Tow Vehicle Gas Mileage Survey.

[Staci Matheis]

What do you use to tow your boat and what gas mileage do you really get?



Mine:



1997 Jeep Cherokee, 4.0L in-line 6, automatic, 4x4.

Highway: 19

City: 14

Towing 20' Nitro: 11

 

[Texas Transplant]

1999 Mercury Mountaineer

Big V8 - not sure of the displacement

auto



Normal - 18-19 mpg most of the time.



Boat - Targa 18 - probably 11-12 at best.



Will pull the boat up the side of a mountain. It's strong. Stays right on speed (cruise) going up and down most hills in the Carolinas.



Tex

 

[Greg. Avery]

1996 Dodge 2500 PU



Cummings diesel



20 MPG pulling a Maga 19 W/truck camper.

 

[Barb Baggott]

1993 Ford Ranger

4 cyl/manual trans (makes lauching and retrieving boat more exciting)

2 whl drive

28 mpg

 

[Mike L.]

2001 Dodge Ram...8cyl..5.2L auto 2WD

15 mpg highway when towing my tin!

 

[Steven Atwell]

2001 Ford F250, with big V8 (5.4L), w/ 4WD, automatic



19'3" Gambler Intimidator



I get crappy mpg. But I have mud tires on my truck.

10 city, 13 hwy

 

[Bob G.]

2002 Chevy 1500HD Crew Cab

6.0 liter V8, Auto, 3.73 gears

12.5 mpg towing with pedal to the floor towing 2000 Nitro Sport 185



Bob G.

 

[Larry Morganstern]

2000 F-150

5.4 Liter V-8



17-18 Hwy (Downhill with a Tailwind)

13-15 City



9 Towing 25 Ft Fleetwood Camper

11 Towing 2002 188 Sport

 

[Mark Hofman]

1997 Ford F-150XLT

4.6L V8 - Auto Trans w/ overdrive

3.55 limited slip differential

14-16 mpg towing the TV18 (depends on the terrain and if I'm using the overdrive or not)

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Not Enough......



1997 Ford Explorer Mustang V8 (302), 3.73 gears, towing pkg., pulling a 929- 12 mpg. But plenty of power.



TOXIC

 

[Kraig Clement]

2002 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 5.9 V8 20" Wheels and 3.92 axle

8mpg towing Nitro 882

 

[Jim B]

2002 Dodge Dakota QC 4x4 4.7l v8 3.55 gears

I get 12mpg towing a nx882.

without the boat i get 13 around town and 17 on the highway. Thats babying it, if i put my foot in it all bets are off.

 

[Steven Atwell]

Whoa!! Kraig's 5.9 is making me not feel so bad about my mileage. But that skunk'll pull won't it?

 

[Andrew Zuber]

2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee

4.0 liter straight 6 with towing package

17-18 highway

16-17 city

15-16 towing the TV-18

 

[C C]

2002 Dodge Ram 1500, 4X4, 5.9, V8, 20" Wheels and 3.92 axle

11mpg towing a Targa V17 and with the 1999 Dodge Ram, 4X4, 5.9 V8, and 3.92 I am getting 10mpg, but I am towing around town and not highway.



Cass

 

[Matt Erickson]

'95 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4 5.2l V8 without trailer on tow, and with 15' Weldbilt Aluminum w/15hp tiller.

- Hwy: 18mpg

- City: 14mpg

- Average: 16mpg



I used to own Nitro 190DC, and the mileages were:

- Hwy: 16-17mpg

- City: 12mpg

- Average: 14mpg



With current new Nitro 700LX, I have never pulled with my Jeep, but has been pulling with my wife's 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3l V6

- Hwy: 15-18mpg

- City: 12mpg

- Average: 16mpg

(without boat on tow, Hwy: 24mpg; City: 16mpg; Average: 18mpg)



- valky

 

[Tony Payne]

1999 Jeep Cherokee (the real one, not that "grande" thing)



17-20 Hwy

15-17 Intown



12-14 towing 901 (better on hwy, less on the country roads/intown)

 

[Dan J.]

-2002 Chevy Siverado HD Crew Cab 4x4 LT

-6.0L Auto., Gas, 3.73's, Gibson Exhaust, Hypertech Programable Control Module, K&N Mass Air Intake

-P265x75 R16 Michellin XTC's

-City=13mpg Hwy=16-17mpg

-Towing 2002 929 CDX DC w/ 250 Pro XB at hwy speeds (70-75mph)

 

[Matt Erickson]

Dan J. - you have an awesome combination of new equipments - only if my wife is generous enough - it won't happen in my case.



simnitro - a real one, eh? all right.



- valky

 

[Tim King]

1997 Chevy Subruban



350 vortec

16-18 toodling around



13-15 pulling 93 190TF (at high rates of speed)



1995 Ford F150 Ext Cab



302 v8

15 highway

8-10 pulling boat!



Note: Long distance USE the Burb!

 

[Jeffry Patterson]

97 Suburban

5.7 motor

pulling

185 Sport

13 mpg loaded

15 mpg not towing

 

[Rich Stern]

2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, 4.0L V6, K&N intake, Diablo computer chip, 4.10 gearing.



17 overall average

20 hwy

14 towing 17' Nitro/Merc 115

13 towing 22' Crest pontoon/Merc FS 60

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Now 92 F150 ext cab 4X4 351 (5.8)

14 city

18 highway..averaged 16 out and back to Detroit from MD last year towing a 180fs.

Before (My Baby before the crash)

77 F250 4X4 466 cid Touquezilla, 4:11. C6 auto

4 mpg city, 6 mpg highway With or With out 3000 race car and trailer. Swithced to synthetic (Castrol Syntech)

6 mpg city, 10 mpg highway.

BF

 

[JEFF WHITE]

1995 ford f-150 4x4.5.0L,5 speed,3.55 rears.towing a '93 magna19 with full gear.



highway w/o boat,16,city,12



highway w/boat,12,city,10

 

[Larry Harp]

2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0L straight 6

Around town= 18 mpg

Long highway runs=19.5 to 2

Dragging the Super Soaker= 12 to 13

Always turn the O/D off and run 70+ mph (except in school zones where I back down to 55)

From the looks of this survey, running with the big motors doesn't hurt the milage that much when towing.

 

[Jeremy Boyd]

2000 Chevy silverado Ext cab Lt Z71 5.3 v8 with locking diff and 3:73

It tows the wheels off of my 2002 pro team 185

However I dont keep up with miles per gallon

 

[Gary Taylor]

1999 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad 5.9 4x4

Pulling 912 (20'8") Savage

10 mph. Gas $1.36 a Gal. in Tulsa though. Was $1.20 or less all summer.

 

[Staci Matheis]

This kind of surprises me..... It would seem that, with the exception of Greg A's diesel, 6 and 8 cylinders give about the same mileage when towing equal loads.



I was prompted to post this survey because I had wondered if I would get significantly better mileage if I were to move up to a small V-8 instead of my in-line 6.....

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Scott,



Another question to ask is how does your tow vehicle perform when towing? OR What's your power range. I have an inline 4.0L high out put Jeep Wrangler that does great on my little boat but that engine in like the Explorer wouldn't work well. There usually is a trade off between HP and MPG.



TOXIC

 

[Staci Matheis]

TOXIC -



You and I have exactly the same motor..... When I consider that it is only a 6, I am very pleased with the performance. On level or rolling highways, it easily holds 65 to 70 mph. In hills, I've got to compensate - usually by letting it slow down a bit rather than trying to maintain speed and having the tranny shifting constantly. It does take a bit to get up to speed.



I had the same motor in my last Cherokee and would tow my Nitro 180 to Florida. It would easily maintain 55 mph pulling up that one long, steep mountain just outside Chatanooga on I-75. I put 231,000 miles on that Jeep without a single problem before I started to hear bearing knock and traded it in on exactly the same combination. I now have another 90,000 miles on my second Cherokee.



me!

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Scott,



As far as I am concerned, Jeeps (Cherokee & Wrangler) are excellent "utility" vehicles. 4WD, good MPG, can tow (within limits), and an engine that is "boomb proof". I have 170,000 on my 93 wrangler (I bought it brand new) and it is still going strong, no rust, tight engine and I have put this vehicle through its paces!! Shenandoah river Mud, New England snow, Florida "sugar" sand, AND I floated it across a pond.....well almost across. My daughter is 5 and I plan to give it to her to go to college. Now to tow the 929...no way!! If you read my post on the deer "near miss" I had, in the jeep, I would have been toast. The Explorer works ok with its v8 but I can see a truck in my future. I'm still waiting for a manufacturer to win me over. I like Ford's reliability, Dodge's styling and comfort, Chevy/GMC's all-wheel steering, yada yada. It might boil down to the best deal I can get at the time I am ready to buy.



TOXIC

 

[TrepMan]

Tox - I would have to agree 100% on your assessment of trucks (Ford's reliability, Dodge's styling and comfort, Chevy/GMC's all-wheel steering). We've only had 1 compact (Chevy S10 Extended cab 4.3l v-6) and 1 full size (Dodge Ram Club Cab 5.9 v-8), OK so those were BEKA's truck! Loved the Ram for styling but I still LOVE the interior on Ford cars/trucks! The Chevy's have neat stuff (4w steering) but i've never been found of their interiors (Sorry Mac), they always look too plasticy and utilitarian. I'd like the Dodge Ram with an interior by Ford, with GM's 4w steering! Oh, I guess while i'm dreaming i'd have to get a bigger BOAT to tow, that 175 would look to "cute" behind a big truck! Heck I towed my 14 ft jonboat behind the '96 Ram!! OK just order me a 21ft Tundra with that new truck!!



Scott -



96 Mercury Sable Wagon

3.0l 200hp motor

pulling

PC 175

24 mpg highway w/out boat

21 mpg highway towing

 

[Chad Justice]

1999 Toyota Tacoma 4x4, 2.7L 4Cyl manual.. 33x12.50 tires, too..



It gets about 20mpg on good Gasoline, about 17 on Gasohol.. Go figure. :



Hauling the boat, I might get 12-13...

 

[Staci Matheis]

Tox 'n Trep -



You forgot the motor.....



24-Valve, 6-cylinder by Cummins. Something new, a bit smaller than the present 5.9L. Something that will fit in a vehicle the size of a regular Cherokee or Durango and still provide exceptional torque and fuel mileage!



me!