Towing Test MPG with 2025 Maverick Hybrid AWD - by TFL Truck

[tlhmav]

So the latest in the Maverick series. No surprises here if anyone has towed anything before.

Just got back 1200 miles in my Hybrid AWD 4k Florida through the Blue Ridge Mountains 13.9 mpg 68-74 mpg up and down hills no hesitation,little sway trucks passing even with WDH and sway control,still one hand on the wheel driving most of the time about the same weight with truck loaded

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[SafetyGuy]

Just got back 1200 miles in my Hybrid AWD 4k Florida through the Blue Ridge Mountains 13.9 mpg 68-74 mpg up and down hills no hesitation,little sway trucks passing even with WDH and sway control,still one hand on the wheel driving most of the time about the same weight with truck loaded

Nice set up!

I imagine the truck cap (an inflatable, I think?) With it's angled front complements the angled top on the front of your TT.

This would substantially reduce the wind resistance you would get without that topper...it deflects the air up, the topper keeps it up till it deflects again when the wind hits your camper.

It would be interesting to compare what your gas mileage is with no topper and the trailer behind as compared to your trip now.

You got really great fuel mileage, considering (I am guessing your TT is at about 3800 GVWR).

I would imagine the topper will pay for itself quite quickly with the fuel savings.

My guess-timate is a saving of at least 1-2 mpg on the hwy.

Good post, good example of true fuel burn/mpg when towing!

Andy

 

[tlhmav]

Nice set up!

I imagine the truck cap (an inflatable, I think?) With it's angled front complements the angled top on the front of your TT.

This would substantially reduce the wind resistance you would get without that topper...it deflects the air up, the topper keeps it up till it deflects again when the wind hits your camper.

It would be interesting to compare what your gas mileage is with no topper and the trailer behind as compared to your trip now.

You got really great fuel mileage, considering (I am guessing your TT is at about 3800 GVWR).

I would imagine the topper will pay for itself quite quickly with the fuel savings.

My guess-timate is a saving of at least 1-2 mpg on the hwy.

Good post, good example of true fuel burn/mpg when towing!

Andy

Thanks,yep inflatable never noticed the wind resistance much so probably does help a lot .You do have to drive it in 15 mph and up side winds,like any vehicle I suppose.

Nice set up!

I imagine the truck cap (an inflatable, I think?) With it's angled front complements the angled top on the front of your TT.

This would substantially reduce the wind resistance you would get without that topper...it deflects the air up, the topper keeps it up till it deflects again when the wind hits your camper.

It would be interesting to compare what your gas mileage is with no topper and the trailer behind as compared to your trip now.

You got really great fuel mileage, considering (I am guessing your TT is at about 3800 GVWR).

I would imagine the topper will pay for itself quite quickly with the fuel savings.

My guess-timate is a saving of at least 1-2 mpg on the hwy.

Good post, good example of true fuel burn/mpg when towing!

Andy

Yep inflatable weighs like 22 lbs and does help wind resistance a lot.

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

I think that if they'd have slowed it down to 65, the mileage would have been comparable to mine - I've made 2 575 mile trips with 2500-3500 pounds of trailer and load, and about 500 in the bed - and averaged 18-19 mpg both times. And that's calculated each time I fill up.

But their test is doing the speed limit, so to be fair to other vehicles, they did the same thing with their Mav. If they have time, they could take another run at 65 to see the difference. In fact, that would be a good study in the effects of speed on their mileage.

 

[Wilklersticks]

Honestly, I'm not really impressed by these guys as a general rule. Every video seems to have a small but major flaw in it, e.g. expecting amazing gas mileage from a hybrid vehicle going 75 towing a sail. Love seeing Maverick videos, but pretty over them.

 

[Cherokee]

Ok guyz we get it. The Mav is a real truck, jeez

 

[heady]

If they didn't play dumb to set up content for the channel, they'd probably be way less successful, and the content way too boring for most of us to have ever heard about!

 

[SafetyGuy]

Honestly, I'm not really impressed by these guys as a general rule. Every video seems to have a small but major flaw in it, e.g. expecting amazing gas mileage from a hybrid vehicle going 75 towing a sail. Love seeing Maverick videos, but pretty over them.

I like videos like TFL's, it is interesting for me to see what they tow or do, and what the result is...even if it is towing in a fashion that I would not do myself. I get to see their results at no cost to myself.

But, I really enjoy them as you may get a post like @tlhmav above. The post and photo shows how they tow and has a bit of aerodynamic help, with his inflatable cap!

I had never considered this angle/method for managing airflow with a generally flat front TT, to reduce buffeting and maybe improve fuel mileage.

It is also the first Mav I have seen with a WDH and Anti-Sway installed, as per their post.

I used to tow with an Andersen (edited for spelling of name) Hitch w/built in anti sway. Great piece of kit, and i keep learning cool stuff...sometimes.

So, lots of positives from my perspective.

Have a good day,

Andy

 

[heady]

I use the Andersen hitch, and I'll be using it on the Mav too, I love that thing!

Many moons ago we were on a family vacation in a '92 F250 Diesel towing a nice old (heavy!) 30 ft. Holiday Rambler TT. We had a truck cap on there, and it was ok, but still was quite the thing to pull around. Keep in mind, that truck had slightly less HP than the Maverick Hybrid. By accident we left the rear latch on the cap unhooked after a fuel stop about halfway through. The rear window flipped open and self-adjusted into the airflow between the truck and the TT, and it was like we gained 100HP on the interstate, we thought something had gone terribly wrong at first as the truck just started to take off with far less accelerator input. Took us awhile to figure out what had happened. Air is the heaviest thing you can tow with most rigs. We left that door unlatched for the remainder of the trip and fashioned some prop supports to secure it in place so truckers would stop calling us on the CB telling us our rear hatch was open!

 

[SafetyGuy]

I use the Andersen hitch, and I'll be using it on the Mav too, I love that thing!

Many moons ago we were on a family vacation in a '92 F250 Diesel towing a nice old (heavy!) 30 ft. Holiday Rambler TT. We had a truck cap on there, and it was ok, but still was quite the thing to pull around. Keep in mind, that truck had slightly less HP than the Maverick Hybrid. By accident we left the rear latch on the cap unhooked after a fuel stop about halfway through. The rear window flipped open and self-adjusted into the airflow between the truck and the TT, and it was like we gained 100HP on the interstate, we thought something had gone terribly wrong at first as the truck just started to take off with far less accelerator input. Took us awhile to figure out what had happened. Air is the heaviest thing you can tow with most rigs. We left that door unlatched for the remainder of the trip and fashioned some prop supports to secure it in place so truckers would stop calling us on the CB telling us our rear hatch was open!

Wow, great way to accidentally make life easier and cheaper at no cost!

I figured this out when I was a kid and we would take a Triple E TT, flip a 14 ft tinny upside down, pointy bit forwards, strap it down onto the truck caps rack of course and go out camping and fishing!

We would gain a couple miles to the gallon in the old F150. Once my dad figured this out, the light old boat got a lot of miles put on it, even when we weren't bringing our rods...saving money and making handling better/easier is good!

Have a good one,

Andy

 

[SafetyGuy]

After I did my research on WDH's, I went with the Anderson hitch.

Once set up properly (PROPERLY!), it is the easiest, cleanest, least amount of effort required to install and safest for a dummy like me.

No need to worry about disconnecting the anti sway bar or anything to reverse.. Just back up like normal...carefully.

An excellent product from a reputable firm that performs the way it is advertised and as I needed it.

But, as in all things nowadays, you have to take your time, do your research, read and understand their instructions and watch their well done videos and figure out how it all works for your particular tow vehicle and trailer (s) and if it is appropriate. They have different hitches depending on your trailer weight.

Again, I don't get anything for saying what I think, I didnt get it sent to me for free to test, and it is more expensive then some of the other choices available. Just passing on my experience with a good trailering tool.

Andy

 

[The Real Maverick]

14 mpg with a 14 gallon tank gives a range of just short of 200 miles. That is 3 hours of driving at an average of 65 mph. That isn’t bad to get a small break every 3 hours to stretch the legs while refilling.

Very true. And not towing pretty much every new EV on the market will go 4 hours / 260 miles between rest breaks; yet so many call this range "too small".

If you don't do it every day (drive 260 miles+) and who does? Then stopping every 3 to 4 hours is a blessing, not a curse. Yet many see it as a "problem".

 

[The Real Maverick]

I think that if they'd have slowed it down to 65, the mileage would have been comparable to mine - I've made 2 575 mile trips with 2500-3500 pounds of trailer and load, and about 500 in the bed - and averaged 18-19 mpg both times. And that's calculated each time I fill up.

But their test is doing the speed limit, so to be fair to other vehicles, they did the same thing with their Mav. If they have time, they could take another run at 65 to see the difference. In fact, that would be a good study in the effects of speed on their mileage.

Hybrid
3200 lb

7x12x9h trailer

18-19 MPG at 61-65 MPH in rolling hills of the Mountain West.

But the beauty is 45 to 53 MPG when NOT towing (and I don't need two separate vehicles).

 

[Escapologist]

Oh couple of gotchas to call out, firstly on towing speed...

Trailer tires might not be up to high speed towing. Check the actual speed rating on tires of every trailer you tow. It is super common for trailer tires to only be rated to 65mph.

Secondly on weight distributing hitches, they're not for every trailer. Some trailer manufacturers warn against weight distributing hitches.... this is because they work both ways, forces on the tow vehicle can be transmitted to the trailer. If the trailer is only braced for the force in one direction and the tow vehicle hits a large bump and transmits weight onto the trailer, something might break. This is more typical of lighter duty trailers, there's not a lot of reserve in a 2000lb GVWR trailer for having a 5000lb vehicle "squat" on it so to speak when it's weight goes backwards.

Many moons ago we were on a family vacation in a '92 F250 Diesel towing a nice old (heavy!) 30 ft. Holiday Rambler TT. We had a truck cap on there, and it was ok, but still was quite the thing to pull around. Keep in mind, that truck had slightly less HP than the Maverick Hybrid.

I bet the brakes were same or worse than the Mav's and the weight wasn't all that far off either, so if they did the Mav in the 90s it would probably be rated 7000-8000lb towing.

 

[The Real Maverick]

WDH are TRADITIONALLY for very large, heavy trailers. (I know, I know some people like to use them for everything.)

With 400 lbs or less on the rear of your Maverick (usually!) I don't know what is really to be gained by having a WDH. A little less squat? Ok.
But I solved that with adjustable air bags for like $110. Not only do the air bags help reduce squatting with a trailer attached, they reduce squatting when I put 1300 lbs in my bed. A WDH does nothing for you while using your truck bed.

I only tow things on the heavy side. Never have I used a WDH or sway bars. Never had sway. Ever.

IMHO sway, it seems comes into play more so with LIGHT trailers, and/or trailers with too little weight on the ball. I almost always have 13% to 15% total weight on the ball. Makes using the hand crank jack a little harder, but I feel (and 80,000 cumulative trouble free miles demonstrates) it's a safe setup.

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