I have a 2001 SCrew with the 5.4...140,000 miles on it. Truck runs great and no major isseus....knock on wood!!

I have what may be a strange question. I pull a trailer alot in the winter time, it is a 10' foot cargo trailer full of goose hunting decoys so itt is not real heavy. I can pull the trailer at 65mph's and maintain the same RPM's as when I am not pulling the trailer. So my question is why is there such a big difference in my fuel mileage when pulling the trailer and when I am not? Just wondering if there is something that I can do to fix it or check to see if I have a issue somewhere??

Thanks, Marty

 

If I am thinking of this correctly, your gearing (rear diff) in conjunction with power demand determine your RPM's at certain speeds. So your RPM's should stay the same since your trailer is so light, the issue you have is the aerodynamics and drag created by the trailer.

 

That and getting it up and moving from a stop.

 

I have a manual transmission, so there is never any slippage involved. If I set my cruise at 65 with no trailer, I get about 20 mpg in 5th. If I hook up an enclosed 5x8 and do the same thing, I get about 15 mpg.