade the time for the gas.

Unfortunately, I have a heavy foot, and over the past 8 days had averaged 10-11 MPG until today, in heavy winds and brutal elevation gain, when I averaged 8 MPG. Still, in nearly 4,000 miles I have averaged a little over 60MPH. I am driving a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 4 x 4 with the 5.9 L engine--a big V8--and towing a 1901T. I love the light weight and solid tracking, no sway, no porpoising, just reliable following.

I average around 15 mpg on my 97 Jeep grand cherokee 4x4 with 5.2 liter v8 which is basically identical to yours but with a smaller displacement, and my camper is 21', I guess it depends on how much stuff you carry with you, I try to take only the essentials and load as much as I can inside the jeep and have the tires inflated properly, and with the tanks empty it pulls nicely, so far I haven't been in the mountains yet, but I may do a new tune up on the jeep before I try that.

I have my mileage for our first trip out to Blacksburg, VA from the Richmond, VA area, 220 miles one way.

I got a very disappointing 10.6088 mpg going out. I did drive almost the entire 220 miles in regular drive, rather than OD for most of the trip.

Pulling the trailer back home, I got 13.46098 mpg. 3 things may have contributed to that. The long climb (about 8 miles) up C'burg mountain is not in play going home. I used OD most of the trip. Finally, I was using real gasoline going home. I found a gasoline store that sells 100% gasoline, no ethanol.

This coming weekend I'll be pulling the trailer back out. This time I'll have the regular junk gasoline (10% ethanol) but will leave it in OD when possible ( most of the way). I'll see if the mpg increases any over my last trip out.

There are lots of factors that play into gas mileage, fuel, weather, terrain, speed, weight, road conditions, and whatever else. Over time you will come up with a better average. Be happy, you are still getting better mileage with the HiLo than you would get with a regular travel trailer.

Atlee, I pull our trailer in OD as long as the transmission activity is "low". If I'm going up a long incline, I take it out of OD, and if it's really steep, I shift down to 2nd gear. I do the same thing on downhill stretches to maintain speed without using the brakes.

I pulled the trailer up a 13% grade 3 weeks ago (Cedar Breaks National Monument) - had to do that in 1st gear. :)

- Jack

Mileage
 

8300 mile Pacific Coast Highway trip from Fl Panhandle (2000 GMC Sierra 6.0L V8, auto, 119K miles, alum Cap, 2211 Trail Lite) overall average of 12.7. The truck only gets about 11.5 around town, best we've ever gotten was 13.8 on a trip with no trailer and light load.

2005 27T towed by three vehicles.

First is a 6cyl Volkswagon Touareg SUV. 1500 miles trip from Reno NV to Oregon, via I5 with all it's (up to) 4000k passes, averaged 11.6 mpg.

Second vehicle 2003 Ford Excursion 7.3 liter diesel with DP tuner tow and economy chip settings, same trip route, average 13.3 mpg.

Third Ford F250 7.3 liter diesel, same DP tuner, with Gear Vendor axillary transmission (gives 10%+ better mileage) route same plus 'side trip' to Seattle, 2000+miles, 14.6 mpg (we came back via a flatter route).

Also,
17T HiLo towed by Isuzu Trooper, 3.5 liter six cylinder, same basic route, about 12 mpg.

Speed kept to 65 mph. HiLo tires aired to 55 lbs.

Reno

MPG Thread
 

Eight years ago I purchased a Hypertech Micro-tuner programmer for our 2000 Ford F250 ext. cab 4x4 7.3 liter Diesel w/custom Raider Camper Shell. I had been told to set the program to the Safe Tow 2nd level setting. A friend recently told me he had set his Dodge Truck to the 3rd level improving his HP and mileage. Three weeks ago, I decided to re-program our truck to the 3rd level especially to check the performance on our planned trip to the Texas Coast.

Our HiLo was fully loaded and the camper shell carried extra supplies, tools, etc. The results were surprising. The 240 mile trip covered a combination of uphill, downhill, and finally level terrain with a couple of stops along the way. Our starting point was at 1700 feet and a gradual descent to sea level at the finish. When I pulled into the Drifters RV Park, my accumulative mpg indicator was reading 18.2 MPG. I noticed along the way my pyrometer reading which normally stayed in the 800-900 degree setting was now running at 600-700 degree reading with the average around 600. I have noticed over the years that so long as the pyrometer setting is running below 700 degrees, the mpg reading is in a gaining mode; it was even better when it was running at 500-600 degrees. I kept our speed as close to 65 as possible with rpm range at slightly below 2000.

We had to take a 240 mile round trip] immediately after getting here to attend a funeral. Without the RV hooked up, the mpg read as high as 23.5 with an overall average upon our return of 22.2 mpg. City driving [so far] is near 16mpg.

Our truck is sitting at 199K odometer reading and the old 7.3 liter engine still purrs like a kitten and runs even quieter at the 3rd tier setting. I know the later model diesels run a lot quieter with more horses but I do not think they can compare to the performance of the old 7.3 liter engines. Another plus with this setting is the extra power speeding up for passing with or w/o the RV hooked up; the engine is considerably 'peppier' with the new setting.

I am curious as to how it will do on the return trip which will be more of an uphill pull toward the end.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T
2000 LTD Ford F250 4x4 7.3L

Owning older truck to tow with.
 

Jerry,at a boy!! way to go with your trusted "old friend" Max it out until you get your dollar at the scrap yard. I too maintain the vehicles of several years ago are better built than the new ones. Metal parts are better than plastic that cracks.

2007 Toyota Tacoma 4.0 L v6, Quad Cab automatic 4WD TRD. Pushing 98000 miles and still runs like new!
17T Hi-LO loaded to 3500 lbs with a 6000 lbs. tow capacity and 600 lb. max Hitch weight.
with the cruise set (that I could not do with my other RV) on 70 and 700 miles round trip from Allen Park, Mi to Mackinac City, Mi. Disengaging the cruise on steep uphill climbs and let the transmission stay in D3 instead of OD.
MPG 15.2

Will add Pictures when I bring it home to winterize next weekend.

Sooooooooooooooooo Much Better!! I love my Hi-Lo :)

When I had my RoadRunner billboard 18' loaded to 3500 lbs. It was 10 MPG spot on.

Update!! Here are the pics I promised!! I added them in the picture thread but
I know I said I would post them here. :)

-Mike

Jeep Grand Cherokee Mileage
 

2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee-4.7Liter
Towing:2705T Hi Lo
Equalizer Hitch
7002 Miles-Virginia to Utah to Wyoming to Montana to Dakota to Virginia
Average 12 mpg on entire trip over 30 days. October 2013.
Ran Nitrogen at 40# in all Jeep tires! Cruised at 60-65mph most of the time.
Used TOW mode switch which protect trans from constantly shifting-basically does away with OD.
Have a brand new trans($4500) with OEM cooler-fluid looked brand new after the trip.

Blacksburg
 

WE live in Bburg with our 2705T. Cburg mountain is a killer on gas mileage. If you come up for a game, we can compare notes!! Joe Jones

Earlier this summer I got 12.8 mpg average for 3 tanks of gas under these conditions:

Trailer: 2408T
Tow Vehicle: 2010 Nissan Frontier, Crew Cab, 4x4, V6
Trailer and truck within 100-200 lb of max gross weight each
60-65 mph on hilly highways

MPG, MPH, RPM, and any other acronyms I can think of
 

My wife and I took a trip this summer in our newly refurbished Hi-Lo. We spent several weeks going about four thousand miles all over the Southwest (Utah, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and my beloved Texas) beginning and ending in Lubbock, TX. We tackled plenty of mountains and deserts and whatnot.

We pulled a 2288 with out 2002 Chevy Avalanche 1500 Z66 (both loaded down pretty good). At 55 MPH we got between 17-18 MPG (about 1400 RPM). At 65 MPH that dropped to 13-14 MPG (about 1800 RPM). This old truck has 180,000 miles, and I run a little Marvel Mystery Oil in the Gas and oil.

We took it nice and slow, staying mostly on two-lane blacktop. We had a terrific time.

Slower is better.

Mpg
 

Glad to hear you had a good long trip this summer. Got to love those older trucks and HiLo combinations. We also have a 1990 25ft. classic that also has been restored and a 1997 F250 with 145,000 miles. The truck is in showroom condition. One thing about the older HiLo is that they were built very sturdy and no mater what goes wrong it is fixable.

also MPG
 

We tow a 1997 24D with a 2002 V10 Excursion (270K). At 60 the excursion gets 15.3 and towing the Hi-Lo at 60 we get 12.3. We haven't had it long enough to know what the mileage is at 70. When we get back from Alaska I'll post the mileage info.

I guess I've been lucky when towing the "Beast" (3389b). I have a 2012 F-150 super crew fwd. V8 with 6 spd. auto trans and a fiberglass bed cover. Our Hi-Lo weighs in at around 7000 pounds in travel mode. I make sure all the tires are inflated to 50 lbs. When we get out on the highway I run up to 65 mph., punch the cruise control with od on and we get 13 to 15 mpg. We have a 20 ft. enclosed car hauler trailer and even with the V nose we only get around 9.5 mpg. Thank you Hi-lo.

Bear :D

I have a 2012 F-150 super crew fwd

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE?

Most likely Four Wheel Drive

1987 F250 6.9l diesel 2wd manual transmission with slightly oversized tires:

City - 17mpg

Highway - 20+ mpg

Towing 1995 HiLo 24' Funmaker (no overdrive) - 12.5mpg

07 Tacoma Prerunner double cab short bed V6 auto. 2404 HiLo, 300#motorcycle in bed on a trip from McGregor, Ia to Dover, AR and return with about 40 miles with out the camper, driving mostly 60 mph=14.01 mpg. I was happy with the trucks performance in the Ozark mtns. Coasted down the hills and used the momentum and a steady throttle to gain the top of the next hill, losing about 15 mph in the process but usually only down shifted to fourth. Pretty effortlessly pulled the load in 5th on the level with an occasional unlocking of the torque converter.

I'll bet some real altitude would make the 4.0 wheeze!

14 mpg
 

we have an 01 excursion diesel. at 70 we get 15-16. with 21 footer we get 13-14. so not much loss there. we dont have an WD hitch yet and someone said it may help. i am also adding a rear hitch for a boat so when i add all the goodies i will re-check it and post the results.

boat is light, jon boat with a jet motor:D

the mileage is one reason we got the hi-lo...cant beat the wind! with my dads 32 foot jayco we get 8-12mpg depending on hills and speed.

We have finally returned from 13,000 miles of touring Alaska, Canada, and Pacific Northwest. Beautiful country, but I don't want to see another wheat field in Canada for awhile. Corn belt farmers may think they feed the world, but I'll tell you this: Canada's wheat will give them at least a run for their money. I was glad to finally see a pine tree somewhere around Calgary.
Now, on to the mileage. We kept very, very close records along the way and the very total at the end was 10.8 MPG overall. We were towing a 24 Classic with about 800 pounds of gear and four adults, Ford Excursion V-10 and generally ran about 68. The Ford just passed 300K.....it's for sale....any takers?

Jim,

Welcome back! Wow, 13,000 miles - gotta be some kind of record! How did the trailer hold up?

Greg, we brought along two EXTRA spares mounted on top of the TV and we had NO flats, NO blowouts, and not even one low tire. We started with four new tires and had one with a little uneven wear. The tires could take one more trip, but no more than that. And yes, we has screws coming loose all the time. This is not I-80 in Canada and Alaska. The trailer performed without a hitch. And I might add, we sold it two days after we got home. We only had a chance to clean the inside, not the outside. We are headed towards a 36 foot 5th wheel toy hauler now.

Jim, since you are looking for a large fifth wheel, I gather that four people in a 24-foot Hi-Lo on a long trip to Alaska was a little too close and personal. Also, when you mentioned there was a lot of loose screws on this trip. Was that primarily on the tow vehicle or the Hi-Lo? The RVers I've spoken to who have made the trip say it was a trip of a lifetime, and everyone should do it at least once.

Dee

Glad you had a great trip! Linda and I did a six week Alaska and Canada trip in 2012, but since we didn't have to drive as far to get to the borders, our trip was only 9700 miles and we were pulling a 1999 21T. I don't remember that many wheat fields in Canada ( I did all the driving), but what caught my eye were all the canola fields, which were beautiful. We hope to get back to Alberta next year...did not get to spend time in Banff National Park.

Well, I bet if you hadn't taken any spares you would have had two blowouts! Regarding screws, I bought some Loc-Tite and plan on putting them on all the exterior screws (all 4 million of them).

Glad you made it back safely and enjoy your new rig!

Fireball, I sent you a private message.:)

My rig listing is below. Trailer load was 5100 lbs and over a 2700 towing mi trip, we averaged 13 mpg. Mainly flat to rolling, some mountains, speeds 60-70, rpms 1500-2000 (except mountains, 2500), and stock tires aired up to 50 psig. We did some back road stretches at 55, and the mileage improved to 14. This was the first trip with the Tundra as TV, and I was pleased with the mileage. Compared to my old TV (Explorer 4.6L V8), we ran faster on the freeways and mountains and got better mileage.
Actually, I think it makes more sense to figure how much extra fuel it takes to tow 100 miles. The Tundra gets 18.4 mpg by itself, so towing the HiLo took 2.25 gallons more every 100 miles. I remember seeing some brochure where the HiLo claim was an extra gallon per 100 miles.

I believe the HiLo figure was the comparison of mileage of towing a HiLo vs. a conventional travel of comparable size. That was mainly to show what the difference in wind resistance does.

I've been wondering what our mileage when towing is so on our recent trip I actually kept a record. Not towing, my Tahoe gets 16 mpg. On our 1,300 mile trip, we averaged 13 mpg. Considering the high winds and high elevations we traveled to, I was happy with it! :)

Our 2703 Tow Lite grosses around 5000# loaded. Our 6.5 Turbo Diesel gets about 14 mpg +/- on the Interstate at 60 mph. Every time it has been checked it was near the same mileage. Not too bad.

When we did our trip last year to Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas (3200 miles) with our 2705T we averaged about 12 mpg with the 2005 Tundra, so now I guess that wasn't too bad, but when we did our tips to Alaska and Canada ((9719 miles) with our 2199T our mileage was about 14 mpg.:)

Garry, that's because you were further North and there is less gravity up there! :D