Well I'm leaving on a long trip in a couple days. Going to be pulling a 24ft enclosed. I am figuring right around 7.5k total for the trailer and 600lbs including gear and passengers in the truck. Going from Dallas to Savannah and back. The plan is to keep it in 3rd and try to keep it at 60 to improve fuel economy. Towing at 70 was absolutely dismal last time in 3rd. I'm shooting for 8.5-9 mpg but that may be optimistic. Hopefully gas will not go up in the next week.

So, hoping for an uneventful tow. Trailer, tires, spare are all new. Towing software is installed on the truck, tranny temp gauge installed, air filter cleaned and oil recently changed. Wish me luck. I'll report back with mpg etc next week.

 

Keep us posted on your experiences, expenses, etc! I am curious!.......good luck & stay safe!.........

 

you'll be just fine...maybe a little lighter in the pockets though

 

Go ahead and put it in overdrive as long as it isn't searching for gears. I tow my 30ft travel trailer about the same weight in OD unless I am in the mountains it has no problems. I usally get get about 10 mpg.

 

It isn't whether it's in 3rd or OD that matters - the key is to try to keep the torque converter locked. An unlocked converter will heat up the fluid pretty quickly. If you can drive in OD and the converter stays locked, do it. If it starts hunting, then hit the button.

 

x2. I was able to get my 4.6 w 3.55's to lock towing 8k

 

Got back from the trip on Monday evening. I have to say the F150 outperformed all my expectations. We went from Dallas to Savanna and back. It isn't the hilliest route imaginable but there were plenty of hills along the way. I was pulling about 7500lbs total in a flat-front enclosed trailer and the truck had about 500lbs including occupants.

I set the cruise at 60 for the first tank then 65 the rest of the trip. I didn't notice any decrease in fuel economy and it seemed like the truck was happier pulling up the hills at 65. I kept it in 3rd the whole time. One thing I did notice was the fuel economy seemed to be getting better over the course of the trip. The truck now has 14k miles on it.

I had no problems at all getting up the hills. It slowed down to 60 maybe 10 times and down to 55 twice. I couldn't be any happier with the power of the truck.

Here are the results:



mileage gallons mpg speed
207 26.2 7.90 60
409 25.5 7.92 65
621 24.1 8.80 65
801 19.8 9.09 65
1009 24.3 8.56 65
Going Average: 8.45

87
286 22.3 8.92 65
490 21.8 9.36 65
713 24.4 9.14 65
868 17.6 8.81 65
Return Average: 9.06

Trip Average: 8.76

If you drop the first two tanks which are much worse than the rest I average almost 9 mpg the whole trip. This also doesn't include the last tank getting me into Dallas. I was at 9.4mpg on my trip computer but didn't fill up so didn't record that info.

 

That's actually very good MPG performance. If you check into some RV websites, you'll notice that the 3/4 and 1 ton V-10 and diesel's don't do much better than 10-11 MPG. The key with a 1/2 ton is to make sure you keep track of your weights. It's critical to stay within your payload, hitch weight, axle weight, and of course the GCVW (combined weight of both truck and trailer). If you do this and you utilize a solid WD hitch with anti-sway, you shouldn't have any problems at all just so long as you recognize that under no circumstances should you exceed 65MPG.

 

I know you mean 65mph, so are you saying you should never tow past 65mph???

 

Even when fixed, um, still, why?

 

I agree, sure towing that load requires drastically more room to stop and manuver, but I have often towed at 70 or even 75. Some of the speed limits here in Tx are 70 and the flow of traffic is easily 80+, my school of thought is going with the flow will cause less chance of disaster. I dont enjoy people flying up on my trailer, getting angry, then flying around me and cutting me off.

 

I tend to agree. Best to do whatever speed everybody else is doing. I chose 65 because it was the speed that prevented me from having to constantly pass slower vehicles but also fewer cars were passing me. At 60 I was overwhelmed with semis constantly blowing by me. At 70 I was having to slow down/speed up as I came up on traffic.

Of note, I was shocked by how well the whole assy braked. There were two instances that traffic came to a screeming halt. I pulled into off to the median both times thinking I'd need more room. Both times I stopped well behind the vehicle in front of me. I attribute it to a great brake controller (prodigy) and having a trailer loaded well within specs.

 

Trailer tires are only speed rated to 65mph. Towing any faster than that can overheat your tires and lead to catastrophic failure. That's why you should limit your speed to 65mph when towing. Trailer tire pressure is also very important and often overlooked. Low tire pressure will also cause them to overheat and fail, especially at higher speeds.

 

Speaking of trailer tire pressure, what do you recommend? The tires I have are rated at 65psi max. Do you recommend filling to 65 when cold or something less than that?

 

65 lbs by all means! 65 psi and 65 mph = the 65 rule.